by Bella Jewel
Oh.
God.
“Get the fuck out!” Tanner barks. “Get the fuck out of my house!”
I turn and run before Andrea walks out of the house. I stumble over a few bushes, cursing under my breath. I reach my car, open it and get in. I start it and drive off, still pulling my seatbelt on as I go. I don’t know if anyone saw me, but I couldn’t risk being out there when Andrea stormed out of that house.
My mind spins as I navigate the streets to our apartment.
The first thing that’s getting to me is Andrea.
She’s not one-hundred-percent on board. Neither is Ethan. Which tells me they’ve gotten to know me and maybe considered that I’m not the monster they’ve painted in their heads. That gives me hope, a glimmer of light during a dark time. Maybe I can change their minds, maybe, just maybe, I can make this better.
Then, I think of Tanner.
His bond with Celia is one I don’t understand. I didn’t realize the two were so close. They had quite an age gap, and it makes me wonder what happened in their lives for him to feel so protective of her. He speaks as if he’s her father, as if he had some sort of responsibility for her.
Oh, Celia.
I’d do anything to talk to you.
Anything in this world to get the answers I seek so desperately.
You hold the key to everything.
“SO, SOMETHING WAS GOING on between Celia and Chase?” Jo asks as we walk toward the café the next morning.
She’s coming in to have coffee with me, but mostly I think she’s making sure nothing happens to me on my first day back at work. She’s worried, and I understand why. It’s confusing, it’s messy, and neither of us has any idea what exactly it is they’re planning to do or not do. Everything is up in the air, and it isn’t a nice feeling.
“Yeah,” I answer her question as we cross the road. The sun shines down on my skin, warming me, reminding me of how much I adore its presence. Cars whizz by, everyone in a rush to go to work. I don’t think I’ll ever get over the sound of being in the hustle and bustle of a city. It’s the little things you miss when you don’t see them every day. “I found some emails on her laptop from Chase. Something about a HIV test. He kept saying how sorry he was, and how he wanted to help her. I couldn’t find anything else, though. She had deleted everything except those.”
“Do you think he sent them after the accident?” Jo asks, stopping and turning to me when we reach the sidewalk.
“No, I don’t think so. Nothing is making sense to me right now. Amber said that Celia was frantic because Chase disappeared a few days before she died. Nobody knew where he was. In the emails, though, he was frantic because she wasn’t talking to him. I’m missing something, but I don’t know exactly what it is I’m missing. I feel like I’ve reached a dead end again.”
“Maybe Amber didn’t have her story correct?” Jo suggests.
“I thought that, too, but she was adamant that Celia was upset about Chase not being around, and nobody could find him.”
“He could have sent the emails and freaked out when Celia didn’t reply. Maybe he was scared of something or someone and disappeared, then Celia got wind that he had left and freaked out? It’s possible. Whatever went down between the two of them, it was intense, and it was horrible. I wish we had more information to follow. I almost need answers now as much as you do,” Jo mutters.
“I do have something interesting, but it isn’t enough to give me a clear answer on things. His yearbook and everything else we found had Chase Wick, but the emails he sent to Celia had Chase Redford. I’m not sure which is his real last name, but that name did seem familiar somehow ...”
Jo tilts her head to the side, and then murmurs, “Tatum Redford.”
I blink. “Tatum, as in Tanner’s best friend Tatum?”
“Yeah, that’s his last name.”
I shake my head. “Wait, Tatum is Chase’s older brother?”
Jo shrugs. “I mean, it’s possible, right? Do you think Tatum knows where Chase is?”
I rub my face. “This just got complicated. What if Tatum knows what Chase did, and he has been hiding it from Tanner this whole time? What if he is pushing Tanner to keep at me because he doesn’t want him finding out that my story is in fact true?”
“Wait, Tatum is pushing Tanner?”
“Last night, when I was listening, he was pushing Tanner a little, yeah. Like he didn’t want him to back off just because Andrea was having doubts. He wanted him to keep doing whatever it is they have planned.”
Jo frowns. “Tatum seems like such a good guy. Do you honestly think he would keep something like that from Tanner?”
“If it meant protecting his family, yeah. I mean, if Chase is his brother, it would make sense. Maybe he helped him disappear and cover things up. Maybe he knows and has known all along.”
Jo shakes her head. “You’re right, this is getting too complicated. We need to find out what Tatum knows.”
“How the hell are we going to do that?” I ask her. “We can hardly tell him what we know and then just expect him to tell us everything. He’s likely protecting something that would blow up his and Tanner’s friendship forever, possibly worse. If he’s hidden it, he’s hidden it well.”
“Lucky for him, I’m quite the detective. I’ll find out what I can,” Jo says. “Leave Tatum to me.”
I raise my brows. “I’m sure you’ll hate questioning the very gorgeous Tatum.”
She blushes. “Tatum is an asshole; he’s helping Tanner upset my best friend. I don’t like him.”
I grin. “Maybe, but he is pretty hot and you’re pretty horny ...”
She bursts out laughing and shakes her head. “You’re disgusting. Horny is such a vile word. Besides, I’m married, remember. That isn’t changing anytime soon, so my Tatum fantasies have to come to a screeching halt.”
“So, there are fantasies?” I tease, nudging her with my shoulder.
It feels nice to laugh, to joke, and forget the horror that has been unfolding in both our lives in the last few days.
“There were a few, now I just want to gouge his eyeballs out. Especially if he helped Chase get away after doing something to Celia.”
I lose my smile. “Yeah, that’s a scary thought. Still, you’re right, Tatum doesn’t seem like a bad guy. Which makes me think there is a lot more to this story than we can even begin to understand at this point.”
“Which is exactly why we’re going to get to the bottom of it. I’ll find out what I can from Tatum, you keep searching for information about Chase. Amber said his family lived around here still. It might be time to pay them a visit?”
I think she’s right.
It might just be time to pay them a visit.
I want my answers.
But first, I have something else I need to do.
5
MY FINGERS SHAKE AS I pick the lock, trying to be as careful and quiet as I can. I glance around behind me, but the night is still and as far as I know, I’m going to be alone for some time. I shouldn’t be doing this, I know that, but I need answers. If Tatum knows anything, then I need to find out what. I got answers breaking into Celia’s house, I’m hoping to get the same answers breaking into Tatum’s.
It’s not the smartest idea I’ve had, but I know the two men are at work tonight, and I’m hoping they keep it that way for at least an hour more so I can look through the house and find out what I need. I focus back on the lock and keep picking it until I finally hear a click. Heart racing, I push the door open and carefully close it behind me, locking it again. I use the flashlight on my phone to light up my way, and step into the big house.
The good thing is, I know the place well enough to know where I’m going.
That bad thing is, I’m breaking and entering and I hate that I’ve had to resort to that again.
Jo would probably kill me, but I have to do this.
I carefully tiptoe through the dark house, trying not to disrupt anything, even som
ething as simple as causing a shift in an item. I don’t want anyone to know I was in here. I can hear my panting breaths in the dead silence as I move towards the stairs, slowly climbing them and cringing with every creak. I know nobody is here, but it freaks me out all the same.
I reach the top and walk past Tanner’s room and go straight to Tatum’s. I curl my gloved fingers around the handle and open it, stepping inside. I can’t turn the light on, that would be risking too much, so I have to rely on my flashlight to see. I walk over to the desk in the corner first, and start shuffling through the papers there. It’s doubtful he would keep anything worth my while out in the open, so I have to look deeper.
I look around the desk for a compartment, or something that would be ideal for hiding information. I can’t find anything on the desk, but I quickly flick through the drawers anyway. Then, without finding anything interesting, I move to the cupboard and start opening boxes and looking. Inside one box, I find a picture of Tatum and Chase. I tuck the picture into my jeans and keep looking.
I find a stack of papers in a box hidden right at the back of the cupboard that have a few printed emails in them. I pull them out, trying to read them with the light. There is information on one of them about a fake I.D. I narrow my eyes, reading further, trying to get as much information as I can in a short time, when I hear a door slam downstairs. My head whips around, and I hear low male voices. They’re home. I frantically use my phone to take pictures of the papers I’m holding, and then I shove them back into the box.
Someone is coming up the stairs.
Heart racing, I put the box back where I found it and get into the cupboard, closing the door just in time for someone to open the door. The light flicks on and I clench my eyes shut, terrified. I’m well hidden in the cupboard, but if Tatum comes in searching for clothes, there is a solid chance he’ll find me. How would I ever explain that?
Blood rushes through my body at a frantic rate and my heart is pounding against my ribcage. My palms begin to sweat and I’m suddenly very aware of my surroundings. If I make one noise, they’ll know I’m in here and it’s all over for me. I hear Tatum shuffling around, some clothes drop to the ground, but he doesn’t come into the closet. After a few minutes, he disappears out of the room and closes the door.
I exhale. Thanking everything he didn’t find me.
That still leaves me with the issue of getting out of this house.
Without being seen.
I tiptoe out of the closet, legs trembling as I walk towards the door.
I open it softly and peer out. I can hear their voices downstairs.
I take a shaky breath and tiptoe towards the staircase, peering down. If they see me, everything I’m working for will unravel. I’ll have to explain why I’m in their house, explain what I know. I can’t do that. Not now. It would all be for nothing. I slowly make my way down the stairs, and when I reach the bottom, I peer around to see them standing in the kitchen. They’re going to see me moving if I try to make a run for it.
“You still feelin’ off about everything?” Tatum asks.
“It’s all a fuckin’ mess. Be much easier if I just knew the truth.”
“You do know the truth, Tanner. You know that Celia wasn’t depressed. Don’t let a good story throw you off the trail. I get it, I do. I like Callie, too. She’s believable, but you know in your heart what the truth is. You know that she’s lyin’.”
Fucking Tatum.
Damn him.
“Know that, but also gotta question if maybe I missed somethin’. Would be incredibly unfair if all this time we were pushin’ her for nothin’.”
“I’ll prove it to you. Callie will break eventually. It’ll get to her enough that she will just lose it and admit what she’s done. When she does, everything will be clear.”
“Then what?” Tanner mutters.
“Then we have our closure, we have our fuckin’ answers. Her actions cause Celia’s death, don’t forget that. Don’t forget why we decided on this to begin with.”
I shake my head, horrified. Answers? Closure? That’s what they’re doing this for? Because they want closure? What a fucking joke. Anger bubbles in my chest, and I clench my fists, wanting to out there and give them a piece of my mind, but knowing damn well I can’t.
“We’re targeting her car again tonight, goin’ to make it a good one this time. She will fuckin’ crack, she will own up to what she did,” Tatum says, his voice hard. “Don’t let your thoughts get sidetracked.”
Fuck you, Tatum.
They’re going to target my car again?
“How do you know she won’t be home?”
“Her and Jo are going out to dinner in about an hour, we’ll be fine,” Tatum adds.
He’s right, we are planning on going out. How he knew that, I don’t know? I guess he spoke to Jo.
I need to get out of here.
I need to get there before they do.
I’ll throw a damned wrench in their plans tonight.
Fucking assholes.
They disappear out the back, and I make a run for it, charging towards the front door. I have my black hoodie pulled over my head, and I’m panting with nervous energy. I rush out the front door, and to my horror, it slams behind me.
Shit.
“Who’s there?” Tanner yells from inside the house.
Oh god.
Oh shit.
I start running. I parked my car about five blocks down, not wanting to be seen anywhere near the house. I duck my head and I charge down the street. Everything in my body is on high alert, adrenalin is rushing through my body, making me run faster. Maybe Ethan was right about running, one day I did need it. That day being right now. Without it, I’d probably be panting on the side of the road with Tanner tackling me to the ground right about now.
“Stop!”
Oh no.
Fuck.
Tanner’s voice echoes through the night. My heart races and my whole body moves faster as I realize he’s actually chasing me. He’s following me. I run as hard as I possibly can, ducking across the road frantically to throw him off. His footsteps are behind me, and he’s roaring at me to stop. If he catches me, it’s over.
Everything is over.
I run with all my might, but I’m only small and he’s a big man. He could very easily catch me if I slow even a touch. I run towards a park, full of thick trees. I can hide in there. When I reach it, I launch over a small seat and keep running, hearing Tanner do the same. He’s getting closer.
“Fuckin’ stop!”
Over my dead body.
I run into the trees and dodge through a few, then, I find one deep enough in that I’m covered and press my back against it, panting. There are some small bushes next to it, and I duck down behind them, shuffling in as far as I can. Then, I cover my mouth so he doesn’t hear my panting. I hear his boots crunching through the leaves as he walks around, slowing down near me.
“I know you’re in here!”
I hold my breath, keeping my head down. Being dark, it works, because I’m wearing all black. I don’t move. I don’t breathe. I don’t even think. I just keep my eyes clenched shut and pray he doesn’t find me. He walks around for a few minutes, and then an angry growl leaves his throat followed by a curse before he turns around and leaves.
I sit for another half an hour, too scared to move.
Scared he’s waiting outside for me.
That was too close.
Far too close.
When I’m sure it’s safe, I pull out my phone and I call the police.
Nobody will be targeting me tonight.
Nobody.
I SIT DOWN THE STREET and watch as everything unfolds exactly how I want it to. My car is parked just off to the side, where it’s dark enough for them to target it without being seen. I did that on purpose, I wanted it to seem easy for them. We live on a quiet enough street that they can get away with it. I watched them come in, well, one of them. I’m guessing Tatum. I don’t know
if I’m relieved that Tanner isn’t there, or if I’m even more pissed.
He, whoever he is, moves closer to my car. He has something in his hands, I can’t see what from here. He’s just about to do something when the cops roll in, their sirens only flickering on as they come to a stop, completely stunning him. He runs immediately, disappearing around the block. I watch as the cops launch out of their car and go after him. It seems like it takes forever for them to return, as I sit there with my heart racing. Ten or so minutes later, they come back with him in handcuffs. The hoodie is off now, and I see it’s Tatum.
My anger grows deeper.
I have so much I want to say to him. So many things I wish I could do right now, like rush over there and give him a piece of my mind. I can’t do any of those things, so instead I sit and watch in satisfaction as he’s shoved into the back of the police car.
That’ll damn teach them for playing with me.
When they’re gone, I go back to my apartment and head inside, locking the door. Then I call Jo.
“What happened?” she asks, her voice frantic. She’s at work, but I told her what I was going to do. She didn’t really agree with it, but she also didn’t try to stop me.
She knows better than that now.
“It was Tatum,” I tell her.
“It was?” she gasps. “Oh.”
I know she’s still disappointed about Tatum’s involvement in this. I know they talk more than I know. I know she’s confused and things are complicated. I feel for her, I really do. It sucks when someone you thought was good, lets you down.
“I don’t know what he was going to do, but he didn’t manage to get away. The cops took him. He won’t end up in serious trouble, but I just want them to know their little plan has a fucking big hole in it. Me being that big hole. They’re not going to torment me anymore.”
“Callie...”
“He deserved that, Jo. I don’t deserve them to hurt me any further.”
She exhales. “No, you don’t. What do you think they were going to do?”
“I don’t know, I’m not even sure I want to know. Probably another picture, or some horrible word, something to shake me up.”