โHello?โ Red called, her voice hollow, her eyes alive, sorting through shadows.โ
Perfect.
This was the absolute worst way to die. Midโsquat-pissing behind a tree while Maddyโs axe-murderer charged at her from the front. Digni๏ฌed till the end. No, the worst way to die must be su๏ฌocating, no, no, actually, the worst was on your knees, two shots to the back of theโall right, all right, letโs ๏ฌnish up here.
There wasnโt anyone in the trees. Red knew that. She did. The only people were the ones she knew of, behind her on the scrubland. It was just a rat, or a bat, or a raccoon, or maybe a vampire. But it didnโt matter because she was ๏ฌnished.
Her legs shook as she straightened, pulling her underwear and jeans back up, fastening the button and zipper in a hurry. She lurched for her phone and held it up, the ๏ฌashlight her weapon against the night.
โAha!โ
See, no one in the trees. Told you.
But even so, Red decided to run back to the others. Oliver would probably say sheโd been too long already. Her ponytail ๏ฌicked against the back of her
neck and she could hear her heart in her ears; was that from the running or because of the axe-murderer? The light swung forward and back in her hand, ๏ฌashing along the road. Red stumbled over a rock she hadnโt seen, swearing as her ankle buckled beneath her, trying to bring her down.
โRed?โ
Red held the phone up. Arthur was just ten feet in front of her on the road, walking toward her, his glasses re๏ฌecting the light.
โYou okay?โ he called. โWe thought we heard you yelling.โ
โOh, yeah I was,โ she said, panicking and quickly double-checking that sheโd done up her ๏ฌy before Arthur could see. โJust shouting at the axe-murderer.โ
โWell, I hope heโs having a good evening,โ Arthur said as they ๏ฌnally met on the road, turning on his heels to walk back together.
โHeโs having a great time, skulking through the trees, watching girls pee.โ
Arthur snorted. He pushed his glasses up his nose, a sudden awkwardness in the movement of his arms. โI was going to cover my eyes and call out before I got close, by the way,โ he said, like it was important she knew that. โSo I didnโtโโ
โโsee me peeing?โ she asked.
โExactly. I donโt think weโre quite there yet.โ
And what did he mean by that? Whereย wereย they? As far as Red knew, they were just awkwardly ๏ฌirting, neither of them very good at it, and in a few months heโd move on with his life, like everyone else. Probably get a nice college girlfriend he could take home for Thanksgiving.
โRed?โ
Crap, she hadnโt been listening. Had he said anything else? โYeah?โ
โYou know, in all this time, Iโve never asked you,โ he said. โWhy did your parents call you Red?โ
โOh, well, thatโs easy,โ she said. โBecause of my natural bright red hair color.โ She reached back to tug at a strand of her dull blond hair.
Arthur smiled, shook his head. โAnd the real reason?โ he asked.
โItโs not Red, itโs Redford,โ she said, eyes on the RV as their steps brought it closer. Did Red imagine it, or was the RV steadily lowering on one side? They must have changed the tire. โI was named after my grandpa. Redford Foster.โ
โThatโs quite a name,โ he laughed. โIsnโt it?โ
โVery serious.โ
โWell, he was,โ Red said. โHe was a police captain.โ A pause.
โLike your mom?โ
The word punched through Redโs chest, a hole left behind, air bleeding around it. She slowed to catch her breath. Yes, like her mom. Grace Kenny, captain of the Philadelphia Police Department, Third District. She didnโt know Arthur knew about all that.
Arthur drew to a stop, catching her arm, the RV twenty feet ahead of them.
โYou know, early on, Maddy pulled me aside and told me to never ask you about your mom,โ he said. โOr to even mention moms in general in front of you. And if thatโs what you want, then thatโs ๏ฌne, but if you canโt talk to your best friend about her, I was wondering, maybe, whether you wanted someone else to talk to about her. And I could do that sometime. If you want.โ
No. She didnโt want. She could not speak of her, would not think of her. Arthur hadnโt known Red in the before time, he was new, he wasnโt supposed to know about her mom. Maybe that was what Red liked most about him, that he was untainted by knowing. Except he did know, Maddy had told him. Did that change everything? Was that why he was always nice to her, why he softened his voice? She looked down. That was enough. Red refused to think about Arthur knowing, pitying her, or about Mom. Push it away, out of her head, skip to the next thought. Gone.
โWhat are you doing when we ๏ฌnish senior year?โ she asked, a question she never asked because she hated when people asked her, and Arthur bristled at the brush-o๏ฌ, dropping his eyes. โYou going to college?โ
โUm, no, actually,โ he said, recovering. โNo, for me itโs straight to joining the family business.โ He grimaced. What was the family businessโkicking puppies?
โWhich is?โ she asked.
โFlipping houses, essentially. But Iโll be in the o๏ฌce.โ โThatโs not so bad.โ
โNo,โ he agreed. โExcept it means Iโll spend all day every day inside.โ โAh, the olโ claustrophobia,โ she said.
He raised a ๏ฌnger. โExactly.โ
Red sni๏ฌed. โWhat, did you get locked inside a closet as a kid, or something?โ
It was a joke, but Arthur didnโt smile. His eyes hardened on the road, shoulders hitched up to his ears.
โYeah,โ he said, ๏ฌatly. โJust a prank butโฆmy brother sometimes takes things too far.โ
Well, shit. Now it was clearly Redโs turn to put her foot in it. Arthurโs eyes were still clouded, an awkward twist in his mouth. Maybe he didnโt want to talk about his brother, just as much as Red didnโt want to talk about her mom. She made a silent deal with him; he agreed, even if he didnโt know about it. There were more important things to think about tonight, anyway. Now she just had to change the subject, quick, distract them both.
โNeed to get yourself an outside job, then,โ she said. โDog-walker?โ
Arthur shook the expression out of his face, recovering as he turned to her.
โFarmer?โ he countered.
โNature conservationist?โ she said. โOoh, nice.โ
Red had another one: โAxe-murderer?โ she said. โI hear thatโs taken.โ
Red had almost forgotten what it was they were listing, and why, but before she could say her next one, a sound erupted across the wide clearing. Clapping. Cheering. Another loud whoop from Simon.
โThey must be done. Come on,โ Arthur said, leading Red up to the RV and along the side. And she might have been wrong, but there was a moment where it looked like he had reached for her hand.
They approached the others at the front, the torn-open wheel lying discarded on the road, the RV lowered back down on its new tire. Simon was cradling the jack like it was an old friend. Smiles on everyoneโs faces as the ๏ฌashlight landed on them.
โThere you are,โ Maddy said to Red. โI was getting worried.โ
โThanks for all your help there, Red,โ Oliver added, his arm tucked through Reynaโs. Red was pretty sure Reyna had done most of the work anyway.
โYouโre very welcome,โ she replied.
โOh and, by the way, I checked,โ Oliver continued, speaking to both Red and Arthur now. โThisย isย a dead-end road. Well, it goes through some trees over there, but itโs so tight weโd never get the RV through.โ
โOkay, sorry,โ Arthur said, and what was he apologizing for? They had all gotten lost. And Red was the one who told them to keep going, who brought them down here.
โThatโs ๏ฌne,โ Red said. โWe can turn around.โ
โRight, letโs get this show on the road.โ Oliver clapped again. โRed, can you take the old tire, shove it in the storage compartments? Maddy, grab the blocks and the wrench.โ
Red picked it up, the tire limp and awkward in her arms. She looked down at the tear, eyes tracing along its frayed edges. Completely destroyed.
โThis way,โ Simon said to her, gesturing with the jack.
Arthur, Reyna and Oliver headed o๏ฌ into the high beams, glowing as they made their way back around to the door.
โSo,โ Maddy said, the blocks and wrench gathered precariously in her arms. โArthur came looking for you. Worried you were lost in the dark.โ
โAnd he found me,โ Red said. โEnd of story.โ
โOh, whatโs this?โ Simon asked, opening the closest storage compartment and pushing the jack inside. โGirl gossip?โ
โNothing,โ Red said, brushing past him to chuck the tire in too. It made a loudย thwackย as it landed.
โOh, come on, include me.โ He stuck out his bottom lip, tugging on Redโs
sleeve.
โThereโs nothing to be included in.โ
โArthur went looking for Red,โ Maddy said, the blocks and wrench falling from her arms into the compartment with a loud clatter. She pushed the door shut and locked it in place with the handle.
โOoh, saucy,โ Simon said with a click of his tongue and an exaggerated wink.
โWe were gone for like three minutes,โ Red said, walking toward the back side of the RV, the others on her heels.
โThatโs enough,โ Simon said, and Maddy laughed. โWill you twoโโ
โโfuck o๏ฌ?โ was Simonโs suggestion. โโshut up?โ was Maddyโs.
โโmake out?โ
โEw, Simon.โ Maddyโs face crumpled in disgust.
โOh as if you wouldnโt,โ Simon said, overtaking Red and turning around. โIโm very good-looking. Check out these cheekbones. Camera loves these cheekbones.โ
โThatโs not what Camera says behind your back,โ Red said, pushing him
on.
โHuh, betrayal!โ
They rounded the other side of the RV.
โWell, anyway,โ Simon whispered to Red. โI approve of the pairing.โ โYou approve of all pairings,โ Maddy added.
โNot true.โ Simon paused again by the door, his foot on the lowest step. โI
think itโs weird that Jess Tโs new boyfriend is twenty-two, and that theyโve only been together two months and sheโs bringing him on spring break.ย Andย that heโs called Marco. Red ๏ฌags everywhere.โ
With another push, Red ๏ฌnally got him into the RV, stepping up behind him and shu๏ฌing in. Everyone was at the front, Reyna settling back into the
driverโs seat.
โReally, I can take over,โ Oliver was saying. โI only had one beer earlier.โ โItโs ๏ฌne, I got it,โ Reyna said.
โCan you make the turn?โ โYes I can make the turn.โ
โRight, okay,โ Maddy said, pulling the door closed behind her. โAll in.
Letโs get out of here.โ
โFinally.โ Oliver looked back at them all, a wide smile cracking his face. โWell done, everyone. Overcoming adversity.โ
Probably the most adversity Oliver Lavoy had ever encountered.
โIt makes for a good story, at least,โ Maddy said. โMuch more exciting than everyone elseโs journey tomorrow.โ
โYeah.โ Simon nodded. โUnlessย Marcoย murders them all on the plane.โ
Reyna turned the keys in the ignition, and the RV roared into life, ready to go.
Simon whooped again, Arthur clapped and Maddy cheered.
โOh wait,โ she said, fumbling for her phone. โLetโs get a victory sel๏ฌe.
Come on, everyone in.โ
Maddy outstretched her arm, trying to ๏ฌt them all in the screen. โRed, in closer. Reyna, turn around.โ
Red shu๏ฌed in closer to Arthur and Simon. Sheโd already been smiling too long, her cheeks aching. Maddy held up two ๏ฌngers on her spare hand.
โOkay, everyone say:ย Team RV!โ
โTeam RV!โ they called, voices out of time and out of tune.
Maddy pressed the button on theย V,ย and Red could see everyoneโs teeth in the photo.
โPerfect,โ Maddy said, lowering her arm to study the picture.
โTeam RV,โ Simon called again, turning it into a chant. โTeam RV! Team RV!โ He stopped when no one else joined in. There was such a thing as too much celebration.
Reyna released the parking brake and the RV rolled steadily forward. She pulled to the left, slowly coming o๏ฌ the road and into the surrounding dirt and grass, headlights scaring away the shadows. But there were always more
behind. Expectant, waiting. Reyna turned the steering wheel as far as it would go, bringing the RV almost parallel to the road.
โOkay, back up now. Back up,โ Oliver said.
โI know.โ Reyna put the RV in reverse, and the screen in the center console lit up. A grainy black-and-white image from the rearview parking camera mounted at the back. Red watched the screen as the RV reversed over the road, Reyna pulling the wheel all the way to the right. The rough gravel and dirt gave way to a high patch of grass, beckoning to them in the wind. Or waving them goodbye. But there was something else in the image now, hidden behind the grass. Something crouching, dark and still.
โThereโs a rock,โ Oliver said, leaning closer to the screen. โCareful, thereโs a huge rock right behind us.โ
โI can see it,โ Reyna said coolly, backing up a couple more feet before stopping and shifting into drive. She inched forward, straightening up the wheel as the RV staggered back onto the road, facing the way theyโd come in.
โLetโs go.โ She pressed down on the gas.
Red thought theyโd never leave. She cradled her hands, ๏ฌngernails biting into the skin of her wrist.
โTeam RV!โ Simon shrieked again, more frantic this time, and Maddy gave a light round of applause for Reyna and her three-point-turning skills.
Maybe that was why they didnโt hear the ๏ฌrst one, but Red did. A crack that split the night again, and the RV sank behind her, scraping on the gravel.
Another crack and hiss, and the front right of the RV buckled, tipping them o๏ฌ balance.
โWhat the fโโ Simon began, falling into Red. Another.
The back left burst, the RV collapsing with it. Another. The last one.
The RV grated against the road, screeching as it rolled to a stop. All four tires. Gone.
