I heard a noise outside th
e garage and the door opened. I tucked myself even deeper into the corner of the room. My heart pounded with excitement and I was so afraid someone was coming for me.
“Katelyn, it’s me,” Chris said.
Oh what a relief. I jumped up and opened the door. Chris looked perfectly fine so I let out a sigh.
“What happened? Did I just leave the door open or something?”
“No, I’m afraid not. Let’s go get some of your things and then you are going to need to stay somewhere else while I figure out what is going on.”
We walked back up to the house and I could tell that the front door had been kicked in. It seemed odd that they would kick in the front door considering the back door was much older and would have been easier to get through. But I figured whomever it was who had kicked in the door didn’t really care which door was easier. My house looked like it had been torn apart. Furniture was moved, carpets lifted up; someone was certainly looking for something.
“Who are they? What were they looking for?”
“I thought there had been three men the other day when I got shot, but I couldn’t tell for sure because things happened so quickly. One of them must have gotten away and now he knows I’ve been staying with you.”
“What does he want?”
“The guns, but he can’t have them. Or he wants more money. The guns are already in Chicago and we aren’t paying them any more money. I’m going to have to go back to Chicago and see if I can figure out what is going on.”
I could feel the color draining out of my face. I couldn’t be left alone. These people were trying to find guns and would obviously kill if they didn’t get what they wanted. My heart raced and I could feel the room getting wobbly.
“Um, I don’t feel good,” I said just before my knees gave out and I started to fall. Chris, of course, caught me and set me down gently in one of the chairs. He closed the front door the best he could and brought me a glass of water.
“What do you need from here? Absolute minimum,” he said as he prepared to go up the stairs.
“Clothes and my mom’s jewelry box.”
Chris was gone for only about three minutes before he returned with a bag full of my things. He grabbed me by the arm and took me out to my car. He already had the keys in his hand and we were driving down the street before I even knew what was going on.
“Oh no, my camera. I left my camera there.”
“It’s fine. You can get it later. Let’s just get you out to Rebecca and Robert’s house.”
“I need to call them first and see if it is alright.”
“Katelyn, you will get killed if you stay at your house. It will be fine with them.”
I guided Chris as he drove us out to Rebecca’s house. I didn’t know how I would be able to explain things, but I knew there was no hiding what was going on now. I was too afraid to hide anything. I needed to feel safe again.
“Where will you go? How will you stay safe?” I said as I reached for his hand.
He held my hand tightly for a moment but then needed to use it to drive. His injured shoulder seemed to be bothering him very badly by that point. It was leaking blood through the bandage and onto his shirt.
“I’m going to go to Chicago. I have to figure out what is going on. I have to end this.”
I tried to swallow, but a big lump started in my throat. How was he going to stay safe if he went right back out there?
“How do you know the people that tried to kill you weren’t the ones from Chicago?”
Chris seemed to ponder what I was saying and did not immediately answer. He looked in the rear view mirror and was preoccupied. I watched as he continued to drive to Rebecca’s house and took special care to make sure no one was following us. He never did answer my question.
As we pulled up to Rebecca’s house, I felt my heart pounding very hard. My face was flushed and I didn’t know how I was going to explain things to Rebecca. I watched Chris as we pulled up to the house, he seemed very focused and intent on a plan that I was not aware of.
After parking in their driveway, Chris jumped out of the car and went up to Rebecca and Robert’s door very quickly. He didn’t wait for me and he didn’t look back at me. Robert opened the door and I watched as the two shook hands and exchanged some words. Chris motioned for me to come up, so I grabbed my things and made my way to the door. When I got there, Chris kissed me quickly and shook Robert’s hand, then he left. He didn’t wait around; he didn’t have time for small talk. He was just gone.
I stood in the doorway and watched Chris drive away in my car. The last thing I was worried about was my car though; I was worried that Chris was going back to Chicago to settle the score for whoever had come to his house and then my house. I was worried that Chris was going to end up dead after confronting the people he was going to see. Never had I been so concerned for a man I had only met a few short weeks before.