Out of the corner of my eye I saw them handcuff Gudman. His truck door was open and they were pulling stuff out and putting it in bags. One of the officers held up a roll of duct tape, pausing before he put it in a bag. Gudman gave a sideways glance at the duct tape before he disappeared into the back seat of the police car.
Hours later I was at home, both my parents talking on their phones to the school, the police and anyone else we knew. After a while I couldn't take being away from MacKenzie anymore and asked my parents if I could go see her. My mom looked over at my dad, who hesitated.
I stared back. “I'm going to be fine. I can't stay in the house forever. It's okay.”
“It doesn't feel safe to be here anymore. We should have never come,” she said, her hands on her hips and her voice shaking.
My dad put his arms around her. “The guy wasn't after Ren. And it could happen anywhere. It turned out all right, Kate.”
“Take my cell phone,” my mom said, handing it to me.
I took it. “Okay. I'll be back in like, an hour.”
“One hour,” my dad said, as if it were his idea.
I stepped out and walked to MacKenzie's house. When I got there, I was suddenly nervous. I needed to talk to her alone. Her parents probably didn't want to let her out of their sight, and I knew exactly how they felt.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
MacKenzie
I sat in the kitchen, eating a bologna sandwich trying to ignore the rapid beating of my heart. I was still scared. I scrolled down Facebook, searching through all my friends' posts, even though there weren't any new ones. I'd sent out a message asking for everyone's phone numbers because I didn't know them. Kyle had been the first to answer. He said he was coming over right after school. I asked him to give my mom's number to Katie so I could text her.
The phone buzzed a few seconds later. It was Katie.
I heard what happened! Are you okay?
I'm freaked out.
So Ren was there?
Yes. He hit a police car with his skateboard so it would stop.
I can't believe it. I'm so sorry. You must be scared.
Very. It's so weird.
Can I see you after school?
Yes, please!!
My mom walked in with a basket of laundry and went into the laundry room next to the kitchen. “Hey, Hon. How are you?” she said as she threw the clothes in the washer.
“I'm fine, Mom. Just eating a sandwich.”
She reached for the detergent. “Okay. There's some juice in the fridge.”
I gave her a look. “I know, Mom.”
She brushed her hair back and gave me a worried smile. “Right.”
I wished my parents weren't so freaked out, but it was all kind of abnormal. I'd never seen my Dad so angry. He'd talked to the police for a long time after they took Gudman away. His eyes had teared up when he thanked Ren for what he did, and even gave him a hug. Ren was quiet, only speaking to insist that he was glad he had been there at the right time.
As soon as we got home Dad locked all the doors and yet I still didn't feel safe. I don't think any of us did. Mom was even going to pick up James from school instead of letting him take the bus.
The only time I'd felt safe was when Ren was with me. No one else could see what he could. I didn't know how he knew I was in trouble or if his ability had helped him, but whatever had happened, he'd been there, and he'd kept me safe. I thought about how he'd walked away from me last night, and a wave of fright washed over the fear that was already there from the ordeal this morning. Did Ren still want to break up? Had he kissed me because we were both scared and needed comfort? He said he wanted to talk, but I didn't know what he would say.
The doorbell rang and I jumped. I looked over to see if my Mom had noticed my overreaction, but she didn't. She walked out of the laundry room and into the living room to see who was at the door. My phone buzzed, and this time it was Noah.
Coming to see you after school. Okay?
Sounds good.
I heard the door open and my Dad talking to someone. I recognized Ren's voice and I pushed my chair back in such a hurry that I spilled juice everywhere. Great. I grabbed a paper towel and started cleaning up the mess. He walked in just as I was putting the glass in the sink.
“Hey,” he said, his dark eyes finding mine. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I just spilled some juice.”
His mouth twitched in a smile. “I wasn't talking about that, but I'm sorry about the juice.”
I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. I was so happy to see him. Then I remembered why he had come. “So you wanted to talk?” I asked.
He stared at me for a moment, and then said, “I know you deserve someone who knows how lucky he is. And I do. I know it. I want to be with you.”
I crossed my arms, the emotion welling up in my throat. I wanted him so much it scared me. “Like, even if it means we might last longer than next week?”
He didn't flinch. “We're going to last longer than next week, I can promise you that. I've seen a lot of things, but I've never seen the end of us, and I don't want to.”
“You might marry me someday. Not that I would say yes. But you might ask. And if I said yes we would probably do that.”
He stepped toward me, pulling my arms apart. “I sincerely hope so.”
“And make car payments. And mow the lawn. You know, boring adult stuff that I don't even want to think about. Maybe I don't want it. Maybe I want out.”
He wound his fingers through mine, pulling them behind his back until I was embracing him. “I'm completely ready to give you anything that makes you happy. If you want out, it's yours.”
I knew he hated it when I cried, but the tears felt close. I swallowed and lifted my chin. “I might.”
He let of go of my hands and put his arms around me. “Okay.”
“But not right now.”
He nodded, his gaze going to my mouth. “Of course. Just let me know.”
“You're never allowed to leave me.”
He put his head down to mine and smiled. “I was hoping you'd say that.”
“My parents might let us make out in the kitchen. I almost got abducted. They're pretty scared.”
He sighed and pulled me close. “Yeah, about that. I thought someone was ripping my heart of my chest. I can't even tell you...and I know you were scared. I know. But that is never going to happen to you. Not while I'm here”
“It was a freak, strange thing.” I said it mostly to reassure myself. It all seemed unreal, still.
“MacKenzie, I mean it. I couldn't handle it if anything happened to you. Nothing could be worse than seeing you hurt. I can't tell you enough.”
I looked down and stepped on his foot, pushing my knee against his, sort of playing, but not. “So when you aren't scared for me anymore are you still going to love me?”
“I'm always going to care about you and be scared for you and love you. I never stopped. I just didn't know what to do about it. But it's pretty clear now. I'm sorry I made you...I'm sorry I made you feel like I didn't love you. That's so far from what I feel for you. Far, far from it.”
Still looking down, I nodded. “Okay.”
“Hey,” he said, and I looked up. “I don't think you get this. It's permanent. I know other people break up and stuff, but that isn't going to happen to us. You are seriously stuck with me. I'm not going anywhere.”
“I could get fat and have moles. With hairs that stick out of them.”
His mouth slowly turned in a grin. “I would be so desperately in love with you if you had hairy moles. Don't tease me like that.”
“Well, I don't have those. You'll have to live with me the way I am.”
. “Oh, please yes.”
I couldn't help smiling and then I saw his eyes close as he bent down to put his mouth on mine. He kissed me and I didn't want him to stop. When he did, I stood up on my tiptoes for more. He smiled, kissing me back and then pulled away. “We have to be careful with that.”
“I'm fine,” I said, trying to ignore the rush that said differently.
“It might not make you crazy, but I'm not as immunne as you are.”
I kissed him, but carefully. “I'm just kidding. You make me crazy.”
He bent down and put his lips on my neck. “I know.”
I blushed at his touch. “You're dangerous.”
“No, we're dangerous. That's a good thing.”
He stepped away and reached for my hand. Somehow knowing that we belonged to each other made everything more intense. But I could tell he didn't want us to go too far, and I didn't either. In fact, I'd always been taught to wait for marriage. I didn't know how he felt about that. The idea that we would even have the conversation made my head spin.
“When we get back to school I want to show you something,” he said.
I slid my fingers through his. “What?”
“The future.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
The Future
Ren walked behind me, his hands on my elbows, guiding me through the crowd. My parents let me go back to school the next day, but only because Dad gave me a ride. Ren sat next to me in the truck, making polite conversation with Dad. My dad slowed down at the front of the school, eyeing the crowd like he was Secret Service. As I got out of the car I'd given him a kiss on the cheek, something I hadn't done in ages, and told him not to worry. He and Ren had exchanged glances. Some sort of non-verbal conversation about making sure I lived through the day or something.
As Ren walked with me, the halls were pink and aqua and blue lockers for everyone else, but for me they were a journey to another place. As we passed people he would talk to me, low and soft so only I could hear.
Maddy walked by with her usual coven of friends. A short girl with a tight ponytail and the build of a gymnast was talking about an argument she had with a teacher. She was rolling her eyes, obviously angry. Her friend, slightly taller and with short, shiny hair that was spiked in the back had her arms crossed over her chest, nodding in sympathy. Maddy’s best friend listened with her head cocked, her long brown hair swept across her forehead and hiding part of her face. All of them ignored a girl just slightly on the outside of the circle, who was a lot quieter than they were.
Maddy’s eyes pretended boredom, but there was something about the way she stood in the circle that looked like a performance. She flipped a strand of her blond hair out of her eyes, strategically licking her lips and every now and then.
Ren leaned close to me. “Maddy’s going to end up in Pittsburgh in a marketing company. She’ll have a lot of boyfriends; a parade of a bunch of people she could love but she doesn’t. She’s too distracted by being successful. And she’s still beautiful twenty years from now. She’s afraid of getting older.”
He described each girl surrounding her. “The one with the ponytail becomes a computer programmer and marries and has two kids. She’s going to be okay. The girl with the short hair becomes a hair dresser and rock climbs—she loses her boyfriend on a mountainside and almost dies. She ends up working in Hollywood. Pretty cool. The one with the long brown hair goes to college and works in a big business. She has to move a lot because of her job and ends up cheating on her husband. It gets kind of messy. I can’t see farther than that.”
We walked by Steve, digging around in his locker and dropping stuff everywhere. One of his shoes was untied and he paused to wipe his nose with his hand. I saw a few smirks from other people as they passed him. I looked over my shoulder at Ren. If they only knew…
Two guys from the football team walked by. I could tell they were on varsity because they were huge. One of them had a belly and straight, lanky hair that stuck to his forehead and a small goatee. His friend on the left wasn’t as heavyset, but he was just as tall. His short hair was some kind of blond, and his eyes were small, darting sideways as they talked.
“The big guy on the right goes to college but drops out to start his own business. He gets in politics but can’t go very far without a degree. He’s working on one twenty years from now. He might make senator, maybe. I can’t see that far ahead. The blond guy is going to move to Tennessee this summer and get into racing. He’ll be a fairly successful racer for a couple of years. He ends up being a crew chief for a very well-known racer.”
We passed Noah and Katie. Katie was cute in a dark blue jeans and a white sweater.
Noah held her hand, looking down at her as she talked. Neither of them saw us. I remembered that they wouldn’t end up together. I asked why. Ren said he wasn’t sure, just that they would break up during their first year in college. Katie would go on to fall in love with a young marine and break up with Noah.
I knew Noah’s story but Ren also added that Noah would find love, long waited for and cherished.