239Warning: Last chapter. Please prepare yourself.
Chapter 23
(YOLINN)
I wasn't asleep when I heard the knock on my window. I was wide awake, and when I heard the slight tapping on the glass, I knew exactly who it was and why. My heart sank low in my chest as I pulled a throw blanket around my shoulders, and opened the window for Johan. He looked whiter than usual, but otherwise fine, and somewhat sedated as he leaned over and kissed me. He smiled somewhat.
"So…" I said, leaning on the window sill. "You're going tonight." He nodded.
"Yes."
"What about William and Annie?" He set his jaw.
"They're taken care of." I nodded.
"Oh." He cleared his throat.
"I decided what to do." I nodded again, and looked at the ladder, a shadow of a grin on my face.
"Obviously. You're leaving." He shook his head.
"Yeah, but, I meant, what to do about you." He took a breath, and placed his hands over mine. His were cold like the metal of the ladder, and sent goose-bumps up my skin. "Yolinn. I want you to come with me." I laughed softly, and shook my head.
"Listen to yourself!"
"I am listening, and it seems a good idea! I want you with me!" I couldn't look at him and keep my resolve, so I turned to the side.
"Very sweet, but, I just can't." He pulled me back around to face him, peering at me curiously.
What do you have to stay here for, Yolinn?" It sounded so much like what I had been thinking lately, that I shivered.
"Johan, people just don't run away."
"I am."
"But you're different!" I argued, pulling away and rubbing my bare arms with my now-chilly hands. "You have it all planned out, and you can take care of yourself, and you have this, like, aura of 'keep away', and I'm still just a mouse, and-.,"
"I don't care!" he hissed. "I don't care that you're a mouse! You are like me, Yolinn, you just…are you. And…" he ran his hand through his hair and looked around. "Just come with me, Yolinn!"
"To where, Johan? To where? The circus?" He snorted.
"No, no-to Katie's cousin's house, in Texas. Remember? I have it all planned out."
"TEXAS?" I shrieked, looking at him in shock. Was he nuts? That was all the way across the freaking country!
"And how are we getting to Texas? What do we do there? Have you even thought out everything?" He laughed, and climbed all the way inside my room.
"By car, thanks to Katie, probably get jobs,and yes. I have thought of everything." I folded my arms, and nerved myself to ask the question that had been bothering me when I had thought deeper into what I knew he would ask.
"Okay. So tell me, Johan, what do you think we'll do, huh? Am I sleeping with you next?" He looked shocked that I had said such a thing, but it's the one thing I had worried over. It's one thing to date someone, quite another to run away with them. Who knew what might happen, who knew what expectations would be had of me? I knew of so many that did just that, and made mistakes that could ruin your life. Almost in painful afterthought, I ruefully included my mother in that pile of people, then shoved it to the back of my mind.
"Yolinn!"
"Well?" He sputtered and looked around like someone was hiding in some corner and would at any minute jump up and help him out.
"Yolinn, I'm just saying, you make me feel like something great, and I do NOT want to leave you here, with all these morons, excluding the crew, of course. And trust me, with what you did to Chris, you have no worry about me making any moves, not that I would. Not that I wouldn't be tempted, because not like you're ugly or anything, but-," I was half-laughing, half-crying now, and pushed him away when he tried to hug me. The crazy, stupid fool!
"I take that as a no?"
"Of course it's a no! I thought you'd know better by now than to assume the worst of me." That wasn't at all why I had asked. But it might be different for him, even now. Ever since the Chris incident, I had been very aware of every situation where that might happen again. Small curls of fear continually running through me.
"Johan, I just can't run away!"
"Why not? Why not, Yolinn? Do you trust me?" I covered my face with my hands.
"Yes, but-,"
"Do you trust Katie?"
"Yes, but-,"
"Do you love me?"
"Yes, but-," I froze, then whirled and pushed him again. "That was a dirty trick!" He looked surprised as well, at least I had that! Then, he laughed and swept me into a hug, ignoring my protestations.
" She does! So let's go! Leave the whale woman! Leave Chris the Octopus! Leave this little, horrible town, and come with me. Because I probably love you too." I burst into tears, and finally just admitted to both him and me.
"But I'm scared!" He kissed me once, then pointed out the window.
"Remember once, I asked you, if you were scared of the dark?" I nodded.
"But that's not why I'm-,"
"I wasn't talking about the dark before, Yolinn, I was talking about myself. Everyone else is afraid of what they don't know, what they can't see past, and I asked you then if you were scared. Of me, of what I represented, of what I did, of everything connected to me, and you were. That's why I told you it wasn't safe, because it's not, not when you are afraid." He took two giant steps to the window and looked down. "You saw who I was, you saw the crew really weren't the devils advocates, really weren't the anti- Christ. You saw past the darkness, and you are not afraid!" I swallowed with difficulty, taking shallow breaths as he looked at me with such yearning on his face, and this great need in his eyes "Come with me Yolinn! Garrett will come too, once Katie's done with school, and D.C. will as well, until he leaves for registration. You know the darkness and its full of your friends. Please, Yolinn…" I just couldn't, I just couldn't! Poundings of my heart and blood sent fear to every inch of me. I just couldn't do it. I would stay here, I knew. I would stay here, finish the year, ignore and be ignored, and do everything as I should. Almost in tears, I went to hug him goodbye. I went to touch his face one last time, to feel his warmth once more before I shattered that hopeful look upon his face, so full of excitement over his freedom he fought so hard for.
But once I was close, and I saw his eyes, hazel like mine, cracked but not broken, just like me, so wanting to be important in my eyes, I couldn't let him go.
He kissed me then, and I felt how much he did want me to come with him, because he didn't let me go, seemingly just couldn't let me go.
"Please, Yolinn,. Please." He whispered in my ear. I teetered on the brink of making a decision on my own two feet, when, just then, like some kind of harbinger of doom, my aunt burst in.
"I thought I heard- What is the meaning of this? YOLINN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" To his credit, Johan didn't move a muscle, merely stared her down. I wriggled loose, flinging my hands out, looking for the words to say. She thrust her chin out at me and leveled me with a glare.
"Yolinn Garrea! How dare you lower yourself to this kind of behaviour!" I choked. How dare I? How DARE I? I never would have, had it not been for Johan. How dare I… Suddenly I just started laughing, and knew the words to say, and almost laughed them out.
"Goodbye dear aunt Francis. I'm running away from home now. Please don't come after me, I'm heading to California." I reached around Johan, shoved Bowie and my sketchbook in my backpack, then pulled my favorite sweater off its hooks. She gaped like a fish and grabbed my arm. I looked at her and put fire in my voice, every inch of me feeling like I had been zapped with electricity.
"DON'T. TOUCH. ME." She gaped and gaped as I threw my bag down, and climbed down the ladder. She gaped as Johan followed, waving cheerfully at her, then handed the ladder to D.C. when he was down. She gaped down at me as we headed quickly down the road.
"Thanks again, D.C."
"No prob, Jo."
I hugged Katie.
"Hey, um…can I borrow…"
"Sure. You can have most of my clothes. Daddy owes me several shopping trips anyway." I hugged Johan, who squeezed me fit to pop. My head was a million miles away, floating in the dark clouds around the moon.
"Thank you." He looked at me seriously. I winked and tweaked his nose, suddenly uncomfortable with the seriousness.
"Just you remember what happened to Chris." He grinned.
"I hope I never forget. That was classic." Katie shook her head at us.
"Honestly." We strolled off down the street, hearing my aunt curse and rave all the way to the intersection. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't feel anything but a tingling running around my veins, and it was glorious. Johan cleared his throat.
"Hey, um….Katie?"
"ARGGHHHH! YES! YES, YOU CAN ALL SLEEP OVER AT MY HOUSE, JEEZ LOUIEEZ!" I kissed Johan then, and felt an odd little shiver run through me along with the tingles. Yes, I was happy. Finally, I was happy. We'd all be free, and never have to be caged again. Johan looked at me and grinned his ne'er-do-well grin.
"My little tiger." He murmured, and stroked my face.
"No…" I stated back clearly, "I'm a mouse, and proud of it." Following our crew, we made our Escape.
-for Misty, who did make her own escape, with a little help from me.
Adding anything to this story, would only demean it I think, so I'll just say thank you to all who reviewed this story, and add that never in all my dreams( haha-little joke, sorry, shameless of me) did I think that THIS dream of mine would actually cut it as a story. I love all of you's , and Johan and Yolinn would never have made their escape if it wasn't for every single one of the reviews, which I read and treasured on their own. I look forward to seeing what new readers have to say about it. Anywho- maybe in the future I'll check up on them in Texas, and let you know how they are. Until my other stories! OwlofArtemis