Chapter 128
Jorick found the base of a cordless phone. The handset was missing, so he pressed the "locate" button and they split up and walked through the house, listening for the corresponding beeps.
The sound was loudest in a bedroom lined with posters of 90s bands; Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Marilyn Manson, and Korn among others. In fact, the whole affair was something straight off a 1995 television set with heaps of dirty clothes, a pipe frame bed. and a desk stacked in notebooks and broken CD cases. The garbage bags sloppily taped over the window ruined the illusion.
Katelina sifted through the mess until she found the handset. With it came the reality of actually explaining things to her mother. The weight of it crushed her to the bed, and she perched on the edge to chew her lip.
Jorick appeared in the doorway. She glanced to him and thought that maybe he was right. Maybe it was a bad idea. She quickly reprimanded herself. It was her idea and she was only calling her mother. How scary could her mother be?
Jorick nodded encouragingly, and she punched in the familiar phone number. She counted each ring as she tried to remember the rehearsed conversation.
On the sixth ring, the answering machine picked up. The usual message was gone, replaced with tones of annoyance. "If you're just calling to harass me then you can hang up now. If you actually want something, or if you have information on my daughter, leave a message."
The loud beep jarred Katelina and left her speechless. The planned conversation disappeared like smoke, so she pulled words from thin air. "Um. Hey, Mom, it's me. Guess you're in bed-"
The machine squealed loudly, and then she heard her mother cry, "Katelina? Is that you? Are you still there?"
Despite being twenty-five, Katelina suddenly felt thirteen again. "Yeah. I'm here."
Her mother's replies came high pitched and too fast to answer. "Where are you? Where have you been? What's going on? Are you all right? Did he hurt you?"
"Mom, slow down. I'm fine!"
"I've been worried sick about you! They say you were kidnapped!"
Yes. She knew that already; knew she was reported as a missing person and probable kidnapping. "No, I left on my own."
"Then why was your apartment destroyed? And they found your car vandalized on a dead end road! Why did you leave? Is this something to do with Patrick? Are you in some kind of trouble? Who was the man at the hospital with you?"
The hospital. After she'd been injured, Jorick had taken her to ER where the police had been summoned. Of course they'd add the hospital visit to the details of her missing person's case. Damn. She needed to calm her mother down before her head exploded, so she forced herself to sound cheerful. "His name is Jorick. He's the one I ran away with." She realized the stupidity of that statement too late.
Her mother's tone was shrill and angry. "You ran away with a man? Why? Is he married? Is Sarah with you?"
At the mention of her friend, Katelina caught her breath. At the look on her face, Jorick crossed the room and sat next to her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. She leaned against him and tried to hold back the stabbing pain that Sarah's name brought to her chest. She was never going to tell her mother about Sarah. How could she?
"Katelina? Are you there? Is everything all right?"
"Yeah," Katelina answered, her voice strained. She swallowed her unshed tears and tried to sound neutral and surprised. "No, Sarah's not here. I haven't seen her since I left. Why?"
"She's missing," her mother said bluntly, more than a note of suspicion in her voice. "She disappeared when you did. Aren't you together?"
"No." Jorick squeezed her tightly and she forced herself to go on, hoping to distract her. "It's just me and Jorick."
Her mother took the bait. "Who is Jorick? Why did you run away with him? Where did you meet him?"
"Mom," Katelina interrupted quickly. "Look, this is long distance. I just called to tell you we were coming home for a day or two and-"
"When? Are you all right?"
"'I'm fine," she repeated. "We're coming in a couple of days. Don't worry, we'll stop by. I want you to meet him."
"A couple of days isn't very specific! And you damn well better 'stop by'! My god, I've been worried sick about you! Do you know that? The police thought that Patrick's murderer kidnapped you! There have been bulletins and news reports - that man you're with, he's wanted, you know? For questioning."
She flinched. Jorick might be right about the police. Perhaps she'd been too simplistic about it. "Look Mom, do me a favor, okay? Just keep this to yourself for right now. I don't want a swat team swooping in and trying to arrest Jorick. He hasn't done anything wrong."
"If he hasn't done anything wrong then why are you hiding? Why haven't you been home or called? Katelina, please, tell me what's going on!"
"I needed a break from everything. Look, just don't say anything to anyone, all right? We'll get this cleared up later."
"You're damned right you will!" Anger replaced her mother's concern. "And when I get my hands on you -"
"Right." Katelina's smile was genuine this time. She well remembered her mother's empty threats. "I'll see you in a few days. I love you."
"Katelina! Wait!"
"In a couple of days," she repeated and pressed the button to end the call. The phone landed in her lap and she sighed heavily and glanced at Jorick. "Well, that's done."
A thousand I-told-you-so's glittered in his eyes, but he only pulled her close and asked, "How is she?"
"All right I guess." A strange smile flickered over her lips. "I didn't get a chance to ask. She was too busy yelling at me."
He wrapped both arms around her and pressed his face into her stocking hat. "I can't wait to meet her," he murmured, sounding anything but enthusiastic.
