Page 16 of Between Never and Forever
“Drop it, Levi,” she says. It’s the first time I’ve ever heard her voice crack, and my heart cracks with it. “I’ll be fine. It’ll be fine in a few days.”
I don’t say anything else. I don’t argue because it’s obvious she will never agree. Sav needs sleep, so I stay quiet until her breathing evens out. I’ll let her rest, let her mind settle, but tomorrow, I’m getting help.
This isn’t happening again.
When I wake up, Sav is gone. I never even heard her leave.
I get dressed quickly and head into the kitchen, but I stop short when I see my mom, my dad, and Officer Denton from church sitting at the kitchen table. He’s not in uniform, but the hairs on my arms still stand and my neck still prickles with unease.
“What’s going on?” I ask, and my stomach falls to my feet when Officer Denton sets Savannah’s shirt on the table. The one I threw away last night. The one covered in her mom’s boyfriend’s blood.
“You tell us.”
5
I don’t seeSavannah all weekend, and she isn’t at school on Monday.
She doesn’t come over. She doesn’t text, not that I expect her to. She’s probably pissed at me, and I don’t know if I blame her. But this time feels different. I’m worried for her. I keep thinking of the boot print. The blood on her shirt. The fear.
Turns out, my mom heard me in the kitchen Friday night. Then one of the neighbors from across the street saw Sav leaving through my window early Saturday morning. The neighbor called my mother, and my mother flipped out.
I don’t know what led to her digging through the trash to find the shirt. I don’t know why she didn’t just come wake me up. All I know is she called Officer Denton first thing, and we had a “talk” as soon as I woke up.
I told him everything. How Sav’s mom’s boyfriend drinks or does drugs and then gets mean. How Sav’s always covered in bruises, and how sometimes she’ll go days without eating. Sometimes she sleeps at the park or at The Pit. Sometimes she’ll disappear for days before turning up at my window late at night.
My mother hated that last part more than anything else. Even more than when I talked about the horrible bruise on Savannah’s side from where her mom’s boyfriend kicked her, or how Savannah had to hit him with a liquor bottle to protect herself. All my mom cares about is that Savannah slept in my room, in my bed, and that it’s been happening for at least a year.
Talking to Officer Denton and my parents about everything made me feel slimy, like I was betraying Sav, even though I know it’s the right thing to do. Officer Denton said Savannah wouldn’t get in trouble for hitting her mom’s boyfriend, and he said he was going to get her someplace safe. I made him promise, and he gave me his word.
That was Saturday morning. It’s now Tuesday, and Sav is still missing at the bus stop.
I go through the whole first half of the day with my head down and slide silently into my usual place in the cafeteria at lunch. I eat half my sandwich while scowling at the untouched other half. Savannah’s half. I kick the table leg. What the heck is going on with her? My parents said she’d still be at school. Officer Denton promised she’d be back.
Unless...
Did Sav run away?
I get a sinking feeling in my stomach. She would do it. I know she would. Now that she’s been taken out of her house with her mom, I could definitely see her running away.
Crap. Did I mess up?
I thought I was helping. No, I was helping. Iamhelping. Savannah can’t stay in that house anymore, but she is so stubborn. She wouldn’t see that this is what’s best for her. If she ran away...
I stand abruptly, my sandwich dropping to the table as I step away from my chair and start walking quickly toward the office. I have to tell them that I think Sav is going to run. I have to tell the principal what I did or call my parents and get ahold of Officer Denton. Maybe she hasn’t gotten far, and they can still find her.
I’m twenty feet from the door when it swings open and Officer Denton steps out, then, before I can fully register what’s happening, Savannah follows behind him. My breath rushes from my lungs, and my shoulders sag with relief.
“Sav!” I move toward her but stop in my tracks when she hits me with a glare.
She’s mad. I knew she’d probably be mad, but she looks like she wants to kill me. I grit my teeth, ready to face off with her, and take another step, but she shakes her head.
“Stay away from me,Leviticus,” she says loudly, “unless you want me to break your nose the way I broke Connor’s.”
I jerk my head back, and my eyes go wide.
“Miss Shaw,” Officer Denton scolds, grabbing her by the upper arm. “You’ve been warned to be on your best behavior. Go to class.”
Savannah doesn’t even acknowledge him. She just narrows her eyes once more at me, then drags them away and stalks off down the hall.
