Audrey studied the passing landscape with fascination. Everything was so wide open, and the horizon seemed an eternity away. Compared to the tight quarters of Chicago and the closed grounds of her New York home, this land was open. And free.
She relaxed in her seat and looked admiringly toward Kelvin, who was focused far ahead. They’d been on the road for a few hours - quiet hours - because he didn’t seem in the mood to talk. Still, he seemed larger than life to her.
Audrey casually watched the muscles of his right forearm ripple as he gripped the wheel, and she followed Kelvin’s arm back up to his shoulder. Even through the shirt sleeve, she could see his bicep stretching the fabric to its limits. She studied his profile closely; she saw his strong jaw jutted out and his perfect ear holding back some random tendrils of his light brown hair. Kelvin blinked a few times and then squinted his eyes against the glare of a passing truck’s chromed bumper.
She tried to think of a single word that defined him, but she ended up with three.
Tall.
Dark.
Handsome.
The corner of Kelvin’s mouth crept into a smile, and his striking appearance made her think of Johnny again. Although the man was pleasant, she couldn’t find any sort of resemblance between him and his son. She’d thought of asking Johnny about Kelvin’s mother but didn’t want to bring up any painful memories, so she abstained. In light of Kelvin never knowing his mother, Audrey marveled at how his upbringing was so wildly different from her own, how easy it was for him to come and go as he pleased.
The world is his.
That thought struck Audrey, for she realized that she was not like him. Her parents could offer her anything that she desired, but she was still living under their rules, and it almost seemed that they were holding it over her head.
But not Kelvin.
He was his own man, and he determined his destiny. Elian couldn’t control him, and that was why he demanded she have nothing to do with Kelvin.
And that was exactly why she continued to see him.
With Kelvin, she felt a freedom that she’d never known - never even knew it existed. She could live in and experience the world, not only in a material way, but in an examined, insightful, and intimate manner. In those arms, she was safe, and in his eyes, she was lost.
Kelvin coughed and it brought her back from her daze.
“Are you alright?” she asked, trying to break the silence.
“Oh,” said Kelvin, without looking at her. “Yeah. Fine.”
His tone suggested otherwise, and she felt that something was wrong.
“What is it?” Audrey inquired.
Kelvin sighed, but didn’t say anything.
“Are you hungry? We could stop...”
He shook his head, but didn’t make eye contact with her, which told her that something was definitely wrong. She opened her mouth to speak again, but Kelvin cut her off.
“I just...” he exhaled, staring at the lonely road.
“Yes?”
“I just thought things would be different.”
“What? Did I...?” Audrey asked honestly.
“No. Not you. It’s my dad... he’s-” Kelvin looked up and swallowed hard. “He’s still not okay.”
“He seemed fine. I don’t understand.”
Kelvin lazily turned toward her and looked down.
“Well, remember when I said he used to be paranoid?” He turned his eyes up to Audrey, and she could see that they were moist.
“He still is. He thinks...”
“Thinks ... what?” she asked.
“When I was a little boy, he used to tell me all kinds of crazy ... things. He was always clipping articles about weird phenomena, studying mythology, talking about one-world governments and conspiracies...”
“Oh, my. But that’s not too bad, really...”
A single tear streamed down the left side of his face, and he looked back to the road. He scoffed.
“Yeah? Well that ain’t the half of it. He always thought that THEY were after him, so much so that he homeschooled me and paid for everything through his business.” Kelvin added.
“He even purchased a ‘vacation house’ in Australia. He always said that was the only ‘safe’ place.”
“I’m sorry,” Audrey said softly, placing her hand gently on his strong shoulder. She could feel his thick muscles trembling ever so slightly, and she wondered momentarily if he was ill.
“I ... I didn’t know,” she soothed.
“Yeah, and now he’s ... well, he’s even suspicious of YOU!”
Audrey drew back.
“Me? Why?”
“Because he’s LOSING IT, THAT’S WHY!” Kelvin growled harshly, before settling down. “Because you’re rich, because your dad works for the government, because ... because he’s stopped taking his medication, I’m sure of it.”
“Calm down. It will be alright.”
Kelvin shook his head slowly. “I don’t know. When I was there, I could play, like, ‘ground control’ for him whenever he started going over the edge, but since I left, I thought he was taking his pills. Without them, without me, I just don’t know.”
“But what can you do? He’s his own man, Kelvin. You can’t beat yourself up.”
“I know, right? But still... I mean, he even made us practice ‘emergency drills’ for, like, every conceivable scenario. Get this - he even had an emergency word - SYDNEY!”
“Sidney?” she asked. “Who’s that?”
“Sydney!” Kelvin huffed. “Get it? As in Australia...”
Audrey tried to stifle her laugh, but a little slipped out before she could catch it. She tried to apologize.
“I’m sorry,” she said with a smile.
Kelvin just rolled his eyes.
“Don’t be. It’s always been the same ridiculous crap, and just when I thought he was really okay,” he explained. “Hell, I bet he’s already tried to run a background check on you and your family.”
“Oh?”
“I’m the one who should be sorry. I don’t know what he’s up to. He’s harmless, mostly. He’s just...” Kelvin paused.
“Crazy,” he finished softly.
Audrey bit her lip and thought about what Kelvin had said. She was going to be in enough trouble for this excursion. As private as her parents were, they would definitely be upset if they found out about Johnny’s erratic behavior.
#
Kelvin opened the door to his room and Audrey yawned as she shuffled inside. It was almost two o’clock in the morning. She stretched up on her toes and kissed Kelvin tenderly. Then she yawned again.
“Really? I drove the whole way,” he said.
“I know... I’m sooo tired, though.”
“It’s weird, I feel, like, wired,” Kelvin remarked
Audrey smiled and nodded, then pointed to the bathroom.
“Oh, go ahead, ’Drey.”
Kelvin flicked on the light and Audrey closed the door behind her. Tired as she was, she was certain of one thing.
She wanted Kelvin.
Outside, she could hear some noise as Kelvin moved about the dorm room.
“Damn,” she heard him say.
Then, she heard a beep, followed by an automated voice.
“You have one new message.”
BEEP!
She heard a loud voice, but couldn’t make out what it said. It was followed by six loud pops that caused the answering machine speaker to crackle.
Audrey left the bathroom and stepped into Kelvin’s dorm room. He had his back to her and was shirtless, but in the mirror, she could see a look of consternation on his face. He pressed a button on the answering machine again.
“...OUTSIDE! SYDNEY! SYDNEY!!”
Audrey listened intently to the message and heard six shots rapidly.
“SHIT!”
“Who’s that?” Audrey asked with concern.
“Shhh!” Kelvin waved for her to be quiet. She heard another hollow voice on the machine.
“DROP IT!”
The answering machine beeped and the message ended. Kelvin’s eyes were saucer wide as he stared down at the machine, and she noticed that the muscles in his back were sculpted and taut.
Kelvin pressed the button again and the message played back again. He immediately picked up his phone and hammered the buttons with incredible speed.
“C’mon ... pick up ... please,” he murmured.
“Is that Johnny?” Audrey asked as she started getting a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Kelvin didn’t respond; he just kept his back to her and the phone to his ear.
He played the message back again.
“What happ-”
“I DON’T KNOW! FUCK!” Kelvin exploded, and the force of his voice caused her to jump back and clutch the corner of the bathroom wall. She stared warily at him, and his back muscles all tensed up simultaneously. He slammed the phone down and turned around, his eyes wide and staring at the ground. He was breathing hard, and he slowly raised his gaze to hers.
He looked like a murderer.
Obviously, her countenance bothered him, and he shook his head before looking at her with his normally soft eyes.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry ... ’Drey, he said with a voice trembling in many fluctuations. “I ... I’m just, I just don’t...”
Audrey just nodded in affirmation, before Kelvin turned and played the message once more.
The voice was definitely Johnny’s.
Kelvin quickly dialed the phone again, and, after an interminably long time, he set it back on the receiver.
“It just rings...” he said, looking wildly around the room.
He grabbed his jacket and began slipping it over his topless form.
“I need to go back.”
Audrey looked at the alarm clock. It read 1:47 AM.
“You should call the police,” she said.
Kelvin slipped his wallet and keys into his pocket and shook his head.
“No. My dad... like that,” he pointed at the answering machine. “He might shoot...”
“He might shoot you!” Audrey said emphatically.
Kelvin vigorously shook his head.
“No. I’m the only one he wouldn’t.”
He zipped up the jacket and turned to the door.
“Come on. I’ll take you home, then I’ll go back.”
“No.”
“I’m going back, alright!” he said with a stern look.
“No, I mean, I’m coming with you.” Audrey said, pointing squarely at his chest.
“Bad idea.”
“NO. Listen to me, Kelvin. It’s a bad idea to go at this alone. It’s a long drive, you’ll need me. And you KNOW it!” she exclaimed forcefully.
Kelvin’s eyes flicked around the room, and he relented.
“Alright, let’s go. Come on.”