B.L. Miller - Crystal's Heart

"You got them," she said excitedly. "Which bus is ours?"

"Easy Sis," Patty replied. "Our bus doesn't leave until seven. These buses are all done for the night."

"But" The thought of staying in the city for another seven hours when she knew her father would discover them missing within five didn't make her feel any better. "What about Daddy?"

"Hopefully the bastard has a heart attack in his sleep," the elder Sheridan replied, knowing her sibling shared her sentiments. "He won't find out we're missing until at least five or five-thirty if we're lucky. There's no way he'll figure out where we are before our bus leaves at seven."

Trusting her older sister's words, Crystal relaxed and allowed herself to be led to the shadows where the girls rested on the cool grass near a chainlink fence. The young teen was glad Patty told her to wear a sweater as the night air took on a slight chill. The long walk was more than enough to exhaust the two teens and they fell asleep within minutes.

When Crystal woke it was to the harsh brightness of the morning sun and the sound of her sister's voice. "What time is it?" she grunted as she wiped the sleep out of her eyes.

"Six. The bus will be here within an hour. I don't have much money but I thought we could get something cheap at the diner over there." Crystal agreed, hoping more for the bathroom than food. For the first time in years the girl was happy, certain that an hour from now they'd be leaving the city and with it, the horror that was their father.

But freedom was not to be for Crystal. It was ten minutes to seven when they decided to head over to the bus station. They had just exited the diner and were crossing the street when Patty heard the sound of screeching brakes. She turned to see her father jerking the wheel to the side and head in their direction. "It's him!" she shouted. Running directly to the bus station was out of the question. He would simply pull them off the bus. They only had one chance left. Patty reached in her pocket and removed one of the two bus tickets. "Here." She thrust it in Crystal's hand. "We have to split up and double back in time to catch the bus. He can't chase both of us and he'll probably follow me first." They began running away from the station, their father hampered from direct pursuit by the other morning traffic. "Go up Central until you can cut over and come back down Hudson. You should end up right in front of the station. I'll go this way."

Crystal nodded her understanding as tires squealed and they saw their father heading for them. The sisters separated, Patty running across the busy street and heading north while Crystal turned the corner and headed south as her sister instructed. Absolute horror filled the young teen's heart when she saw the car turn and follow her.

The young teen was no match for a speeding car. She managed to buy some time by suddenly doubling back, forcing him to pull over and turn around, but it wasn't enough. She knew she'd never make it back to the station in time. She knew her father wouldn't settle with just catching her and thought about the bus ticket stuffed in her pocket. It was a dead giveaway to where Patty would be going. As she ran past a garbage can, Crystal made her decision and threw the ticket away. Less than a block later the chase was over. Her father pulled the car onto the curb, blocking off her escape. He was upon her in seconds. Crystal screamed as he grabbed a handful of hair and jerked her towards him.

"Where is she?" he screamed.

"I-I don't know."

"You're lying." She was punished with a resounding slap to the face. "Where the fuck did she go?"

She knew that there was nothing she could say to avoid punishment. All she could do was the one thing she had never been able to do before protect her older sister. "I don't know," she repeated.

"You lying bitch!" He smacked her several times before slamming the door shut and getting behind the steering wheel. As he sped home, they passed a blue and gray bus on its way out of town. Crystal dared to look out the window and saw a figure looking down at her. The tinted windows made it hard to see her clearly, but there was no doubt that the hand pressed against the glass was Patty's. Taking a chance, Crystal mimicked the gesture. The bus turned onto the highway, forever separating the two sisters.

Crystal's father remained quiet during the ride home but his dark eyes constantly flicked from the road to the rear view mirror where he leveled deadly glares at his youngest child. The fourteen year old tried desperately not to cry in front of the man who saw tears as a weakness but she was absolutely terrified of what he would do to her once they returned home.

Crystal thrashed about, mumbling incoherently as the line between dreams and reality blurred. "No no Daddy, please stop. I'll be good" The words gave way to whimpers as she relived the nightmare of that morning eleven years ago. "No Daddy, please

No!" With a final cry, she scared herself awake. It was several seconds before she realized where she was. "Shit." She fumbled about in the dark for the lamp, then for her cigarettes. She no sooner lit one than she heard a quiet knocking on her bedroom door.

"You okay?"

"Fine, Laura. Just a nightmare."

"You sure?"

"I said I'm fine," Crystal replied testily. She looked at the clock and sighed. It was too late to go to a bar and the stores weren't allowed to sell beer after midnight. "Sorry to wake you." She reached for her incense and put a fresh stick on the holder. "Um

Crystal?" "What?" "If you need to talk"

"Yeah, thanks but I'm all set. Good night." Now go away and leave me alone.

Laura hesitated for a moment before answering. "Good night then." She returned to her room, her mind replaying what she had heard. She opened the sliding glass door and within seconds the smell of incense floated through the air. Intending to close the door, the writer reached for the handle only to pause and withdraw her hand. Doesn't smell that bad, she thought as she sniffed the air again. Like cherries. She knew that the incense was covering up the smell of pot but decided to let it go for the night. She heard the terror in Crystal's cries and had no doubt the young woman was shook up, despite words to the contrary.

Chapter Two

Laura was not surprised to find no sign of Crystal the next morning. Twice during the night she had been awaked by the sound of the toilet flushing, the last time being shortly before sunrise. Guess I'll put off vacuuming until later, she thought as she headed into the kitchen to make coffee.

While waiting for the coffee to brew, Laura went upstairs and stripped her bed, gathering the dirty clothes out of her hamper at the same time. She had the laundry sorted and a load started by the time the coffee was ready and drank her first cup between trips around the townhouse emptying waste baskets and noting which areas needed to be visited by a dust rag.

Crystal ambled down the stairs two hours later, looking very hung over. Dark circles rimmed her eyes and her blonde hair hung limply about her face. "Coffee smells good," she said.

"Good morning. How are you?" Laura asked from behind her coffee cup.

Crystal walked over to the cupboard and removed the first mug she could reach. Accepting the offered pot in her roommate's hand, she waited until the cup was full before speaking. "Sorry about last night."

"Um if you ever need to talk"

"Nothing to talk about," the stripper shrugged. She picked up the paper and nodded in the direction of the deck. "You done with this?"

"Help yourself." Laura watched as her unread newspaper was quickly opened and folded upon itself so Crystal could hold it with one hand while she sipped her coffee. A cigarette was soon lit, the wind blowing the smoke back into the kitchen. The writer frowned and walked over to close the sliding glass door.