Friday, April 19, 2017
“I thought you said we were going to watch Insurgent.”
Sometimes Sienna’s pouty voice drove Ellie crazy. She tried not to roll her eyes and took a minute to answer so she wouldn’t sound annoyed. The girls were sitting on a fort of pillows in Ellie’s basement. They had removed all the couch cushions and piled pillows and their sleeping bags on the floor to watch movies. The only light came from the giant TV screen on the wall.
“We’re still going to watch the movie, but I have a little midnight adventure planned.”
Ellie could feel Charlie stiffen beside her.
“It’s going to be fun. I promise.” Ellie handed Sienna the bowl of candy she’d prepared.
If Charlie backed out, everything would be ruined. It was her last chance. She was counting the days until Shadow Man’s helicopter would come get her. She couldn’t wait any longer. Janet and her dad were driving her crazy.
Ever since the stupid Girls Getaway had backfired, Janet had been avoiding her, retiring to the master suite after dinner. And, most disappointingly, her dad usually stuck around for a few minutes making small talk and then also disappeared with a guilty kiss on her forehead.
It was like Ellie lived in the big house by herself.
She shot a glance at her friends. Charlie was staring at the TV. Sienna had one hand in the candy bowl and was flicking through movies on Amazon with the other hand on the remote.
“We’ll watch Insurgent. Later I promise. You guys aren’t going to wimp out and go to sleep early are you? I’ve got plans. Besides My dad totally said it’s okay – the surprise – what I have planned.” Ellie said it in a rush. She watched Charlie’s face in the blue light from the TV. She was sort of scrunching her eyes. She looked over at Sienna.
Sienna shot her an alarmed glance. This time Ellie did roll her eyes. Was Sienna that dumb? She was lying, of course. Her dad wouldn’t be okay with Ellie and Sienna pushing Charlie off the deck of the house into the canyon below. Duh. And if that didn’t work, she had retrieved the knife from its hiding place. She wasn’t going to wimp out again like she had at the lake.
“Come on. Let’s go. They’ve been asleep for like two hours now.” She stood. After a few seconds, Charlie stood, as well and Ellie let out the breath she’d been holding.
Charlie and Sienna stared at her. Ellie held a finger to her mouth, and led her two friends upstairs to the main level. Floor to ceiling windows lined the backside of the house, revealing a deep blue night sky dotted with lights from the valley below.
“Let’s go,” Ellie whispered as they stepped out onto the back deck.
Janet materialized in the darkness of the sliding glass doorway, her white dressing gown blowing around in the slight breeze like a specter.
“Girls, don’t you think it’s a little late?” She yawned loudly and not prettily.
“We were looking at constellations.” Ellie lied.
Sienna giggled beside her, and Ellie stamped hard on her bare foot.
“Ow,” Sienna said.
From the deck’s perch on the edge of the deep canyon, the night sky overshadowed everything else. It surrounded the girls as far as they could look above and below and to each side. It created the illusion that one could reach out and grasp the long trails of wispy clouds drifting across the huge orange full moon rising to the east.
For a few seconds, Janet and the girls stood there in quiet awe.
They had snuck a cigarette from Janet’s purse and were going to smoke it on the deck. Ellie’s surprise had been a game of truth or dare. Sienna had dared Ellie to sneak the cigarette and smoke it. It was all part of the plan. Charlie couldn’t smoke it because of her asthma, but she said she’d take on another dare.
It was an excuse to get on the deck where the next dare was aimed at Charlie. Ellie was going to dare Charlie to climb onto the deck’s rail. Then they were going to shove her into the darkness below.
But her stepmother was ruining it.
And Janet didn’t appear to be leaving anytime soon. She folded herself into a padded lounge chair, extracted a cigarette from a slim case, and lit it.
“Smoking is a nasty, evil habit,” she said, exhaling a perfect smoke ring. “Do what I say, not what I do, my darlings.”
Sienna giggled then quieted when Ellie shot her a dirty look.
A cluster of wispy clouds drifted across the moon, casting shifting shadows on Janet’s face.
“Run along now. I need some quiet time,” Janet rattled the ice in a glass Ellie hadn’t noticed at first.
Janet wouldn’t screw everything up this time.
“Come on,” Ellie said, slipping inside the sliding glass door, not waiting to see if her friends were following. Time for plan B.