Runaway Read online

  Jessica took one sip of her tea, now cold and bitter, and tossed the rest of it in the sink. She rinsed off the other breakfast dishes, then went upstairs. Elizabeth was in the bathroom putting on the final touches of her makeup.

  "Jess, do me a favor." It was obvious that Elizabeth was in a hurry. "Loan me that new lipstick of yours. I haven't got one that's right, and I want to look perfect today."

  Jessica nodded and went into her room to get the lipstick. She found it right where she'd left it, under a stack of magazines.

  "Here," she said as she reentered the bathroom. She walked over to the dressing table and handed her twin the tube.

  "Thanks." Elizabeth smiled. She took a brush off the table and carefully outlined her lips. When she had finished using the lipstick, she asked, "Does this outfit look too casual?"

  "Stand up and turn around," Jessica commanded. She looked Elizabeth over. She was wearing a blue cotton skirt with a matching jacket over a white silk blouse. Jessica thought the outfit was conservative but perfect for Elizabeth. "You look fine," she said.

  "Thanks. I've got a meeting at the News this morning. I have to show my editor my preliminary notes and talk about the direction I'm taking with the article." She was talking quickly, and she hurried into her room.

  Jessica followed her sister, watching her carefully. Elizabeth hadn't even noticed that Jessica had followed her into her room. She was too wrapped up in her own thoughts, the hearing, the articles. All of these things were so important to Elizabeth, so important that they had blinded her to what was going on between them.

  "Liz," Jessica began, "we have to talk."

  Elizabeth looked up at her twin. "Sure, Jess." She checked her watch. "What's up?"

  Oh, Liz, Jessica thought, it all would have been OK if you hadn't done that. If you just hadn't looked at your watch.

  "What is it?" Elizabeth repeated. She had noticed a dark look come over Jessica's face. "Is it Nicky?"

  "No, Nicky's great," Jessica replied. She forced her voice to become more casual. "We can talk later. I'm sure you're in a hurry."

  "Well, I'm supposed to be down there at nine o'clock, which only gives me twenty minutes," she said hesitantly. "But if it's important, Jess, I can skip the whole thing."

  "No, it's nothing," Jessica said. I don't want to be any more trouble for you, she added to herself.

  "OK, if you say so." Elizabeth picked up her note pad and folders and gave her twin a hug. "We'll talk later. When I get home."

  "Sure."

  Elizabeth started out the door. "Oh, here." She ran back into the bathroom and picked up the lipstick. "Thanks again, Jess. Wish me luck."

  "Good luck," Jessica said softly as her twin breezed past her.

  Jessica stood there and listened as Elizabeth shut the front door. She heard the Fiat roar to life, and then listened to the sound as it disappeared down their street.

  The house was quiet now. Jessica wandered into her bedroom, lost in her depression.

  Everything Nicky had said came back to her, and worse: it was all true. She didn't belong in the family. The only one with any problems and the cause of everyone else's. The only one with nothing to do. As Nicky had said, she just didn't fit in.

  Suddenly Jessica felt she had to talk to Nicky. He was the only one who really understood her. The only one who cared for her. They were alone together. Just the two of them.

  A chill swept through Jessica as she realized what she was admitting to herself. She picked up the phone and dialed Nicky's number. The phone rang several times before it was picked up.

  "Hello?" It was a young boy's voice. Jessica knew it must be Nicky's little brother.

  "Hello. May I speak to Nicky, please?"

  "Just a second."

  Jessica heard the phone clattering down and the boy yelling for Nicky in the background. After a couple of minutes, the phone was picked up again.

  "Yeah?" It was Nicky's voice.

  "Hi, it's Jessica." Just the sound of his voice made her feel better, convinced her that she was doing the right thing.

  "Hi," he said softly. "I was just going to call you."

  "You were?"

  "Yeah. Listen, I'm leaving tonight."

  "Tonight?" Jessica panicked. "I thought you weren't going until Friday!"

  "Things have gotten really bad around here after last night. I've got to get out now."

  Jessica didn't know how to reply.

  After a short silence, Nicky spoke again. "Have you been thinking about my offer?"

  Jessica took a deep breath. "Actually, that's what I called to talk to you about."

  Ten

  Jessica hardly slept a wink Thursday night. It all still seemed like a dream, although she knew it wasn't. She awoke on Friday morning knowing that Nicky was already in San Francisco, waiting for her. By nighttime, she would be there with him, with someone who understood and cared about her. She and Nicky would be starting a new life, together.

  Monday would probably be the day when everyone at school found out. Lying in bed, Jessica smiled as she imagined the news running through the halls. What a story! Jessica Wakefield had left Sweet Valley! Of course, no one would know where she was. She had talked to Lila and Cara the previous night but had resisted the urge to tell them anything. She couldn't. She decided that she might write Cara a letter after a while, just to tell her she was all right. Of all her friends, Cara would be most upset, Jessica decided. Lila might even be happy to have less competition.

  Of course, Jessica reflected, her family would be upset for a while, but they would get over it. They'd try to find her at first, but then her father would get caught up again in his law practice, her mother with her design clients, and everyone, of course, would be busy helping Steven put his life back together.

  And Elizabeth. Elizabeth would be OK too. She'd grow up to become a star reporter on some fancy newspaper somewhere, and she'd forget about what's-her-name, the twin she used to have.

  Jessica planned to tell her parents she was spending the weekend at Lila's. They were all so wrapped up in the hearing that no one would even notice she was missing until Sunday.

  Sunday. Jessica thought about Sunday at the Wakefields'. Sleeping in late and waking up to a leisurely brunch and then a trip to the beach with friends.

  No, she thought. She had to put things like that out of her mind. It wasn't going to be like that anymore. She would wait until her family had left for the day, and then she'd pack her things and head for the bus station.

  Jessica had piled up some of her clothing and belongings in stacks in the closet. It wouldn't take her longer than a couple of hours to get everything into suitcases. She would take the local bus and get off at the station, leaving the Fiat for Elizabeth. Everything would be better because she'd finally be out of their lives. That was what they wanted, wasn't it?

  Suddenly it occurred to Jessica her family might not believe she had run away. Maybe they would think she'd been kidnapped. Jessica remembered the pain her parents had gone through when Elizabeth had been kidnapped by a lunatic orderly at the Joshua Fowler Memorial Hospital. She couldn't put her parents through that again.

  What could she do? Maybe she could tell Cara, and Cara could reassure her family later. No, that was no good. Cara couldn't keep any kind of secret; she'd be at the bus station with Jessica's family and the Sweet Valley High School Band before Jessica had even packed. Telling someone in her family was out, and a phone call wasn't a good idea. They might be able to trace it to where she was, or maybe they would try to talk her into coming home.

  No, the only choice was a note. Yes, that was it. She would leave a note that they could find after she'd gone. She could convince them that this was for the best, and maybe they'd understand. Maybe they'd come to see it all as she had.

  Jessica began to compose the note in her head and instantly regretted not having paid more attention in the creative-writing class she had taken the previous year.

  What should she write?
She didn't want to make anybody feel bad, or did she? Well, maybe just a little, she thought. After all, it wasn't her fault that she was being forced to run away. Maybe, she thought, she'd make her family feel a little guilty, but she'd also try to convince them that this was all for the best and that she'd be better off on her own.

  Jessica threw the sheets back and got out of bed. She put on her robe and sat down at her desk. She was thinking about what she'd write as she pulled a piece of stationery out of her drawer. It was pretty lavender paper that Elizabeth had given her for her last birthday.

  No, no, she wasn't going to think about her birthday! That would just make her feel sad, and she didn't want to feel sad. She didn't want to think about anything that might make her change her mind.

  Jessica's first problem was deciding to whom she should address her letter. The entire family was too general. She didn't want to single out her mother or her father either. If she picked just one, it would make the other feel left out.

  The only choice was Elizabeth. Besides, Elizabeth was the only one who could read her bad handwriting.

  She wrote:

  Dear Liz,

  By the time you get this, I will be far away. I'm sorry if my leaving causes you all a lot of pain, but it will be better for all of us in the long run. There are many reasons why I'm going. It isn't just your fault. You can't help being the way you are any more than I can. You're so good. It would just be better for all of you if you'd forget that I ever even existed. I've never been anything but trouble anyway. This doesn't mean I'm forgetting about you. I'll be thinking a lot about all of you as I take the bus to my new home. I love you, Liz. And make sure you tell Mom and Dad that I love them too, and Steve, even though I know he hates me. Someday I'll return, I promise, but not for a long time. Please don't try to find me. My mind is made up. I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused.

  Still your loving sister,

  Jessica

  Jessica put down the pen and wiped the tears from her eyes. She read the note over. Suddenly a thought came to her, and she added at the bottom:

  P.S. I'm leaving you my new jeans. I think they make me look fat anyway.

  Jessica carefully folded the note and put it in a matching envelope. She smoothed it out until it lay perfectly flat.

  There was a knock at her door, and Elizabeth flew in. Jessica quickly slid the note into a book.

  "Jess, help," Elizabeth said in desperation. "I'm late, and I need to borrow your green scarf."

  Jessica looked at her twin. Elizabeth was dressed like the perfect reporter in a smartly tailored tan suit. Jessica pulled the scarf out of her drawer and walked over to Elizabeth. She tied it around her sister's neck and stepped back.

  "How do I look?" Elizabeth asked, smiling.

  Jessica fought hard to hold back the tears. She crossed to her twin, wrapped her arms around her, and hugged her with all her might. "Beautiful. Just beautiful."

  "Hey." Elizabeth pulled back and noticed that Jessica was crying. "I knew I looked good today, but I didn't think it was anything that deserved tears. What's wrong?"

  "Nothing." Jessica wiped her tears away with the back of her hand and turned so she wasn't facing her sister. She pretended to be busy with something on her dresser. "I'm being silly. I'm just so proud of you, Liz."

  Elizabeth said nothing for a second. She could tell when Jessica was making excuses. She knew her twin too well to be fooled.

  "Hey. What's up?"

  Jessica turned and faced her twin. She forced a smile. "Nothing, really. I'm fine. I'm just feeling sort of— I don't know—funny today."

  "Yeah. You look real funny."

  "Thanks a lot."

  Ned Wakefield's voice drifted up from downstairs. "Hey, Hemingway, let's get a move on."

  "I've got to go." Elizabeth looked at her sister with concern.

  "I know. It's OK. I'm fine, really."

  The twins exchanged a look, and Jessica almost spilled the whole plan. She wanted to. She wanted to tell her sister the whole thing and have Elizabeth convince her to stay. But then, the moment was gone, and she couldn't.

  "I'll be back this afternoon, and then we'll talk. OK?"

  Jessica smiled at her. "No, I'm spending the weekend at Lila's. But I'll see you Sunday." She almost choked on the words.

  Elizabeth returned the smile and hugged her sister again. "Sure. Have a good time. I'll call you and let you know how the hearing comes out."

  "Good. Tell Dad good luck for me. OK?"

  Elizabeth nodded and walked out the door. Jessica listened to the sounds of everyone leaving, and then she was alone again.

  She walked over to her desk and pulled her letter out of the book. Carefully and with great affection she wrote her sister's name on the envelope.

  Deep down, Jessica knew the real reason for writing the letter. She wanted her family to come and find her. She didn't really want to leave. That was why she had included the reference to the bus in her note. Most likely, Elizabeth would come home, find the letter, figure out where Jessica had gone, rush to the bus station, and beg her sister to stay. Everything would be different then. Then they'd all take her seriously.

  She propped the letter on her dresser and began to pack. It took her longer than she'd expected, and when she was done, just after noon, her room was so clean, she hardly recognized it. Nothing was out of place.

  Jessica picked up her two suitcases and carried them to the door. As she looked back into her room, she was suddenly flooded with memories. So many of the things that had happened in the room with the chocolate-brown walls came back to her in such vivid detail that she felt she couldn't take it anymore. She slammed the door and headed for the local bus.

  What Jessica didn't know was that in slamming the door, she had created a breeze in the room. Not a big wind, but just enough to knock the letter over and cause it to fall behind her dresser.

  Eleven

  Elizabeth scanned the faces in the courtroom. Ricky, his mother, sister, and grandparents all just stared at the floor most of the time. The grandparents didn't seem to be able to follow the proceedings. Often during the hearing Ned Wakefield or Marianna West had to lean over and explain to them what was going on. But Elizabeth could tell that they understood the importance of the hearing. They looked as though they had taken extra time with their appearance. That made her a little sad, thinking that they had put on their best clothes, maybe even bought new ones, for an occasion as sad as this one was.

  The look on Ricky's face upset Elizabeth. At school Ricky had always been cheerful. It was strange and disturbing to see him like this. He never smiled once during the proceedings, not even when he was speaking with Annie, who sat in the row behind Ricky's family, wearing a sad expression and watching closely.

  Ned Wakefield and Marianna West took notes and exchanged them frequently. Elizabeth could tell by the looks on their faces that it wasn't going well. They presented their arguments effectively, but their case was weak. All the testimony boiled down to one point: neither Ricky nor his sister nor his mother seemed to want contact with the two old people, and the court had to respect Mrs. Capaldo's wishes.

  Elizabeth spent most of her time at the final hearing taking notes and watching carefully. There was a lot to absorb, so many terms that she didn't understand and would have to ask her father about later.

  The defense counsel was a man named Murray Long. Elizabeth had talked to him briefly before the session, and he seemed to be a nice man. He too shared the pain of Ricky's grandparents, but he had a job to do, and he was doing it to the best of his ability. In his final arguments Mr. Long stated that the alimony payments were not the important issue of the hearing. What was at stake was the mother's right to decide who should have contact with her children. If it was her wish that the grandparents be prohibited from visiting the children, there wasn't much the court could do about it. He spoke quietly and with determination.

  Mr. Long finished his comments and sat down. The judge nodded
to Mr. Wakefield, who stood to give his argument.

  "Your Honor," Ned Wakefield began, "we have a very complex problem here. It seems to me to be a case of the law versus justice." He paused for a moment and then went on. "In all of this, we have discussed in great detail a lot of fine points of the law, but none of us has mentioned the point that is at the bottom of the whole problem. This is a case that should never have been brought to court in the first place. The bottom line here, it seems to me, is that children need love. They need it as much as they need food or air or education. They need it to grow and to develop into responsible, caring adults. There is no doubt that many people have suffered in this case. Mrs. Capaldo has certainly suffered. She has been forced to become the sole support of her family. But my clients have also suffered. They have spent a great deal of time and money, and why? Because they want to give these children the love they so desperately need." Mr. Wakefield paused.

  From her vantage point, Elizabeth noticed that Ricky had begun to move uncomfortably in his chair. Then, like a spring, he shot up from the chair and marched out of the courtroom. Annie began to get up, but Elizabeth stopped her with a look. After putting her notebook down on the seat next to her, Elizabeth followed Ricky into the corridor.

  She came out of the double doors and saw him sitting on a bench in front of the elevators, his head in his hands. Elizabeth walked quietly to the bench and sat down beside him.

  She said nothing at first. After a moment Ricky looked up and saw her there. He made no sign of recognition, and Elizabeth could see that he was crying.

  "Getting a lot of good material for your article?" he snapped bitterly.

  Elizabeth bit her lip. "Look, Ricky. I don't think you really feel—"

  He cut her off in anger. "How do you know how I feel? You can't imagine how I feel. Everything is so perfect for you." His voice got a little quieter. "You know what it's like? One day everything is great: you've got a mother and a father and a family; and the next day, they're telling you everything has changed. They can't get along anymore. They can't live together anymore. But nobody asks you. Nobody asks you how you feel. I love my father, and I love my mother, but my father took off, and now, it's pretty clear to me that he doesn't want anything to do with us. Fine. Well, I don't want anything to do with him either. Him or his parents." Ricky burst into sobs.