Heart Shaped Lies

Chapter Five

"I'm not coming home until I know she's safe! I'll call every day, I promise. Mom--Mom, stop! I'm staying for as long as it takes! I'll talk to you tomorrow!" Sawyer tossed his cell phone on Hannah 's desk and rolled his eyes.

"Is she angry?" Hannah  asked. 

"She's just worried, I think. I'll go by tomorrow and get some clothes and stuff and I'll talk to her more then."

"You don't have to stay." Hannah  tried to sound convincing, but her mind was screaming for him not to leave.

"I'm not going anywhere," Sawyer answered, climbing into Hannah 's bed and pulling the blanket over them, curling his body around her. "Try to get some sleep."

"I don't want to sleep," Hannah  said.

"Why?"

"Because I want to know when he gets here. I want to see it coming." 

"Hannah , please don't talk like that." Sawyer tightened his arms around her.

"If he comes for me, Sawyer, and you're with me, promise me something."

"Hannah -"

"Promise me you won't get in his way. I don't want you to be hurt. Either run away or don't watch. Do what I was supposed to do and close your eyes. Don't fight him. Don't get in his way." 

"I can't--"

"Promise me!"

Sawyer sighed heavily. He could feel tears knotting his throat. It scared him that Hannah  had already resigned herself to dying. That she had already given up.

"I promise." 

Sawyer kissed her forehead and excused himself. Once he was in the bathroom, he locked the door and leaned against it, taking deep, shuddering breaths. He turned on the faucet, letting the water run and allowing the tears to break free. He had cried more in the last couple of days than he had in his entire life. Don't take her from me. Please, don't take her from me.

He wasn't sure if he was talking to Hannah 's father or God or both, but he hoped they heard him.

                                                                                 * * * *

    Hannah  swallowed the feeling of unease as she glanced out of Sawyer's back glass and saw the maroon colored truck behind them. She knew there were two undercover cops inside. She exhaled slowly. Sawyer glanced at her quickly before looking back to the road. He was trying to concentrate on his driving, but he wanted desperately to reach over and hold Hannah . He pressed down on the accelerator a little harder, hoping the cops behind him wouldn't mind. 

"It's okay, baby," he said softly. "You're safe." 

Hannah  could hear the desperation in his voice, as though he were begging her to believe him. They pulled into the student parking lot at school, and the truck pulled up beside them. The driver's side window rolled down. Hannah  rolled down her window as well and waited. 

"Three-thirty?" the officer asked quietly. Hannah  nodded wordlessly. "Do you have everything you need?" 

Hannah  dug in her purse and pulled out the cell phone the sheriff had given her last night. Unlike her personal cell phone, this one only alerted 911 and the local police with the push of any button, also tracking her location whenever she used it. She held it up so the cop could see it. 

"Good. Don't hesitate to use it. If you feel like you're in danger whatsoever, use it immediately, no matter where you are. We don't mind storming into the high school. It makes us look cooler." The officer smiled disarmingly, trying to make Hannah  laugh with his weak joke. Hannah  managed a small smile. The truck pulled off, and she knew that they wouldn't be too far away, probably only a few blocks from the school in case she needed them. As they disappeared, Hannah  felt a sudden sense of foreboding in the pit of her stomach. She looked over at Sawyer, at his loving face, his gentle eyes, and was struck with such a fear of losing him at the hands of her father that her heart splintered and she began to sob.

"Don't cry, Hannah . Please, don't cry." Sawyer reached over to hold her, somewhat awkwardly in the front seat of his car. Hannah  fought him at first, trying to push him away, but Sawyer was unrelenting, and she finally surrendered and sagged against him, soaking his shirt with her tears. 

"I can't go in there. I can't be here today. Maybe I should've let them take me out of school." Hannah 's voice was hoarse when she finally spoke after her crying had subsided.

"Maybe you should've just taken a little time. You only gave yourself one day to deal with all of this. Do you want me to take you home?" Sawyer offered. "I'll stay with you."

"I don't want to go home," Hannah  said. "Do you want to ditch?"

"Where do you want to go?" Sawyer asked, already putting the car in gear.

             "Anywhere. Let's just get there fast."

Hannah  had said the magic word for Sawyer. His entire face lit up.

              "I can do fast," he said, smiling at her.

He gunned the engine and peeled out of the lot, leaving nothing behind but smoke and the smell of burnt rubber.