The Registry (7 page)
“Keep your eyes open. He should be walking along the road now.” Mia slowed the car to a crawl.
“How in the world did you get him to agree to help?” Whitney asked. “He never seemed like much of a rule breaker. I always got the impression he liked your father.”
“Well, it wasn’t difficult.” Mia shrugged. “He apologized for running into me the other day and we got to talking. But he does have some weird rules. Like when we pick him up, don’t talk to him, don’t look at him, and don’t say a word.”
“I’ve never spoken to him before; why should now be any different?” Whitney said. “I think I see someone.”
Recognizing the figure as Andrew, Mia jerked the car over to the side of the road. Butterflies flew into her stomach as he opened the back door.
“Are you heading south?” he asked.
Mia kept her head straight forward and nodded. Andrew climbed into the backseat and closed the door.
“I thought I wouldn’t find a ride till morning; not many travelers come through here except cargo trucks.”
Approaching the entrance to the highway, Mia followed the sign leading south. The three of them continued on in silence. Whitney appeared confused by Andrew’s demeanor. Mia knew it was just a matter of moments until Whitney realized that she had lied.
“Sir, I don’t mean any disrespect, but you know the speed limit is sixty-five out here?” Andrew said from the backseat. “It feels like you’re not going much over twenty.”
Mia looked down at the speedometer and realized that was what he was referring to. She pressed down hard on the pedal, and the car flung into high gear. Mia was glad that the hum of the engine overtook the awkward silence.
Glancing in the rearview mirror, Mia got a glimpse of Andrew; he was staring out the window as the cornstalks flew by. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Whitney giving her the stare-down, having figured out Mia’s deceit. Mia was just relieved that Whitney wasn’t saying anything to blow their cover.
Joy is abundant in all marriages. Even previously mundane tasks are imbued with a new spark, and the happier the husband becomes, the larger the spark.
—The Registry Guide for Girls
N
o one spoke a word for the next few hours. Mia felt as if the silence was choking her. On occasion she glanced over at Whitney, whose angry expression had been replaced by a sleepy one. Mia had no clue where they were. She hoped Mexico wasn’t too far. A loud ping started coming from the dashboard. Mia looked and saw a little icon flashing, but wasn’t sure what it meant.
“You’re almost out of gas,” Andrew said. “Pull over. Do you have a can in the trunk?”
Mia had thought he was asleep. The sound of his voice made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She steered the car toward the side of the road but continued to coast, wanting to move as far as possible.
“Stop the car,” Andrew said with a chill in his voice. “You don’t know what you’re doing, do you?”
Mia shrugged, still not wanting to speak. She hit the brakes hard and the car jolted to a stop. Whitney was sprung from her sleep and smacked her head on the windshield. Pulling her hand over her face, she let out a yelp of pain.
“Are you okay?” Andrew asked from the backseat.
Whitney continued to moan and clutch her face. Mia was frozen, looking straight out into the pitch-blackness of night. She was going to accidentally kill her best friend before they made it to safety. Mia wanted to comfort Whitney and make sure she was all right, but before she could move, Andrew jumped out of the car and opened the passenger-side door.
“Let me take a look,” he said almost gently, pulling Whitney’s hand down to examine her eye. Mia glanced over at them and noticed Whitney’s tears were subsiding while Andrew finished checking her out. His tall, lanky frame didn’t look intimidating when he crouched down. But even in the dark his eyes were still a powerful force. He caught Mia staring and they grew cold and hard.
“I’m sorry, guy, but what were you thinking?” Andrew asked. “Is this your first night behind the wheel?”
Mia gripped the steering wheel and shook her head.
“It looks like your friend is fine, he’ll just end up with a shiner, but you need to drive more carefully.”
“Yeah, be more careful,” Whitney said through short sobs.
“You should have been wearing your seat belt, so it’s not all his fault,” Andrew said before rising to his full height.
He walked over toward the driver’s side and leaned against Mia’s window.
“You’re out of gas. The sign back there said the nearest station is fifteen miles away and I don’t think anyone is going to give you a ride.”
Andrew continued walking toward the back and reached in to grab his satchel. Throwing the strap over his shoulder, he began walking away. “Thanks for the lift.”
Panic struck Mia. She looked over at Whitney, who was still clutching her face.
“That hurt. What’s a shiner?” Whitney asked.
Mia mouthed the word “sorry,” swung open the driver’s-side door, and called out, “Wait.”
She was already running toward him as she spoke. Once they met she tried her best to deepen her voice. “Can’t you help us? We’re not from around here.”
“Well, your car has local plates . . .” Andrew’s voice started to trail off as he walked back toward the car. “I recognize this car. It’s one of Mr. Morrissey’s.”
Andrew shoved Mia to the side and got a better look at the vehicle. He began examining the inside and looked at Whitney, who was still wiping away tears.
“He sent us to come give you a ride. Wherever you want,” Mia said. “We’re new hires. First night on the job.”
“Take off your hat.”
Mia made no attempt to move.
Andrew lunged forward and ripped the cap off her head. “You,” he said accusingly. “Let me guess, the crying baby is the manager’s daughter. What are you two doing?”
“Running away, to Mexico.” Mia took a risk and came clean. “I was hoping you would help us at least get to the border.”
“Help you? I’ll help you—by making sure you’re escorted safely back to your father’s house.”
“I’m not going back. I’m never going back. I would rather die than marry that man. With your help I can avoid that fate.”
Andrew scoffed, walked toward her, and grabbed her arm. He began pulling her toward Whitney. Mia squirmed. Andrew was more than double her size, but she managed to swing her foot in front of his and trip him. She curled herself around to force them both to land on their backs. Mia stood up, but it was clear Andrew’d had the wind knocked out of him.
“Don’t you dare touch me like that ever again,” Mia said. Her mind was raging.
She watched him collect himself and was a little surprised when he refused to make eye contact with her. She thought of him defending the young boy. He seemed more of a protector than an assailant. She was about to plead her case again when he rose and started walking north.
“Where are you going?” she asked as she chased after him.
“If I can’t take you home I’m at least going there and telling your father. Giving him some sort of information about where you are.”
Panic flooded Mia. She had to do something to make him stay.
“If you do, I’ll tell everyone you abducted us,” Mia said defiantly, desperately.
“Nobody will believe you.” Andrew shook his head and kept walking. “Your father knows I would never do anything like that.”
“You’re wrong. They will pin it all on you. My father, my fiancé—I’m sure RAG agents will have been called in by the time you get there. I bet they’ll be thrilled to have someone to blame.” Mia felt like she was starting to get through to him. “You’re not stupid. Have you ever heard of a girl just running away? There is always an abductor. Your picture will be all over the paper. You’ll go to jail or have life in service. Your reputation means nothing to anyone. Your life is not as valuable as mine.”
Andrew stopped walking and turned back toward Mia. She could almost feel the synapses firing in his brain. She kept still and confident and hoped he wouldn’t call her bluff. After staring at her for a minute, a look of defeat crossed his face.
“What do you want from me?” Andrew asked.
“We need you to help us get to Mexico,” Mia said shakily.
“And what is your plan for accomplishing this?”
“You.”
Andrew looked stunned. “You don’t even have a plan! What made you think I knew how to get to Mexico?”
“Well . . .” Mia felt her power slipping. “You know how boys act. You know how to travel. Just get us to the border and make people think we are boys traveling together. I’ll take care of it from there.”
He shook his head in disbelief. It was difficult for Mia to read any emotion from him. They stood awkwardly, Andrew avoiding her glance the entire time. After what felt like hours he spoke again.
“Fine. You have to do what I say, when I say. I am in charge. I get it, it’s dangerous for me to take you back, but if I get caught helping you it’s just as dangerous. How much money do you have?”
“None.” Mia gave him a strange look. “Why would we have money?”
“To pay for things. Like food, shelter, clothes?”
“Neither of us ever had any access to money. We have the car, though, and food. It should take us a few hours to get to Mexico, right?”
Blood rushed to Andrew’s face, and he began pacing back and forth. It was easy for her to read his emotions now. Mia knew she’d lost any credibility she’d had with him.
“A few hours? Car?” he gritted his teeth.
“I was so happy we spotted you. I was scared someone else was going to pick you up.”
“I wish anyone else would have picked me up. Even a homicidal maniac. Anyone!” Andrew stared her down with a crinkled brow. “We need to ditch the car. Now.”
“But then how will we get to Mexico?”
“No questions. You just do what I say when I say.”
Andrew began walking toward the car, taking large strides to leave Mia behind. She ran with quick little steps, trying to keep up, but he was paying little attention to her. As he approached the vehicle he barked at Whitney to get out of the car. Tears were streaming down her face as she hurried out of her seat. Mia was sure she’d heard everything.
“Get your stuff out of the car,” Andrew said with anger and authority.
The girls pulled their belongings out as quickly as possible and moved to the side of the road. He jumped in, and the car puttered away. Mia assumed it was due to the lack of gas. He never bothered to check the trunk for more.
“He’s leaving us?” Whitney asked with a quivering voice.
“He’ll be back,” Mia said. “We just need to wait.”
“You’re blackmailing him?” Whitney asked. “That’s not like you, you never think about this kind of stuff. I’ve never seen you plot or scheme in your whole life and this is an evil plan. This is stuff criminals do.”
“I’m doing what I need to do to survive, for both of us to survive.”
It was not in her nature to deceive, and Whitney looked disgusted with her, but Mia didn’t care. Her friend needed to lose her old concept of the world. It was time for a new one.
Girls should take care not to grow inappropriately attached to anyone in their lives. The only relationship that matters is that between husband and wife. Once that bond is created there is no reason to miss any part of your previous life.
—The Registry Guide for Girls
T
he sky was turning lighter by the minute. Whitney kept quiet while Mia tried to keep an eye out for Andrew. As the blues in the sky became brighter, so did Mia’s realization. Andrew had stolen the car and deserted them. He’d been gone for too long at this point and even if he was traveling by foot it would be too hard to catch up to him. For the first time all day Mia felt like joining Whitney in sobbing. Just when she decided to give in to despair, she noticed a person jogging toward them on the horizon.
“He’s back.” Mia shook Whitney to wake her up. “We need to start walking to meet him.”
“He left us,” Whitney said, without bothering to look toward the figure. “Let’s just sleep here till they send out the search party.”
Ignoring Whitney, Mia began her walk toward the figure. She knew it was Andrew. They hadn’t seen a single car or person since he’d left.
Mia heard Whitney calling to her to slow down, but she couldn’t. With every step she took she felt herself flying away. Her grin grew so large it took up most of her face. But as she drew closer to Andrew, she saw he was not returning her smile.
Mia felt hers fade as the two met. She had to catch her breath, but he wasn’t a bit tired. Finally he spoke. “We need to lay down some rules. I will help you get to the border. That is it. You don’t make a convincing boy. You need to keep your head down and never speak. Don’t ask any questions and don’t talk to me.”
“Is that because you’re mad I’m forcing you to help us or because I’m a girl?” Mia surprised herself by speaking to Andrew this way, but she needed to toughen up.
“You’re already breaking a rule.” Andrew kept his chin up.
Just as Mia was going to protest more, Whitney came jogging behind, gasping for breath.
“It’s great to see you. I didn’t think you were going to come back for us,” Whitney managed to say.
“That black eye does help. You’ll be able to fit in a little better than ‘the Royal.’ ” Andrew looked toward Whitney while he spoke. “I’ll let your friend fill you in on the rules.”
Mia was upset. She didn’t enjoy her new nickname.
“So what’s the plan?” Whitney seemed to have renewed energy.
“Right now, we walk,” Andrew said as he turned and started to walk along the road. “When the sun is too high, we will move into the fields and find a place to rest for the day, then at night we will walk some more.”
“How come she gets to ask questions?” Mia was confused.
“Manager’s daughter, you may ask me questions because you are not annoying and manipulative,” Andrew said. “But don’t abuse the privilege.”