Page 14 of Run
“Ari.” I reach for her, but she pulls away. “Red, please, look at me.” Finally, she turns, one glassy eye ping-ponging between mine, the other swollen shut. “I used to be self-conscious about this,” I point to my lip scar, “but, well, now thanks to you, I get to be the pretty one for once.”
Her eye widens, but then she lets out a giggle and relief washes over me as I help her stand up.
After redressing, Ari and I walk back to my room to get her jacket. “I should be home when Papa returns,” she says. And just like that, our light mood is gone.
“Ari, how am I supposed to just let you go back there? He’s an animal—”
“It’ll be OK. I’ll stay out of his way. I’ll make sure he has plenty of beer, then he’ll pass out early.”
I nod, not at all happy, but then think of something. “Hang on a sec,” I cross over to my backpack and pull out the cell phone Dad got me for my birthday, handing it to her.
“What’s this?” She turns it around in her hands.
“I know it’s not the coolest, since my dad was being cheap. But it can text. It’s a prepaid plan, so you have to keep buying minutes for it, but if you just use it for emergencies the minutes should last.”
“I know what it is. Why did you hand it to me?”
“Because I’m giving it to you.”
Ari shakes her head and pushes the phone back at me, but I keep my arms crossed. “Ethan, you can’t give me this. Your dad will wonder what happened to it. Besides, if Papa sees it, he’ll just take it away.”
I shake my head. “I put it on silent. Keep it that way. And no one but me knows the number. You don’t even have to accept calls on it. Just keep it in case you ever need to call for help.”
She doesn’t say anything for a long time, but finally mumbles, “No one’s ever given me anything before.”
“All I really want to give you is a way out, Ari. This is the closest I can get. I’m going to buy another phone. I’ve saved up enough. I’ll get one similar to this so my dad can’t tell the difference. I’ll text you the number as soon as I get it.”
“Ethan, if you get in trouble for this …”
The next words just pour out of my mouth. “You’re my best friend, Ari. If anything ever happened to you, I don’t know what I’d do. Like, honestly, I can’t be held accountable for what I might do the next time I see Axel.”
Ari stills. “Well, that’s not entirely true. I mean, Fonz is also your best friend. But I know what you mean.” In a softer voice, she adds, “You’re my only friend. Well, you and Fonz, of course.”
I get a broken-tooth smile from her before she heads to the door, but then turns to me and grins. “In the event I don’t makeit back, I want you to know you’ve been a real friend, R2. My best one, in fact.”
I grin back. “Star Wars.Don’t ask me which one.”
“It’sEpisode IV.”
Ari opts to use the front door to leave my house instead of the window.
CHAPTER 5
ARI
“Sixteen is not a fun age to be,” Ethan says as our knees knock together on the bus. “It’s like, adulthood is just within reach, and yet I still can’t do anything.”
“Try being barely fifteen,” I counter. “I can hardly stay out past dark.”
Zipping our coats as we get off the bus, we rush to the school doors. It’s a short walk, but it’s January in western New York and the wind chill is not friendly. “Later, gator!” Ethan calls over his shoulder as he makes a right inside the high school and I go left.
First period is social studies, which I find plain boring. Then I have math class with Chloe and her witch of a friend whose name I can never remember. But then I start heading to gymclass, which is with Elena and Jessica, and I know I’ll be wishing I was back in math class.
Exiting the locker room, I’m told that Mr. Undermire requested I run indoor track with the upperclassmen, if I want to. And I want to.
Entering the gym, Mr. Undermire gives me a nod and a smile. I smile back, and it feels like a secret language. He knows I’m fast. He’s seen me running laps around the track some afternoons when I don’t want to go home. We start with drills, go into sprints, then break out into relay groups. And I blow the other girls out of the water every time.
Sweating and breathing hard and enjoying my success, I stop when catcalls come from the door leading out to the hallway. “Ow owwww!” I hear as a group of guys stops to look in. “Hey, ladies! I can get you all worked up if you want!” one boy yells.
