A Wild Rose Unleashed

Chapter Thirty-One - A Late Night Phone Call

We weren't quite asleep but we were... like... basically snuggling together in this perfect sort of post sexy-time glow when my phone rang.

My heart basically did this wild leap thing. I mean... it was way too late for any normal sort of a phone call... and I didn't really calm down when I saw that it was Ria. "What's the matter, Sis?" I asked.

"That boyfriend that mum was going on about..." she said in this terrified sort of a whisper thing... "it's that Hammie guy... and he's here."

"You're totally sure it's him?"

"Yeah... mum said his name a couple of times... and I could... like... hear the funny way he talks."

"You're up in your bedroom?"

"Yeah."

"And where's he?"

"Downstairs with mum."

"And you can't get out without him seeing?" I sort of remembered how the stairs in her house went straight down into the living room.

"No!"

"Then stay where you are! We're on our way. And stay on the line!"

Without waiting for any sort of explanation, my master was already moving - throwing his clothes on and dashing downstairs. I didn't even bother getting dressed. I just grabbed my stuff and dashed outside after him, totally starkers. By the time I got there, the car was already out of the garage and I sort of tumbled in. I'm not even sure whether he would have stopped for me if I hadn't.

"What's the matter?" my master asked as he accelerated up our curvy drive... like... accelerated really hard. I'd never known him drive like that before. I didn't even know he could. I guess Andy must have taught him or something.

I started to tell him what was going on but, before I got halfway through, he interrupted me. "I'm phoning Andy!" he said. He pressed a couple of buttons on his steering wheel and his phone stuff flashed up on a screen in front of us.

Within three rings, Andy had answered. If he'd been asleep, it didn't show. "What's up?" he asked. You could basically hear that this was the totally serious Andy - not the fun, silly one.

"Moving now!" my master ordered him.

Andy didn't need to be told twice. There were a couple of moments of Andy getting ready type noises and I told my sister that we were all on our way - trying to reassure her, I guess. And then I used the sort of pause bit to get my clothes on as our car tore through the pitch-black countryside.

By the time I was done, I could sort of hear that Andy was in his car too... and driving fast... so I sort of told him what was going on.

"Tell her to get dressed - quietly - but not to put her lights on," he told me.

She could hear what he was saying through our funny two phone setup and I could sort of hear her doing as she was told.

"Now tell her..."

"She can hear you," I told him.

"Maria, love," he said and his voice just radiated this totally calm and controlled feeling. "I am coming to get you but you need to buy me as much time as you possibly can. You are going to wait until he starts coming up the stairs and then you're going to jam a chair under the door handle. Then you're going to put your phone on loudspeaker and put it on a table or something. And then you're going to hide under your bed."

She whispered a frightened, "OK!" and I passed on her message.

By now, my master had reached the ring road at the edge of town and was basically driving at this shocking sort of a speed. He even jumped a couple of red lights and things when he could see there was nobody else about. I mean... he's always such a safe and sensible driver. I guess that kind of stuff basically didn't matter today.