by J. H. Croix
“Hey there, seems we’re on the same wavelength today,” he commented to Jared.
Jared nodded. He’d seated himself across from Susie who paused in her typing to look up at Trey’s arrival. Tension rankled in the air between Jared and Susie. Restless to do something other than worry about Emma, Trey accepted Susie’s invitation to sit down.
“Have a seat. I’d love to have you join me,” Susie said in a stilted bubbly voice before throwing another glare in Jared’s direction.
Trey glanced to Jared who rolled his eyes. After only a few minutes with Susie, he recalled that Emma had described her as ‘forceful’. He wasn’t sure that even captured what she was though he had to acknowledge she was protective as hell of Emma, which he counted as a good thing. Jared was mostly quiet, though he bit back laughter repeatedly.
“So Jared swears you’re a good guy. For the most part, I trust Jared’s judgment…”
Jared interrupted her. “For the most part? Seriously? Do I get any credit?”
Susie glared at him, a flush creeping up her neck. “I just gave you some credit! It was a turn of phrase. I didn’t actually mean there are times when I don’t trust your judgment. For God’s sake, don’t be so critical.”
Jared shook his head and waved for her to continue.
Susie gave Jared a pointed look before turning her focus back to Trey. “So Jared swears you’re a good guy. I just want to make sure you know that if you do anything to hurt Emma, I’ll make you regret it,” she said emphatically, keeping her brown eyes trained on him.
Trey avoided looking away and considered his words before he spoke. “I thought we already went over this, but I’m glad to know how important Emma is to you. Because she means a lot to me. I don’t have any intention of hurting her,” he said simply.
Susie’s eyes softened, a twinkle entering them. “Good. That’s what I thought. Just making sure. Now what’s the news on Greg?”
Jared started to respond when Trey looked toward the parking lot and saw Greg step out of the gray sedan Emma had described. He whipped his phone out to call Darren.
Susie started to ask what was going on, and Trey pointed to Greg while he waited for Darren to answer. She went to get up from the table, and Jared laid a hand on her arm. “Susie, don’t run out there. Let’s get Darren on his way at least.”
After Darren confirmed he was headed right over, Trey put his phone away and started to walk toward the door only to stop when Jared latched onto his arm and stopped him mid-stride. Trey shook his arm, but Jared held firm.
“Come on, man, let me go,” Trey said.
Jared gave him a hard look. “It’s better for Susie or me to follow him. He knows who you are. Seeing you might end with him taking off again.” Jared looked to Susie. “Now that we know Darren’s on the way, let’s head over. But you can’t run over and make it obvious.”
Susie huffed, but nodded tightly.
Trey bit back his words. He knew Jared was right, but he didn’t like it. Not one bit. “Just don’t let him out of your sight,” he said flatly, directing his words to Jared.
Jared stood with a nod. “Not planning on it. Why don’t you have a seat and keep an eye on Susie’s laptop?”
It took most of Trey’s restraint to not follow Jared and Susie out to the parking lot. He waited and watched as Greg strolled across the parking lot and went into a drugstore in the small cluster of stores across from Misty Mountain. He shook his head when he saw Jared grab Susie’s arm, not once, but twice to slow her down. She was all but running. After the second grab, Jared tugged her hand into his and held on. Tense as he was about waiting to see if they’d get Greg, Trey couldn’t stop his laugh when he saw Susie look up with a glare at Jared who didn’t even bother looking back.
Moments later, a police cruiser pulled up. Trey looked around, hoping to find someone familiar to take over his duty as watchdog for Susie’s laptop. Seeing no familiar faces, he grabbed her shoulder bag and stuffed the laptop and her papers in it. Slinging it over his shoulder, he headed out to the parking lot. The next few minutes rolled by while Trey waited with Darren who sent his partner, Charlie Brooks, into the drugstore. Moments later, Jared, Susie and Charlie came back out of the drugstore.
Susie was flushed and looked furious. She threw her hands up when they reached the police cruiser. “He’s nowhere to be found! We even had them check the restrooms.”
Jared nodded tightly. “Nada.”
“What the hell?” Trey asked, the anger he’d been keeping in check flashing.
Jared shook his head. “Swear to you, as soon as we stepped inside, I thought I saw him going down one of the aisles, went to follow him and that was the last we saw.”
Charlie, an unassuming, young-looking cop with close-cropped brown hair and blue eyes, spoke up. “The manager’s best guess is that he disappeared out the back entrance. Not used much, but there is another parking lot back there that connects to the street on the other side. The manager said the rental car company uses it for storage. My guess is he planned to switch cars all along. Manager said she’d pull the tapes from the only surveillance camera they have back there, but she doesn’t know if it covers the whole lot.”
Darren looked as tense as Trey felt. “Not good. Get back in there and get those tapes,” he said to Charlie.
Charlie nodded. “Already on it. She said she’d email the files in a few minutes. You wanna head to the station, so I can pick up my car and head back out?”
Darren nodded tightly and glanced between Jared and Trey. “Would have been easy if he hadn’t planned to switch cars. Now we don’t even know what car we’re looking for. We can narrow it down though even if we can’t see it on the surveillance tapes. I’ll call over to the car rental place and find out what cars they had stored in that lot.”
“Okay if I call Emma and give her an update?” Trey asked. At Darren’s quick nod, he turned away.
After Darren and Charlie left, Trey followed Jared and Susie back into Misty Mountain when he realized he’d forgotten his bag of baked goods. Tension drummed through him as he drove away a few minutes later.
***
Emma raced through her notes, the keyboard clicking rapidly under her fingertips. It had been another busy day so far with two emergency evaluations squeezed into her already full schedule. There was a soft tap on her open door. She glanced up to find Stella waiting there, looking uncertain.
“Hey there, is it me or are you early?” Emma asked, hitting save and quickly closing her laptop. With a quick push, she wheeled away from her desk and stood.
Stella shrugged. “I’m early, but I called and Gale said she could fit me in earlier.”
Gale was the efficient receptionist for Kachemak Bay Counseling. She usually gave Emma a heads up on schedule changes, but Emma had been at full-speed today and had yet to check her messages or email. Emma sat down in the chair opposite the couch where Stella preferred to sit and waved Stella over. “No problem. Grab some tea if you want it,” she said, gesturing to the small table where she kept tea and an electric water kettle.
Stella helped herself to a cup of tea and settled across from Emma with a small smile.
“Nice color there,” Emma said, gesturing to the bright purple streaks Stella had added to her hair.
Stella grinned. “Thanks. I got purple all over the bathroom sink this time. Janie made me scrub it with baking soda. I never knew baking soda could be used for anything other than baking,” Stella said admiringly.
Emma laughed. “Baking soda’s handy stuff. I’m surprised you’ve never dyed the sink before as often as you dye your hair.”
“I know, right? I knocked the bottle over this time.”
Emma waited, wondering when Stella planned to mention why she wanted to come early. Stella stuck to her regular time like a burr to clothing.
After a few moments of quiet, Stella piped up. “I had to reschedule because the home study lady is coming over this af
ternoon. Janie told me that if it was important to me, I’d call you to reschedule myself.”
“Well, I appreciate that you called to reschedule. Janie usually calls.”
Stella sighed elaborately. “I know. She’s on this thing now where I need to start making calls for myself.”
Emma chuckled. “That’s the kind of thing grown ups do.”
Stella rolled her eyes, but she was grinning. This was a shift for her. When she’d started seeing Emma for therapy, Stella wore a semi-permanent scowl and complained vociferously at any expectations Janie had. According to Janie, that had been an improvement since Stella had first been placed in her care.
Emma shifted gears. “So the home study lady is coming over—how are you feeling?”
Stella started twirling her hair with one hand. She shrugged. “Seems like a lot of work when I already live with Janie. I mean, how come they have to do a home study for the adoption when Janie already has to live like the perfect life to be my foster mom?”
Emma nodded. “I’m thinking you’ve already heard this explanation from your worker, right?”
Stella sighed. “Yeah, but it’s still stupid.”
“I can see your point. But how are you feeling about going through the process for Janie to adopt you?” Emma asked bluntly. Emma was ecstatic to learn Stella hadn’t backed out of this yet, but she kept that to herself.
Stella set her mug of tea on the coffee table and tucked her feet under her. “I guess it’s kinda like, now that I decided to go ahead, let’s just do it. I know I thought it was stupid to get adopted because I’m sixteen, but I can’t imagine being without Janie. I mean, I had my mom before, but she wasn’t a mom like Janie. I feel bad saying that, but my mom…she was so out of it. Janie’s like I thought moms were supposed to be. I still think it’s kinda weird, but now we started, I’m ready to be done. I can’t imagine calling Janie anything other than Janie though.”
Stella said all of this matter-of-factly, which didn’t surprise Emma. She’d witnessed enough people experience attitude shifts, she’d learned it happened when people were ready. And once it happened, they’d already done the processing they needed, whether internal or external. Emma cheered internally, so happy to see Stella move through this. Stella had been through far more than her share already, so getting the chance she had with Janie was a stroke of luck not many teens in her situation got. Emma kept her face calm, but seeing Stella make it through to the other side of this one issue was so moving she had to keep her emotions in check.
“I’m guessing Janie doesn’t expect you to call her anything other than Janie.”
Stella nodded absently, appearing to have mentally moved on. The hair twirling continued. Emma’s cell phone vibrated in her pocket. Without looking, she slipped her hand in her pocket and hit the button to ignore the call.
“So I need your opinion,” Stella blurted out, a blush washing over her porcelain cheeks.
“About what?” Emma asked.
“You know the guy that’s in the recital?”
“The one who had you upset because he was friends with the kid who tried to get you in trouble last year?” At Stella’s nod, Emma continued. “Parker, right?”
Stella nodded again, blushing furiously at this point. Emma felt a pang of sympathy for Stella. Her creamy complexion and dark hair made her blushes stand out. Emma waited to see what came next.
Stella shifted around on the couch before finally speaking. When she finally spoke, her voice was soft. “Parker’s really nice to me. And I kinda like him. And it makes me nervous. I mean, is he being nice to me so he can try to make fun of me later? What if he does something like what Byron did?”
Emma chose her words carefully when she spoke, knowing Stella tended to be skittish when she opened up. “Well, for starters, I understand why you’d be leery of Parker. There’s no easy way to answer the questions you have unless you ask him. And honestly, he probably wouldn’t fess up. But if you were to do that, it would put him on notice. Or you can do what all of us have to do. Be who you are, be genuine and hope for the best.”
Stella sighed. “I know. I don’t even know what he knows about what Byron did.”
“While it was a big deal to you, and he probably heard about it, he may not have known as much as you think. From what Janie and you told me, Byron is the only one who put anything in your locker. Seeing as it was all recorded, I’m thinking it was just him. Plus, just because you saw Parker hanging around with Byron sometimes doesn’t mean they’re close. We can come to all kinds of conclusions without knowing everything.”
Emma’s phone vibrated again. She again hit the button to ignore the call. She almost never had to worry about her phone at work because anyone who would call her knew she didn’t take calls except during breaks.
“I’m more interested to hear you ‘kinda like’ Parker,” Emma said.
If it was even possible, Stella blushed a deeper shade of red. “He’s just…nice and he talks to me about music. And not the cool kind of music, but stuff Mrs. Cooper’s been teaching me, like jazz and some other things. He asked me if I could come over and practice with him? I guess his mom has a piano, so we’d be able to practice together for the recital.”
“And what did you say?”
Stella shifted restlessly again, twirling her hair rapidly. “I told him I had to ask Janie. Then he asked who Janie was and I got all embarrassed and couldn’t say.”
Emma’s phone vibrated yet again. Yet again, she ignored it. “What do you think about checking with Janie to see if you can go over and letting him know at the next practice?”
Stella sighed and covered her face with her hands. “Oh my god. You know Janie will say she has to call his mom first and I’ll just die.”
Emma smiled ruefully when Stella lifted her face again. “Most moms call other parents to check in. Parker probably knows that. And you might feel like you’re going to die, but I can promise it won’t kill you for Janie to call his mom.”
“Seriously?” Stella asked with disbelief.
Emma nodded. “Seriously. But back to my question, how about that?”
Stella sighed. “I guess it’s the only way I’m gonna even get to go over, so I have no choice.”
“I’m thinking without Janie’s go ahead, you won’t be going over. Your homework for this week is to at least ask Janie about it.”
“Homework!” Stella said, throwing her hands up.
Emma chuckled, just as her phone vibrated. Again.
Stella gave her a quizzical look. “Maybe you should get that. Before you give me that song and dance about how my time with you shouldn’t involve interruptions, this is the one and only time I’ve ever heard your phone during a session and it’s buzzed like five times now. If you don’t call whoever it is back, I’ll do it for you,” Stella said forcefully.
Emma had been trying to keep her anxiety at bay, but Stella had a point. “Okay, give me a sec. I’ll be right back.”
Stepping out of her office, she checked her phone. With relief, she noticed it wasn’t a dreaded ‘Private’ call, but Trey. That brought anxiety though because he was scrupulously respectful of her time when she was at work.
Emma strode quickly down the hall and stepped into the kitchen area to call. With Stella in her office, she needed some privacy.
“Emma,” Trey said as soon as he answered. “Sorry to keep calling, but it’s important.”
Her gut shifted into gear, sensing without knowing that she didn’t want to hear whatever Trey had to say. “What is it?”
“We saw Greg in the parking lot at Misty Mountain, but he slipped out the back of the drugstore. We think he switched cars,” Trey said, getting right to the point.
Emma’s heart raced and dread washed through her. She was instantly weary and wired at once. She knew Trey was still talking, but she didn’t absorb any of his words. Long moments passed as her mind spun. She’d been so stupidly proud of herself
for managing to leave and divorce Greg. It had been all too easy. She should have known he was just biding his time and would make her regret it. She remembered that last night in their apartment when he’d pounded on the door so hard she thought it would break. Every muscle in her body had been bundled with tension—as always. She’d thought herself so lucky to get through that night without a few more bruises. He’d been so clever to only hit her in places that weren’t obvious—her stomach, kicking her in the thighs, but never touching her face. She’d been ready to deal with a few hits and wait him out until he left. He always bolted for a drink afterwards. But she’d gotten lucky that night and should have known her luck wouldn’t hold.
Trey’s voice finally broke through her awareness again. “Emma! Are you with me?”
She took a shaky breath and leaned against the wall. “Yeah. I’m here. I didn’t hear much of what you said. I just…” her voice broke, tears choking her, “I don’t know what to do.”
Trey voice came through the phone, calm and clear. “I’m coming to get you. Risa’s headed down to stay for a while to help with Stuart. I can stay with you at your place, or you can come to mine. Whatever you’re more comfortable with.”
Emma heard herself telling him okay and explaining she needed some time to finish up her appointment. Before she hung up, Trey spoke again. “Emma, you are not alone. Just know that. I’ll be with you.”
“Okay,” she said softly. When she ended the call, she walked over to the windows. Kachemak Bay and the mountains were visible through the trees. The water glittered in the bright sun, the mountains deep green from the spruce lining their flanks. The view she found so peaceful felt just as much of a farce as she did. The beautiful day belied the fact that Greg was nearby and now she didn’t even know what he drove. She abruptly turned away and wiped her tears. She had to pull herself together to finish up her session with Stella.
When she walked back into her office, Stella was playing a game on her phone. Stella looked up. “Are you okay?”
Emma nodded, keeping her game face on. If there was one thing she’d learned when she was with Greg, it was how to hide whatever she felt behind a smooth, polite façade.