Scott Blue POV
Before last year, I didn't know anyone to run away from their homes. I guess that I anticipated that I'll ride my bike out of the country. Instead, I always seem to end up in someone's car, driving a long distance away.
Peter Ofgrace lives in a bike shop, with a garage full of bikes, hanging on the walls, dangling from the ceiling, and old tires are even glued to the door. He had bikes of every size, and every color, there was even a dark blue one that looked insanely similar to the one that Roy lost.
I first thought that Peter Ofgrace's whole house was just a rusty bike shop, but that was only the first floor. He had a creaky staircase in the back that lead to the second floor. "Peter Ofgrace, why do you keep this staircase so hidden?"
"That's what you think." He laughs.
The guest room was the second room in the upstairs hallway. It has a low ceiling, tan walls, closed window curtains, and a bed that I swear took up most of the whole room. It looked very comfortable with the white covers and soft silky pillow.
Peter Ofgrace was kind enough to order Chinese take out that evening, and we sat outside in lawn chairs on his back patio. He looks up into the sunset and says, "How long have you stayed in Idaho?"
"A long time. A very long time." I tell him honestly.
"Where are you parents?"
"Nobody really cares about my parents." I tell him, "And I don't really know." I tell him confidently. How weird would it be to say that my Father wants to murder me? That had to be kept a secret, even at this point in my travels.
"You could tell me." He says patiently, "I've illegally adopted kids for over twenty years.
"Over twenty years?" I emidiately ask, sitting up. "That's so long! That's longer than I even lived!"
"Well, yeah, no sh*t." He sighs. "In fact, my son is telling me that I'm too old to stealing kids, but there's no such thing as stealing-"
"No, there's very much a thing as stealing!" I argued. "That's why the mall managers tried to kill me. They found out that I'm a criminal just like-" I was so close to saying, just like my Father. I tried to erase him from my memory the best I could. I don't have to think of my Father ever again, or even Lesley. I couldn't be a criminal like my Father. I could be a criminal, as long as I'm not a criminal like Leo Blue.
Peter Ofgrace looks at me with his eyes wide open, waiting for me to continue talking.
"How old are you now?" I ask.
"Not very young." He answers grimly. "I can assure you, I'm older than your grandparents."
Peter Ofgrace definitely hates his old age, but he seemed to love when I opened my fortune cookie.
"Ooh! What's your fortune say?" He asks excitedly, and leaning to get a good look at the tiny, and meaningless piece of paper.
"It says...... This year will be the year that you unknowingly meet the person you love." I read word for word.
I look back at Peter Ofgrace. "This year? Does it mean for the rest of 1987, or from now to next March 18th?"
"I'd say soon." He says happily, "Maybe this summer. You never know, maybe you'll meet a nice girl during your travels."
"If a runaway tries to fall in love while being a runaway, that's a really stupid runaway." I tell him.
"I see what you mean." He says thoughtfully, "But you never know. You are a runaway, you threw yourself into the wind. Anything is possible, and anything could go horrible." He says with a calm smile.
