In Your Arms (7 page)

Josh and Billy were putting the pills away, and Chris obviously thought he could make it out of the building while their backs were turned. However, as Chris slipped out of the lounge the door shut, creating an echoing noise throughout the corridor.

Chris didn’t have enough time to get back in the lounge undetected. Billy spotted him just as he was trying to get back in the room.

“Hold it, Hendricks,” Billy called. “Look, Josh! Look who’s here.”

“Well, what do we have here?” Josh said as he advanced menacingly toward Chris. “Looks like Hendricks was trying to escape.”

“What do we do?” Billy asked, panicked. “He knows. He’s seen us.”

“What do you think, Chris? Should we let you go free, so you can tell the cops out there it was us, or should we just kill you now?” Josh asked casually, lifting his gun and pointing it at Chris’ head.

“Jo—Josh,” Chris stammered. “I won’t tell, I promise. I—I won’t. Please don’t kill me.”

“Well, I don’t know, you do make a tempting offer. You promise you wouldn’t tell anyone?” Josh asked mockingly.

“Ye—ye—yeah.”

“Billy, what do you think?”

“We can’t seriously kill him, Josh. We’d go to jail.”

“Billy, if we let him go, we’ll get sent to jail for sure, but if we don’t let him go, we have a scapegoat.”

Sam didn’t want to know what Josh was planning. Never had she felt so helpless. Chris should have just stayed in the lounge. Why did he come out?

Sirens sounded loudly outside the school, and Josh’s eyes grew dark with fear. He cast one wild look toward the front doors, then looked back at Chris and pulled the trigger.

Chris fell to the floor, and Sam shut her eyes and clamped her hand over her mouth to keep from screaming. Chris was a good kid, only seventeen. He was in some of Sam’s classes and well on his way to being the next Albert Einstein.

She couldn’t believe Josh had shot him. If she made a single sound, she knew they’d see her, and then they’d kill her too.

“Oh my god, Josh. What do we do? You killed him!” Billy was hysterical.

“Calm down. I’ll tell you what we’re going to do. We’ll plant the gun on him and pretend it was Chris who went all psycho, trying to kill us because of all the times we made fun of him. He was a loser. He knew it, and so did everyone else. We tell the cops that he was going to kill us but then realized that killing us wouldn’t change the problem so he shot himself.”

“Josh, maybe we should just turn ourselves in. I mean we’ll be in more trouble if we cover this up.” Billy was obviously scared and Sam could tell that he’d never meant for things to go this far.

“Billy, stop it! We are not going to turn ourselves in. And if you even think about doing it, then you’re going to end up just like Chris,” Josh threatened.

Billy gulped and nodded, watching as Josh bent down and wrapped Chris’ lifeless hand around the gun. They were wearing gloves, and she wondered if they would get away with it.

A moment later, they sprinted off down the hall.

Sam found herself alone with Chris’ body. She peered out from around the fountain, holding her hand to her mouth as she saw the huge pool of blood spreading out from where Chris lay. She couldn’t believe he was dead, or that she’d seen it happen. If she told the cops what she’d seen, Josh and Billy would deny it. They’d stick to their story, that Chris had been the one who’d had the gun. In fact, the cops might even think she had helped him. Who would they believe, the popular kids, or the social freaks?

What should she do? She couldn’t walk out the front door. The cops were out there.

She remembered the utility room Phillip had shown her the other day. If she went out that door, no one would see her. Then she could just join the crowd outside and pretend she’d been there all along. One thing was certain, she couldn’t tell anybody what she’d seen, or Josh would kill her next. The look in his eyes as he’d pulled the trigger had been so cold. He hadn’t felt anything when he’d taken Chris’ life.

She pushed herself to her feet and ran down the hall, hearing the police sirens grow louder and louder as more and more units arrived. Red and blue strobe lights flickered throughout the halls from outside, making her feel as though she were running in a kaleidoscope.

At last she reached the utility closet, and she pushed her way through, stumbling several times and cringing at the loud noises she was making. She had no idea where Josh and Billy had gone and could only hope they weren’t still lurking around where they could hear her.

When she got to the exterior door, she cracked it open and looked outside. There was no one on this side of the school. With a sigh of relief, she slipped out and headed around to the parking lot, where everyone seemed to be congregated in a chaotic bubble of sound and movement.

She joined the fringes of the crowd, keeping her head down until she finally spotted Alex and Michael. Relieved, she made her way toward them, trying to control her racing heart. She couldn’t let them know anything was wrong. This was her problem, and the last thing she wanted to do was drag her best friend into it. If Alex knew what had happened, she’d be in danger too, because Sam had no doubt Josh would do whatever it took to keep himself out of jail.

He’d already killed one person. He wouldn’t hesitate to kill again to cover it up.

“There you are!” Alex cried, throwing her arms around Sam and hugging her tight. “I was so worried about you. I couldn’t find you anywhere.”

Sam hugged her friend back, taking comfort in her embrace, trying to control her trembling. She couldn’t believe she’d made it out of there alive, and the sight of Chris’ lifeless body would be forever imprinted in her mind.

“Are you ok?” Alex asked, pulling back to look at her. “You’re shaking.”

“I’m all right,” Sam said, hugging her arms to her chest. “It was just scary. I heard the shots, and I couldn’t find you either.”

Michael shook his head. “This is crazy. I guess this is one thing you don’t have to worry about when you’re home schooled.”

Alex gave him a worried look. “Hopefully your parents won’t pull you out of school when they hear what happened.”

“We still don’t know what
did
happen,” Michael said, casting a worried look at the school. “This could all just be a false alarm.”

Sam remained silent, staring blindly toward the school, knowing her life would never be the same.

“Hey, Sam,” said a voice behind her, and when she turned around, Phillip was there, staring at her in concern. “Are you all right? I’ve been looking for you.”

Sam looked at him, all too aware that Josh was his best friend. Had he known what they were planning to do? Had he been a part of it? As much as she wanted to throw herself in his arms and let him hold her until she wasn’t afraid anymore, she knew that would be the stupidest thing she could do. For all she knew, Josh had sent him over here to find out if she knew anything.

“I’m fine,” she said shortly. “I’m just shocked that something like this could happen in our school.”

Phillip nodded grimly, staring at the school as a SWAT team began advancing toward the door. “Things like this aren’t supposed to happen here.”

“Look,” Sam said, pointing at Tracy, who was advancing on them with a determined look on her face. “There’s you girlfriend. You better go see if she’s all right.” Then she turned her back on him and rejoined her friends.

The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur. The teachers finally managed to take a head count, and frantic parents began arriving to pick their children up. Word began to circle through the crowd that someone had died, but no one was sure who.

Sam was relieved when she saw her mom and dad making their way toward her. “Sam, honey,” her dad said, pulling her into a fierce embrace. “I’m so glad you’re all right.”

Sam nodded against his chest. “I was so scared, Dad.”

“Of course you were,” her mother fussed. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. The police want to ask everyone a few questions before you can leave, but once you’re done, we’ll be taking you home, and everything will be all right.”

“I’m sure you’re right,” Sam told her mother, but deep down, she was pretty sure nothing would ever be all right again.

When it was Sam’s turn to talk to the police, she just told them she hadn’t seen or heard anything. Then her parents took her home and she immediately went to her room and cocooned herself in her blankets, determined to block everything that had happened out of her mind.

* * *

Sam woke up and looked up at her clock. She had been sleeping for a few hours. Why hadn’t anyone woken her up? She slowly got out of bed and forced herself not to relive the trauma from earlier that day. Looking in the mirror, she groaned at her bed head and began brushing her hair. She frowned when Ben started talking and then laughed hysterically. His imaginary friends were getting out of control.

She walked over to her brother’s bedroom door, opened it, and saw Ben sitting at his table coloring.

“Benjamin, does Mom know you’re up here alone?” she asked from the doorway.

“I’m not alone. Phillip is here with me,” he said.

“What? Who’s here?” She walked further into the room and found Phillip sitting on one of Benjamin’s beanbags, his dark hair falling across his forehead. He looked up at her with his concerned blue eyes.

“Phillip,” Benny reiterated.

“Yes, I can see that,” Sam said, shocked.

“Hey, I hope this is all right. Your mother said I could wait until you woke up, but then I met Benjamin and he asked me to play, so I came up here with him.”

“No, no. It’s okay. I’m just surprised, is all. I wasn’t expecting to see you here at my house.”

“Sorry, I just wanted to make sure you were all right. You are all right, right?” He stood up and walked toward her, looking her up and down. “You seemed so upset earlier.”

“Yeah, I’m fine, thanks,” Sam said quickly, trying not to recall what had happened. Why was he the only one who’d noticed how shook up she was?

“Are you okay, Sammy?” Benjamin asked, squinting up at her.

“I’m fine, Benny. What are you guys doing?” she said, changing the subject.

“We were drawing. Phillip drew you a picture. Here,” he said, handing her a piece of paper.

“Thank you,” Sam said as she took the drawing. “Flowers. Wow.”

“Don’t mock my poor artistic skills. I know I may not be the best artist, but I’m not the worst either,” Phillip said with a grin.

“I’m not mocking your artistic abilities,” Sam said, examining the strange, stick-like drawings, glad for the distraction. “I can tell they are flowers.” She started laughing.

“I drew flowers for Mommy, too,” Benjamin said, holding up his finished art work, which, in her opinion, was slightly better than Phillip’s.

“Wow, Benny, this is so good. Mommy’s going to like it a lot. You may even get to put it on the fridge,” Sam said.

Benjamin grinned widely.

“How come you’re more enthusiastic about his picture than mine?” Phillip asked, feigning hurt.

“He’s my little brother, and what do you expect? I mean your picture is good, but not art gallery good. Besides, I just thought Ben’s picture was better,” Sam said, smiling.

She liked it when she came up with something clever that made Phillip smile. She loved seeing him smile, it always made her heart skip a beat. She’d much rather think about him than about what had happened at school.

“Ouch, Sam. Your criticism has stabbed me right in the heart,” Phillip said, pressing his hand to his chest.

“Sammy is a good drawer,” Benjamin interjected.

“Yes, I’ve seen one of her pictures,” Phillip replied, tousling Benjamin’s hair.

“What did you see?” Sam asked, dreading his answer.

“Well, that one time in detention—”

“What? You saw my drawing of you? Oh man, I was really hoping you didn’t.”

Phillip looked embarrassed. “It was a great drawing of me, Sam. I was really flattered. And when I saw it, I remembered what good friends we used to be, and I felt bad that I hadn’t talked to you in so long. I hope you know that I really do just want to be friends again.”

Sam eyed him uneasily.

“Sammy drawed all these for me,” Benjamin interrupted. “And she painted my walls.”

The walls were painted in a
Thomas the Tank Engine
theme. “This is Thomas,” Benjamin said as he walked over to the painting of Thomas. And this is—”

“Henry,” Phillip said.

“You know Thomas?” Benjamin asked, beaming. Phillip had obviously just become his new best friend.

“Yep. You did a good job, Sam. Painting, I mean,” Phillip told her.

“Thanks, I won’t ask how you know
Thomas the Tank Engine
, though,” Sam said.

“Are you awake, Sam?” Sam’s mother yelled up the stairs.

“Yes, Mother.”

“Ask your friend if he’d like to stay for dinner, then come down because the food is ready.”

Sam turned back to Phillip and Benjamin. “Well, would you like to stay for dinner? I’m not sure what we’re having, but it’s usually good. My mother lives to cook.”

Phillip smiled. “Usually, huh? I guess I’ll just have to take my chances—as long as you’re sure it’s no trouble.”

“Believe me, my mother would love to have someone else at the dinner table.”

“Yay!” Benjamin cheered then took both Phillip’s and Sam’s hands and steered them downstairs.

“Are you going to join us, Phillip?” her mom asked, looking up from the stove.

“Yes, ma’am, I’d love to join your family for dinner. You’re sure it’s no trouble?”

“None at all, please have a seat.”

Everyone sat down at the table, including Sam’s father, who had just walked through the front door.

“Hello, everyone,” Mr. Baker said. “And who is this?”

“I’m Phillip Corinodi, sir.”

“Please, call me Mr. Baker or John, if you prefer.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Baker. I’m one of Sam’s friends from school.”

“Well, it’s good to see she has more than one friend.” Her dad chuckled.

Sam's cheeks heated at her dad's comment, she wasn't sure if it was out of anger or embarrassment.

“Tonight, we will be having lasagna, green beans, garlic bread, and of course—”