CHAPTER SIX
What had started as a beautiful summer day had quickly turned sour, and that was just the beginning. Working in unison with the beating drops of rain were wicked flashes of lightning and the crashing echoes of thunder.
Trew pulled his truck into the parking spot in the back of the house beside Larry's car. Larry had just closed his car door and was rushing to the house with four large pizza boxes.
"Having a party?" Martie asked Trew.
"Nope," he answered. "That's supper. Dad will eat two of them by himself."
Her eyes grow wide.
"C'mon," he urged.
They ran through the back yard and into the kitchen door to see Larry had set the boxes on a counter and was rummaging through cupboards and drawers for plates and glasses. Saying, “Be right back,” Trew took off to fetch towels for them. Martie stood dripping on the mat feeling uneasy at having been left alone with Larry.
Suddenly Brandi strutted loudly in from the living room carrying Martie’s suitcase. Astonished, Martie swore under her breath as she remembered the stash of money hidden inside. This wasn’t going to be good. Brandi dropped the suitcase on the kitchen table with a big thump, and stood back with her arms crossed and a smug look on her painted face.
Her eyes blazed at Martie, who was thinking it would be a good time to turn and bolt, when suddenly the back door flew open, narrowly missing her face. The umbrella that shoved its way in before the person carrying it, did however, manage to bump her in the cheek. In strolled a girl about Martie’s age, impeccably dressed, make-up perfect, with not a single drop of rain on her flawless head of hair.
She was slightly taller than Martie, and when she looked down at her, Martie felt small and mousy.
“Hello Larry. Brandi,” the girl said, nodding to each one respectively.
“Hi Alexis,” Brandi said sweetly and continued her cold stare at Martie.
Alexis, thought Martie, Trew’s girlfriend. So now here I am dripping wet and stuck in a room with two people who already hate me, and a third one who is about to. She wished the chewed up linoleum floor would suddenly grow teeth and swallow her whole.
Trew trotted in then and tossed a towel toward the door, not realizing at first that Martie had moved over and in her place stood Alexis. But it was too late to stop the throw, and the towel hit Alexis in the face. Martie caught it as it was about to fall to the floor, which earned her a dirty look from Alexis.
Trew stopped walking, and looking between Martie and Alexis, cautiously said, “Oh, hey Alexis. What are you doing here?”
She popped an eyebrow up at him and very coolly said, “You’re not answering my calls and not replying to my texts so I came to find out what was going on.” She tilted her head toward Martie in an obnoxious jerk, and continued, “But I think I’ve just figured out what’s going on.”
He took a step forward and that’s when he noticed Martie’s suitcase on the table. He looked at her quizzically, but she only shrugged and looked toward Brandi. Trew turned his head to follow her gaze toward Brandi before continuing on to Alexis. “Yeah…umm…listen Alexis. This isn’t really a good time. We need to talk, but it’s going to have to wait.”
“Oh you are right about that. We do need to talk. But I’m not going anywhere. You will not put me off again Trew. We are going to talk right now!” She marched through the kitchen and out the door to the living room. Trew glanced at Martie apologetically and turned, resigned to follow Alexis.
Right on cue the kitchen clock started its war beat. Brandi kept her mouth shut, but it was obvious that she was patiently waiting for her turn to belittle Martie. Larry, looking confused, decided his stomach was more important and pulled two pieces of pizza from the box. Martie, not knowing what else to do, quietly started drying her rain-soaked self.
They could hear the argument going on in the next room, although only the odd word was loud enough to make out. She was unsure how she felt about the situation. Alexis was Trew’s girlfriend, and he hadn’t yet officially broken up with her. Technically, that made Martie the other woman, which was an uncomfortable thought. Trew should have talked to Alexis sooner, but in his defense they had only bumped into each other the night before, and everything since then had been a whirlwind of emotion.
Alexis’s voice came through loud and clear as she neared the door to the kitchen. “You haven’t seen the last of me, Trew.” She approached the back door where Martie still stood, and glared at her through ice cold eyes. “You won’t win,” she sneered at her. “There’s no way you could.”
The door slammed so hard it rattled a nearby window.
Trew came into view looking a little red in the face. He walked right up to Martie and took both her hands. “Sorry about that,” he said. “And don’t worry. She is now history.”
She gave him a shy smile as relief flooded her. But the relief was short-lived when she felt Brandi’s burning stare. Trew followed her gaze and asked Brandi, "What's going on?"
She had put in her time waiting patiently for her moment, and could now lash out with glee. "I was right about your new little girlfriend. She's nothing more than a thief. A common criminal." A crack of thunder descended on the house as if to add to the drama that was Brandi. She stepped forward and opened the suitcase. She was thoroughly enjoying the moment. All eyes moved in unison to what appeared to be a completely empty suitcase. Martie pictured her clothes and other contents heaped in an ugly pile on the dirty basement floor. Knowing that she now had everyone’s full attention, Brandi lifted the panel at the bottom and pulled it back, revealing the money. She stood back and crossed her arms again, looking at Larry with satisfied smugness.
Larry strode to the table to have a closer look. His eyes rounded but he said nothing.
"Jesus, Brandi," snapped Trew. "You had no right to go through her stuff. And she's not a thief. It's money that her mother's been saving for emergencies." He shook his head. "You're such an unbelievable bitch sometimes."
She scowled at Trew and turned to Larry. "Well?"
Larry still had nothing to say, so Brandi took it upon herself. She narrowed her eyes at Martie and pointed accusingly. "You," she grimaced. "We don't need your kind of trouble. Get out!"
A bolt of lightning flashed suddenly, brightening the room and making Martie jump. "I'm sorry. I'll go," she said, and attempted to step forward for her suitcase. But Trew held her back.
Larry found his voice. "No.” He took Brandi roughly by the arm. It was so sudden that she teetered off balance for a second. "You go," he ordered.
"What?" She glared at him incredulously. "Me? She's the one..."
But he was leading her out of the kitchen and then up the stairs. She was complaining all the way, and soon Martie could hear the muffled sound of an argument coming from above her.
Her clothes and hair still dripping, she slumped her shoulders. What had just happened? She had already caused the breakup of one couple today and now she wondered if she had caused a second. Seeing her shocked expression, Trew pulled her into an embrace. Though they were both still cold and damp, it warmed her. "It's not your fault," he assured her. "This has been coming for a while. Dad told her the day she moved in that he would never marry her. It took a while for her to actually believe him."
"But what does that have to do with me?"
He squeezed her tighter. "Absolutely nothing. I think the way Brandi was treating you was just the final straw for Dad."
Martie had taken her suitcase back down to the cold creepy basement, reloaded her things in it, and put on some dry clothes. Brandi was gone. Now she sat at the kitchen table eating pizza with Trew and Larry. The loud ticking of the clock was trying to beat its way off the wall again. She had decided she would never get used to Larry. He came across so stern and intimidating. And with all the drama that had just taken place, she felt even more uneasy. But she was astounded by the way the man could consume pizza. She picked shyly at her own while he downed one whole piece in only two bites. She took n
ote that Trew, thankfully, maintained self-control in the eating department.
The non-existent conversation was interrupted by the pinging of Martie’s phone. She quickly retrieved it from her purse. It was Becky texting her.
Martie. How’s the vacay going?
Good.
When you coming home?
Not sure Becks.
Big party at Markus Marillo’s tomorrow night. You gotta come . Everyone will be there.
I don’t think I’ll be back by then. Sorry.
K. Let me know when you’re coming home. Miss ya.
Miss ya too. BTW I’ll want all the details of what happens at the party.
You got it.
They didn’t ask, but for some reason she felt obligated to explain to Trew and Larry that it was a friend from home checking in to say hi and find out when she was coming home.
“What did ya tell her?” asked Trew.
“That I don’t know yet.”
And she didn’t know, didn’t know anything at all. She couldn’t stay in Calgary forever. She would have to go back to school in the fall. But she wasn’t sure that she would be able to say good-bye to this boy that she was sure she was falling in love with; correction - had already fallen in love with. It had happened so fast that it was even hard to admit to herself. She knew he was registered to start university in September. Until that moment, she hadn’t considered the complications of their relationship. The one thing she knew for certain, was now that he was part of her real life, there was no way she could settle for only seeing him in her dreams. And then there was the whole missing mother thing… She didn’t even know if she would be allowed to stay at her own house, as she was still a minor.
Her thoughts were halted by the ringing of her phone. She grinned stupidly at Trew and Larry, suddenly feeling very popular. She glanced at the phone to see it was Fran.
“Hi Fran.”
“Are you on your way home yet?” she asked.
“No. I’m not sure when…”
She interrupted, “Well you need to get home now.” She sounded very parental.
“But I…”
“No arguing.” Then her tone softened and Martie had the sinking feeling she was about to tell her something she didn’t want to hear. “Martie, please.”
Martie gave Trew and his dad an apologetic smile as she headed for the privacy of the living room.
Their conversation lasted only a couple of minutes, but Fran’s actions had left Martie with no choice. She had to leave for home immediately. She made her way back to the kitchen slowly. She was overcome with sadness, knowing that she had to say good-bye to Trew sooner than she’d hoped.
His brows furrowed when he saw the forlorn look on her face. “What’s wrong?”
“I have to go home now.”
“Why? Is there news about your mom?” he asked cautiously.
“No. Fran called the police.” Her shoulders slumped.
Larry muttered under his breath, “Stupid woman,” causing both Trew and Martie to stop and stare wide-eyed at him. But he ignored their looks and said nothing more.
Martie took some time to explain that even though her mother had told Fran never to call the police if she ever left suddenly or went missing, Fran felt that she had to. She said that deep down she believed her mom would have been back by now, and since she wasn’t, Fran couldn’t just sit around and do nothing anymore. She said her mother could be hurt or even worse, dead. Fran had explained that there were certain rules and protocols that needed to be followed when a minor was concerned. Now the police needed to see Martie to question her.
“How did this Fran explain about you coming here?” asked Larry. He looked worried and Martie was surprised by his sudden interest.
“She said that I had a hunch my mom came out here to see an old friend. But the story is I only had a first name and an address. Since my mom’s cell phone wasn’t working, I decided to drive out to see if she was here.”
She watched Larry’s stiff shoulders turned soft.
“I’m sorry. I have loved spending time with you. I wish I could stay longer,” Martie told Trew without words.
He jumped from his chair, grinning mischievously. “Give me ten minutes to pack. I’m coming with you,” he announced, and Martie’s heart quickened.
Larry made only one minor objection about Trew going with her. He pointed out that Trew was supposed to start a new job the following week. When Trew’s response was “Screw the job,” Larry said nothing more. Martie just couldn’t understand this man. He was so laid back with his parenting, yet the strangest things seemed to tense him up.
They filled up with gas and were on the road in no time. Martie was elated that Trew was joining her. Her trip to Calgary had been the most lonesome and long drive. Her hope of finding her mom there had failed. But what she did find was something far beyond her own comprehension. She had never, for one second, believed that the handsome boy from her dreams was real. And here he sat, right beside her; a living, breathing, oh so much better in real life, boyfriend. So the drive back was far from lonely. She couldn’t help but steal glances at him every now and then, as thrilling warmth grew inside her very being. They took turns driving through the night, and after only a few brief stops they arrived in Regina the next morning.
They headed straight for Fran’s house. She came rushing out of the house the instant the car pulled into the driveway. Stepping out of the driver’s door, Martie was welcomed by an urgent embrace.
“Oh, Martie. I’ve been so worried about you. Thank God you’re back safe and sound. Now listen, we need to…”
She abruptly stopped when she noticed Trew emerge from the passenger door. She looked at Martie with questioning eyes and then back at Trew. “Hello?” she said to him, and her eyes darted quickly back to Martie.
“Fran. This is Trew.”
He walked around to join them and offered his hand to her. “Nice to meet you.”
“And you, um…too.” She took his hand and gave a fast shake.
She was looking at Martie with a confused expression, prompting her to offer further explanation. “Trew lives at the address I was going to. When we met, we had this instant connection. Kind of like we’ve always known each other.”
She nodded, trying, but still not quite getting it.
“He wanted to come with me, and honestly, I was grateful for the company.”
Trew stood with a big friendly smile on his face, waiting for Fran to accept him, but Martie could sense his apprehension.
“Oh,” said Fran. “Well, then. Let’s get you two inside and find you something to eat.”
Martie grabbed Trew’s hand. They were on her turf now, and she was happy to have a turn at leading him around.
They were just about to step through the front door when the sound of a car coming to a stop made them turn their heads. A shiny blue convertible had parked at the end of the driveway. Martie didn’t immediately recognize the lone driver in her oversized sunglasses and trendy hat. But Trew did. “Ah shit,” he said under his breath. “What the…”
Martie watched as the perfectly dressed girl got out of the car and walked around it, removing her sunglasses. Alexis! Trew released his hold on her hand and went to confront Alexis. Fortunately they met close enough to the steps that she could hear the conversation.
“Alexis, what are doing here? I can’t believe you followed us.”
“Oh don’t act so surprised. I told you you hadn’t seen the last of me.” She moved in real close to him and toyed with the collar of his shirt.
Martie felt molten boiling in her. She did not like Alexis being that close to him, and even worse, he didn’t step away from her. “I can’t believe you came all the way here. I told you it was over between us, and I meant it.”
But this didn’t faze her. She simply batted her eyelashes and gave him a flirty smile. “Oh Trew, you know it’s not over. You’ve had your fun with what’s her name, now come on. Let’s go ho
me.”
Trew had been attempting to be gentle, not wanting to hurt her feelings. Martie knew this, but when she had referred to Martie as ‘what’s her name’, she noticed his posture stiffen and his fists clench. He grabbed Alexis’s hand and tore it away from his shirt. He got right in her face and said, “It is over. Done. Forever. Understand? Now stop embarrassing yourself and go home.” He stepped back from her, and the molten in Martie quickly turned cool.
Alexis sent Martie a stabbing look before turning on her heel to head for her car. Once seated, she put her sunglasses back on, started the engine, and shouted to Trew, “It’s not over until I say it’s over.” In a squealing fury of tires, she was gone.
Fran had stood watching behind Martie the whole time. She gave Martie a sympathetic look, but to her relief didn’t say a word about it.
Fran quickly whipped together some scrambled eggs and toast, chatting the whole time about what she’d already told Martie on the phone. The gist of it was that she’d told the police that Maggie was missing, and her house had been ransacked. She told them Martie went off to Calgary to follow a possible lead about an old family friend who lived there. She told them Martie couldn’t remember the friend’s name, and that all she had was an address. She didn’t mention anything to them about the bag of money, or Maggie saying she might need to disappear someday.
The two of them ate appreciatively in silence as Fran rushed about. She finally settled in on a seat at the table and said, “Okay, we are going to see Detective Barda at the station in forty-five minutes.”
“Fran,” Martie complained, “I could really use a shower and a chance to freshen up.” She wasn’t looking forward to being questioned by the police, and wanted to stall for as long as possible. It wasn’t as if she had anything to hide, but she was worried that she might say something to make things worse for her mom - if that was even possible.
“Plenty of time for showering later,” Fran said brightly. “Right now we need to do everything we can to help find Maggie.”
When they had finished eating, Trew collected the dirty dishes from the table and carried them to the sink. He began filling the sink with water.
“Oh, Trew, don’t worry about those,” Fran said.
He turned and smiled at her. “It’s the least I can do after being served such a delicious breakfast.” Martie could have sworn his eye twinkled when he said it.
“Okay. Thank you.” Fran motioned for Martie to follow her to the next room.
When they were alone she grabbed her arms and leaned in close to whisper, “Where did you find him?” With emphasis on the ‘him’.
“I told you already. He lives at that address on the paper.”
“Well, he is one nice looking young man. And polite too. If I was just a few years younger…” She patted her hair and her face took on a stupid, dreamy look.
Martie laughed, “Down Fran. He’s already taken.”
Her eyes widened, “So, you’re serious about him? But you just met. And what about the spoiled rich stalker?” Martie had never been serious about a boy before, so Fran’s shock didn’t come as a surprise.
“It’s serious Fran,” she gushed. “I can’t explain it…I just know. And the stalker is history. She just hasn’t accepted it yet.”
“Well I’m happy for you. Just be careful, okay. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“He won’t hurt me,” Martie said with all the confidence in the world.
When they returned to the kitchen, in her head she heard Trew ask, “Everything okay?”
“Just fine,” she replied. “Aunt Fran approves of you.” She gave him a little wink.
Fran noticed the silent exchange between them and smiled fondly, happy for her friend’s daughter.
The trip to the police station was uneventful. Martie had been worried for nothing, as all the questions seemed pretty standard. She told them her trip to Calgary had been a dead end, that her mother wasn’t there and the ‘friend’ hadn’t heard from her. They informed her that they’d searched the house and come up empty. They did note that the computers and some files were missing, making them believe that whoever was in the house was looking for information. Martie had come to the same conclusion when she was there. She told them she didn’t believe her mother had any special information that would be worth anything to anyone, nor did she have any enemies that Martie was aware of. She was instructed to call if she thought of anything that might help, and they promised to be in touch if they got any new leads. Even though Martie was still a minor, it had been concluded that she was too old to be entered into the foster care system. Fran had offered to take on the role of guardian for the time being.
Back at Fran’s, Trew and Martie took turns showering, and after a small lunch, the three of them gathered in the living room.
It occurred to Martie then that Fran’s house was quieter than usual.
“Where’s Ains?” she asked.
“She’s at a friend’s house right now. She’ll be thrilled to see you.” Then she turned to address Trew, “So how long will you be staying?”
Martie cringed as she sensed the guardian, parental Fran emerge. Before Trew could respond she piped up, “Oh Fran, no need to worry. We’ll be out of your hair soon. We’ll just stay at our house - Mom’s house that is.”
Somehow Trew instinctively knew to remain quiet and his open mouth suddenly snapped shut.
“Martie, you’re not an adult. You’re not eighteen.”
“And I’m also not a little kid.” She was insulted. She couldn’t see the sense in invading Fran’s life when there was a perfectly good house sitting empty only a few blocks away. “Besides,” she added, “Trew will be with me.”
“Martie. You will not be going to that house. What if ‘they’ come back? No, we can’t take that chance. You will stay here in the guest room and Trew can have the couch.” She smiled at him and as an afterthought added, “At least until it’s time for him to go home.”
Martie opened her mouth to argue but her phone rang. Annoyed with the bad timing, she answered without even looking to see who it was.
“Hello?”
“Martie, it’s Becky. What the hell is going on?”
She gave Fran a glare to let her know their conversation was not over.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re mom. Her picture is in today’s paper. It says she’s missing.”
“Oh, yeah…” Martie had no idea it had become public news.
“So, what’s going on? Are you okay?”
She wasn’t sure what to tell her. For Martie this was getting to be old news - still devastating, but not new. She didn’t want to have to explain, especially to one of her closest friends. That would mean not telling the whole truth, which meant lying.
“We don’t know what happened. She just kind of vanished. No one’s seen her.”
“What can I do to help?” she asked.
Struggling with what to say, and what not to say, Martie only said, “I don’t know.”
Trew and Fran had been chatting together about something, and when Martie’s eyes found his, he looked up with that wonderful half smile of his.
She knew it was wrong, and thought it might make her a bad person, but suddenly she felt the need to show her new boyfriend off to her friends. Of course she was still broken up about her mom, but until she could figure out what to do about it, shouldn’t she be acting the part of the seventeen year old girl that she was? She settled her internal struggle by telling herself that her mom wouldn’t want her to mope around. She would want her to have some fun and forget for a little while.
“Becks. I think I need a distraction. Is that party still on tonight?”
“Yes…”
“Great, I’ll meet you there.”
Becky squealed with delight. “See you there!”
She put her phone down and turned to Trew with a wide grin. “Feel like going to a party tonight?”
“Sure.”
<
br /> “And you’ll be coming here after,” Fran announced with a satisfied grin.
“But…”
“Trew and I have already decided that it’s best for you to stay here.”
Not believing what she heard, Martie gawked at him. He shrugged. “Aw, c’mon, not a big deal. It’ll keep her happy - she loves you and she’s just looking out for you.”
She smiled and took a seat beside Trew, snatching his hand to squeeze it.
“Don’t be home too late,” said Fran, with victory oozing from every facial feature.
Sketch of Secrets (The Garnet Trilogy - Book 1) Page 6