Exit, Pursued by a Bear

Weeks passed, and Travis got more annoying.

He’d walk by me in the upstairs hallway and say, “Hey, Maggie.” And, worst of all, he’d smile at me as if he was completely oblivious to the fact that I hated him.

Boy, did that boy know how to get on my nerves.

“Are you doing anything tomorrow?” he asked me while I sat on the sill of my open window, legs dangling and bumping against the stone of the cottage.

“Why are you in my room?”

“I’m not in your room.”

I half-turned, and he was right. He was standing just outside, in the hallway. I turned back to the night. “What do you mean, am I doing anything tomorrow?”

“Exactly what I said.”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Well, I was wondering if you wanted to go for a walk or something.”

“A walk, you say? Intriguing.” I snorted, and I saw its whiteness in the frigid air.

“Yes, a walk. What d’you say?”

“I say no.”

He sighed, and I heard him take a step into my room.

“Ah-ah-ah,” I said. “Both feet out, please.”

I heard him take a step back, and I made no effort to hold back a smile.

“Please, Maggie, take a walk with me tomorrow.” He paused. “The day after I got here, you told me I didn’t know you. And, I said that I wanted to. Give me that chance.”

I heaved a sigh more dramatic than his and said, “Alright. I’ll take a walk with you. But, just this once.”

I swear I heard the smile in his voice as he said, “I’ll meet you in the clearing after the reading.”

“Whatever.”

I think he skipped merrily the few feet to his bedroom.

A few minutes later, panicking, I went to Dana’s room in need of advice since she’d gone out with Wayland and Ruther, but not at the same time, obviously; I don’t think she’s that much of a bitch.

“A date with Travis? You’re so lucky,” she gushed. “He’s gorgeous.”

“Yeah, no, dude, it’s not a date.” I sat on the edge of her bed and watched with vague interest as she applied some thick green cream to her face at her vanity.

“It totally is.”

I grimaced. A date. Oh, dear God in hell…

“So, what do you need advice about?” She turned around on the little bench, rested her elbows on her knees, and her head in her hands. She was enjoying this, I could tell even if she wasn’t showing it.

“I don’t know,” I snapped. “I’ve never been on a ‘date’ before.”

“Then, you need to know the basics.” She still didn’t smile or anything, so I got scared. “Don’t try to hold his hand. He’ll go for it when he’s comfortable.”

I nodded, eager for more tips.

“When it comes down to the kiss—”

My eyes widened.

“—just go with it.”

My jaw dropped. “You’re kidding, right? I can’t kiss him. He’s still the new kid.”

“He’s not so new anymore, Maggie,” she giggled. “He’s been here for, like, two months.”

“What? Really?”

“Yeah, hon.”

What the hell? Time flies so fast when you have a crazy, stalker-boy after your virginity.

“Dana, I don’t think I want to kiss him.”

“What?!” she shrieked, standing up.

My shoulders hunched, expecting her to slap some sense into me.

“Why would you not want to kiss him? He’s so beautiful, Maggie. You’ve finally gone insane.”

“Shut up,” I groaned, letting myself fall back onto her pink comforter. “I’m still not sure if I even want to spend any time alone with him. He kinda scares me.”

“He’s not scary. He’s really nice.”

“I don’t know if I can do this, Dana.”

“You can,” she said. “Just do everything I told you, and you’ll be fine.”

I got up to go. “Thanks.”

“Wait. What’re you going to wear?”

“Does it matter?”

“Of course, it matters. What’re you going to wear?” she asked again.

“This?” I gestured to my ratty, grass-stained jeans and my flannel shirt.

“Uh, no.” She got up and went to her closet. “You’re going to wear a dress.”

“What.” It wasn’t a question.

“A dress,” she laughed, picking a light blue one out and throwing it to me. “This is one of my old ones. It’s too big for me, so maybe it’ll fit you. Try it on.”

I ignored the casual insult and made her turn around. When I was in the dress, I said, “Okay. I feel dumb.”

“Aw, Maggie. You look so cute.” She pushed me over to the mirror on her closet door.

I frowned at my reflection. I looked dumb… You could see my shins. What kind of monster invented such a thing?

She smiled a little, cracking the dried crap on her face. “Travis is gonna love it.”

I somehow believed her.

* * * * *

The next evening, I stood next to a tree on the edge of the clearing, fidgeting with my dress. I saw Travis walk toward me from the house, and I looked down, suddenly self-conscious.

“Maggie,” he said, “you’re wearing a dress.”

Thank you, Captain Obvious. “It wasn’t my idea,” I told him.

“You look nice.” He offered me a small smile.

“Thanks,” I mumbled.

He next offered me his arm, and I tried not to make a face as I looped mine through his.

We strolled into the woods.

Well, he strolled while I tried to keep my feet in the flats Dana let me borrow; her feet were a little bit longer than mine.

I was kind of surprised at how not awkward this was and kind of very surprised at how much I was enjoying just walking with him.

“I’m guessing that’s not your dress,” he finally said.

“It’s Dana’s.”

“I would hope so,” he said, looking down at me.

I chuckled nervously.

We walked for a few more minutes in silence.

“How long have you known all of them?”

“Four years,” I said.

“So, since you were twelve?”

I had a mini freak-out. How’d he know I was sixteen?

“Yes…”

“That’s cool.”

“I guess.”

“Let’s sit down.”

“Okay.”

We sat in the dry leaves under the red canopy.

“I’m seventeen, by the way,” he said like I cared.

“Nice.”

“Can you at least try to pretend to have a good time?”

“I am having a good time,” I said through my teeth, removing my arm from his.

He moved so he was sitting in front of me. “It doesn’t seem like it.”

“We’ve only been out here for, like, ten minutes. Wait until I get used to being around you. Jeez.”

“You’re not used to me yet?”

“No,” I stated, looking right into his eyes.

He looked right back. “And, why not?”

“Because you’re weird.”

He scoffed. “I’m weird?” He scoffed again. “You’re the anti-social butterfly of the house.”

“No, that would be Porter. I’m just the only mature butterfly.”

“Mature!” He scoffed a third time. “Maggie, you’re so immature my younger sister would be more mature than you, and she would be ten right now.”

“What?” My scowl softened to a glare.

He rubbed the back of his neck.

“What happened?” I whispered, my glare softening to a look of pure sympathy.

“They died in a fire.”

“Who?”

“My whole family.” He turned his face to the left, hiding his scar.

“Did you get that…?” I couldn’t finish.

“Trying to save my sister? Yeah.”

“Oh, my God.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He turned back to face me—and smiled a half-hearted smile. “It’s the past. I'm fine now.”

“But…” I started to lift my hand to touch his scar, but it dropped mid-reach.

“But, what?”

“I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay, Maggie. Really.” His smile was full-blown now. “They’re… in a better place now.”

“You don’t sound like you believe it.” The words were out of my mouth before I even thought them.

“This ‘better place’ people always talk about, it doesn’t exist.” He sighed and looked down at my hands in my lap. “The best place is here. With me. And you.”

Whoa. When did this turn all emo? This was bad. I needed to change subjects.

“Travis,” I sighed, leaning forward, “let me let you in on a secret.”

He cocked an eyebrow.

“No place is best when I'm around.” I gave him a grin, stood, and trotted off into the woods, knowing he’d follow.

And, he did, catching up to me within seconds.

“Can I ask you something?” He was walking in graceful strides, and I was walking in graceless stumbles.

“Sure. What?”

“Do I make you nervous?”

“What?” I pretended not to have heard him. Because, truth be told, he made me very nervous.

“Do I. Make you. Nervous?”

“Um, no? Why would you?” I turned around and started walking backwards, hoping I wouldn’t trip over a tree root or a dead body or something.

“I just have this feeling.” He smirked.

“Well, you don’t. Case closed.”

“Alright…” The smirk was still there, and I wanted to slap it off.

“Stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like that.”

“What are you talking about?”

“That look on your face. It’s making me uncomfortable.”

“I’m just smiling, Maggie. Is that bad?”

I didn’t say anything to him. I just stared at him with my eyes narrowed, wondering what his deal was. Did he think that just smiling at me would make me fall all over him?

He was right. Ish.

My heel caught on something, and I did fall. Well, I started to, but Travis caught me.

So embarrassing, me in his arms like that, him gazing into my eyes.

Him inclining his head…

“What was that?” I righted myself and looked around.

He sighed. “What was what?”

“Shh!” I pulled him behind some bushes.

“Maggie—”

I clapped a hand over his mouth.

“Are you sure they’re around here?” a man’s voice said. His footfalls were heavy. Army-standard boots.

His friend’s were just as heavy. “Yeah. They have to be. Mr. O’Rourke said they’d be in this area.”

“Why the hell do they live in the woods?” the first one mumbled.

O’Rourke. That name sounded familiar.

I had to get back home and tell Wayland. I started to take off Dana’s shoes.

“What are you—?”

“Shh!” I said again. I grabbed his hand and started to edge away from the men.

“Who are they?” he whispered, pointing at the men, both clad in black.

“I don’t know,” I whispered back. “But, we’re gonna lead them away from the house. You go southwest; I’ll go southeast. Now, go.”

We split, and I bolted, my bare feet cracking leaves and twigs.

“What was that?” I heard one of the men ask.

“Sounds like two of ‘em. You go that way; I’ll go this way.”

I ran in zigzag lines, bored. Couldn’t they run any faster?

“Hey, you!”

“Shit,” I muttered, putting on an extra burst of speed. Eventually, he’d get tired and go find his friend. Thank goodness I was a healthy teenager and didn’t get tired easily.

I heard his boots breaking branches that I’d just leapt over. Then, I heard nothing. He had stopped to catch his breath.

Taking the chance, I turned and retraced my steps. I found the man doubled over, breathing hard.

“Hello,” I said.

He straightened so fast you’d have thought I’d put an ice cube down his shirt. “Who—who’s there?”

“Oh, no one.” I was fairly close to him, so I thought I could knock him out and head back to find Travis.

“What’s your name, sweetie?” He was trying to be suave; it wasn’t working.

“Pedo. Pedo File,” I replied, then punched him so hard in the jaw he fell over.

I made sure he was unconscious before yelling, “Travis!”

“Over here!”

I followed the sound of his voice.

He had the other guy in a full nelson.

I had to give him props; the man was twice his width.

“Knock him out. We have things to do.”

Travis shrugged his shoulders and released the dude. Travis kicked him in the back of the knee. Then, when the man dropped to the ground, Travis brought his fist down on top of his head.

“Usually, if you bop ‘em in the top of the head, they go beddy-bye,” Travis said, looking down at the unconscious blob.

I just looked at him, half-impressed, half-afraid.

“Should we go home and tell Wayland?”

I just nodded.

* * * * *

“What?” Wayland looked like he was about to ralph all over the beige area rug in his room.

“It’s only a matter of time before they actually find us,” I said. “We were about five or six miles out.”

“Maggie, this is bad.”

“No kidding.”

“We have to leave.”

“And go where?” I asked. “It’s not like we have many friends, Way.”

“My parents.”

“What about them?” Travis finally lifted his head from his hands and looked at our “leader”.

“My parents will take us in.”

“Hey, hey, whoa, hey. What?” I grabbed Wayland’s shoulder to make him stop pacing and turned him to me. “What did you just say?”

“They have a big house, and I guess you could say they’ll be happy to see Porter and me.”

“What about us?” Travis asked.

“They’ll take you in, too… if I throw a tantrum.”

I kind of wanted to see him do that, so I nodded. “And, where, exactly, do your parents live?”

“Uh…”

“Oh, God, he doesn’t know,” Travis said, exasperated.

“I do know. I just don’t think you guys’ll like it very much.”

“Where do they live, Wayland?” I asked, giving him The Look.

“Santa Barbara.”

“Isn’t that in California?” Travis inquired.

“Yes.”

“That’s on the other side of the country…”

“Well,” I said, “we’re screwed.”

“No, we’re not. We’ll get there,” Wayland said.

“Yeah? How, O Wise One?”

“It’s called hitchhiking.”

“Yep. We’re screwed.”