had I been though with him at my side? He hadn’t walked away from me when I was too depressed to shower or get out of bed. He hadn’t given up when I refused to eat. He was right there with me, giving me a shoulder to cry on, a warm body to snuggle with, and a companion to suffer in silence with. I needed to be there for him when he was going through a crisis. I couldn’t just abandon him.
I stood up abruptly. I could stay here and throw a tantrum about how evil Maverik was, or I could go fix the damage that he’d done. I rushed out of the fitness center and back to the house in a hurry, forgetting to trade my ballet slippers for shoes.
The house was quiet when I ran up the stairs, and I didn’t hear either of the guys. They were probably hiding out in their man cave and chuckling about what an idiot I was. I dug out my backpack and haphazardly threw some random pieces of clothing in there as I thought about how I could get away with this. Purchasing a plane ticket wouldn’t be a problem. I had a credit card linked to the money Babulya had left me. The difficult part was going to be getting out of the house without anyone noticing or sounding the alarm for a missing teenager.
I pulled up Google Flights on my phone and browsed through them quickly. I would have to wait until I got to the airport to purchase a ticket. I wouldn’t put it past Richard to have someone monitoring my card for suspicious activity or evidence of an attempted escape. I found more than a few available seats on flights that were leaving throughout the day. As long as I could make it to the airport, I’d be good to go.
I zipped up my backpack and headed to the bathroom. I’d need to shower and change so that I didn’t have runaway ballerina stamped on my forehead. That would make it a little too easy for anyone following after me. After my shower, I left my damp hair down instead of in my signature bun. I even put on some makeup to look less like myself. I dressed in skinny jeans and a cute top that would let me blend in with a million other teenagers. I slung my backpack over my shoulder, but hesitated.
Now what?
I chewed my lip. I could get Mr. Ferguson to drive me to the school and say I was going to study with Abby. No one directly told me that I couldn’t leave the property. But then what? Try to get someone there to give me a ride to the airport? That wouldn’t seem suspicious at all.
I could help myself to one of the cars in the garage, but how far would I make it before it was evident to everyone else on the road that I didn’t know how to drive? Getting arrested for illegally driving without a license would derail my plans of getting out of here.
I looked down at my phone. How traceable would it be if I used the Uber app? I chewed my lip. Too risky. There was only one other thing I could think of.
Me: Yo, Abs?
I grinned when I only had to wait for a second to see her answer.
Abby: The answer is yes.
Me: ????
Abby: I can tell you’re going to ask something that will probably get us both in trouble, and as your best friend, I have to remind you that you are obligated to involve me in any and all of your shenanigans.
I laughed out loud.
Me: If I get us a car, can you drive?
Abby: Can I drive a car? Yes. Do I have a license? No.
Me: Good thing I wasn’t asking about a license.
Okay, I could do this. Ryan and I had driven go-carts before. How different could a car be? I just had to make it a few miles through the neighborhood to Bedford Academy. There weren’t any highways, and I probably wouldn’t pass more than a few cars on the road.
Once I had talked myself into the most terrible decision of my life, I listened at the door before creeping down the hallway.
I didn’t see anyone else in the house, but I was especially cautious when I neared the garage. The guys had their man cave on the second floor, and I didn’t want to tip them off as to