The Bad Boy Next Door: Lance & Chastity (28 page)

Lance looks like he wants to kill Mom too. Instead, he jumps on the motorcycle. “I have to go look for my dad.” He speeds down the driveway before I can stop him.

“Lance! Come back! I want to help!”

He can’t hear me over the scream of the motorcycle engine.

I’m heartbroken.

He left without me. Without a second thought.

I thought we were a team.

All night I had my arms around him on the back of his motorcycle while we searched for Charity like we were inseparable. It felt like the warm comfort of Lance and the smell of his leather jacket were the only things holding me together.

Mom says calmly, “Like all men, he will abandon you when you are at your lowest. Just like your father.” She swells with hypocritical pride. Has she forgotten that pride is a sin? Or did she miss that lesson just about every single Sunday since forever? I’m not going to bother pointing it out.

She’ll never learn.

I lose it. “Mom!! What the FUCK?! Are you crazy?!”

Her eyes pop when I say fuck. “Watch your language, Chastity! I taught you better! I can’t believe how filthy you’ve become!”

“
You
can’t believe? I can’t believe you’re so heartless! What the hell is wrong with you, Mom? You left Mr. McKnight stranded! He was trying to help! You’re horrible.” I grimace and lower my voice, trying to stay calm, but my hate leaks out with every word. “You give religious people a bad name. You disgust me.”

“I disgust
you
? You broke one of the ten commandments.” She is completely calm.

“No I didn’t!”

“Honor thy father and thy mother. Or have you forgotten your commandments already? Living in sin will do that.”

I sneer at her, “You don’t deserve to be honored. Charity ran away because you’re a terrible parent. She probably hates you as much as I do. If she gets hurt, it’ll be your fault. You pushed her away.”

Shock shakes Mom’s face.

I turn and march down the sidewalk in the direction Lance went, away from the thin line of the rising sun behind me and into the last of the darkness. I’ll never catch Lance on foot, because I don’t have a car.

But I’ll try.

At least this way I won’t have to look at Mom for another second.

Chapter 21

CHASTITY

“Where are you?” I say over the phone.

“I’m at the airport,” my dad says.

“We couldn’t find her, Dad,” I sigh, sitting by myself on Lance’s front step.

“We’ll find her. As soon as I land in Burbank, we’ll keep looking.”

“I’d offer to pick you up, but I don’t have a car. Sorry.”

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll catch a shuttle. How is your mother handling this?”

“Screw her,” I blurt, scowling for my own benefit.

He says carefully, “Did you guys fight?”

“Yeah,” I groan. “She’s crazy, Dad, I swear. She’s trying to blame everyone but herself for Charity running away. How did you ever stand her?”

“She was different when she was younger. I don’t know what happened to her. People change. But that doesn’t matter. Let’s stay focused on finding your sister. That’s what matters. Oh, they’re calling my flight. Gotta go.”

“Okay. Call me when you land.”

“I will. I love you, sweetheart. See you in a few hours.”

I end the call and heave a sigh.

Although the sun is just up, the porch is still in the shade. I stand up from the cold cement because my butt is frozen. I gave up walking around the neighborhood looking for Lance after half an hour. It made more sense to wait for him here. I hope he finds Mr. McKnight soon.

I start pacing up and down Lance’s front walk. I would pace in his driveway where the sun is, but I don’t want Mom seeing me. For all she knows, I’m still out walking around. She certainly didn’t drop everything to come looking for me.

I’m glad she didn’t.

Some time later, a motorcycle turns onto our street and I immediately perk up.

I recognize the sound of Lance’s Gixxer and walk onto the driveway.

He pulls into the driveway with his dad on the back. Mr. McKnight doesn’t have his arms wrapped around Lance like I did. He’s not wearing a helmet either. Or a leather jacket. Just a ZZ Top band T-shirt. He grips the tail of the motorcycle behind the seat. It looks awkward, like he could easily fall off if they went over a bump. I smirk to myself. Men. Always afraid they’ll look gay.

“I’m glad to see you both,” I beam.

Lance’s helmet is still on, the reflective visor down. He busies himself helping Mr. McKnight, who doesn’t really need any help.

Is he ignoring me?

My stomach twists.

They walk toward me.

“Everything okay?”

Lance flips his visor up, eyes cold. “Yeah.”

Is he mad? He seems mad.

“Hey, Chastity,” Mr. McKnight smiles. His lips are blue. He must be freezing in his T-shirt after that motorcycle ride.

Fricking Mom.

But at least I feel slightly better knowing Mr. McKnight isn’t giving me the cold shoulder like Lance. “Sorry about my mom, Mr. McKnight.” I hate that I have to apologize for her.

“It’s my fault,” he says. “I shoulda known better than to talk religion with her. That always pisses people off. Shoulda kept my mouth shut. Any sign of your sister?”

“No. But my dad is flying in from O’Hare today so we’re gonna keep looking.”

“Sounds like a good dad.”

“Yeah,” I smile. But I’m going nuts inside because Lance isn’t saying a word. His helmet is now off, but he’s not even looking at me. “Hey, do you guys want to go get some breakfast? I’m starving.”

“Oh,” Mr. McKnight glances at Lance. “We just ate. I didn’t realize you wanted food. I woulda said something.”

Lance is still avoiding my gaze.

I guess I need to go eat alone? Because there’s no food in Lance’s house. Ever. We always eat out. And there’s no way I’m getting food from my Mom’s. “That’s okay. I can walk to the grocery store and get a bagel or whatever.” I watch Lance. I can’t blame him for being mad. Mom went too far, once again. I just hope Lance doesn’t stay mad for too long.

Mr. McKnight says, “Maybe you should take her to breakfast, son. She’s probably starving.”

Is Lance going to answer? Or just glare at me? The knot in my stomach pulls tighter and the dentist’s drill starts to whir, churning up all my hungry stomach acid.

Whir.

“Yeah,” he grunts. “Want food?”

Is that the best he can do? Not exactly the kind of company I want at breakfast.

Mr. McKnight says, “I’m gonna crash. All that walking wiped me out.”

I wince. “How far did you have to walk?”

“I don’t know. The exercise did me good. Now I got a full belly so it’s nap time,” he winks. “You two should go. Chastity needs some food.”

“Yeah,” Lance grunts again.

Whir.

++++8++++

CHASTITY

“Where did you find your dad?” I ask as I pour maple syrup over butter covered waffles and sausages at Denny’s.

“At a Yum Yum Donuts on Lankershim. He got sick of walking, so he called me. Had to pay the doughnut guy ten bucks to use his phone since pay phones don’t seem to exist anymore.” Lance glares at me. He isn’t eating.

Whir.

I cut a triangle of waffle and start chewing. I’m going to drown out that dentist’s drill with sugar and carbs. It usually works. “So he’s okay?”

“Yeah. Like he said, exercise did him some good.”

I’m still chewing, so I rush it and swallow a lump. Otherwise, I feel like I’m going to be talking to myself the whole meal. “I’m really sorry my mom did that. She’s such a witch.”

“Yup.” He’s still mad.

No need for more salt on that wound. Change of subject. “I think you’ll like my dad when he gets here. He’s cool. Nothing like my mom.”

“Mmm.” I expected him to say something like,
I can’t wait to meet him
, or,
If he’s anything like you, I’m sure he is
. But he’s not speaking. His face says,
I don’t give a shit about your dad, your mom, your sister, or you. So finish your fucking waffle so I can take you to your mom’s house and never see you again. And, you’re fired.

“Um, do you want me to work today? Or is it okay for me to take the day off so I can go look for Charity?”

“No. We can keep looking. After we get some sleep.”

“We?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, should I sleep at your place?”

“Of course.” He’s still frowny faced, but I’m starting to suspect it’s not because of me.

Instant relief.

When I finish my waffles and sausage, Lance pays the bill and drives us home.

Our home.

“When does your dad get here?” he asks.

“After lunch.”

“We should rest for a few hours. We’ve both been up all night.”

“I’m not going to be able to sleep with Charity gone.”

“You should at least lie down. Keep your phone by the bed. You can’t run on no sleep forever.”

He’s taking care of me again.

It makes everything right.

We go inside and lie down together, me cuddling up against his side, his arm wrapped around me. I can’t sleep, but I feel drowsy from the waffles.

It’s as close to perfect as I’ll get until we find my sister.

++++8++++

CHASTITY

“He’s here!” I say, watching through Lance’s living room window as a Lexus pulls up. I’m super nervous Lance won’t like my dad. He already hates my mom, so odds are not in my favor.

I open the front door and trot outside.

Dad walks toward me, carrying his bags.

“Nice wheels, Dad! I thought you were taking the shuttle.”

“I decided to rent a car so I wouldn’t have to wait. This is all they had last minute.” He sets his bags down on the cement and I jump into his arms. “Good to see you, sweetheart.” He hugs me tight.

“I’ve missed you so much, Dad! You have no idea.” All the emotions of my ongoing drama with Mom, and Charity’s sudden disappearance, hit me in a rush. My exhaustion makes them come on stronger and I start to cry in his arms.

“I miss you too, princess.” He tightens the hug. “We’ll find your sister. I promise.”

I believe him. I’ve always believed Dad. Why did Mom have to push him away? Why?

“You must be Lance,” Dad says.

I turn around and Lance stands there with Mr. McKnight. “Dad, this is Lance and his dad, Mr. McKnight.”

“Rod,” he smiles. “Call me Rod.”

They all shake.

“Let me take your bags,” Mr. McKnight says, grabbing them before Dad can stop him.

“Thanks,” Dad says.

Dad is blond like Mom. His hair isn’t curly like us Shields women, but it’s thick and wavy and looks good without even trying. Despite his good hair, in his striped polo shirt and Dockers he looks like any other suburban Dad. Next to a couple of motorcycle badasses like Lance and Rod, he looks soft, like the only exercise he gets is mowing the lawn on the weekends. But looks can be deceiving. Dad has been studying martial arts since he was a teenager and has two black belts. He can kick some serious ass. He was a bouncer at a bunch of LA clubs for a few years before he met Mom—not where he met Mom. They met at a bowling alley. Anyway, now he’s an upper level manager at a credit card call center just outside of Chicago. But he shouldn’t have any problem fitting in with these men. I hope. You never know when men will decide it’s time to see who’s the most manly and someone always ends up hurt by the results. I cross my fingers.

“We looked all night for your daughter,” Mr. McKnight says.

“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that,” Dad says.

“We’re ready to head back out when you are,” Lance says.

“I need to eat first,” Dad says. “I skipped breakfast and all the airline had was peanuts. I’m starving and I didn’t sleep last night and I can’t think straight. Is there someplace quick around here? I need protein.”

“There’s a Subway down the street,” Lance says.

Dad smirks, “Great. More crappy sandwiches.”

“Do you want to go someplace else?” I offer. I don’t want them arguing over something stupid like where to eat.

Dad snorts, “No. I just need food. And we can work up a plan of action for today while I shovel a sandwich down. While I’m doing that, you guys should make a list of every place you’ve looked and every person you’ve talked to so far.”

“Smart thinking,” Lance says, impressed.

I’m so glad Dad is here.

At Subway, Lance manages things so he ends up sitting next to me. There’s a weird moment between him and Dad when Lance sits down beside me, but Dad is quick to pick up what’s going on and lets it go, sitting across from us next to Mr. McKnight. We all unwrap our sandwiches and start eating. The men attack the food, but I pick at mine.

“So, no word from your sister?” Dad asks before taking his first bite of his hot meatball sub.

“No,” I sigh. “I’ve called a hundred times since last night.”

“When did you last try?” he asks around a mouthful of meatball.

“In your car on the way here.”

Dad nods and grimaces, setting his sandwich down. “I should’ve gotten something light.” Translation:
I have a dentist drill in my stomach too, just like my daughter, and it’s whirring like crazy knowing my other daughter has disappeared.

“I’ll eat your sandwich if you can’t handle it,” Lance chuckles, halfway through his already.

“What’d you get?” Dad chides, rising to the challenge. “A six-inch veggie? If you’re watching your calories, you could’ve ordered a salad and asked them to put the dressing on the side.” Translation:
Women count calories and real men eat meat, so shut the fuck up
. He picks up his footlong meatball sub and chomps on it like he’s starving. He’ll probably regret it later. But you know, men.

I hide a smile.

“Yeah, so?” Lance laughs. “I like vegetables. And I had a big breakfast.”

“Uh huh,” Dad chuckles around his mouthful of meatball. “Was there any meat in your breakfast? Or did you have a bowl of Special K and skim milk? Or did you just have a Yoplait?”

I roll my eyes.

“I had the hash,” Lance says defensively, chuckling.

“And he left half of it behind,” Mr. McKnight nudges Dad with an elbow. “I had to finish it for him. Still can’t keep up with the old men, can you, son?” He and Dad share a laugh at Lance’s expense.