Runaways (Orphans 5)

"Oh. Well, you better drop him like a hot potato," the deputy advised. "If he gets picked up with that stuff and you're with him, it won't go well for you." He looked at Butterfly. "I bet you'd like an ice cream cone. What's your favorite flavor?"

"I like strawberry," she said.

"Anybody else? Better get me while the getting is good," he said.

"I'll have a vanilla cone," Raven said. Crystal and I declined and he left to get them.

"That was really stupid, Raven. Can you imagine what would have happened if he ripped apart the wagon with Gordon watching and they found nothing?" Crystal asked. "Gordon would see his drugs were gone and he would have been furious. I'm sure he would press charges against us then."

"I just wondered if there was another way out of here," Raven moaned. "You know I don't want to do anything to break us up."

"I'm scared," Butterfly whimpered, her lips quivering ominously. "I was never arrested before."

"You're not being arrested now," Crystal assured her. She fixed her eyes on Raven. "No one's going to do anything or say anything more."

Everyone was quiet a moment.

"Well, I'm scared too," Raven admitted. "I'm sorry, but I am."

"We're going to be all right," I said. "Don't worry about it."

"Right. I won't worry. You'll call super mechanic and he'll come flying in his, what did you say he called it? His Betty Lou?"

I glared back at her, tears of rage burning my eyes. She looked down and folded her arms.

The sheriff's deputy returned with the cones and told us they had just gotten word that Gordon would be here in an hour. Then he left us again.

"How could he get here so fast?" Raven wondered. She looked at Crystal.

"He flew from someplace closer," she said and then added, "the credit card."

Raven snapped her head around at me.

"That's right. He's been tracking us because of it."

"It was a good idea in the beginning, Raven," I said defensively. "We all thought so. And what difference does it make now whether he's here in an hour or four? He's coming. There's nothing we can do about that."

"Brooke's right, Raven. Please," Crystal pleaded, "let's stop this bickering."

"I don't want to go back with him," Butterfly said, looking from Raven to me. "I don't, Crystal. I don't." She started to shake her head so vigorously, I thought she would snap her neck.

"Oh no," Raven said. "If she goes into one of those catatonic states now . . ."

"Let's join," Crystal cried quickly. She was like someone throwin

g a pail of water on a smoldering fire.

We all rose and circled Butterfly. Her eyes were already beginning to roll back. We put our arms around each other and lowered our heads to hers.

"We're sisters," Crystal said. "We'll be all right. We'll always be all right as long as we are together. We're strong."

"We're sisters," Raven and I chanted along. "We'll be all right."

Butterfly-Clutched our hands and the four of us held on to each other as if we thought the floor was soon going to fall out from under us as we continued our chant.

"What are you girls doing now?" Mr. Glashalter asked. We hadn't heard him enter. We stopped and parted. "What is this, some form of witchcraft?"

We all returned to our seats. Butterfly looked much better. Color had returned to her face and she wasn't breathing as hard.