Runaways (Orphans 5)

"Good night," we said.

We heard them both go up the stairs and then we sat back, letting the silence envelop us for a moment. Crystal was the first to speak.

"Maybe we should just leave now, Brooke," she said.

"No," Butterfly moaned.

"It's better to travel at night and it's going to be hard to say good-bye, Butterfly," she pointed out.

"I don't care. It's not a nice thing to do to them, sneak away like that," Butterfly insisted. She looked at me for support.

"Crystal's right about the traveling, but Butterfly's right about what's nice and what isn't," I said.

"I'm just evaluating the situation and giving you my conclusion," Crystal replied.

"Raven?" Butterfly asked, hoping Raven would break the tie.

"I don't feel like riding in that car all night with that soft bed up there waiting for me," Raven concluded. "I'd like to watch some television, too, maybe some MTV and see what's been happening in music. What harm can it do to stay one more night?" she asked.

No one replied because no one could anticipate just what harm daylight could bring.

We watched television, Raven the last to turn it off and come upstairs to bed. I drifted in and out of sleep, tossing and turning with guilt because we had accepted their hospitality under such a cloud of lies. Finally, after Raven crawled into bed, I settled down and fell asleep, too.

We were all awakened by the sound of a gruff voice coming from downstairs. Raven looked at me and I sat up. Crystal came to our room and opened the door quietly.

"Get dressed quickly," she said. "I went to the stairway and listened. It's their son Gerry and he's mad at them for taking us in, four strangers. He's ranting and raving that this proves they need supervision and shouldn't be living on their own here anymore. Nana was crying. I heard her."

"That creep," I said, thinking he sounded just like Gordon.

"Just get dressed. Butterfly's ready. We'll make as fast an exit as we can."

"Right."

Raven and I were out of bed in a flash. We threw on our clothes and washed our faces. In minutes, the four of us were descending the stairway.

Nana and Norman's son Gerry was a big man, probably six feet four and two hundred and twenty pounds. He looked more like Norman, but had Nana's eyes. His light brown hair was trimmed short, making his ears look larger. He was wearing a dark brown sports jacket, a white shirt opened at the collar and a pair of slacks. When we entered the kitchen, he was leaning against the counter, his arms folded across his chest. Norman was at the table, his- head lowered. Nana was keeping busy at the stove, but looked very disturbed.

"Who are you?" Gerry demanded before we could say good morning or be introduced.

"We're just on our way to my house," Crystal said. "I'm Crystal. This is Brooke. This is . . ."

"I don't mean your names," he followed. "What the hell you doing sleeping in our driveway?"

"I told you why," Nana said. "Just sit down girls. Everything's ready."

"Maybe we should just be on our way," I said.

"Maybe you should," Gerry declared, his eyes full of distrust and anger as he shifted them from one of us to the other.

"You have to have something in your stomachs," Nana moaned. She looked on the verge of tears. "Let them eat, Gerry. Please."

"This isn't a hotel," he muttered, but he looked away.

"Sit at the table, girls," Nana said. Norman looked up and smiled.

"Sure, come on," he urged.

Butterfly was the first to take a seat. Raven followed, her eyes on Gerry, and then Crystal and I sat. Nana began to serve us scrambled eggs.