“You know nothing about what happened, so you need to shut your trap. Now.” Phe stood, and Forrest rose with her, showing his support. He wouldn’t allow any of this come back on Blue.
“Please. Since the beginning of school she’s been bouncing around between the football players and you guys. She’s playing at something. Now Phillip, Derrick and two players on the team are missing?” The girl who’d spoken earlier also stood, confronting Phe.
“And like I said, you weren’t there, you have no idea what happened. You need to sit your ass back down and shut up.”
“Or what?”
“Or I get clichéd all over your dumpy rear, and make you,” Phe retorted.
Forrest quickly cut in. “Who’s missing?”
The girl rolled her eyes. “Like you don’t know.” Forrest held his silence, and she finally added, “Fine. Eric and Danny aren’t at school today, after going hiking with you lot and that girl. Of course she has something to do with it. She acts all goody-goody, but she’s playing you guys off each other.”
Rescue came from an unlikely place. It was another of the ball players, John something. He’d been walking by as this last bit was said. He stopped and walked to where Phe and the girl now stood, face to face. “Kelly, you really need to check your facts before you start throwing shit. Besides, you’re just jealous. You’ve been trying to get in with Phillip since freshman year.”
Kelly, the girl, rolled her eyes and flipped her hair. Ridiculous. “Not since he quit the team. Anyways, you can’t tell me you don’t see the connection.”
“It’s just old shit getting stirred up. Unless you want any of it to come back at you, I suggest you drop it.” He looked over to Phe, and then beyond her to where Forrest stood. He didn’t say anything else, just nodded and walked away. Kelly slumped and sat back down, ignoring Phe still standing behind her, glaring.
“Phe,” Forrest said with a slight warning tone. She gave a little huff of protest, but returned to her own seat. He glanced again in Blue’s direction and their gazes met, hers wide. Shit was so messed up.
CHAPTER 2
BLUE
The summons came during Art. Forrest had pulled out the tree drawing he and Derrick were almost done with, and just stared at it. Blue took her normal seat, but she wanted to move closer, if for no other reason than to keep the seat next to Forrest from being empty.
She had almost made it through the day. She just had to get through Pre-Cal with Jason, and then she would go home to hide in her room, and pretend the rest of the world didn’t exist.
The thought stopped her. Is that really what I was going to do? Hide? Isn’t that what I’ve done most of my life, in one way or another?
The classroom door opened, interrupting her musing, and one of the office aides stepped in, handing a slip of paper to Mr. Heljun. Derrick’s uncle, she remembered. He didn’t appear worried, or like anything was wrong. Could it really be no big deal that Phillip and Derrick had gone missing? Or were they not missed yet, somehow? She remembered Phe’s parents from the day before, how distracted and absent they’d been.
Mr. Heljun read the note and frowned. “Blue, Forrest, you’re wanted in the office. Take your things with you.”
Blue and Forrest exchanged a quick look and put away their supplies, before grabbing their bags and heading to the hall.
“Do you think it’s about… what happened at the hike?” Blue asked cautiously, adrenaline pricking through her system, leaving her thoughts scattered and palms sweaty. She tightened her grip on her back pack and concentrated on keeping her pace to a normal walk.
“I hope so. The waiting is killing me. I know we know what happened, but now we have to wait. And I can’t—” Forrest broke off. His breath hitched. After a moment he continued. “I can’t tell anyone. I can’t tell Aunt Ruth or Uncle Vic. Even Uncle Don,” he said, jerking his head back at the Art classroom. “It’s like I’m still in a holding pattern. So, I really hope it’s someone asking about this, I need to get it out to let it go.”
What did someone say to that? I understand? She did, but it seemed an inadequate response, so she said nothing. She hadn’t really talked to anyone about what had happened, and the fear of whether they blamed her hung over her. Forrest said it wasn’t her fault, and neither Kevin nor Phe had said anything to that effect, but how could they not? She hadn’t had the courage to confront them while still in Karran, and she didn’t have the courage now. You’re going to have to do it.
They soon reached the door to the front office. She stared at it, mind blank, while Forrest waited behind her. What was the phrase? Big girl panties? Time to put them on and deal. She took a breath and pushed open the door. The receptionist looked up, unsmiling.
“They’re waiting for you,” she said, gesturing to the vice- principal’s office. “Blue, you go first. Mr. Decatur, have a seat.” It took Blue a moment to realize the receptionist referred to Forrest.
Blue glanced at him, swallowed, then turned to enter the vice-principal’s office. She could do this. Opening the door, she paused just inside. A medium sized desk stood in the middle of the room, while shelves and cabinets lined the wall behind it. Mr. Carrow, the vice-principal, sat behind his desk. Two people, a man and a woman, occupied the chairs that usually sat there. Additional ones from the front room sat to the side. Unsure if she was supposed to sit or stand, she remained just inside the door.
“Ms. Faust, have a seat. These are detectives Grumbot and Chase. They wanted to ask you a few questions about yesterday,” said Mr. Carrow, gesturing to the extra chairs.
Stomach churning, she took a seat, setting her bag down and slumping back, trying to appear calm.
“Blue Faust? Do you mind if I call you Blue?” asked Detective Chase, a medium build woman with dark hair and a kind face, dressed in a charcoal pantsuit.
“Sure,” she said.
“We wanted to ask you about the hike you went on yesterday.”
“What about it?”
“Where did you go?”
“We’d gone up to McKinney. I hadn’t been there yet, and Kevin invited me along.”
“Who was with you?”
It was silly, she knew she needed to answer as truthfully as she could, but she hesitated. “Well, ummm…, there was me, Jason was there when I got to the lot, then Phe, Phi, Forrest and Derrick showed up. A little later Kevin pulled in with a couple of other players. I don’t know them well, but I think their names are Eric and Danny.” She was unaccountably proud of herself for remembering to use present tense.
“What happened after the hike?”
She relaxed. They hadn’t asked about the hike itself, and not needing to dwell on why the others were… missing, made this easier. “We—we got to the parking lot and…” Trailing off, she collected her thoughts, concentrating on the details of their story. It must have looked like she was reluctant to say what happened, because the other detective, an older man with a weary air jumped in.
“Miss, we just need you to tell us. No one is in trouble, but some of your friends are missing, and we need to get them tracked down.”
Her breath caught and her brows scrunched as she stopped trying to hide her anxiety. Funny thing about emotions, they could be interpreted so many ways. Hopefully, the detectives would interpret hers as concern over who may have been missing.
“Missing, missing? Like, gone missing? I knew Derrick and Phi weren’t here today, but Forrest made it sound like they did that some times. Just took off.”
Detective Grumbot shook his head. “We’re not here about Derrick Foyen or Phillip Ayala.”
Hearing her friends’ names spoken in such an official manner was jarring, and it took her a moment to concentrate. “Who are you asking about then?”
“Eric Johnson and Danny Zucker haven’t been seen since yesterday afternoon, just after the hike. Their parents reported them missing this morning, and neither have a record of disappearing or running away. We’re retracing their steps.”
“Yes, we’ve spoken with Kevin Reynard and Jason Peterson already. We’d like to hear about that afternoon from you, as well,” Officer Chase said.
“Okay. Well. Ummmm. We finished the hike and were in the parking lot. I don’t know exactly what started it, something about Phillip not being on the team anymore? But then Phi hit Jason, and they started fighting. Eric and Danny broke them up, and Phi jumped in his car, still pretty pissed. Derrick jumped in with him and they took off. I had to take Phe home.”
“Did you see Eric or Danny after that?”
“No, they rode with Kevin, so they left with him. I don’t really know them well, like I said.” She closed her mouth, fearful she would say too much, or become defensive.
The officers exchanged a look, then Office Chase turned back to her. “Tell me about Derrick and Phillip.”
“What about them?”
“Do you know where they went? Did they say anything about their plans?”
“No, they just took off. Maybe Phe knows?”
“Phoebe Ayala, Phillip’s sister?”
“Yeah.” She was probably digging herself into a hole, but she didn’t know what else to do other than cooperate. Shit, shit, shit. “I—,” She stopped hesitating and decided to throw Jason under the bus. “I heard Jason say something over lunch, but I didn’t really think anything of it. They were talking about the fight, and Jason said something about Phi bringing up old shit again. I have no idea what that means, I just started here a— a week ago, but if… I don’t know what it meant,” she finished, not sure what else she could say.
“Detectives, is that all? We have more students to interview, and we need to get this done soon,” Mr. Carrow took over the conversation, his voice impatient and bored, all at the same time. Dislike shot through her. This is not a man you want overseeing your children.
“Yes, that’s all for now,” Detective Grumbot said. “Thank you, Miss Faust. We’ll let you know if we have any other questions.”
“Tell Ms. Smythe to send in the next one, if you would,” Mr. Carrow said as she rose to leave.
Jason wasn’t in Pre-Cal. Blue couldn’t really concentrate on the lecture anyways, too preoccupied with concerns over the investigation. She caught up with Forrest after school let out, wanting to get an update on what happened when he spoke with the police.
“So? How did it go?” she asked, as they walked to their cars in the parking lot.
“It went fine, I guess. I just told them what we agreed to say. They did ask about what may have been happening between Phillip and Jason, any rivalries and such. I just told them what I knew. I figured you were right, no reason for us to try to defend Jason from any suspicion, and more reason than not to point the police in his direction.”
They walked in silence until they reached her car. She opened her door but paused before getting in. “Will you be okay this afternoon? Do you want me to come over?”
“No, I think we need to just treat this like normal days for a little bit more. No one has really asked about Derrick or Phi yet at home. When things get to the point where parents are worried, then I’d love to have you over, and we can get Phe over too. I already talked to her, and she wants to be alone.”
“She said the same to me yesterday.” She paused again, reluctant to be alone. If no one else needed or wanted her company, then she would just need to deal with it. “Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” Blue slid into her seat.
“Blue,” Forrest said, halting her pull to close the door.
“Yeah?”
“I… I’ll see you tomorrow. Okay?”
She sagged, disappointed he didn’t say more. “See you tomorrow.” She closed the door, then started the car, watching as Forrest walked to his truck.
There was so much going on inside her at the moment. She was lost, unsure what direction to move in, what her next steps should be. All the progress she’d made since her father’s death, all her determination, her enthusiasm, had disappeared. Just like she feared her friends may as well, and not just the ones they’d had to leave behind.
CHAPTER 3
BLUE
A few days later Blue parked at the curb in front of her house, staring at the dark clouds churning on the horizon. The weather matched her mood. Perfect.
When no sign had been found of Eric and Danny, and Phillip and Derrick remained missing as well, speculation ripped through the school. The day had been a blur of rumors and comments whispered behind concealing hands. She’d received smirks and raised brows, darting glances and glares from people she’d never even talked to. Not knowing exactly what was being said only made it worse.
A hot wind, carrying the scent of rain, nearly pulled the door handle from her grasp as the she got out of the car. She’d made it halfway up the walk when she spied a strange car at the curb a car length or two in behind hers. It wasn’t particularly suspicious; she’d just never seen one parked at that spot. Her mother’s car occupied its own place. Did Mom have someone over?
She pushed open the front door and closed it gingerly, not wanted to attract the attention of her mother or the visitors. Homework waited for her, and she was intent on getting started. The last few days, it was the only way she’d been able to get her mind to settle even a little, concentrating on one finite assignment at a time. Just as she hit the first step on the stairs, her mother called out.
“Blue? Could you come in here? These detectives have some questions for you about your friends who went missing.”
Her heart skipped, then began racing, fear pounding through her. She knew it. She knew they would be found out. There were too many holes in the story. Someone had seen the car still in the parking lot after they’d left and before Jason came back to drive it away. What if Eric or Danny’s neighbors had realized the Ministry agents weren’t the boys they pretended to be?
Blue slowly made her way into the living room, glancing at the officers and then down. They were the same ones she’d seen in the vice principal’s office on Monday.
“Detectives,” she said, unable to remember their names.
“Grumbot and Chase,” the woman said before continuing, “Blue, have a seat. We have a few more things we’d like to ask.”
“Sure,” she said, moving to the over-stuffed loveseat her mom refused to get rid of, no matter how ragged it became.
Detective Grumbot took the lead. “Can you tell us, again, what happened on Sunday?”
“Sure, but… why?” she asked, stalling. Her mother moved to sit beside her, taking her hand and squeezing it encouragingly.
“There have been two more disappearances. These officers are just trying to get to the bottom of things,” her mother said softly.
“It’s Derrick and Phillip, isn’t it? They haven’t been at school at all this week.”
“Yes,” the male detective answered. “Neither of their parents reported them missing till last night. Apparently, they have been known in the past to take off for a couple of days, so no one thought anything of it.” His voice was disapproving, but tired, like he’d seen this same scenario too many times to count.
Mom made a low sound, like a cross between and growl and a cough. “I don’t know how their parents could have waited so long to say something.”
Blue silently agreed. She remembered their distraction and disinterest the day she brought Phe home alone. Her own mother could get caught up in work and her own thoughts, but there is no way she would forget about Blue, or miss it if she didn’t return home one day.
“Miss Faust? Could you tell us again what happened?” Officer Chase prompted.
She shook off her thoughts. She had to get through this right now. “Right.”
She ran through it again for the officers, but really, she had nothing new to add, nothing that would help.
“And no idea what the ‘old business’ is, what the fight was about?” Detective Grumbot asked.
&nb
sp; “No. None.” That, at least, was the truth.
“Okay, that’s all we have for now.” The officers stood, and Blue and her mother followed suit. Mom showed them out, then returned to the living room, eyeing her carefully.
Blue looked at anything but her mother. Guilt was a strange thing. It could cause some people to become extremely defensive, while with others it morphed into grief. She felt both.
“What is going on?”
“I- I don’t know what you mean.”
“Blue.” Her mother’s voice was stern. “I may not be your dad, but I know you. I know when something is wrong, and there is something wrong. You’re not eating well, you’re barely sleeping. Yes, I get lost in my work, but I’m not oblivious. And it started after that hike.”
Blue finally met her mother’s gaze. All she found was concern. There was no accusation, no blame, but her mother also didn’t know what she had done. Can I tell her? Part of Blue wanted to, but a larger part was scared of what her mother would think. Had she known Father was really from another world? What if Mom doesn’t believe me? Her thoughts swirled, too many conflicting impulses and ‘what ifs’, and she didn’t know which way to turn. Derrick’s lifeless body flashed before her, the memory so real she could almost touch it. She blinked barely holding back the tears that wanted to escape.
“It’s nothing,” she forced out. “Can I go over and see if Phe’s okay?”
Her mother sighed. “Yes, but be back in time to get through your homework.”
Blue turned, and went to where she’d dropped her bag, gathering her things and heading to the door. She needed to get out of here before she spilled everything to her mom.
“Oh, and Blue? You know you can talk to me, about anything, right?”
She looked over her shoulder, seeing her mother’s concern in the tight eyes and worried expression. Blue nodded, her hand tightening on the knob. “I know.” Then she pulled open the door and made her escape, running from her mother, and the lie she’d just told.
Behind These Blue Eyes: Between The Adventures (The Adventures of Blue Faust Book 2) Page 2