Running From Time: Chapter 1

Tiffany grabbed her coat and unlocked her front door. She stopped to look through the screen door at the freezing rain and watched as a streak of lightening shot through the dark sky with a rumble of thunder to accompany it.

"I hate my job, " Tiffany groaned.

She was a bartender at a local bar called the Gunshot. She did this to help with paying rent so she didn't have to stay in the cold, prison like dorms at her college. Well, they really weren't prison-like, but to Tiffany, it seemed that way. Everything seemed like a prison lately. School seemed to be getting harder by the day, her parents stopped calling her every weekend after their big fight, and her social life was really lacking. Though you have to give her credit considering it is only her freshman year in college. She is just starting to get to know the territory. Looking at her watch, Tiffany realized she didn't have time to stand here looking at the sky like a dumb blonde looking at a chalkboard. No, she had somewhere to be. Tiffany pushed open the door and pulled her hood over her head. She quickly reached into her pocket to make sure she had her keys and slammed the door shut behind her.

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"Hey Tiff, get over here! I need you to help me with this!" screamed Brendon.

"What? I can't hear you over the music! It is way too loud!" Tiffany screeched back.

"What! I can't... Wait a second! I'll come over to you!"

Brendon began to walk over to Tiffany who was on the other side of the bar. As he approached her, a man in a black coat called Tiffany to the corner seat and wanted his order taken. Tiffany quickly walked over and Brendon was left once again waiting for her alone. As Tiffany was taking the man's order, Brendon noticed something on the floor. It looked like a note of some sort. He couldn't read the writing and began to open it when Tiffany's hand shot out of nowhere and quickly grabbed the folded paper from his hands.

"Who is it for?" asked Brendon.

"None of your business. How did you get it?"

"It was just lying there on the ground and I picked it up. Why were you in such a hurry to take it from me?"

"I wasn't... well.. it's kind of private and I don't feel comfortable with sharing private things with other people. At least for right now. Maybe not later. Or maybe… I don’t know.”

Tiffany blushed. She never made any sense when she was talking to Brendon. He always gave her butterfly's.

"O.K." Brendon chuckled. "Well anyways, can you help me over here. I had a spill and there is just too much for the rag to soak up. I was hoping that you could run to the storage room and grab some towels."

"Great, let me go get them. Be right back."

Tiffany tucked the wade of paper in her pocket and quickly walked away to the storage room before she said anything else stupid. Brendon turned to walk to another customer waiting for a drink, still thinking about that paper.

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Tiffany began sifting through the supply closet looking for the towels that were supposed to go underneath the counter. As she was looking she began to think about all the times she never could speak around Brendon. She didn't know what was happening to her, but she didn't like it. She was falling for Brendon hard, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

"Ah. There we go. Towels. These should be fine." Tiffany said to herself.

Tiffany shut the closet door and as she turned around, she bumped right into Gabby, the manager, and one of Tiff’s best friends.

"Oh sorry, Gabby. Didn't see you there."

"That's ok. How is everything going? Smoothly I hope."

Tiffany sighed. "Not so good with the parents. Their arguing again and they just had another big fight. I'm afraid that my mom threatening to get a divorce isn't a such a threat anymore.”

"Hey, if you need anything, just call me. You have my number."

Tiffany nodded and Gabby walked past her to get the keys to open the freezer.

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Tiffany rushed out of the dark hallway only to meet Brendon by the counter.

"Hey, I thought you went home Brendon?"

"I was kinda bored and I realized that you might want some company, so I came back. Do you need help with that?"

"Um yeah, I have to put these glasses in the cabinets under the counter.”

There was a pause between the two for they had nothing to say. But Tiffany being Tiffany didn’t like feeling uncomfortable so she asked the first thing that popped into her mind.

“Hey, I don't mean to sound rude because I really don't, but how could you get bored driving home and then just decide to come back? Earlier you couldn't wait to get out."

"Well um, I kinda was bored."

"How can you be bored driving?!"

"You could say that I was bored with myself I guess."

"Is everything ok Brendon?"

Tiffany couldn't help but wonder if he was ok. He just wasn't acting like his usual self.

"Oh, um, I'm fine. I was just wondering if you would um ... well I haven't gotten much practice with this stuff. Well would you.. um," Brendon choked on his words.

He had practiced this so many times, why was it so different now? Maybe because you are actually talking to her! Relax man, breathe and take your time. You can do this. Just as Brendon was about to try it again he was snapped back to reality when he heard the sound of Tiffany's voice.

"What Brendon? Just say it!"

"WOULD YOU GO OUT WITH ME!"

The words flew out of his mouth faster then he and Tiffany expected. He could tell that he stunned her. This really wasn't the way he had planned it to go at all. He felt like a total dork.

"Well…YES!"

It was Brendon’s turn to be stunned. Did she just say yes or was he imagining things?

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Tiffany pulled the car into the driveway and turned off the car, leaving the keys in the ignition. She needed a moment to relax and breathe before she had to go and try to understand why her parents were leaving. This just didn't make any sense. One weekend mom was threatening a divorce and the next they were off to Europe. Why so far away? It had to be a good reason because mom and dad never had the kind of money to go off on big adventures whenever they felt like it. No, something was seriously wrong. And once the keys were out of the ignition, she would have to go to the door and face her parents, and the answer. She didn't think she could handle it. She took one last breathe and got the keys, got out of her car and walked slowly up to the door. Just as she was about to knock,

"Look who it is! Little tiff tuff! How are you dearie! I haven't seen you in ages! Well not that long but it seems that long!" chuckled the little old lady.

"Hello there Miss Hattie. How are you?" replied Tiffany.

"I'm the same," she replied with a giant smile. "You can't really change if everything is always the same old same old. Get it! Same old, I'm old!" chimed Miss Hattie, almost out of breathe.

Taking a step back and letting Tiffany in, she turned and looked at Tiffany with a half-hearted smile. She knew that this really wasn't any occasion to be making jokes, but it seemed to lighten the mood and her spirit. Once Tiffany was in the house, she shut the door and turned to Tiffany with an almost toothless smile and said, "I suppose you have come to see your parents?"

“You guessed it. I'm here to ask them about the note they sent me. I got it last week. I was wondering what the occasion was. You know anything about it Miss Hattie?"

"Well Tiffany, I was going to ask you the very same question because I got a note from your parents as well."

Miss Hattie walked slowly into the family room with Tiffany trailing right behind her. She sat on the coach and reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a folded up piece of paper. It looked to be some kind of special stationary. As she unfolded the piece of paper she began to speak again.

“Mine told me that they were going on a little trip and that they wanted to talk to me and a couple of other people before they left. That is all I know though. Wish I could help you out Tiff, but I don't know a darned thing about it."

“That makes two of us then,” came a voice from the doorway. Tiffany turned and saw a boy about her age, but a little taller, with light blonde hair, dark green eyes and a million dollar smile on his face. It was cousin Bobby. Oh boy, this was going to be good.

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Bobby loved being the unknown, the crazy one, the wild card of the family. He never grew tired of the surprises. He always had a new trick up his sleeve and he knew that nobody would expect it. But a week ago, two people surprised him. His Aunt and Uncle from Virginia who he hadn’t seen in over three years sent him a letter telling him that he was needed at their home as soon as possible. There was no explanation except that they were going to Europe and they needed to discuss some things before they left. Bobby had no idea what was so urgent but he didn’t think twice about it. At least then. Now, as he sat in the living room of his Aunt and Uncle’s home, he really wanted to get up and leave right away. Something didn’t seem right.

“So Bobby, why do you think Emma and Michael sent you a note?” Miss Hattie said, as if she really didn’t care, but was trying to be polite.

He loved the woman. Not because she was warm or comforting, or even kind. No, he loved her because she hated him so much and it was so easy to get under her skin. All he had to do was say hello and she would be squirming in her chair.

“I don’t know. I was kind of hoping that you or Tiffany could answer that for me but it seems as though you guys are just as stumped as I am.”

“Tell me about it,” chimed Tiffany. “I really don’t feel comfortable with this. I mean, my parents were never the kind to just jump and disappear on people.” She had learned that from experience. In fact, they were the people who stuck around just to make sure that you didn’t jump and disappear on them. None of this made sense. Not at all.

“Well, we’re going to find out why we are here in a few minutes because your parents will be coming home. Or at least that is what the letter said.” Miss Hattie went glossy-eyed as she spoke.

Just as Miss Hattie finished her sentence a pair of headlights appeared on the curtains from the front window in the room. Their answered had arrived.

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Brendon stood in front of the door to Tiffany's house. He just couldn't believe it! It was Tiffany Turner's house. The girl that was way out of his league. The girl he never had a chance with in high school. It was her house!

"O.K. I'm ready for this ¾ I think," muttered Brendon. He stared at the door readying himself for the big moment. Flowers in hand, hair finally neat, and smelling good. Or at least he thought he smelled good. It was his father's cologne. Probably very old.

"I'm thinking this over too much, I need to relax." Brendon fixed his jacket and finally knocked. And knocked again. No answer. He knocked louder that time, and still no answer.

"That makes no sense. She told me she was going to be here." Brendon stood there thinking about all the things that could have happened to her, but one thing kept popping up in his mind. She wouldn't have, would she? She was really never that kind of person, from what he saw of her at least. Maybe she was? What did he get himself into? What if she really did!

"She ditched me!" he cried. "She ditched me! I can't believe this! This is an all time low for me. I just can't understand... if she didn't like me... she only had to say no."

Brendon stood there, roses and all just about to break down when the door opened and a little girl stood there. She was about 5‘1” with dark brown hair and light blue eyes. She looked no more than fourteen.

"Sir, who are you and what do you want? We don't want to buy anything so go away if your selling." This little girl had a big attitude for her size. Brendon looked both ways, as if he wasn’t sure of whether or not to answer her, before speaking to her.

"I'm here to see Tiffany Turner. Is she in right now?"

Brendon barely got the words out of his mouth before the girl snapped back, "No Tiffany Turner lives here. So go away!" And she slammed the door right in his face.

"Well, she's a real people person," Brendon whispered. Brendon pondered the current situation. If she doesn't live here, then where does she live? I mean, its not like people make up numbers for a house they don't live in to make someone leave them alone, do they? Brendon didn't know what was going on, and he was not one for being out of the loop. He wanted some answers. And he wanted them now.

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Tiffany couldn’t believe what was happening. None of it seemed real. Why would her parents do this? HOW could they do this? It wasn’t like what they were doing was something you could hide. This was something big. No HUGE. And she had never seen or known it. Never questioned anything. She just went along for the ride. How could she have lived this lie for so long? How did she not see it?

“Darling, I think your parents are right. You should go and get your sister and leave by yourselves. Going with your parents is too dangerous,” said Miss Hattie.

Tiffany’s face flew in the direction of her parents. “NO! I can’t just leave you guys like that! We have to stay together. It is the only way we will make it out of this. I can’t leave you guys. Never…” Tiffany’s voiced trailed off as the tears began to flow from her cheeks.

Michael walked over to his daughter and kneeled in front of her. He placed his rough, callused hand on her cheek and sighed deeply.

“I’m sorry we never told you before, darling. We just didn’t think it would get this big. At the time, everything was protected. We were completely safe and we had no doubts. But there was a leak of some sort. And people know who we are now. They know all about us, and they want some answers that we can’t give them.” He tilted his daughter’s face up so that her eyes met his. “We are only trying to protect you. We only want you to be safe, and this is the best way to do it.” He gave Tiffany a gentle smile that looked as if he was trying too hard to stay calm.

Bobby, who stood in the corner of the Turner’s living room had been quietly pondering the situation for awhile. He understood why his Uncle and Aunt wanted Tiffany and Sarah protected, but why him? What did he have to do with this? A large part of him wanted to know why he was so important in this scheme, but the other part was too scared to ask. Deep down, he really didn’t want to know the answer. Because if he knew, that meant he would have to go along with it.

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Miss Hattie cut the awkward silence that had settled itself in the room by saying, “Well, I don’t see any point to mustering around here when there is business to be taken care of. Tiffany, I think that you should go and talk to your sister now. Get her on the earliest train over here and have her meet us here. You two will leave in the morning.”

Tiffany looked up at Miss Hattie with confusion and a bit of anger in her eyes.

“You aren’t seriously agreeing with them! You think that I should take Sarah and just run?! What if we never see our parents again? Miss Hattie, you have to be on my side. Please.”

Miss Hattie had been looking at the ground while Tiffany was talking, but when Tiffany told her she had to be on her side, she snapped her head up and looked at Tiffany with sharp icy blue eyes.

“Tiffany, there are no sides here,” she said with a cold tone. “We are all in danger and we all have to do things that we don’t want to do, but we are going to do them anyways. Now go and call your sister. Your parents and I will have a talk.”

Tiffany sniffled and drug her almost lifeless body into the kitchen to call her sister. She was upset; she was scared; and she was most definitely angry, but while talking with her sister, she had to be strong. Fear and weakness was not something her younger sister needed to deal with right now. Not yet at least.

As Tiffany walked out of the room, Miss Hattie turned to Bobby. She eyed him for a few moments and then snapped, “Bobby, go pack your things.”

Bobby who had still be staring into nothingness during the whole conversation, managed to croak a small “Why?”

Emma, Tiffany’s mother, turned to look at Bobby, and smiled. Her soft features seemed to lay a gentle blanket of composure over Bobby. To Bobby, it seemed as if she had glided over to him, and putting a hand on his shoulder, she said “We will explain everything to you after you pack. Hurry Bobby, please. There is not much time.”

Bobby nodded his head yes and quickly ran up the stairs to grab his things.

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Sarah slammed the door and stood there breathless. She didn't know how much more of this she could take! Tiffany better get home soon before I blow! I'm tired of house sitting for her. Why can't she find someone else? Why does it always have to be me? Sarah pondered this for a while and finally gave up. She didn't really care anymore. She just wanted this stupid job to be done and over with. It was really getting annoying. Tiffany's house was like a grocery store. Someone always coming by to get something from Tiff. Someone always wanting something from Tiff. Tiff this and Tiff that. It was like Tiffany Turner was the mayor or something. It was really annoying Sarah.

"I should just drop the subject," Sarah told herself, "before I give myself anymore of a headache."

Sarah walked over to the couch and plopped herself down. She liked the way her body sunk into the soft leather. It felt almost too comfortable. Just the way she liked it. She then turned on the lamp on the table next to the couch and picked up her book. She hadn't gotten a chance to read since the night before with all the cleaning and picking things up, and making small talk with people she didn't care about. She finally got a chance to breathe and relax. She opened her book and just as she began to read the words, RING, RING!

"That stupid phone, I hate it! I hate it all!" Sarah cried. She thumped her book on the cushion next to her and ran to get the phone in the kitchen.

Sarah picked up the phone and blurted as rudely as possible, "This better be good" into the receiver. The voice on the other side shocked her.

"Hey Sarah, it's me Tiff. I got some things to tell you before I leave this house. And you have to pay close attention, cause' if you don't, you might never see me again."

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Tiffany sat herself down in the chair as she continued to talk to Sarah. She wasn't sure what was going to happen to her, but she needed someone to be able to tell the police before there was no hope left for her. For any of them.

"Sarah, calm down. Listen to me. You have to go to the police with the information. If you don't, then the three of us will be in big trouble."

There was some loud screeching coming through the phone from Sarah on the other end. She had called Sarah because she thought she could handle it. She needed Sarah to remain calm.

"Sarah, the first thing I need you to do is to find my old jewelry box and put it in one of my old book bags. Then go to the kitchen counter and lift up the owl clock. Take all the money that is underneath it. Pack some clothes for yourself and grab some food. Do you have all of that down so far?"

The voice on the other line managed a yes. Tiffany could tell that Sarah was scared out of her mind. But Sarah had to realize that there were bigger fish to fry than her own fear right now.

"O.k., then I want you to go out to the garage to get the gas can. Bring it in and spread it all over the house. Get a match and light the house. Go out the back so that no one will see you and ride the bus over to the train station. Catch a train to our parents house in Virginia. I should still be here when you come. Leave the rest up to me."

She knew Sarah was ready. Even with the hoarse breathing and nervous answers, Sarah would be able to do this. She trusted Sarah like she trusted no one else.

"And remember Sarah, tell no one." Tiffany than hung up the phone. She was ready to do this.

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Brendon sat in his car looking at the moving shadows that were cast on the curtains of Tiffany’s home. His hands clenched the steering wheel so tight, that his knuckles were turning white. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead, that had been created by the heat of the car, with his sleeve and just gazed through the windshield. I wonder if I could get a hold of her another way? Maybe she has a cell phone? Yeah, I could do that, but who has her number? Brendon sat in silence for a few more minutes in his car. It was pitch black outside and the humidity was horrible. It was always like this after the rain. He hated it.

All of a sudden, he heard a rapping noise on his window. He turned to see who it was, and was taken back by the sight before him. It was the little girl who had shut him out of the house about an hour ago. Her face looked a little pale and she seemed to be shivering, despite the heat. Brendon rolled down the window and smiled at the girl gently.

“Oh, sorry if I am bothering you by sitting here. I will leave now. I was just trying to find a way to get a hold of Tiffany.”

Brendon nodded and began to put the car in reverse when the little girl put her hand on the door and nodded no. She motioned for him to get out of the car and began walking back to the house. Brendon, unsure of what was going on, got out of the car, but asked her, “Are you sure about letting me in. I mean, I’m totally fine and everything. I’m not having car trouble so I can leave now.”

The little girl turned back at him and said, “I need your help, but I have to explain things to you inside of the house where we are safe. OK?”

Brendon stood with his jaw a little open, but than quickly recovered. He turned off his car, locked it, and followed the girl inside of the house. What is going on? Why did this girl have such a sudden change of heart, and what does she need me for?