Freaks of Greenfield High

Freaks of Greenfield High (Chapter 20)

Freaks of Greenfield High

By Maree Anderson

Chapter Twenty

The garage door opened. And as his mom reversed the car out into the driveway, Tyler glimpsed the man standing on the path leading up to the front door. A frisson goosed his skin. He knew exactly who it was. His dad had kept his promise.

Mike Davidson had finally come home... in time to see his family leave.

Tyler and Caro had prepped their mom—as much as they could, anyway. How'n the hell could you explain to someone why the person they loved, the person they'd married and raised children with, had walked out and stayed away for five whole freaking years to keep them safe? Not to mention now he'd come back, he was so worried for their safety he insisted they leave town. The whole "Jay is really a cyborg" thing was more than enough to do his mom's head in without adding all the stuff about his dad.

Tyler thought she'd taken everything in. He hoped so. But it was difficult to tell. His mom's face, usually so open, with that wonderful quality that made you instantly want to be her friend—just like Caro's—had changed with each new revelation. By the time they'd finally finished telling her everything they knew, his mom's face had been wooden. Shuttered. Secretive.

His mom closed the garage door and got out of the car.

Tyler exchanged a glance with his sister and they both wound down their windows. He couldn't hear what his parents were saying, though. Their voices were too muted. Still, at least it wasn't full-out screaming, which had to be a good thing.

His dad tossed a small bag in the trunk, came around to the passenger's side, and hopped in, leaving his mom to take the driver's seat. "Got everything you need, kids?"

"Yep." Tyler had grabbed a change of clothes and his guitar. That was all he needed. Caro, too, had packed light—just a backpack with some clothes and makeup. She hadn't even argued about leaving her cell phone behind because maybe it could be traced. And their mom.... Well, the bag in the trunk of the car was full of photo albums, which about said it all. She hadn't bothered with much else except a change of clothes. And al-though she'd taken the AMEX card, glanced at the name on it, and muttered something about spending up large, her heart hadn't been in it.

She revved the car and reversed out into the street.... And Tyler suddenly remembered something important. Something he needed to do. "Wait!"

She slammed on the brakes. "What?"

He opened the door and jumped out.

"Where the hell are you going?" his dad yelled, fumbling with the passenger-side door.

Tyler delved in the back pocket of his jeans as he ran to the side of the house. He squatted to lever a potted plant up from the dish it rested on, and placed the thumb drive next to the spare front door key.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" His dad's voice came from behind him, tight with fury.

"It's a song I wrote for Jay. I'm leaving it here. Just in case."

"Nothing else but the song, right? Nothing that could tell those bastards I worked for where we're headed?"

"Nope. Just the song. If she got away, she'll find it. I know she will."

A hand squeezed Tyler's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Tyler."

"Yeah. Me, too."

His dad followed him back to the car.