Accidentally a Criminal

Chapter 5

2:43pm, Xavier, Vermont, 10/7/23

"I hate you." Harvey scowled at me in disgust. I know he didn't mean it though. In preparation for his shower, I handed him a clean towel, a washcloth, and a spare pink bathrobe that put him in a worse mood than before. I could've given him a plain green one, but I wasn't feeling it. "Aw! It's even got some butterflies on it!" I joked around with him. He grumbled as he snatched it from my hands and went into the bathroom.

" I hate you." He repeated grumpily. Harvey's stubborn and I find it adorable. He slammed the door. I sat down comfily on the recliner and turned on the tv. I think I'll let Harvey pick for movie night, I feel kinda bad for him.

His birthday is coming up and I want to make it up to him with a present of some kind. I don't know what he likes though. I'll ask him these things when he gets out of the shower. But I want to surprise him, so I have to be sneaky about my questioning.

Another problem that occurred to me was school. I've already missed two days of school now. Do I trust him to be in this house by himself? Maybe I could get out the old baby monitors from the basement. No, It might get out of hand if I carry the monitor to school with me. And he's smart enough to turn off the baby monitor. More thoughts raced around my head. What about when my parents get home from their two-week business trip in New York?! Sigh, I'll just figure this out tomorrow.

-✩☺☺☺☺✩-

So, I got out of the shower, pink butterfly bathrobe and all, and I saw Sage asleep on the leather recliner. She was curled up in a ball like a cat, her red hair cascading off the edge of the arm cushion like a waterfall made of fire. I felt my face heat up. Then I got angry at myself and hit my forehead multiple times to get the message clear. I don't like her, I hate her, I hate her, I hate her!

Then, I realized with a smirk on my face, this would be the perfect opportunity to get the %&#$ out of here. I could head for Montpelier. I quickly got dressed and gathered my stuff and headed for the door. Sage's dog, Scout, looked at me as if I had a devious plan in mind. He started to growl softly.

Ok, I have a quick confession to make. I am terrified of big dogs, and I mean it. Let me explain. When I was about seven, I was riding my bike around the neighborhood and my dog Daisy was there. (My older sister Chloe named her). Daisy is a small, scruffy-looking dog and is incredibly cute. So there I was, minding my own business, when this big, pitbull-looking thing started barking at us. Then it bounded across the street and started attacking Daisy and me.

The dog shook Daisy like a ragdoll in his mouth. I had nothing but a bite on my right arm, but Daisy... The pitbull had paralyzed both of Daisy's back legs. Out of grief and sadness, my parents agreed to put Daisy out of her misery.

Scout's growling invoked the most traumatizing of memories. It was hard to control my breathing. He began to growl louder. "Shh!" I told him in a panicked whisper. Scout could wake up Sage in an instant if he wanted to.

"Shut up!" I mouthed at him, "I. Am. Leaving!"

He growled more. "Gah!" I quickly swung open the front door and slammed it behind me. Barking issued from the other side of it. I hate that stupid dog. I booked it and went straight for the woods. I just realized how isolated Sage's house is. About half a mile down the road did I see another house. Anyways, I made my way up to the woods again, just like I have since last Tuesday.

About three miles later, low and behold, a gas station. It looked even older than Gisby's. Inside, a sleepy old man greeted me at the front counter with a toothless smile. I awkwardly waved back, avoiding eye contact and skimmed the aisles. Then I realized I have no money. So I can't pay for any of my snacks. However, when I got to the counter, the old guy was asleep. Naturally, I took this as an opportunity to just steal my snacks. Besides, it was only like twenty dollars worth. No biggie, right?

The rest of my journey was a huge guilt trip. I've murdered, stolen, lied, and cheated like the slimy rat that I am. A dark cloud hovered over the sky as if expressing my inner thoughts. Rain poured down, making me feel even sadder. I went back into the forest with shame and disgust. I couldn't sleep though. The woods had an eerie silence to them that made them scarier than before.

Then, I heard it.

A low growl issued from a tree. Presently a black bear climbed down it, looking hungry. It stared at me and slowly crawled closer to me.

"HEY!" I yelled at it. I was in a cold sweat. I yelled louder to assert my dominance at the creature. "BACK OFF!" It did as I pleased, just for a moment though. It inched closer and I walked backwards arms in front of me, trying to make the bear back off. Without being aware of my surroundings, I accidentally tripped over a root growing from out of the ground. I tumbled down a steep hill that could give anyone the risk of hospitalization.

Then I was plunged into the frigid waters of a flowing river. I was carried by the current like a piece of plastic, all while trying to stay afloat and gasping for air. A sharp pain issued from my left calf, dying the water around me red.

I struggled, but I somehow made it to shore. I was glad to know that the bear wasn't chasing me anymore. But someone else was.

"Harvey!" a voice issued from the woods. I thought it could've been Sage, but it sounded nothing like her. It sounded like a man. More shouts of my name came along. I scrambled my way into the darkness. Who said that? I looked around and saw multiple streams of light going in different directions. In the distance were flashing red and blue lights. The police! I panicked. I had nowhere to go, my leg was bleeding, I'm freezing to death, the police are after me- what do I do?

"Harvey?" the voices seemed closer. I tried to run, but my leg was killing me. I limped my way away from the voices. The lights were making their way towards me. In a quick attempt at hiding myself, I hid behind a thick pine tree. Light shone on the tree, leaving a stretching shadow.

"Hey! Let's search another area!" a cop who was too close to me for comfort yelled to the others. He walked away and I could finally breathe again.

I realized that I should just go back to Sage's house. I'm cold, wet, injured, and have the police on my tail. I sighed. I really don't want to go back there again, but I have to.

After I limped a few miles, I finally found a familiar, isolated, one-story house. This could either be the worst or best decision of my life. I rapped on the back door. I felt like a pathetic, helpless animal. Sage slid open the glass door, wide-eyed. I stared at the floor, embarrassed. My face was red. She was lost for words, so I decided to say the first one.

"Uh- hi."