and looked at it, then the bag of chips. No, no. Besides, if I had been drugged, the side effects would probably have been far more different.
I shrugged and tried to get the kinks out. Somehow I picked up our previous conversation against my better judgment. “That’s what I mean, though. A real villain never apologizes.” Insanity, that’s all it was. I was clearly just a crazy person who needed to be locked away in a tiny room somewhere so I could receive professional medical help. “So you can’t be entirely bad.”
His eyebrow went up. “What do you know ‘bout it?”
“Nothing. I just—”
“That’s right.” His finger came out at me, pointing in accusation. “So just keep your damn mouth shut.”
Although he put his hand down, he glared at me for some time. His eyes were a kaleidoscope of colors as the clouds outside passed over the sun and tinted the indoor light. While his expression was dark, there wasn’t anything angry about it, nothing even within the realm of what I had seen earlier. But I wanted to test the waters, explore this unknown territory. My curiosity gushed from the inside out and gave me a rush.
Yes, I decided. I was definitely crazy.
“Maybe you’re right.” I played with the bottle cap in my hands. “If you were decent, you would let me call my Dad—just to tell him I’m all right.”
“Forget it,” he snapped and put out the cigarette on the edge of his boot.
“It was worth a try,” I mumbled.
“You’re lucky you’re even getting outta here.” He scooted across the floor and rested his back against one of the few cupboards still intact. From below us, I thought I heard the roar of power tools coming to life. Unfortunately, the noise did nothing to distract me and those pesky logical thoughts started creeping up again. I was beginning to hope that Robbie hadn’t heard about my abduction at all. I quickly reasoned there was no way it couldn’t sidetrack him. Even if I was home by this time tomorrow, I didn’t want him to worry unnecessarily. With Dad, however, that was going to be unavoidable.
“What kinda girl goes running ‘round a filling station after she hears gunshots?” He shook his head as though he was exasperated, but he wasn’t even close to being done.
“Is that what those noises were?” I mumbled to myself. Even if I had been asking, it was clear he was too consumed with his ranting to bother with me.
“Nobody minds their own business no more! That’s how folk end up in trouble half the time!” Despite the yelling, I was less afraid and more enthralled by his behavior.
“People can’t just do what their s’posed to do. Just follow directions and listen! Then everybody wonders why everything gets messed up.” He was rambling now, ranting as though he were a lunatic. I frowned—mostly because I only understood about half of what he was talking about, but also because I didn’t understand the source of his anger. He sounded completely bent, his words streaming out of his mouth with only the slightest fragment of sense.
“We shoulda just skipped it and stuck to the schedule. Followed through as usual.” I listened with a keen interest as he talked more to himself than anything. I realized that, just as before when he became enraged with Wallace, his accent became more pronounced. He was even misusing auxiliary verbs.
“I done told them a million times before—a last-minute truck grab ain’t a good idea!”
“Hey…” I tried to pull him from his raving, but I don’t think he paid any attention. In a way it was cute, almost like a toddler having a tantrum. And under a different set of circumstances, I might have laughed, but I was fed-up and annoyed with this entire business. Frankly, the last thing I wanted to do was listen to him harp on. “Hey!”
Finally, he looked at me with wide eyes. It was as though he had forgotten I was in the room.
I scowled so hard I hoped he could feel it. “Maybe you could quit complaining for a minute and forget that you’re not the only one here having a bad day.” I pointed to the bungees still attached to my legs. “Just imagine what my Dad is going through right now.”
At that my voice trailed off. I didn’t want to think about Dad and the horrors that were probably going through his mind. With any luck, he wasn’t being as imaginative as I had been