by Callie Rae
When Shadows Fracture
Cherry Creek Series
By Callie Rae
Copyright © 2020 by Callie Rae
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Visit my website at http://www.authorcallierae.com
Cover Design by Callie Rae at Literary Designs. www.literarydesigns.com
Editing by Rebecca Kimmel at The Writing Refinery. https://www.thewritingrefinery.com/
Proofread by Brittany Balazs.at Book Nook Proofreading
Formatting by Callie Rae at Literary Designs
This book is cursed. Enter at your own risk.
Copyright
Dedication
Prologue Jesse
Chapter One Jesse
Chapter Two Fallon
Chapter Three Jesse
Chapter Four Fallon
Chapter Five Jesse
Chapter Six Fallon
Chapter Seven Jesse
Chapter Eight Fallon
Chapter Nine Jesse
Chapter Ten Jesse
Chapter Eleven Fallon
Chapter Twelve Jesse
Chapter Thirteen Fallon
Chapter Fourteen Jesse
Chapter Fifteen Fallon
Chapter Sixteen Jesse
Chapter Seventeen Jesse
Chapter Eighteen Fallon
Chapter Nineteen Jesse
Chapter Twenty Jesse
Chapter Twenty-One Fallon
Chapter Twenty-Two Fallon
Chapter Twenty-Three Jesse
Chapter Twenty-Four Fallon
Chapter Twenty-Five Jesse
Chapter Twenty-Six Fallon
Chapter Twenty-Seven Jesse
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Books by Callie Rae
“Yo Callaway. What’s good?” I look up from the ice chest filled with cheap beer to Jones approaching me with that goofy smirk. I straighten to meet him with a slap on the back. “We gonna kill it next week at tha game. They ain’t got a shot against us, son.”
Jones plays on the team, but he’s also loyal to me. He handles business when I call, no questions asked. He’s always a team player—even when the work gets dirty.
“Yeah man. They don’t have a chance. We got this,” I say as I glance over to put eyes on Fallon. I’m always looking for her. Even when I’m not thinking about it, my body just naturally gravitates towards her. It’s like my body understands my need for her more than my brain does sometimes. Except, right now it’s not getting what it needs. Fallon isn’t where I left her. My body tenses, the discomfort that arrives when she isn’t within my sight settling in quickly. I’m not trying to be that boyfriend, but when someone is with me they always have a target on their back. And Fallon came with her own target practice. The combination of the two hasn’t mixed well at all. I tend to be a little more protective of her than she likes.
“No doubt, no doubt. Aight man, check it later, enjoy the par-tay.”
“Alright, man. I’ll catch you later,” I say as I slap his hand and back away towards where Fallon is supposed to be. Unease settling over me as I turn around and my eyes search for her.
I look for her at the bench where she and Cason were sitting, then check the area around it. She isn’t here, and it’s unlike her to wander off without saying something to me. Even with her I’m-going-to-do-whatever-I-want attitude. She’s probably run off with Jade; those two are going to be the death of me. When I’m not constantly trying to convince Fallon to stay put, Jade is constantly pushing her to do more and “live life.” I want Fallon to live her life—but more than that, I want her to be safe. I prepare myself to enter the throng of people crowding the middle of the barn dancing, scanning each head in the crowd for her straight, light brown locks.
Come on, Fallon. You couldn’t have waited for me?
I keep searching the building for either of the girls or Cason. I’m starting to feel the trickle of panic set in underneath my calm facade. Something isn’t right—I can feel it—and my mask is slipping. I spot Cason huddled in the corner with that Narni chick that hangs out at the Depot. She’s got quite the reputation; hers is almost as bad as Cason’s.
I make a beeline to Cason. I hope he’s seen them, because I might just flip the fuck out if not. “Cason.”
As I approach the corner, the chick storms off, leaving Cason standing there watching after her. He rubs the back of his head as if it pains him to see her go before he looks my way. He seems as confused as I feel about the situation I’ve just interrupted.
“What’s that about?” I nod towards Narni’s retreating figure. She’s quickly putting plenty of distance between her and Cason.
“I don’t know. She needs to get laid or something,” Cason growls out. He shakes his head as if to clear his thoughts and turns to face me. “What’s up? You need something?”
“Yeah, have you seen Fallon? I can’t find her or Jade.”
He looks genuinely confused when he says, “Nah, man, I thought they were with you?”
“No, I went to get a beer and Jones stopped to talk. When I looked up she was gone,” I tell him. My eyes never stop scanning the interior of the barn, hoping to catch sight of her or Jade.
“She’s probably with Jade doing whatever girls do together.” He shrugs. “Maybe they held hands to the bathroom?”
I glance at him briefly before continuing my visual search of the party. “Yeah, maybe. But I don’t like it. Fallon knows I don’t like it when she wanders off.”
“Just chill. I’m sure they’re around here somewhere. Come on, I’ll help you look,” Cason says as he slaps my shoulder. As he heads off into the crowd, he turns and yells out, “I’ll check the front and outside. Meet you back at the doors in thirty?”
“Alright,” I say as I head towards the back, making a pit stop to check the one single bathroom awkwardly positioned in the middle of the barn, free standing next to the dance floor.
Who has bathrooms in a barn anyway?
I don’t think Fallon’s in the bathroom. The line to the bathroom is almost the length of the building and neither Fallon nor Jade are standing in it. The door opens, and a sophomore girl falls out as her friend tries to hold her up.
“She better not have puked in there,” the girl next in line rolls her eyes as she starts for the door. I grab her arm to get her attention, and she tries unsuccessfully to yank it back and glares at me. “Hey, watch it.”
“Have you seen Fallon Blake or Jade Callaway?” I ask her as calmly as I can. I won’t pretend like my insides aren’t quaking.
“Who?” she asks as she scrunches up her nose. She’s pretending like she doesn’t know them. It’s one of a few tactics I’ve seen girls use to get to the top of the food chain. They either try to be Jade’s—and now Fallon’s—best friend or they try to act like they are better than them, like their existence doesn’t matter. But it fucking matters, and I don’t have patience for petty ways of high school girls.
“Have you fucking seen them? Don’t pretend like you don’t know who they are. Everyone knows who they are,” I say through a clenched jaw, trying to
keep my hand from squeezing her arm off.
She rolls her eyes again. “No, I haven’t seen them.”
I let go of her arm and walk away without so much as a thanks. When I ask a question, I expect an answer, and that girl is no longer necessary to me. I need to find Fallon.
I circle back around checking every corner or hole I can find. By the time I make it back to the double doors Cason is already there waiting on me. I don’t like the look on his face. He’s starting to look as nervous as I feel. He shifts his feet and then turns to pace with his hands on his head. This is not good.
“You find her?” I ask as soon as I’m within speaking distance
“Nah. I guess you didn’t either?” he asks, worry lining his face.
“No.”
“Hey.” Jade comes bouncing up at the perfect time. “I’ve been looking for y’all…”
She looks from me to Cason and then asks, “Where’s Fallon?”
“She’s not with you?” I ask, some subconscious part of me already knowing her answer isn’t going to be the one I want. It’s obvious she’s not with Jade since Jade is standing in front of me. Alone. But my logic is gone. I need to make sure.
“No, I’ve been with Adam. I left her with you guys,” she says confused.
I look to Cason. The panic is gurgling its way up my throat now. Cason and I both jump into action, pushing people out of our way as we start calling Fallon’s name.
“What are you doing? What is happening?” Jade yells as she follows me back into the party. “Why are you screaming for Fallon? Did something happen to her?”
“I don’t know,” I say as I stop in the middle of the barn and turn around in circles looking for Fallon. My hands fist in my hair. “We can’t find her.”
“What do you mean you can’t find her? She was with you!” Jade yells over the music.
“Yeah, and now she’s not. Fuck! This isn’t good,” I growl out.
We continue searching the place from top to bottom and at some point, someone cuts the music as people join in to help us search. I ask as many people I can if they have seen her and all of their answers are the same: they haven’t. If I said I wasn’t frantic, I’d be lying. That feeling of something not being right is starting to consume me. The fact that Fallon doesn’t appear to be at this party anymore is making me downright fucking crazy.
I stand at the entrance of the barn, looking around as I grab my hair again. I don’t know where she could be. Where she could have gone.
Cason and the others appear in front of me.
“Anyone find anything?” Cason asks the group.
“Nah, man. Nothing,” Jordan says.
“She ain’t here, bro,” Jones says.
Goose and Crank both shake their heads. Jade just stares at me, her own panic evident in the way her eyes are bulging.
Cason turns back to me with the fear from earlier now haunting his face.
“We don’t know what happened to her.” He grabs my shoulder. “She could’ve left.”
I turn to Cason, “What are you trying to say?”
“We knew she was a flight risk from day one. We’ve found nothing telling us anything different, man. Nothing.”
Cason drops his truth out like she isn’t a sister to him. Like they hadn’t gotten close in the last few months. As if she didn’t know more about him that his own blood did. And just like that, I explode. I feel it in my chest, like each muscle shreds apart, like each rib cracks and breaks, like each layer of my skin peels back so my whole chest rips wide fucking open to the point I can’t hold back anymore.
Cason doesn’t understand what he just did, but he’s about to.
“This is how you treat family? Fallon was family. Is family. You really think she’d walk away from us? From her mother? From me?” I step into his face and grab his collar tight. I’ve never stepped up to my cousin, my brother, but I won’t take this bullshit from him. He knows she’s not a flight risk. He knows when she ran, she ran for her life. The fact that he can say this to me right now is fucked up. He’ll get right, or I’ll make him right. He might be my brother, but I won’t hesitate to set him straight. His stare bores into my eyes; his are hardened and cold. Instantly, I know he’s not letting himself feel anything right now. Because he’s scared?
When did that happen?
“Jesse!” Jade screams as she grabs onto my arms and tries desperately to get me to let go. “Get off of him.”
Cason stands straighter, matching me for everything that I am. I see the calculating thoughts rolling through his head. His jaw ticks, and his teeth grit. Cason doesn’t think first; Cason acts, then thinks. He balances out the way I calculate every move. But tonight, right now, he’s thinking. And if it isn’t in the right direction . . . No, it will be. I need my brother. I don’t want to think about what it would be like without him having my back.
Jade continues to pull at my arm. She pulls until I finally let go. Cason is saved by my overwhelming need to get the fuck out of here. I can’t be here. I can’t be without her. I have to find her. I get to my car quickly, turning it on and putting it in drive before I have the door fully closed. My foot presses hard on the gas pedal, and the tires dig a nice sized hole in the field as they spin into the dirt before finally gaining traction. The car speeds off down the road, away from the party and all the useless assholes still standing around.
Only one single thought runs on a loop in my head as I race off into the night:
I need to find her.
“Where the fuck are you, Fallon?” I hiss out as I slam my fist into the wall, not giving a damn about the hole I’m leaving behind. Fallon’s been missing for almost twenty-four hours now, and I’ve got nothing. No leads—not even a sliver of an idea as to where she is. I turn and slide down the wall, letting my head fall back and close my eyes. After taking a deep breath, I open my eyes and prop my arms on my knees. I look up to the bed that I haven’t touched all night. The bed we’ve shared every night since the dance. The bed I couldn’t bring myself to sleep in without her last night. The sheets are spilling off Fallon’s side of the bed onto the floor, exactly as she left it yesterday morning. She always steals the covers from me in the middle of the night and somehow, they almost always end up half on her and half on the floor, just as they are now. It usually aggravates me when I wake up cold, but right now I would give anything in this fucking world to have her home and pulling the covers from me. I don’t want to go back to a world without her in it. There’s no way I would survive, not after knowing what having her is like.
Where. The fuck. Are you?
I rub my chest trying to ease away the ache that won’t stop. It just keeps pounding in there, growing bigger and threatening to swallow me whole. I don’t know what to do or how to find her. I can’t put together a single fucking solid thought about what happened last night. It’s all jumbled. I was getting a beer, and she was there—I left her standing right there. Then Jones stopped to talk to me, and when I turned around, she wasn’t there anymore. It was only a second; I turned my back for just one second.
That second may have cost me everything.
I have to think. I have to find her. I have to fucking find her.
I slap my hands to my temples, attempting to conjure at least one cohesive thought. I grab onto my hair and pull just enough that it stings. The actual pain of the welcome sting doesn’t make up for the missing piece of me but it helps ease the guilt that threatens to consume me. If only I hadn’t left her alone. I shouldn’t have left her.
Think Jesse. She was there. Then she was gone.
I pull harder, until the pain is searing into my brain.
I turned my back for a second. A fucking second.
Jones didn’t see anything. That dude is a saint; if he’d seen something, I’d know. I found Cason huddled in the corner with that chick. Jade was with Adam the entire time. Where could she have gone?
I look around and realize
somehow, I’ve ended up standing and pacing with my hard grip still very much in my hair.
She was in the barn. Someone had to have seen something—anything. There were so many people at that party. There is no way she walked out of there without someone seeing her. At least one person had to have seen her leave.
Who the fuck was around? Think Jesse. Fucking think.
“Nice hair, man.” A shirtless Cason is leaning on my doorframe in his ball shorts. “Did you sleep at all?”
“What do you think?” I grit my teeth. “Don’t ask dumb questions.”
“Well this seems to really be helping you a fuck ton.” His gestures with his hand to my state of general disarray. “Being tired and off your game. She’d want you to take care of yourself.”
“Are you here to bust my balls or fucking help?” I sneer. “Cause if you want a replay of last night then get the hell out of here. I don’t need that shit from you.”
Cason sighs, then comes into my room and walks over to the bed. He turns and heaves out another big breath before falling back onto the mattress. I look closely at him and realize he looks just as exhausted as I do. His eyes are sunken in and dark. He didn’t sleep any more than I did. I knew he didn’t believe that shit he was spitting about Fallon, but I needed him to figure that out.
“You’re right, man.” He sighs as if it stings that he’s in this position at all. “It’s fucking with my head. I don’t think I could handle it if she chose to leave us for real. Mentally, I need her to be here. She keeps me grounded, Jess.”
He shakes his head out, and I stand back. I get it—the important women in his life always leave. But Fallon isn’t like his mom. She wouldn’t just walk away from us. He knows that, but the idea of her leaving probably stings just as much as his mom never coming back.
“I’m sorry, man. She is family, and I know she wouldn’t leave us by choice,” he says as he sits up to look at me. The deep-rooted pain from his childhood is visible on his face. Even his posture is weak and tired. He allows himself to be vulnerable in front of me, and I only know of one other person that he’s been able to show this side of himself to. And she’s out there somewhere without us.