by L A Cotton
Kane was gone, and from the way he looked at me before leaving, he didn’t plan to come back. For all I knew, no one knew where to find me. I could be anywhere, and with no way of knowing the time or what day it was, I had to assume the worst.
No one was coming for me.
“Get up,” I commanded my body. Saying it aloud seemed more powerful than thinking it. I pressed down against the floor and lifted one knee, moving my foot underneath me. Rocking forward, I did the same with the other leg until I was in a crouched position. It was now or never. I pushed up, slowly stretching my arms out to steady me. When I was standing upright, I gave myself a couple of seconds. My muscles screamed in protest. Heavy and sore, I wasn’t sure how far I’d get before I collapsed again, but I had to try.
I had to get the hell out of here.
“On three.”
One.
Two.
Three…
Evan
The flashlight beam bounced off the pipes, illuminating the tunnel. It stunk; the whole place did. Putrefied water and decaying vermin and things I didn’t want to think about. I kept my sleeve over my nose as I moved farther through the building.
Knowing Becca was here somewhere with him made me sick to my stomach. Underneath the old water treatment plant was a network of tunnels and rooms that had once supplied Credence and the surrounding towns with purified water. Now it was a derelict facility sitting on the outskirts of town, wasting away like so many other local businesses.
I pulled out my cell phone just in case I needed it, but there was no service down here. It had been hours since she’d left her parents’ house. She could be hurt … or worse. Fuck. How had things ended up at this point? I’d gotten the short version from Kendall, but I knew there was more to it. So much more.
Something squeaked up ahead, and I shined the flashlight just as a long tail disappeared into the shadows. I shuddered. Rats. I fucking hated rats. There was no way to tell where I was or what sections I had already searched. There hadn’t been time to plan. I just had to find her. I couldn’t think too much about anything else. About him touching her or hurting her. My fists clenched, and I ordered myself to calm down. Now was not the time lose my shit over something I still didn’t understand.
When Kendall had said his name, it sparked a memory. Like one of those really old memories you weren’t sure was real or made up. Something you might have dreamed only to file away in the recesses of your mind as real. I was only a kid, seven or eight, and Elaina was over. She and my mom were huddled in the kitchen. Elaina was crying. I watched them from the doorway, wondering why Auntie Elaina was so sad.
“It’s better this way,” Mom had said.
“Is it?” Auntie Elaina burst into tears again, and Mom wrapped her arms around her.
“Kane is sick, honey. You know he is. He’s better off with his dad. He can keep him in check and get him the help he needs.”
“He wrote her again.”
“Kendall?”
Auntie Elaina pulled back. She looked sad. “He wants to meet her.”
“Elaina, if Darryl finds out…”
“I know, I know.”
Dad had startled me, returning from work, and I’d dashed back into my room, not wanting to get caught snooping. I’d wondered why Elaina was so upset over someone called Kane. We didn’t know anyone called Kane, but when Dad had called me into the living room a little later, and they were sitting around laughing and joking, I forgot all about it. Until the name had tumbled from Kendall’s mouth.
Kane Larson.
Kendall’s brother. Real brother.
Something rang out in the distance, pulling me back to the present. An echo. A cry? I followed the noise, turning left at the next tunnel intersection, my boots heavy against the cement floor. It filled the stale air again, and before I knew it, I was jogging, chasing the sound. My flashlight swept over the tunnel until I came to a halt.
“Becca?”
The lifeless body crumpled against the wall didn’t respond. I rushed over to her, crouching down, pushing the soggy hair out of her face. “Becca, it’s me. It’s Evan.” My eyes searched for any signs of injuries. Her lips were blue and her skin clammy and cold. She groaned, murmuring something about her head.
“Come on; can you stand?” Slipping my arm around her waist, I pulled her up. Her limp body crushed against me.
“Ev-Evan? I’m so tired.” Her voice was raw, and it twisted my insides. Checking my cell phone again, I prayed that I had a signal, but there was nothing.
“Can you hold me?” I hugged her tight with one arm, trying to determine the best way to get her out of here in one piece because leaving her while I got help was not an option. Not now that I had her back.
“I-I don’t think I can walk. He did something to me.”
My spine went rigid, anger rushing through my veins. “It’s okay; everything’s going to be okay. I’ve got you.” I turned to her, steadying her with my hand. It was a good walk back to the stairs up to the facility if I could remember the way. She was right; she wouldn’t make it like this. She was barely conscious.
“Here.” I lifted her arm around my shoulder and slid my hand under her knees, hoisting her into my arms. Her body was like lead, and another bolt of anger exploded through me. What the fuck had he done to her?
Her head rolled against my chest as she murmured nonsensically. The flashlight balanced in my hand underneath her arms wasn’t steady, but it lit up the place enough for me to retrace my steps.
“Stay with me, Becca. You have to stay with me.”
We passed the intersection where I’d seen the rat, but I had to stop for a second to catch my breath. Becca’s fingers curled into my jacket, letting me know she was still with me, and it spurred me to life. We were almost there. The stairwell came into view.
“Becca, I’m going to have to put you down, okay.” She tipped her head, and I set her down gently, taking her hand and placing it on the rail, keeping my arm around her waist. “Do you think you can walk?”
Her eyes fluttered open, finding mine. “Evan?”
“I’m right here.” I pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead. “Come on. One step at a time.”
There had to fifty steps. She wasn’t going to make it. “Shit,” I grumbled just as the door swung open, and Mr. Torrence appeared, his eyes landing on Becca. “Becca.” His voice cracked with pain. “Mac, get in here.”
The man from earlier stepped into the room, concern shining his eyes.
“Thank you, son.” Mr. Torrence squeezed my shoulder, coming around to Becca’s other side. “Sweetheart, we’re going to help you up the stairs, okay?”
“She’s pretty out of it,” I said.
“She’s fine,” he insisted. “She’s going to be just fine.” I didn’t know who he was trying to convince more—himself or me.
~
“This isn’t a good time, Evan.” Becca’s Mom glared at me, her eyes red and puffy. I was about to not so politely ask that she let me in to see my girl when a voice said, “Let him in, Melinda.”
“But, Geary, she’s—”
He came into view, his eyes filled with gratitude. “Evan saved our daughter’s life. He will always be welcome in our house.”
Mrs. Torrence burst into tears, letting her husband console her while I entered the house. “How is she?” I asked.
“Dehydrated. Sore. But she’s going to be fine, thanks to you.”
My body sagged with relief, and I released a shaky breath, raking a hand over my face. I hadn’t realized how much I needed to hear the words until he’d said them. Becca was safe. And she would be okay.
After getting her out of the plant, Mr. Torrence and Mac had taken Becca home. I’d wanted to go with them, but he was her family, and my car was there. It was the middle of the night, and I didn’t want to worry Mom any more than I already had when I’d text her earlier to say I wouldn’t be back until the morning. I’d sat there in the Impala, listening to the sound
of my heart beating out of my chest. Replaying the moment I found her over and over. The fear I felt at the sight of her lifeless body.
“Good, that’s good.” I scrubbed a hand over my face. “Can I—”
“Go on up, son.” He stuck out his hand, a weird expression on his face. “And thank you, Evan. I will never forget what you did for her.” I shook his hand, unable to reply over the lump lodged in my throat.
I’d never been in Becca’s room before. In my head, I’d imagined that one day she would invite me over. Her parents would be out, and we’d have the place to ourselves. And, after spending the night watching a film cuddled up on her couch, she’d take me to her room and let me love her. I never imagined standing outside her door, scared of what I might find inside.
I knocked and waited.
“Come in.” Her voice was so small it shattered something in me.
“Hey,” I said, taking a step into the room.
“Evan.” My name on her lips was like a prayer and a death sentence all rolled into one. This girl owned me, completely, and I’d almost lost her.
I stepped closer, my heart beating furiously in my chest. “How are you feeling?”
She patted the space beside her, and I moved closer, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Like crap.”
I reached for her; I couldn’t help it. My fingers danced along the bruise covering half of her face. “He did this?”
Becca dropped her head, breaking our connection. It hurt. It hurt so fucking much I wanted to scream, but this was about her. Not me. The time for answers would come, but right now was about Becca. Only her.
“Becca,” I soothed. “Look at me.”
She lifted her head slowly, and the look in her eyes stole the breath from my lungs. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?” Was she for real? What could she possibly think she has to apologize for?
“I didn’t want to lie. I didn’t want to keep you in the dark, but everything got so out of control, and I didn’t want you to know the truth.”
I brushed her hair from her eyes, tucking it behind her ear. “You never have to be sorry with me. I get it. You did what you needed to survive. But don’t shut me out. I love you, Becca. I will fight for you and protect you and keep you safe, but you have to trust me.”
“My past … It’s complicated. I did something—”
“Shh.” I leaned closer, careful not to hurt her. “None of that matters right now. All that matters is that you’re here and you’re safe.” Our lips came together in a soft kiss, and Becca’s body relaxed, the tension seeping from her. I wanted her so much. Needed her to ease the pain I’d felt since standing on her doorstep last night and realizing she was gone.
“Don’t leave me again,” I whispered against her mouth, my lips tugging up when I felt her smile at my words.
“I love you, Evan. I love you so much it scares me.”
“Well, then.” I pressed a kiss to her nose. “We can be scared together.”
Because what I felt for Becca terrified me. It was senior year. She would be going off to college next year. I wouldn’t blame her for wanting to get as far away from Credence as possible. And then what? I hadn’t allowed myself to think about the future—not with how my life worked—but finding her in that tunnel shifted something in me. Didn’t people say you didn’t know what you had until you lost it?
Well, I’d almost lost Becca … and I didn’t ever want to feel that again.
~
“How is she?” Mr. Torrence asked as I came downstairs. He looked exhausted.
“She’s okay, I think. She fell asleep.” In my arms, but I didn’t add that bit. “Thank you for letting me see her.”
“I’d like to talk to you, Evan.” He motioned to a door along the hallway. “If you can spare me the time?”
“Sure.” I followed him into his office. It could only be that with the big desk, leather chair, and shelves filled with important looking books and files.
“Have a seat. Can I get you a drink?”
“No, sir.” I needed a shower to wash away the events of the night, and then I needed to sleep.
“Please, call me Geary. You earned it.” He smiled, taking the seat behind the desk. “I suppose you have questions?”
I did. I had a whole heap of them. But something about his demeanor told me he had something he wanted to say. “A few but I’m pretty sure you didn’t ask me in here to answer my questions.”
He let out a strained laugh, and I braced myself for whatever it was he wanted to tell me, but the phone on his desk blared, cutting through the tension in the room.
“Excuse me while I take this.” He answered the phone. “Mac, yes, yes, she’s okay. I think she’ll be fine.” Silence. “What? Are you sure? Yes, yes, okay. Thank you for calling me.”
Geary’s face had drained of color, his hand trembling as he hung up. “There’s been an incident.” Sadness lingered in his eyes, but for a second, he’d also sounded relieved.
“An incident?” My mind immediately went to Becca, but she was sound asleep upstairs. She was fine. She would be fine. But something had happened.
Something that would affect us all.
Becca
“He’s gone?” Tears welled in my eyes as I tried to digest Dad’s words. “He’s really gone?”
Evan slid his hand over my mind, squeezing gently, a reminder he was right here. Even after everything, Evan was here.
When he and Dad had entered my bedroom to wake me, I knew something was wrong. Dad had aged ten years, the lines around his eyes deeper than ever. The sight of them standing there made the hairs on the back of my neck electrify, and I’d started shaking involuntarily.
“He’s gone, sweetheart,” Dad said again. “Darryl O’Hare shot him after he tried to take Kendall.”
“W-what? I don’t understand.” My thoughts were forming a hundred a millisecond, the pieces of the puzzle too many to put back together.
Dad moved to the foot of the bed but remained standing. “When he left you at the plant, we think he went over to the O’Hare’s. He has a fixation with his sister; he always has. From what Mac managed to get out of his source at the station, there was a fight. Kane tried to coerce Kendall into leaving with him, and Darryl went crazy and shot him. He died on the scene. Mr. O’ Hare has been arrested.”
My mind was still reeling from the past twenty-four hours. Kane Larson was Kendall’s brother. Her secret mentally unstable older brother. Evan had tried to explain it to me, but my head still hurt from the fall and battered face.
“He’s gone? He’s really gone?” I sobbed.
“He can’t hurt you anymore.” This time, Evan spoke, shuffling closer to me.
Kane was gone.
I should have felt relief—I was relieved—but I couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit sad for him. He was sick. Confused and broken. Even after everything, I hoped he’d finally found peace.
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart.” Dad’s voice cracked, his eyes filled with so much regret I felt it in my soul. He didn’t speak again, but I heard all the things he wanted to say.
He was sorry for bringing Kane into our lives.
Sorry for not protecting me.
Sorry for bringing me to Credence.
Sorry for the webs of lies and secrets that had been my life for the past eight months.
“It’s okay, Dad. It’s over now.”
He gave me a weak smile and left the room. I snuggled closer to Evan as I tried to make sense of everything.
“Are you okay?” he whispered into my hair.
“Honestly, I don’t know.”
Things like this didn’t happen in real life. They belonged in the farfetched plots of movies and television shows.
Robbie Larson, Kane’s father, was Elaina O’Hare’s first love, and together, they had a son. But, by all accounts, he was a challenging child, and Elaina couldn’t cope. It wasn’t long before she looked elsewhere for the life she desperately craved. By the time he
started elementary school, Elaina had started an affair with Darryl O’Hare. He wanted Elaina, but he didn’t want her troubled child and her estranged husband hanging around. So much so that, when she fell pregnant with their baby, he forced Robbie and Kane out of Credence. But Elaina wasn’t pregnant with Darryl’s child; she was pregnant with Robbie’s child. This time a daughter. The girl who would grow up bitter because she knew things no child should ever know.
Kendall told Evan that when she was six, Kane contacted her. She learned that she had a brother and that the man she called Dad wasn’t really her father. But it would be another two years before she started sneaking away to the water plant to meet him. Over time, Kane became fixated with her. When Elaina found out that Kendall was going behind her back and seeing the son she sent away, she begged Robbie to leave for good because she knew if Darryl found out, things would be very bad, for all them. To protect his son—and his daughter—he agreed, turning to his old friend Mac for a fresh start.
Over the next few years, with the help of Mac, Robbie and Kane moved from town to town, trying to make a better life for themselves. But they never settled long. Trouble followed Kane wherever they went, and eventually, he ended up hospitalized. When he was finally released, a young man, Mac had secured them a fresh start with the help of my father. It was the perfect chance to start over in a wealthy neighborhood under the watchful eye of the law.
Only, Mac had underestimated just how sick Kane was. And my father had underestimated my interest in pool boys from the wrong side of the tracks.
They’d also both underestimated the bond forged between Kendall and her brother.
“Becca?” Evan’s voice coaxed me out of my thoughts.
“Yeah?”
“This doesn’t change anything, you know?” He shifted to face me. “Nothing about what happened changes how I feel about you. I just wanted you to know that.” He knew everything. What Kendall hadn’t told him, my father had filled in the blanks. Apparently, he felt Evan had earned the right to the truth when he found me in the tunnels, barely conscious. He knew about the photographs, about me and Kane, about the dares, and the lies. Evan knew all my deepest darkest secrets, yet he was still here by my side.