Chapter 8: The Pledge

 

There is a technique to hitting a window with a rock. Too soft and the throw is, obviously, pointless. It might not hit the glass at all, or not make enough noise. Too hard and, once again obviously, the window might break. There’s the size of the rock to consider, and the distance to the window. All of this was known to Jacket, who might not have had a lot of friends but had a lot of people who she had wanted to be friends with. Over the years, the people whose windows she threw rocks at had run out, but old skills and habits die hard.

“Jacket,” Wendy said, opening the window, “I literally told you that my parents were out of town. You could have just rang the doorbell.” 

The girl shrugged. “I didn’t know if you had, like, a housekeeper or someone else at home.”

“It’s eleven at night, Jacks, what do you want?” Either Wendy was very good at keeping her voice level, or she was simply not bothered at being up at having stones thrown at her house at this hour. Either way, Jacket was feeling hopeful. 

“It’s Matt. His parents locked him in his room.”

“Fuck,” Wendy said. “Okay, Will lives next to him. Go get him and come back here in half an hour.” The window shut without another word. Jacket blinked a few times, and then turned on her heel, breaking into a sprint. Half an hour later, she was back at the house, a furious Billy Teague in tow, and Wendy opened the door. 

The others were already inside. Jacket wondered if Matt knew just how many friends he really had. Franklin, Wendy and Mads were all sitting by the kitchen island. The light above it was the only light in the house. On the marble countertop was a large piece of paper, held down with salt and pepper shakers. 

“Hey, we were just waiting for you,” Franklin said. “Jacket, tell us.”

“Matt,” she said as she sat down on the stool, not even bothering to take her coat off. “His parents took him.”

“He lives with them,” Mads said. “I’m sure there’s more to it than that.”

“They bolted his window shut,” Will fumed. He paced back and forth around the room. “I mean, I knew they were assholes, but this is a new fucking low for them, fuck!” He had to take several deep breaths. Nobody was in a hurry to confront him right then, he looked just about ready to fight someone. “They’ve been talking about taking him to ‘Bible camp’ for a while now—”

“I know those camps,” Franklin said. Everyone looked at him. He was staring a hole into the countertop. “I spent a summer there a few years ago.” If anything was going to stop Will in his tracks, that would do it. It seemed to take him a second to realize everyone was staring at him. “Yeah, I was like… twelve? Eleven? It kinda blurs together. I told my mom I didn’t know if I wanted a boyfriend or a girlfriend later. Dad got angry — he was a quarterback too, so you know… you don’t say no to a guy like that — and that summer was… It was not good.”

Wendy nodded solemnly and rubbed his arm. “Yeah,” Jacket said, and explained what she saw at Matt’s house, including as much detail as she could. “So we gotta get him out of there. He’s not gonna do well in a place like that. We need a plan.” Franklin, Will and Mads all nodded resolutely, but Wendy ran a finger across her lips thoughtfully. 

“Okay”, she said when she got looks from the others, “it’s not that I don’t agree. Matt needs to get out. If what Jacket saw is as bad as it sounds, we have to get him out because he’s going to get hurt.” She paused. “Then what?” 

“What do you mean?” Mads asked. “Getting him out is the goal, right?”

“Yeah, but then what?” Wendy said again. “Do we hide him at the construction site and go feed him between classes like a stray dog? That’s not realistic. We need a plan for after, too.”

“I’ll go with him,” Will said immediately. Some eyebrows went up. “I’ve always taken care of him. We get on a bus. I can pass for eighteen. I can grab my dad’s old army fatigues. If people think we’re recruits they probably won’t ask questions. We’ll keep moving and figure it out as we go.” Franklin crossed his arms and looked at him with a ferocity that would have likely floored Jacket. 

“I’m in,” he said. “I’ll go with you. I’m older than you. In case of emergency, I’m your older brother, taking care of you.”

“Aren’t you like, the football prodigy of the school, or whatever?” Will said skeptically. 

“Oh, yeah, fuck yeah, I look forward to, let’s see here, a good ten years of concussions and then an early retirement into obscurity and extreme joint pain. On top of one or two more ‘Bible camps’. Nah. I’m down.”

“Are you serious?” Wendy said. “Just like that, the three of you are going to run away from home together? Just like that?”

“Just like that,” Franklin said. “Did it before.”

“Twice,” Mads said with a grin. “I had a little knapsack, too! I wanted to grab a loaf of bread like in the movies, but we didn’t have any, so I grabbed some crackers instead. I went home after the crackers ran out because they gave me a stomachache. My parents never even found out that time.”

“I made it to the end of the street,” Jacket said, “when my dad’s partner Shane saw me and just drove me home. I didn’t try again after that,” she added darkly. 

“Well,” Wendy said and then stopped. “Wait, does that mean you two are going with?” Mads and Jacket looked at each other, then nodded, Mads a little more enthusiastically. 

“Might as well,” Jacks said. “I don’t think I’m ever going to be the daughter my mom wants me to be.” She shrugged and ran a hand through her hair. “She got so mad when I cut my hair.”

“Strength in numbers, right?” Mads said. “There’s nothing really for me here. And I like you all a lot more than the people in school who just tolerate me.” 

“Well, I think you’re very tolerable,” Jacket grinned. 

“Are you three for real?” Will asked. Disbelief was starting to make place for a kind of baffled hope. “Just like that?”

“Just like that,” Franklin confirmed one more time. He turned to Wendy. “No shame on you for staying. You’ve got a pretty sweet deal going here.” He nodded at the room. Wendy’s house was definitely one of the more affluent ones in town. Her mother did something in… real estate? Maybe? Jacket wasn’t sure. Regardless, Wendy was pretty well off. “But we would appreciate your help. You’re better at planning than I am, at least.”

“Are you kidding me?” Wendy said. “Of course I’m going with you. I can’t stand this fucking town.” Her completely deadpan expression and delivery tickled Jacket for a reason she couldn’t really pin down, but she didn’t want to ruin the moment. “Fuck this place. Besides, I have a driver’s license.”

“Why?” Will asked.

“Because I took driver’s ed.”

“No, dipshit, why do you want to leave?” 

“I have my reasons,” Wendy said. “But let’s just say I think all of you would be better off if I’m there to manage you. Like a herd of cats.”

“Yeah, that’s… fair,” Jacket said, and didn’t look at Mads. “Still, though…”

“The biggest problem is money,” Wendy said. “But it’s one we can solve. And that’s easier if there’s more of us.”

“Okay, so… that takes care of that, then?” Jacket said. “We get Matt out of there and then all of us just… leave.” She thought for a second. “I think I can get us a car.”

“You can what.” Will looked at her with the kind of admiration that made her want to show off. 

“Well, there’s a couple of impounded cars at the police station and those aren’t properly logged. If one of them disappeared, nobody would notice. I know where they keep the keys to those things.”

“Okay,” Wendy said. “That’s good.” She put her hand on the paper on the table. It was a local map, the kind you got when you were traveling across state lines and wanted to make sure you avoided towns like Marston, Virginia but just in case you ended up there, how to get out. “Matt’s house is here. Will’s right next door. Jacket’s just further down the road.” She pointed to the spots. “We’re here, in case you got lost. Will, what do you know about the house?”

“Well,” he said, “his parents are controlling assholes.”

“We did know that bit already,” Mads said, kicking their legs. 

“I know, I was getting to the important bit,” he said. “They are controlling assholes, which is why they leave their bedroom door open. If Matt’s door opens, they see it.” He grumbled. “I stayed over once and we were forced to keep the door open too. Anyway. His mom goes to lie down at like, midnight, but keeps the light on until his dad does too. He usually watches TV until one or two in the morning.”

“Okay,” Wendy said. “That’s good. Well, it’s not good, but it’s useful.” She looked at the clock. “We have… an hour and a half, maybe two hours. Then they’re both in bed and this becomes a hell of a lot harder.” 

“What are you thinking?” Franklin said. “Breaking in and sneaking past isn’t going to be an option. We can’t get there in half an hour, and even if we did, we wouldn’t be able to get Matt out in time.” Wendy nodded. She looked like she was doing calculations in her head. 

“Yes,” she said, “but if we can distract his father, get him to step outside for a while, we can go in and distract his mother. Then, while she’s out of the picture, we sneak Matt out quickly. Jacket gets us a car, I drive, we all pile in as quickly as possible and leave.” 

“I’ll run interference,” Franklin said. “When they go back inside they’ll know Matt’s gone, so what if Matt is seen on the other side of town by someone?” Wendy blinked, then nodded. “I have the coin with me, I turn into Matt, get seen by a few people, maybe make a stink. Then I hide, turn back into me, and you all pick me up.”

“Perfect.” She pointed to the map. “I know the lady at the gas station over. You can meet us there. I’ve been there a few times to fill up Dad’s car while they were out of town for a week to get snacks. She won’t say anything if we buy a bunch of stuff in a hurry.”

“With what money?” Jacket asked. She didn’t really have savings to speak of.

“My parents are loaded. We’re not using credit cards because those can be traced, but I know where Dad keeps his shoebox with cash,” she said matter-of-factly.

“How much is in there?” Will asked.

“A couple thousand,” Wendy said. “If we’re frugal, it’ll last us a bit, at the very least.”

“Okay. But how do we distract the parents? I feel like we skipped over that part?” Mads asked.

Wendy nodded and smiled for the first time. “We have the coin. Will, you’ve met the parents, right?” He nodded. “How good do you think you might be at impersonating Matt’s dad if you looked exactly like him?” Understanding spread across his face, disguised as a smile. “Exactly. You go in, you tell her something like, ‘Hey, I’m going to be a while, why don’t you get some rest, I’ll keep an eye on the door.’ Then you close her bedroom door and open Matt’s.”

“And for his dad?” Franklin asked. 

Mads smiled. “Hey, Jackie, what’s your dad’s name?”

“Carl Daniels,” she said. By the time the last syllable had left her mouth, the coin had reached its apex, and Mads caught it, excitement in every motion. Jacket groaned as her dad suddenly sat at the kitchen table next to her. 

“Sir,” Mads said in their most gravelly cop-voice, “could I talk about your son for a moment? Maybe it’s best if you step outside with me for a moment.”

“I hate this,” Jacket said. 

“That’s why it’s going to work,” Mads said with a grin.