by Seven Steps
The money that Lindsey had hoisted.
Someone was coming after it.
And I had spent some of it.
“You were going to give the money back?” I asked.
“Of course I was. When they took Tuck they left a note. They said I’d been ignoring them. That there was some sort of a note that I hadn’t answered. Now, if I don’t return all of the money, they are going to kill Tuck by midnight tonight.”
Kill Tuck? No!
“We have to call the police.”
“No police,” Lindsey said. “They were very clear about that. We’ll just take back all of the stuff you bought, I’ll supplement the rest with my savings, and then we’ll give the money back to Jeff.”
“Jeff?”
“Yeah. The guy that I originally took the money from.”
“You knew him?”
She took a guilty step back. “Sort of.”
“So, you didn’t just happen upon that money. You knew it was going to be there.”
She avoided my eye, and walked out of the bathroom.
I stumbled to my feet, and chased her.
“No, Lindsey, you tell me right now. How exactly did you get that money?”
Lindsey twiddled her fingers, and turned away from me, staring at the doorway to the living room.
“I was seeing this guy. Lonzo. He was a drop guy between Jeff and the suppliers. Lonzo would transport the money to the drop off spot, and transport the drugs back. Simple. But, in December, I found out that he was cheating on me, so I ended it. A few weeks ago, I saw that he’d proposed to the girl he’d cheated with. And, I guess I got angry.”
“So you stole the money he’d dropped off?”
She whipped around to face me, guilt in his eyes. “It was supposed to be a one time thing. But, then I went back and there was more money, so I took it.”
“But the first one was free. The second one was a trap.”
She nodded.
“It was Jeff’s guys who broke in. They’ve been following me. I tried to tell you.” Tears ran down Lindsey’s face. “And now we don’t have the money and they have Tuck and if we don’t do anything they’ll kill her.”
I went to hug my sister. She didn’t even flinch at my vomit drenched suit.
“It’ll be okay.”
“I never should have taken that money. I was just so angry. I wanted him to pay for what he did to me.”
I stroked my sister’s hair.
What did she think would happen to Lonzo when Jeff found out that his money went missing? And not just any money. Two million dollars. This wasn’t just a slap on the wrist screw up. This was the kind of thing people got thrown in rivers for. Did Lindsey want Lonzo to die for cheating on her? Was that her plan?
It was then that I realized that I may not have known my sister fully. How deep did my parents’ death affect her? She obviously had issues with abandonment, but how bad was it? How much anger did she have inside of her?
I felt helpless. How could I fix her when I didn’t even know how badly she was broken?
And now Ms. Tuck was thrown into the mix. An innocent bystander. The closest thing I ever had to a mother.
My chest felt tight. It felt like I was losing my parents all over again.
“There has to be something that we can do,” Lindsey said. “Some way we can get it back. We can’t let them hurt Tuck.”
I kissed the top of her forehead. She smelled like cherry blossoms.
“We’ll figure it out. I promise.”
But, as I stood there, comforting my sister, two thoughts rose in my mind.
One. I had no idea how we were going to get Ms. Tuck back.
Two. I sucked at keeping promises.
17
This was bad. Really bad.
We were short on the money thanks to me, and now Ms. Tuck was being held for ransom until we gave the money back.
Everything within me told me to go to the police, but that was impossible. Jeff had informed Lindsey through his goons that if we called the cops, he’d kill Tuck. And even if he hadn’t said that, the police would want to know how we found the money in the first place. What if they charged us with theft? Lindsey and I both had criminal records. What if they put us in jail? Who would help Tuck if we were locked up?
What could we do? We had to figure a way out of this. But how?
I sat at the kitchen table, while Lindsey made a pan of fried chicken. The savory smell filled the house, reminding me of Tuck’s big breakfasts and how she was saving to adopt us. We hadn’t even gotten the chance to tell her that we’d paid off the house. And I hadn’t gotten the chance to tell her that I loved her. She was as close to a mother as I’d ever had and now she may never know it.
“I thought you could only cook pasta,” I said.
“I observe,” Lindsey replied, rolling a chicken drumstick over on its side with a fork.
“If Tuck could see you now, she’d be impressed.”
“Well maybe you should taste the food first before bringing Tuck into this.”
“Yeah.” That was, if we ever saw Tuck again.
We were silent for a while, while Lindsey finished frying the chicken, making mashed potatoes, and sautéing green beans. She put all the food on the table, and we dug in.
Tuck always said that when things went wrong, all you could do was pray and eat. I’d done enough praying to last a lifetime since I came home and realized that Tuck was missing. Now it was time to eat.
Lindsey had seasoned everything to perfection. It was almost as if Tuck was there with us, sharing a meal and one of her stories about growing up in the south.
I missed her more than I thought I could possibly miss anyone. It was like mom dying all over again.
“What are we going to do?” Lindsey asked, looking at me.
I shook my head. “I don’t know. We can’t go to the police, or anyone in law enforcement. What about one of Jeff’s rivals. Can’t we get one of them to help us? You know, take him down on our behalf and take over his territories or something?”
Lindsey scoffed. “We can’t just go up to a random person and say, hey, we stole this money from this other guy. Can you protect us? That’s insane. You watch too many cop shows.”
“It was just a suggestion.”
“Well, think of something better. Every second we spend here is another second where Tuck’s somewhere alone or scared. We can’t play around on this. We have to get her back.”
“I’m trying to think of a way.”
“Well think harder. We would never have been in this situation if you didn’t spend the money.”
“We would never have been in this situation if you didn’t steal the money in the first place.”
“No Al. There’s a difference. I was trying to help us. You were trying to score with some girl.”
“I wasn't trying to-”
“You were. And now Tucks gone, and we're screwed!”
“You didn't even like Tuck.”
“I loved Tuck.”
“You never showed it. All you did was complain and threaten to leave.”
“I didn't… I mean…”
“What do you mean?”
“Look. I may not have been the best foster kid, but that doesn't mean she wasn't a good foster mom. I gave her a hard time but that didn't mean that I didn't love her. And it doesn't mean that I don't want her back just as badly as you do.”
She sat back in her chair and crossed her arms.
I did too.
A single tear ran down her cheek.
“I kept trying to push her away before she could do the same thing to me. But, after I saw those adoption papers, I realized that she loved us. Really loved us. And now she’s gone, and it’s my fault. And I just… I can’t…”
She pushed her plate away, buried her face in her hands and sobbed.
I stood, and wrapped my arms around my sister. A girl I’d come to find was more fragile than she let on.
All the we
ight over our terrible decisions, and their even more terrible results weighed on my shoulders, pulling me down. I buried my face in Lindsey’s hair and let go, allowing the tears to fall onto the only other person who’d understand.
We’d both made some awful mistakes.
Worse than awful.
Deadly.
We thought life was a television show where the hero steals a bag of gold and gets the girl. But this was no television show. There were no commercial breaks or second chances.
The gold wasn’t enough.
The girl was gone.
And we were about to lose the only family we’d ever known.
There was no rewind button.
We couldn’t skip the commercial breaks or fast forward to the end.
This was life.
Real life.
And, if we didn’t do something, then someone would die at midnight.
Maybe all of us.
And I had no idea how to prevent that.
How were we going to get Tuck back?
What were we going to do?
18
We sat at the table for hours, suggesting and discarding ideas.
By the time seven o'clock rolled around, I was mentally exhausted.
The best plan we’d had was to find Lonzo and try to talk some sense into him, but he wasn’t answering our phone calls.
I had a feeling that Lonzo would never answer another phone call ever again.
At exactly five past seven, there was a knock on the door.
I stared at the peeling wood, wondering who it could be.
The police? Another one of Jeff's goons?
I slowly stood and crept over to the door.
I was alone.
Lindsey has gone to take a nap a half hour ago, leaving just me to fight off whatever intruder was no doubt waiting on the other side of the door.
I had no weapons, besides an old baseball bat in my room. There were some knives in the kitchen, but they weren’t super sharp. Besides, what use would they do against a gun? My heart hammered in my chest as I looked through the eye hole, completely unprepared for whatever cut throat was waiting for me.
To my surprise, a curvy blonde stood on the other side of the door, arms crossed, looking quite pissed off.
Cassia. What was she doing here?
I almost preferred the bad guys.
I could barely breathe as I swung the door open. How did she know where I lived? What did she want?
She marched inside. Eyes blazing.
“You are a liar!” She screeched.
I closed the door behind her, my heart beating hard.
“Cassia, what are you doing here? How do you know where I live?”
“When you missed our date, I went to my friend’s house to cool off. She volunteers in the office and offered to give me your address. You told my dad you were rich. That your aunt had a Porsche. You told us your grandfather died.”
“I... I…”
Cassia’s face reddened. “Will you stop lying to me for once? You never liked me did you?” Her lower lip trembled. “You wanted to get close to me to get to my father.”
“Cassia you don't understand.”
“No, you don't understand! I liked you. Really liked you. And now… I don't even know who you are.”
She started for the door, pushing past me to grab onto the handle. “Never speak to me again!”
She flung the door open and stormed out.
The girl of my dreams, my goddess, was walking away, and it was all my fault.
I ran after her, stumbling down the stairwell.
“Cassia, please come back. Let me explain.”
“More lies, I'll bet.”
“No. No more lies.”
She burst through the door and into the night. I could see a car idling down the street. She must've been driven here.
“I've liked you since I met you.”
“You could have fooled me.”
She didn't slow her pace.
Desperate I stood in front of her, preventing her forward motions.
“Out of my way!”
“Please just give me two minutes. No lies. I swear.”
She regarded me.
“Start talking.”
I swallowed then played the only card I had left.
The truth. I stood in front of the girl of my dreams and sang like a songbird.
“A week ago, my sister ripped off some guys and brought home the money. That's what I've been spending. And now the guys found out what we did and they want the money back.”
She scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Well, it serves you right. A thief and a liar. I sure can pick them, huh?”
She pushed past me, making quick steps to her car.
I put my hands on my head. Every click of her heels against the side walk was like a knife wound to my heart. Cassia was all I ever wanted, and I had screwed it up.
Badly.
My chest burned. It felt like breaking down and weeping like a child. I thought I could have it all. And now I had nothing.
I’d been such a fool.
“I don’t blame you for walking away from me,” I blurted out. “I've been a jerk to you. I got distracted with the F.E.W and I lost sight of why I did it all in the first place.”
She stopped walking, though she didn’t turn around.
“Why did you do it?”
I sighed. A long, sad whoosh of breath that weakened my entire body. I was tired of lying. Tired of being afraid. Tired of being without Cassia.
“I did it because I wanted you. I wanted you so bad that I could barely breathe, but you were out of my reach. I thought if I could at least get you to see me as a guy you could like and not just some freak impoverished genius friend that maybe you’d forget Grant and give me a chance. But I guess I was wrong.”
She was still for a moment.
“I already saw you, Alex. I saw you and I liked you. But you wanted to be a part of the F.E.W more than you wanted to be with me.”
“No. They were a distraction. I’ve always wanted to be with you.” I stepped closer to her. “But I screwed everything up. And I’m so sorry for that. I wish I could do it all over again and show you how much I wanted you. Maybe I could tell you that you’re the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think about at night. Or that the best part of my day is when I’m sitting next to you in class doing trivia. I’d tell you how you’re the most beautiful, kindest, sweetest girl I’ve ever met.” I stood behind her and wrapped my hands around her waist. My head leaned forward and I placed my forehead on the top of her head. “I’d say that if I lost you,” my voice softened, shaking with emotion. “I’ll lose everything.”
She remained rigid in my arms for a moment. Then she turned and wrapped her arms around me.
“You were such a jerk.” A stray tear glided down her face.
I held her close. “I know. And I’m so sorry. I will never let it happen again. You always come first. Always.”
“I sat in that restaurant for two hours. Where were you?”
“Grant asked me to go out with him. I thought I could get back in time but they kept giving me shots and the next thing I knew I was so drunk I could barely walk. I didn't mean to stay there. I told them I had something else going on, but they didn’t care, and I was too weak to speak up. I’m so sorry, Cass.”
We stood for a long while, arms entwined, resyncing with each other. My heart grew three sizes bigger with love for her.
There was nothing more beautiful than a forgiving heart. And I would make sure that I’d never give her reason to have to forgive me in such a large way again.
“What are you going to do about the money?” She asked.
Her hair smelled like Pineapples and Coconuts. I took in a big whiff of the comforting scent.
“I don’t know. These guys, they have my mother. They’re holding her for collateral. We have to give them their money tonight, or
else they’ll kill her.”
Cassia pulled back and searched my eyes, looking for any sign of lies. When she didn't find any, she gasped.
“You serious?”
“Yes.”
“Can you call the police?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
“I don't know.” I rubbed my hand along my neck, feeling completely lost.
“When do you have to meet them?”
“Midnight.”
She thought a minute. “How much money do you owe them?”
“Two million dollars.”
Her eyes went wide. “You spent two million dollars in a week?”
“No. Not all of it. Just enough to pay off the condo, buy me some new clothes, and our date.”
“Oh my god, Alex. How are you going to get it all back?”
“I don’t know. It’s not like Monopoly money where I could just…”
An idea sprang into my head.
It was risky, and if they found out about it, we might all be murdered, but we were out of options, and this was the best plan I could think of.
“I have to go,” I said, giving her a kiss on the forehead.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to try to save my mom.”
“I’m coming with you,” she said, taking my hand.
“No. Go home. This is dangerous.”
“Alexander Wells, I am not going to let you risk your life without knowing if you’re okay or not. I’m coming with you.”
“No. I can’t let you do this. The last thing I need is to have my girlfriend’s life in danger on top of everything else.”
Oops.
I sucked in a breath.
Had I just said what I thought I said?
“Girlfriend?” She whispered.
I rolled back on my heels and put my hands behind my back.
“I mean, if you don’t mind dating a poor, super smart guy who may have a criminal record.”
She smiled. “Okay.”
Shock rocketed through me. “Okay?”
“Okay. If you want me to be your girlfriend, then I accept.”
Joy burst through me, propelling me to pull Cassia back into my arms and slam our lips together in a toe-curling kiss that left us both panting.
“Let’s go,” I said, taking her hand. “Tell your driver not to wait around. We’re going to save my mom.”