Hostage

13: Run

"I — you — what?" I ask in disbelief. I was beginning to grow trust with Billie, but now hearing that she was a part of killing my parents, she's lost my trust. I'd already lost Finneas's trust, but Billie's too? The girl who was actually nice to me? The one who cared for me and treated me like a real person with feelings instead of the shell of a girl who's been held hostage? Why her?

She sighs. "I know. I'm really sorry, Aubrey. It wasn't my idea. I was in the passenger seat. Finneas had found pictures of your parents in your house. And at the light, he saw them. I saw this look in his eyes; they were pure black. I knew what he was trying to do. I tried to get him to stop, to ignore it, but he didn't. He hit them." Tears stream down her cheeks at this point, and she takes a shuddery breath. "I tried to stop him, Aubrey. But I couldn't. I'm really sorry."

"It's okay, I guess," I say quietly, staring at the ground. I see a pattern on the rug in front of me that looks familiar.

It looks like my parents.

"Um — we need to go out today. I feel like I can trust you enough to not tie you to the bed. Are you going to be okay by yourself?" I nod. "Can I trust you not to do anything stupid?" I nod again. "Do you promise me?" I nod again. Secretly inside my shoes, I cross my toes. I'm hoping she doesn't see the small bulge that suddenly appeared in my shoes. "Okay. We'll be back in about an hour or two. Bye."

She stands up and leaves the room after closing my door. After a minute, I look out the window and see them get in their van. The engine starts, muffled by the glass. The car lets out a small squeal as the wheels spin against the pavement. Then they drive off.

 I wait in silence for five minutes before standing up and sneaking downstairs. I silently open the front door, half expecting an alarm to go off, alerting them that I'm leaving. But nothing happens. I sigh in relief and close the door, taking off in the opposite direction where we left. I know this move is stupid and risky, but I need to take a shot.

After ten minutes, I reach the library. When I open up the doors, the air conditioner kicks in. I hear a woman at the front desk gasp.

"Joe! Get over here!" I hear her squeal. "It's the missing girl from the news! Call the authorities!"

Everybody in the building looks at me. I shrug and shake my head.

"Sorry to say this, but I'm not who you think I am. People say I look like that Aubrey girl a lot, but there are so many differences between us. You have the wrong person."

The librarian sighs in relief. "False alarm, Joe! Don't call the authorities! It's just a girl who looks like her! We're clear!"

Wow. They're so dumb!

I jog over to the nonfiction section and find a book filled with records for every person in the city. I look at the desk. The woman is helping somebody check out a book. I take the book off the shelf and quietly put it down on the ground. I open it up until I find two pieces of paper that I'm looking for.

The files of Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell and Finneas Baird O'Connell.

I slide the papers out of the book, fold them up, put them in my pocket, close the book, and put it back up on the shelf. I smile at my plan. Hopefully, it works. And hopefully, I don't get in trouble for it.

As I begin to walk out, the lady at the front desk looks at me. I can tell she's puzzled. I give her a small smile and walk out of the library. There, I make a mad dash back to their house.

When I arrive and try the front door, it's locked. I groan, knowing I'll get in trouble. The windows are all locked, so I can't get out of there. I check my watch. According to my prediction, they'll arrive in about three minutes.

I run around the back of the house and carefully climb the fence surrounding the back patio, which has a pool, a hot tub, a pool table, and a volleyball net. There are two volleyballs near one of the poles; one of them is deflated. I hurry down and try to open the back door.

Thankfully, it's unlocked.

I rush in, close the door, and head back upstairs. There, I close my door, open my underwear drawer, and shove the two pieces of paper underneath the large pile of underclothes in there. Then I hop on my bed. A minute passes before I see the van pull up.

I made it just barely in time!

Billie pulls out her key and unlocks the front door. She lets Finneas in first before entering herself. And then I realize that I look suspicious not doing anything. I quickly rush down the hall, which is thankfully not in front of the stairs, and get inside of the bathroom. I turn on the light like I've been in there already. Then I push down the mechanism that triggers the toilet to flush. Even though I don't need to, I wash my hands, dry them off with a towel hanging off of the wall, open the door, and casually walk out of the room and down the stairs. There, I see Billie and Finneas sitting on the couch, turning on the TV. Billie puts on season four, episode eleven of "The Office" before she realizes my presence is behind her.

"Hey, Aubrey!" she says, patting the spot on the couch beside her. "Come sit. We're having a marathon on 'The Office' if you want to join us."

"Sure!"

I sit down beside her and Finneas, and we watch a few minutes of the episode "Survivor Man." 

The TV suddenly flashes to the breaking news of the day. My heart skips a beat, as I know what's about to come to me.

I'm in trouble.