18 Months

by Samantha Boyette

  I nodded. “That’s a little brilliant.”

  “Well, let’s not go that far yet. There are probably a million websites they could have met someone on and we don’t even know if Hannah went to any.” Apparently, there was a lot I didn’t know about Hannah.

  “I know, just, I really appreciate it.”

  Nick glanced at me, a smile playing at the edges of his lips.

  Chapter Twenty-six

  One Month Ago

  “Does summer really have to end?” I reached over Hannah’s bare legs to snag another grape from the bunch.

  We sat on a picnic blanket in the state park watching families around us celebrating Labor Day with one last cook out, one last trip to the pool, one last hike through the trails. Hannah had planned everything including the spread of food around us. Grapes, olives, fancy cheeses and sausages, crusty bread, and a bottle of white wine she had poured into two water bottles. I was pleasantly buzzed and enjoying the warm sunshine on my skin.

  “I think it does.” Hannah sliced a piece of bread and piled meat and cheese on it before taking a bite. She let out a groan of satisfaction and spoke as she chewed. “This is my most favorite sort of meal.”

  “The wine isn’t bad either.” I took another sip.

  “It shouldn’t be considering how much my mom probably paid for it.” Hannah laughed and took another bite.

  “Is she going to notice it’s gone?” I grabbed a slice of cheese and popped it in my mouth. “Because you know she’ll blame me.”

  “She won’t notice, and she wouldn’t blame you either way.” Hannah nudged my foot with hers. “You’re invited to a cook out at my place later, by the way.”

  “Seriously?” I looked at her with surprise. Before coming out her parents had invited me for dinner plenty of times, but not so much recently.

  “Yep. Mom told me to invite you as I was leaving. Dad even nodded his agreement.”

  “Wow.” I nodded. “I think that counts as progress. Too bad I’m going to show up drunk and unruly.”

  Hannah laughed. “Stop, you are not. We don’t even need to be there until five and that is hours away. We have all this food to eat before then and we still need to swim.”

  “I’m serious.” I was teasing. “I’m a lightweight. I’ll still be hammered.”

  Hannah rolled her eyes and leaned over to kiss my bare shoulder. It sent a shiver through me, but I couldn’t help but glance around to see if anyone noticed. No one was looking our way. “Hey.” Hannah drew my attention back as she put her hand on mine. “Stop acting like you’re guilty of something. I’m allowed to kiss you. You’re allowed to like it.”

  “I know.” I smiled, though it still felt strange to be so public about our relationship. To prove that I wasn’t feeling as awkward as I did, I leaned in and kissed her lips quickly. She smiled and I grinned back. “What?”

  “This is nice.” Hannah shrugged. “I never expected to get to do this with you. I thought you’d be too scared.”

  “I kind of am,” I said. “But the wine helps.”

  “It isn’t just the wine.” She shook her head. “You’ve come a long way since I met you. You aren’t constantly worrying what everyone else thinks anymore. I mean, I still catch you doing it sometimes, but you are a lot more you these days.”

  I shrugged, embarrassed by the compliment. “I guess because I like who I am a lot more now that I’m with you.” It sounded tacky, but it was true.

  “Plus, who could be embarrassed by having a girlfriend this hot?” Hannah grinned and waved a hand over herself.

  I couldn’t agree more. The sundress she wore over her bikini seemed to leave miles of bare, warm skin visible. The thoughts that raced through my head as my eyes ran up her legs felt exceedingly out of place with the background noise of children on the playground across the parking lot. I took another grape to give my mouth something else to do besides kiss her.

  “Not full of yourself at all, huh?”

  Hannah bit her lip and shrugged. “Not at all. Same goes for me anyway. You are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.”

  “Yeah, okay.” I laughed. “I’m like a five to your ten.”

  “No way.” Hannah shook her head. “You’re like a twenty to my ten.”

  I grinned and shook my head. “What the hell did I do to deserve you?”

  Hannah smiled and leaned in to kiss me again, making my head spin worse than the wine.

  “Could you two get a room or something?” someone called.

  I pulled away from Hannah, heart hammering in my chest. I fully expected to see Madison or Genny glaring at us. A blond girl stood in the parking lot a dozen feet away holding hands with a tall Hispanic guy. I vaguely recognized them from school. He had a wide, stupid grin on his face, eyes glued to us.

  Hannah laughed. “Big talk coming from someone who had to be asked four times to stop making out during play rehearsals.”

  The girl laughed and shook her head, waving as she pulled the guy away. Hannah blew him a kiss when he glanced back at us. He turned around quickly.

  “Who was that?” I asked. The tension that had snapped to life in my gut hadn’t entirely disappeared.

  “Harper and Davis. I met them when I worked on the play last year.”

  I took a long swig of wine, emptying the water bottle. “She scared the hell out of me. I thought it was Madison.” I let out a nervous laugh.

  Some of the light left Hannah’s face. “Harper doesn’t care about us being together. You have to know there are people out there who don’t give two shits if you are making out with me or some dude.”

  I shook my head. “I get it, it’s just that I spent so long worrying about how people would react and then my friends reacted exactly how I feared they would. It’s hard to wrap my head around people not caring.”

  “I know.” Hannah reached out and took my hand. “But I want you to try because there are some really awesome people out there.”

  I smiled and nodded because I would try anything for her.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Nick pulled the truck into Smith Park. It was the only piece of lakefront open to the public in town. During the summer the place would have been swarming and we would have needed to pay for parking. It was the off-season though, so we were one of four cars in the parking lot.

  We climbed out. A few parents watched their kids playing on the old wooden playground. I smiled as a little girl ran screaming in delight after another girl. Oh, to be so young and innocent again.

  “You said under the bridge?” Nick reached behind the driver’s seat to pull out a black canvas jacket. This close to the water the air was chillier and the breeze picked up. I pulled on my jacket, glad I’d brought it.

  “Yeah. You walk by the skate park and you can get there.”

  “I know.” Nick nodded. “I’ve been under there.”

  “Oh, yeah?” I asked as we walked away from the car. “Who have you been under there with?”

  “Don’t you worry about it.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, refusing to look at me.

  “Oh, my God, are you dating someone?”

  “What?” He shook his head. “No. Who would want to date me? I suffer from being friend material.” He practically spit out the word “friend.”

  I winced, knowing he was talking about me. I thought plenty of the girls he knew would be happy to go out with him. One girl, Katie, got especially smiley whenever he was near.

  “Lots of girls like you,” I said.

  “Can we not talk about this?” The words had a hard edge.

  “Yeah.” I was eager to agree. I didn’t want to set him off again. I figured he was probably still wound a little tight from the confrontation with Tommy.

  Nick tilted his head back and squinted up at the sky. “I used to come down here with my brother when we were kids. Throw rocks at fish and birds or whatever.”

  “Why?” I asked, appalled by the idea.

  “Because we were kids and
it seemed like a good idea at the time.” Nick shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  Four guys were using the skate park, but they were all a few years younger than us. They barely glanced our way as we passed. We climbed over a stone break wall and down to the pebbled beach. From there, it was only a short walk across the uneven ground to the bridge.

  Under the bridge, the rocks got bigger and easier to walk on. As I stepped into the cool shade, memories of Lana came rushing back.

  “So did you guys come down here a lot?” Nick looked anywhere but at me as he spoke.

  “No, just one time.” I flushed, thinking about Lana pressing me to the wall as we kissed. “It was a good place to be alone together.”

  “I bet it was.” Nick smirked.

  “Shut up.” I elbowed him, almost losing my balance amid the loose stones.

  “Are you okay?” Nick put a hand on my elbow, supporting me.

  “Yeah.” I shook my head. “Just a klutz. Anyway, we came down here one night right after we got together and yeah, we made out a little, but then we sat together and talked for hours. It was the first time she really let her walls down around me. She dropped the tough girl act and really let me get to know her.” I sighed and sank down to a boulder, putting my face in my hands.

  “Hey, I didn’t mean to upset you.” Nick sat beside me, wrapping an arm around me.

  “It’s not that. It’s everything. It’s remembering everything with Lana. It’s Hannah missing. I mean I woke up this morning and found myself hoping that it was all a mistake and Hannah was off in Chicago with some ex-fling or something. How bad is that? I’m so freaked out that I’m hoping my girlfriend is cheating on me. Then someone puts another note in my car and I have to face the fact that someone might be hurting these girls to get to me.” I ran a hand through my hair, tugging it out of my face and holding it back at my neck.

  “Or it’s all a big scam,” Nick said.

  I sighed. “I would love that. This guy is freaking me out.”

  “This guy, huh?” Nick raised an eyebrow. “So you’ve ruled out Rachel then?”

  I sighed and nodded. “Yeah. I don’t think she or Garrett had anything to do with it. They acted pretty sincere earlier. Plus, they are right, Hannah was nice to everyone. I can’t see them hurting her just to get to me.” I frowned. “What do you think?”

  Nick shrugged, hands still stuffed deep in his pockets. “I agree with you. Plus, it seems pretty clear to me that whoever is doing all this is the same person who took Lana and the more I think about it, the less it seems realistic that it would be them.” He hesitated a moment. “How about Brandon?”

  “I don’t know.” I kicked a stone into the water. “He skeeved me out, and he clearly lied about that evening with Lana. But none of that explains why he would send me notes.”

  “I think we should go talk to him again, see if he’ll admit to more if we press him.”

  I hesitated. “What if we called Jake about Brandon?”

  “Alissa—”

  “No, hear me out. We just mention him to Jake. He may already know about Brandon being at the motel with her. Maybe Brandon didn’t tell us because we aren’t exactly cops or anything.”

  Nick hesitated a moment and then nodded. “Okay, yeah. Go ahead and give him a call.”

  “Right now?”

  “Sure. I mean, that way we could still go talk to Brandon later if need be.”

  “Okay.” I slid my phone out of my pocket and scrolled through to Jake’s number. I chewed my lip as it rang.

  “Hello?”

  “Uh, Jake? This is Alissa.”

  “Oh, hey.” I heard rustling and crackling on the line. “Did something else happen?” he asked in a hushed tone.

  “No, um, maybe?” I looked at Nick. He waved for me to go on. “Okay, I was just wondering what you knew about this kid Brandon Kinner?”

  When he spoke again, Jake sounded almost amused. “I know he’s down here sitting in lock up.”

  “What?” I asked, my eyes darting to Nick. “Since when?”

  “Last night. We pulled him over for his second DWI. He’s not going anywhere anytime soon unless someone posts bail. He a friend of yours?”

  My mind spun quickly. “Yeah. Uh, I heard he got in some trouble. Is it okay if we come see him?”

  Jake was silent for a moment and I held my breath.

  “I guess I could get you in to see him. But only you. Can you get down here within the next two hours, while Woodley isn’t here?”

  “Yeah, I’ll be there. Thanks.” I ended the call.

  “What was that about?” Nick asked.

  “Brandon’s been in jail since last night for a DWI.”

  “Really?” Nick looked as surprised as I felt. “Did Jake say you could see him?”

  “Yeah, if we get there soon. Let’s see if we can find a note and get going.”

  “Where?” Nick motioned to the stones around us. “Even if he did leave it here it could have blown away by now.”

  “I don’t know. Let’s look around, okay?”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  I moved toward the wall, running a hand over it as I studied the ground, looking for a note. I wasn’t focused. If Brandon had been in jail since last night he couldn’t have left me the note, unless maybe he’d done it beforehand? I kicked through a few tufts of long grass and made my way to the boulder Lana and I sat on. If whoever was doing this knew everything, they would know we’d spent time there. I found nothing.

  Every minute we spent looking for the note meant we were losing time to speak with Brandon. I was beginning to grow frustrated and think I’d been mistaken about where the note meant when Nick held up a bottle. “Message in a bottle?”

  “Are you serious?” I hurried toward him. “Wow, you are. How do we get it out?”

  Nick raised an eyebrow and lifted the bottle over his head. Before I could stop him, he smashed it on the stone beach. It shattered on impact. Nick bent and snatched the piece of paper before it could blow away.

  “I guess that’s one way to do it.”

  “It’s the fast way.” Nick handed me the piece of paper. I unrolled it. “Want to read it here?”

  I shook my head. “It’s another journal entry. Let’s go back to the truck and read it there. Then we can head for the police station.”

  We hurried back across the beach, heads down as the wind picked up. The teens were still skating, but the parents and their kids had given up on the playground. We climbed into the truck, slamming our doors simultaneously.

  “Damn, did it just get colder or is it me?” Nick asked, turning the key in the ignition.

  “Not just you.” I struggled to get my hair back in place. With hair as long as mine, wind was the enemy. As Nick pulled out of the park, I straightened the piece of paper. Lana’s loopy handwriting covered the page.

  June 7th?

  I hate him.

  I thought he was a good guy but he isn’t. While I was at the hotel he brought me food and listened to me crying about my parents, but now he’s acting like a monster. He won’t let me leave here. I’ve been locked in this room for…I don’t even know how long. I didn’t write for a few days because I was hoping I would wake up and find out this was just a dream.

  I don’t know why he left me the journal. Maybe so I don’t go completely insane. There are also a few paperback books in here that look like they’ve been in someone’s attic for the last ten years. My ankle is chained to an iron loop sticking out of the middle of the floor. I tried pulling it free, but it’s solid. The chain lets me walk the room and sleep on the stained mattress. The first day I banged on the door for hours, but he didn’t even tell me to stop. I figure we have to be a long way from help.

  There are no windows in the room and the light is only on when he decides to turn it on. One day, he didn’t turn it on at all. I’ve never felt so alone or scared. If I could do everything again, I’d have never left home. I could’ve tried harder to make them understan
d. I think Mom might have come around even if Dad didn’t.

  I don’t even know what he wants. He hasn’t said much since we got here. He brings me food once a day. Yesterday, he flew into a rage when I begged him to let me go. He punched me so hard my lip cracked open. When I started crying, he hit me again. I got so dizzy I thought I would black out. I barely felt his hands around my neck until he started squeezing. I thought for sure he would kill me, but he didn’t. Suddenly, he stopped and left the room. I cried so much that afternoon I feel like I’ll never cry again.

  Nick had pulled over and was staring out the window when I finished, looking as numb as I felt. I shook all over, unable to stop myself. I let out a soft whimper that didn’t sound like me.

  “Oh, God. I think I’m gonna be sick.” I opened the door, shutting my eyes and leaning into the cold air. Nick sat silently until I closed the door and rested my head back against the seat.

  “I wish I hadn’t heard that.” He slid his hands over the steering wheel before gripping it tightly.

  “We have to tell Jake. This has to be enough for even Woodley to believe it.”

  I expected Nick to agree immediately. Instead, he slowly shook his head. “We still have nothing to link him to Hannah. Remember, we have to give them something about her. Visit those websites tonight. See if he talks to you. If he does, then you have a pattern that he finds girls that way. Take that to Jake and he’ll be able to work with it.”

  I wanted to argue, but he made sense. “I’m not going to let Hannah get hurt the way Lana was.” Tears filled my eyes and I wiped at them, furious for feeling so weak.

  “Hey.” Nick’s hand rested on my shoulder and I looked up. “We’re gonna find her in time. He kept Lana for a while.”

  “But what is he doing to her while we waste time playing his stupid game?” I asked, still crying.

  “Don’t think about it.”