by Sara Hess
Evan interrupted his mom as he glared down at me. “Why do you always have to fight with me when I help you, or try to help you, or when I want to give you gifts? Everything has to be a struggle with you; from beginning to end.” He threw up his hands in aggravation.
There it was…he’d had enough. My body imploded with pain and I took a step back reflexively. Hanging on to the last of my self-control I took another step back.
“You’re right. Jasmine, it was nice meeting you. Evan, you should spend time with your mom. I’m getting a cab home.” My voice was gruff and my eyes were stinging, warning me I needed to get out of here as quickly as possible.
“What…now you won’t even let me drive you home?” He growled.
Without answering him…because I couldn’t…I turned and rushed away. It was finally over, but I was tough. I could handle being decimated. Life had been preparing me for just this situation.
CHAPTER THIRTY
EVAN
I started after Shaw but my mothers hand on my arm stopped me. “Evan, I think Shaw needs a little time, and I think you could use it too.”
“She shouldn’t be taking a cab home.” I frowned after Shaw’s retreating figure. There had been tears in her eyes when she’d walked away from me. I hadn’t meant to turn my anger on her but she was always fighting me when all I wanted to do was help her, do things for her, make up for all the things she’d missed.
“It’s better she take a cab home than you two saying things to each that can’t be taken back.”
Mom had a point. I was irked that the judge was making me pay that assholes medical expenses after everything he’d done to Shaw, and unfortunately I’d let that anger fall on Shaw. I knew she’d been anxious about what the judge was going to charge me with and the fact that I had to pay with money I knew wasn’t making her feel any better.
I also recognized that my nerves were strung tight from not having been able to spend time with her in the last three days which had only added to my bad mood.
I watched as Shaw pulled out her phone to call a cab. “I wish she’d let me do things for her without arguing about it.”
Mom laughed. “She’s a woman, she’s going to argue. And Shaw seems especially independent.”
I nodded. “She is.” She hadn’t had a choice.
Shaw was still on the phone as she walked around the corner out of view. My muscles tensed more than they already were at losing sight of her. I didn’t like the idea of her getting a cab home when I should be taking her.
“Do you really want to be with a woman who goes along with everything you say?” Mom asked.
I turned to her with an involuntary leer. “It would have some advantages.” Mom smacked my arm. “Okay, not really.” I admitted, knowing that would kind of suck.
“So, how long have you two been seeing each other?” She asked curiously.
I’d talked to her a couple times about Shaw but hadn’t gone into great depths because I hadn’t wanted to jump the gun and get her too excited about the fact that I was seeing someone seriously. She was always asking me if I was dating anyone and my normal response was ‘not really’. When I told her about Shaw she’d tried to go all ‘Matlock’ on me but I’d asked her to hold off on the questions for after she met her. In fact, I’d planned for all three of us to go to dinner together after court, but the day hadn’t gone as I expected.
I quirked my brow at her. “Are we going to have a mother and son moment?”
“I sure hope so. It’s been forever since I’ve seen you.” She grumbled.
“Then a little over a month now.”
She hooked her arm with mine and began pulling me through the small courtyard. “And how is everything going…this time with her?”
“What do you mean ‘this time’?” I frowned.
She sighed. “You normally evade telling me you’re seeing women, but I know when you say ‘not really’ it really means you’re seeing someone casually, not seriously. I’m hearing and seeing something more this time.”
I looked like she didn’t need my answers to her questions to go all Matlock on me.
“It’s more than casual.” I admitted.
Interest lit up her eyes. “Really?”
I was still sorting out my feelings for Shaw so I wasn’t ready to discuss them with my mother. That was another reason why I’d kept the details brief. All I knew was that they were intense, and they weren’t fading. In fact, they were getting more powerful.
“You’ve been pretty quiet this last month on what’s been going on in your life. Is there anything I should know about?” I asked to change the subject. A flush spread over her face and I stared at her in astonishment. “Something is going on. What is it? Are you seeing someone?”
She leaned into my side appearing embarrassed. “I am, but I’m not ready to talk to you about it yet.”
Sounded familiar. “Are you enjoying a secret affair?” I cocked my brow at her.
“And if I was?” She chuckled self-consciously.
I hugged her into me. “If you’re happy I’m all for it.”
“I am…very.” She sighed, and it did sound like a happy sigh.
“I’m glad. You deserve to be happy after dealing with Kyle for so many years.”
“Just remember that when I finally introduce you to him.” She eyed me nervously.
Both my brows rose this time. “You make it sound like I might have a problem with this guy.”
“I hope not.” She rubbed at my arm like she was attempting to pacify me.
That was a disquieting comment and while I wanted her to expound on it I could see she wasn’t ready, so I forced myself to accept what she was willing to give at this time.
Mom had been leading me to her car and as we walked up to it she clicked the unlock button and turned to grip my forearms. “A bit of advice for when you talk to Shaw; try compromising instead of telling her what’s going to happen. Women respond better to that.”
“I really like her a lot, mom.” I blurted out, surprising myself and her with that sudden exclamation. It had just felt really heavy on chest, and I needed to get it off letting my mom know how I felt.
Mom’s eyes were wide in astonishment, and then she grinned. “Don’t you be screwing up your apology then.” Pulling my head down she kissed my cheek and then climbed in her silver Mercedes.
I gave a wave as she drove away at the same time grabbing my phone. I typed a quick text to Shaw: Sorry for being cranky. I hate the idea of Ford getting money from either of us.
I called Dan as I waited for a response back from her.
“How did it go?” He asked, forgoing the greeting.
“He got two years probation, and I have to pay for his medical expenses.”
“Are you shitting me? I need to have a talk with John and ask him what I’m paying him for.” He groused.
I chuckled. “The judge thought I went too far when I continued to hit him while he was down, but the guy needed some hard dialogue time with my fist.”
“Judges can be so judgmental.” He joked. “But seriously, I’m going to have John appeal that decision.”
“Instead, maybe he can talk to Ford’s lawyers and warn them that Shaw is thinking about a civil suit but might be inclined to overlook it if they disregard the medical bills.”
“Is she thinking about it?” He asked.
I remembered seeing her grimace when mom had mentioned it; like the last thing she wanted to do was have to deal with Ford ever again. After everything he’d put her through I know all she wanted was him gone from her life.
“I’m almost positive she’s not. She just wants him out of her life.”
“Understandable. I’ll talk to John about it.”
Arriving at my car I unlocked it and slid behind the wheel. “Do you need me to come in and get a few more hours in tonight?”
He exhaled through the line. “I told you to go ahead and spend time with your mom and Shaw. You logged in more than enough
hours these last three days by staying late. Go celebrate and I’ll see you in the morning.”
We said our goodbyes and disconnected. Shaw still hadn’t gotten back to me and that had me edgy. She’d been exceptionally upset when she’d walked away.
I sent out another: I’m coming over. We need to talk.
Starting my car I pointed it toward her apartment. My phone stayed silent the whole way.
Shit, she was either really pissed or really upset. I had a fleeting thought that I should leave her be for a while to possibly cool down, but if she was more upset than pissed I didn’t like the thought of her staying in that frame of mind if I could fix it.
When I arrived at her apartment I sprinted up the steps and banged on her door. Nic answered it.
I strode in. “Is she in her room?” Without waiting for his reply I strode down the hallway, past Carrie, to Shaw’s bedroom.
“If you’re talking about Shaw, than no. She’s supposed to be with you.” Nic’s yelled after me.
Swearing, I turned around. Nic and Carrie were both frowning at me in confusion. “We had a disagreement at the courthouse and she took a cab home.” I made my way to the living room and slumped down in the chair.
Nic and Carrie took the couch. “What happened? And tell us everything from the beginning. Did Ford get five years in the state pen?” Carrie demanded leaning forward in hope.
My lip hitched up. “Sorry to say he wasn’t given a prison sentence. He’s on probation for two years.”
They both scowled in disappointment. “What happened with your charges?” Nic asked.
“The judge is making me pay his medical expenses, and that’s where the disagreement ensued.” My head fell back against the back of the chair.
“Shaw wants to be the one to pay his bills.” Carrie deduced.
I pointed my finger at her. “Bingo.”
“And let me guess; you said no way.” Nic surmised.
“You guys are good at this game. What happened next?” I tilted my head to the side and raised my brows at them.
Carrie rolled her eyes. “You already told us the ending; she took a cab.”
My head slanted back to its original ceiling view. “Oh, right. I ruined the whole story by giving you the ending first.” I frowned and straightened. “Why isn’t she back? She should be back because she left before me. Carrie, find out where she is.”
Her brow shot up and I didn’t miss Nic glower at my demand. “Don’t talk to my girl like that. I take it she’s ignoring your calls again?”
“Yes. And I hate it when she does that.” I scowled. “My imagination is too volatile; all kinds of catastrophe go through my head when she doesn’t answer. Please, can you just find out if she’s okay?” I entreated.
Carrie smiled and reached for her cell on the coffee table. She tapped on it and then we sat and waited…and waited…and waited. My muscles began to twitch at the wait and I stood and started to pace.
“This is taking too long. Why is it taking so long for her to text you back?”
Not looking that worried, Carrie shrugged. “She doesn’t always text me back right away. She could be in the middle of something. Let’s give her a little bit.” She stood up. “Are you hungry? There’s some left over Mongolian, or I could make you some soup.”
I waved my hand and shook my head in refusal. “No, thank you though. Are you guys okay if I stick around and wait?”
“Of course.” Carrie waved at me with a warm smile.
The minutes and hours ticked by slowly while I waited watching television with Carrie and Nic. I continued to text Shaw as did Carrie. Neither of us got a response back. After three hours I called David, but he wasn’t answering either. At first, that calmed my anxiety because I imagined they were together at some location where there was no cell signal, or she was telling him to ignore me, but the longer neither of them answered higher my anxiety and irritation ratcheted.
Carrie and Nic weren’t as relaxed about it any longer either. Shaw hadn’t gone this long without answering Carrie before.
“I’m going to run over to David’s. Call me if either of them gets a hold of you.” Grabbing my keys I tore out the door.
It took me fifteen minutes to get to David’s and my heart nose-dived at the absence of light from the house. I knocked just to make certain and when I didn’t get an answer I wrote a note and left it wedged in the door. Getting back in my car I drummed my fingers on the wheel and closed my eyes to think. A second later I snatched up my phone and called Seth.
“What’s up?” He answered.
“This might sound weird, but do you have Trick’s phone number?” Seth knew the guy from a few classes so it was possible.
“Yep.” There was a second of silence as he searched for it before rattling it off. That was the thing about Seth; he liked short and to the point. “Everything okay?” He asked.
Nadia had worked some magic and loosened his lips somewhat over the last few months though.
“So far; I’ll let you know if it changes. Thanks for the number.”
“No problem.”
We disconnected simultaneously, and then I called Trick.
“Trick speaking.” I heard the loud blare of video games in the background.
“Trick, this is Evan. I’m trying to locate Shaw or David. Have you heard from either of them tonight?”
“No, can’t say that I have. Was I supposed to?” He asked sounding distracted.
I disregarded his question. “If you do hear from either of them can you tell them to call me, or could you call me?”
“Sure,” He replied.
“It’s important, Trick.” I stressed.
“Shaw…David…important…call you.” He repeated, his tone more focused this time.
“Do you know if either of them would be at Tim’s, or any of those other guys’ homes?” I asked.
“It’s possible David could be at Tim’s. I’ve never known Shaw to go anywhere but David’s house though.” Trick answered.
“Do you have any of their numbers?”
There was a short pause. “Is everything okay, man?”
“I just need to locate Shaw, and she’s not answering her phone.” I relayed.
“Okay, give me a minute.” And during the next minute Trick rattled off five numbers for me.
“Thanks for you help, Trick. Talk to you later.” I said before hanging up.
I called Tim’s number first and came close banging my cell on the wheel in frustration when no one picked up. Why the hell was no one answering their damn phones?
The other four guys did answer their phones but said they hadn’t heard from or seen Shaw or David. However, I did get an address for Tim and wasted no time driving over there. He lived in an apartment complex and I didn’t get any response to my thirty seconds of knocking. The last fifteen seconds were more for me; a way to expel some of my frustrations. I nearly shook the cheap ass door off its hinges.
I called Nic on the way back to Shaw’s apartment. “Any word yet?”
“No. She wasn’t at David’s?”
“No. David wasn’t even there. She’s not with any of her gamer buddies either. The only one I couldn’t get a hold of was that Tim guy.”
He was silent for a moment. “Carrie’s getting worried. She says it’s not like Shaw to ignore a text from her this long. The only thing I can guess, and hope, is that her battery died.”
My guts had already been twisted up in a fucking knot, and hearing this only made it fifty times worse. “We can’t call the cops yet…Fuck!” I slammed the heel of my hand on the wheel as a terrifying thought crossed my mind. “Do you thing that ass Ford might have got his hands on her? I will kill the fucker if he touched a hair on her head.”
I gripped the steering wheel tightly as my damn imagination went haywire. He’d been at the fucking courthouse with us and I’d let her walk away by herself. She could have run into him while waiting for her cab. They would have exchanged insults. The guy
was extremely unstable; it probably wouldn’t have taken much for him to lose it and drag her to a dark corner, closet, bathroom, his car. He could have taken her anywhere. Oh god, he could be doing anything to her.
“Evan…Evan…hey, man, calm down.” Nic yelled through the line. “I can hear your thoughts spiraling out of control from here. Don’t jump to conclusions and give yourself an aorta infarction. Just get back here and we’ll figure out some way to find her.”
I took in a deep, shaky breath. “Okay, I’m about ten minutes out.”
“See you then.”
After hanging up I called Blake. “Hey, are you at the house?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Has Shaw shown up anytime tonight by chance?” It was a long shot but I had to make sure.
“No.” I could hear his confusion over the phone.
“Do you have plans to go anywhere tonight?”
“I’ve got a paper I need to finish so I didn’t make any plans.”
I sighed in relief. If he had made plans I would have asked him to cancel, now I didn’t have to do that. “If Shaw does show up make sure to call me right away. She’s MIA at the moment and not answering any of mine or Carrie’s calls.”
“Did you guys get bad news at the court house?” He asked, concern in his tone.
“No, Ford was convicted on all his charges. Shaw and I had a small disagreement afterwards, but it wouldn’t stop her from answering Carrie’s calls. Something’s off.”
“Do you need me to do anything else besides sit here?”
“Maybe call your sister. I haven’t tried her yet.” I answered, appreciating his offer.
“I’ll do that and get back to you directly if she’s heard from her.” He assured me.
“Thanks, Blake.”
“No problem. Hope she shows up soon, buddy.”
We disconnected and a couple minutes later I pulled into Shaw’s apartment building. I raced up the steps and finding the door unlocked barged in. I couldn’t stop myself from looking around hopefully, or catching Carrie’s eye in expectation.