Snared

12

When morning came, the sky was overcast with a summer storm. Lindsay snuggled into the comforter and looked at the window, resisting the urge to run to it and look out. Instead she climbed out of bed and went downstairs. As always, her parents met her in the kitchen. They seemed happy and relaxed, the issue of the boy next door resolved in their minds.

“No beach today,” her dad announced. “It’s supposed to rain.”

“That blows,” Lindsay said. But she didn’t really mind. Actually, she’d been thinking of doing something else all night. “Maybe we could hit the outlet mall? It didn’t look too far from town.”

Both her parents perked up at the suggestion: her mom because it meant shopping, one of the few passions they shared; her dad because it meant the whole family would be spending time together the way he wanted. Lindsay didn’t have to say another word about it.

In her room, she took her laptop off the window seat. She couldn’t help but look outside, but she never got the chance to peer into Mark’s window. The man that called himself Mr. Richter, the man Mark called Doug, stood on the sand below. His head cocked upward to stare at Lindsay’s window.

You ass, Lindsay thought, quickly backing away from the glass. She carried her laptop to the bed and powered it up. Lindsay spent thirty minutes reading and answering emails. She promised to call Kate when she got back from shopping with her parents. Then she logged off and went across the hall to shower.

She had a busy day ahead.

By the time her dad pulled the SUV into the massive parking lot of the Rocky Shores Mall, the rain was coming down hard. Though the storm didn’t even compare to the one that marked their first day of vacation, the downpour was substantial. Apparently the mall was a favored place for locals during foul weather, because the parking lot was almost full when they arrived.

Finally her dad found a space on the far end of the lot. They only had a single umbrella, so huddled together, they dashed for the covered walkway that ran in and around the outlet stores. Her dad laughed as he trotted along holding the umbrella over their heads. Her mom complained good-naturedly.

At first Lindsay stayed close to her parents. Her dad was having such a good time he bought her three blouses at Banana Republic and insisted she try more on. It was kind of like Christmas, only Lindsay got to pick out all of her own gifts. At the Coach store, her dad bought himself a new wallet and a belt. Her mom even considered a new purse, but ultimately talked herself out of the purchase.

After a couple of hours, Lindsay hoisted her bags and went off on her own. Her dad wanted to explore the Ralph Lauren store, and her mom needed to visit the Mikasa outlet. Lindsay took the opportunity and told her parents she would be at the Gap, looking at shorts. It wasn’t a lie.

She did go to the Gap to buy shorts, but they weren’t for her. She’d hugged Mark, and he was about the same size as her first boyfriend, Todd. As a result, she had a good idea about his waist size. She chose two pairs—oatmeal and khaki. She stopped at a table loaded down with T-shirts and picked out three in a size that would actually fit him, unlike the black shirt he always wore. She made sure she picked bright, interesting colors. Mark was probably tired of black, probably hated the sight of it by now.

She couldn’t believe his guardians had taken all of his clothes. That was third-world cruelty. She’d never heard anything like it before.

She made a quick stop in the Nike store and bought an inexpensive blue gym bag. She finished her shopping in just less than thirty minutes, which still gave her plenty of time before she was to meet her parents in the food court for a late lunch. Walking by the GNC, she noticed a display for protein bars and decided she would buy some of those for Mark.

If he were really running away, he’d need them.

Lindsay returned to the food court and nearly stumbled to a stop in the doorway. Tee and Mel sat at a table halfway across the room. So much had happened in the last few days, Lindsay had all but forgotten the girls, but there they were, flipping their platinum hair and talking a mile a minute over sodas, totally engrossed in each other’s words. That ended soon enough, though. As if a bell sounded over the food court door, both girls turned their heads and saw her.

Tee and Mel lowered their chins and looked at her harshly. Lindsay felt like turning and running, but instead, she stood her ground. She didn’t know what Ev had said about her, trying to cover her ass for scamming on Mark, but it was probably nasty. No doubt Tee and Mel were full-on against her now because Ev told them to be. If they knew Ev’s plan to ditch them, they might not be so loyal.

Lindsay strolled into the court and walked across to the Electra-Juice. She ordered herself a strawberry smoothie and waited while the pimple-faced boy made it for her. She could almost feel the girls at her back, even before one of them spoke.

“Hey,” Mel said.

Lindsay turned slowly, noticed the girls, and then turned back to the counter. Whatever. She had nothing to say to the bonfire club.

“We’re talking to you,” Tee announced, grabbing Lindsay’s arm.

She spun around, shaking off Tee’s grip.

“What is with you?” Tee asked. “We’re all cool to you. We let you in, let you be one of us, and you spit all over it? Who do you think you are?”

“Yeah,” Mel said.

“I didn’t ask to be in,” Lindsay snapped. “You and Ev can bite my ass.”

“Ev was nothing but cool to you.”

“She tried to snare my boyfriend,” Lindsay said. It was close enough to the truth.

“Oh, right,” Mel scoffed. “Like Ev would have to try?”

“You would so lose,” Tee added. “Whatever. Look, we were just coming over to tell you Ev was sick and all. We didn’t see you at the hospital and you never called us back. We thought you might care, but obviously you don’t give a crap.”

Ev was in the hospital? The news came as a shock. No wonder Mel and Tee gave her such nasty looks. They thought Lindsay was still Ev’s friend, and she hadn’t even visited her. That also explained why Char wasn’t with them. If Ev was sick, Char would never leave her bedside.

“I didn’t know she was sick,” Lindsay said, feeling awful. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah. Sure you are.” Tee crossed her arms over her chest.

“Is she okay?”

“Like you care,” Mel said. “She’s having this total nervous breakdown, and you stand here talking trash about her. I do not think so.”

“Oh my god,” Lindsay whispered, shocked. “I didn’t know.”

“Whatevs!” Tee said. She spun on her heels.

Mel did the same, and a moment later they both walked away through the crowded food court.

In her room at her uncle’s house, Lindsay removed tags from the shorts she’d bought Mark. She folded the shorts and the T-shirts. She placed everything in the blue gym bag. As she did so, she thought about Mel and Tee. Thought about Ev.

A nervous breakdown? That was awful.

What did she see in Mark’s room?

Lindsay tried to fold that thought and put it away, like another pair of shorts. More than likely Ev was on her way to crazy before that night. She was so young and suddenly faced with all of this pressure in her career, and she snapped. That was logical enough. Lindsay wanted to believe it, but didn’t. Something had driven Ev out of her mind.

She saw Mark’s guardians in that room.

They perform these rituals sometimes.

Ev stumbled onto one of these rituals, and it must have been horrible.

Like I said, some of that junk is just full-on creepy.

But why were they performing rituals in Mark’s room? God, what were they going to do to him? Lindsay went to the window and looked out. The shade was down over Mark’s window. He couldn’t even call her. He couldn’t call for help because he’d returned her cell phone. He was alone down there, trapped in that house with two men who were becoming more and more dangerous.

Lindsay zipped up the blue gym bag, now filled with supplies for Mark. Would she get the chance to give it to him?

“Are you like totally in love with him?” Kate gushed.

“No,” Lindsay said. “God, I hardly know him.”

“Has he kissed you yet?”

“Yes.”

“You totally have to stick to our pact. Even if you are on vacation. It still counts.”

“Don’t be a freak, Kate.”

Lindsay hadn’t even thought about the pact in months. Last year, after watching Titanic for the billionth time, they swore to each other that they wouldn’t go all the way until they were really, totally, completely in love. It had to be a Leo-Kate kind of love or else it didn’t count. Looking back on it now, Lindsay found the pact rather childish and wondered why she ever agreed to it in the first place. It was like two little girls swearing they would only marry princes or something.

“So, is he taking you out or what?”

“Not really,” Lindsay said. “There’s no place to go but the beach. So we just kind of hang around the house.”

That wasn’t too much of a lie.

“I’m so jealous,” Kate said. “I can’t believe you snared yourself a boyfriend. No one’s ever going to talk to me again, not after the tragic fun-suck of a party.”

“Trey said he had a great time,” Lindsay assured for the fourth time. “He said everyone had a really good time. Well, except for Constance.”

“She’s such a skank engine. She knew I liked Chad. I totally told her last week, and the first thing she does is climb on him. At my party! In my BED!”

Then Kate launched into another ten-minute rant about the girls at school and how she didn’t trust any of them, except for Lindsay of course. Lindsay grunted and said, “yeah,” in all the right places. She knew how girls could be. She’d seen Ev in action.

Instead of feeling angry when she thought about Ev, Lindsay found herself feeling sorry for the girl. It was strange. She didn’t like Ev, but she pitied her. Ev was calculating and driven and would have done anything to escape Redlands Beach. It was her one dream: to get out. But she wouldn’t get out now. She’d seen something that drove her crazy, and traded the glamour of a blossoming career for a hospital bed in a psychiatric ward.

“Are you seeing him tomorrow?” Kate asked.

“What?” Lindsay said. “Oh. Depends on his dads.”

She crossed to the window again and looked out. Mr. Richter stood beneath the scraggly tree, facing the house.

“They’re really strict,” Lindsay said.

“That’s weird. Rachel’s moms are totally cool. Maybe it’s a guy thing.”

“Yeah,” Lindsay said, forcing a laugh. “It might be.”

She wanted to spill everything to Kate, wanted to tell her about Mark’s abusive guardians. How he was all alone with them. How he couldn’t contact help. She wanted to tell her best friend about Ev, and how she’d melted down after seeing something in that house. She wanted to let Kate know that she was going to help Mark. It wasn’t much, just a few supplies to get him started.

She didn’t take the chance telling Kate, though. She couldn’t. Not yet. When it was all done and Mark was safely away, Lindsay would tell Kate everything. Until then, she needed to stay quiet.