The Perception

by Adriana Locke

  Bri nodded, chewing her bottom lip. “So, I’m going out on a limb here and saying that you didn’t do anything with her the night we picked you up?”

  “No!”

  “I know Sam took a picture of you that night. I didn’t see it because, well, that’s gross. But she said she took one of you as a souvenir or something. So I assumed . . .”

  Things were finally starting to make sense.

  “You assumed wrong. When you assume something—”

  “It makes an ‘ass’ out of ‘u’ and ‘me.’ I know,” she said, finishing my sentence of one of our dad’s sayings. “This is just really crazy. Sam’s made it out to seem like you didn’t really want to be with Kari, that you and her had something going on. It just . . .” A dark look crossed her face. “It makes me second guess everything she’s ever said.”

  I rested my elbows on my knees, watching Bri work through something in her head. She put her feet on the floor and looked uncomfortable. Her eyes looked around the room, at anything but me, for a long time. Finally, her gaze landed on my face.

  “Sam has always been something of a white liar. Just white little lies here and there, you know? Dumb stuff. But lately, I’ve been catching her in other stuff. None of it really mattered and I haven’t called her out on things, but I’ve noticed she’s been more . . . brazen.”

  She took a deep breath before going on. “I haven’t called her out on anything because she gets so emotional. She cries and gets so depressed and it’s just easier to let her go than to deal with it. But I’ve noticed it.”

  We watched each other for a few minutes, neither of us saying anything, both of us knowing that the rest of the conversation could change the way we’d always interacted. Finally, I took a deep breath and asked, “Why don’t you like Kari?”

  Her head shook a little as she grabbed the glass in front of her and took a sip. “Sam always made it seem like she was manipulating you. That you really wanted to be with her and that Kari was just botching everything.” She shrugged. “I’ve always thought it would be awesome for you two to be together and Sam’s always acted like you two had this . . . thing. So Kari was the enemy, I guess.”

  “She’s not the enemy, Bri. Don’t you get that? She’s my fucking life!”

  Bri blanched as the words, more crass and louder than my usual tone, bounced off the walls. Her face flushed. “I see that now. I feel bad, Max. I just . . . I don’t know. I’ve known Sam forever and she’d always said the same thing. I never thought to question it, but I do feel stupid right now.”

  “You should. And you owe Kari an apology.”

  She nodded, biting her bottom lip like she did when she was a little girl and in trouble.

  “Do you have a silver bracelet with a little heart? It has a little blue thing that dangles from it?” I asked.

  “What? No. All of my jewelry is gold . . . what little I do have,” she said. “Why?”

  Motherfucker!

  “Kari had a bracelet go missing a long time ago. Well before Sam moved in there. It just showed up in Sam’s shit yesterday at work after she left.”

  “And?” Brielle prompted, not getting it.

  “And I think she was going into Kari’s house. I know it sounds crazy, Bri, but Kari’s door kept blowing open awhile back. That bracelet went missing around that time and Sam had it. How else you gonna explain it?”

  “Holy shit,” she said, wide-eyed. Her face went white and she looked sick. “I need to tell you something, Max. And I’m not really sure about it one way or the other, but I think you need to know.”

  “Well, go on,” I prompted Brielle when she failed to continue.

  She just looked at me for a long time. Her mouth would start to open and then close again. I cocked an eyebrow, getting the feeling that whatever she finally said was going to rock me.

  She got up and paced the room nervously. “Look, before I go into this, I want you to know I never really believed it. But after all this stuff, I do. Or I might. If it’s true . . .”

  “What?”

  She took a deep breath. “When we called you that night and you ignored us—”

  “Bri, I love ya but I don’t want to rehash that again, alright? I’ve lived with knowing that you were mauled and Sam was raped because of me for years and I-”

  She shook her head. “No. Listen to me,” her eyes were pleading. “When Sam called you that night, she wanted to convince you to come see her. You had come home from college the weekend before and stayed at Mom’s. Sam said you guys stayed up late one night talking and she really believed that you liked her.”

  “I don’t remember that.”

  “Who the hell knows if it’s even true? But that night, she wanted to get you to come back to the house. She thought you were this close to . . . I don’t know. Saying you loved her? It’s all just dumb at this point. Anyway, you told her no and she was in disbelief. She said you were at a party and you told her that you weren’t coming home to see her or anyone.”

  “That part is true.”

  Brielle nodded. “Anyway, she went outside for a while after she hung up with you. I thought she was going to go cry or something because she’d never let me see her cry. I knew she did about her parents and all kinds of stuff, but I never actually saw it. Anyway, she came back in a little later and her demeanor had changed. She said it was fine and she wanted to go for a drive. So we went.”

  I watched Brielle walk around the room, telling this story, lost in her own memories. It was like she was narrating a book or something, not necessarily to me, but aloud to herself.

  “We drove for a while and ended up in Apache Junction. Sam was pretty quiet during the drive, not singing to the radio and stuff like we normally did. We just drove around and eventually she pulled off the road and said she heard something wrong with the car. Like a flat tire or something.” She turned to look at me then, her eyes narrowed. “Now, keep in mind that we were in the middle of nowhere. There was no way I was getting out to look at it.”

  “Sam gets out and gets back in and says we have a flat tire. Neither of us knew what to do, so Sam calls you.”

  I buried my head in my hands again. “And I didn’t answer.”

  “So she tries again and gets angry. She was really mad that you didn’t answer. She just kept saying how you were out having fun and we were stranded. Dad was in San Diego for work—remember how fast he got back? Anyway, we didn’t know who to call. We sat there for a minute and Sam kept trying you.”

  “And I kept ignoring her.”

  Brielle nodded. “Finally she just kind of cooled way down. Got really calm. She got back out of the car and made some calls. I heard her talking but I don’t know what she said. I wasn’t getting eaten by a coyote.”

  “Why didn’t you call Mom?” I asked.

  “Because I wasn’t supposed to be gone! And if I got caught, she was going to ground me for a year or something.”

  “You idiot,” I groaned. “If you would just have kept your ass at home, this would all be different!”

  “Screw you, Max Quinn! Listen to what I’m going to tell you!”

  I sat back on the couch and waited impatiently for her to go on.

  “So she gets back in with a little smirk and said she got someone to come and fix the tire. She said it was a guy she knew through her family and that he would be coming shortly. We waited awhile, like a long while, and I started to try to remember how far back the nearest gas station or house was that we passed. It was getting cold and I was over it. About the time I was getting my courage up just to walk or call Mom, a car pulled up and Sam got out.”

  I sat up, the rise in Brielle’s voice getting my attention. I knew where this was going and I didn’t want to hear the details. “I can’t hear the play by play of what happened.”

  “I’m not going where you think I’m going. Just hang on. So, Sam gets out and talks to these guys. Two of them come to my side and they kind of ignore me for a bit. They’re talking over
the roof of the car to the other guy and Sam. And then, just like that, Sam is gone. I turned in my seat to see what’s going on and my door gets flung open. They grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the car and forced me against the side of the car.”

  “Bri-”

  “Wait, Max. So they do what they do to me,” she said, gulping, “and I can hear a lot of pounding in the car the guys pulled up in. I was really too worried about what was going on with me to figure out what was happening to Sam, but I remember seeing the guy . . . basically raping her.”

  She blew out a breath. “I’m terrified, trying to fight these guys off and they are just taunting me. They start to get really aggressive you know, the taunts turning into explicit threats, when the guy in the car with Sam gets out. Sam gets out the other side—I see the door open but can’t really see her—and the guy looks over his shoulder. That’s when I see the headlights coming down the road. The guys jump in their car and take off before the other car reaches us.”

  “I basically know all this,” I said, frustrated and angry and sick to my stomach.

  “But what you don’t know is this—a few months after that happened, a girl I knew from school asked me about Sam. She asked if she had gotten back together with “Joe.” I didn’t know who Joe was. She said it was a guy that Sam had been messing with off and on, a kid Sam had met at a party with her. Joe Dumas. I said I’d never seen him or heard of him so she describes him and it’s an uncanny description of the guy that raped her. Mind you, I never got an exact description of the guy, but it was close enough to make me think.”

  My mouth went dry, my mind going into overdrive. “What are you telling me?”

  “I’m telling you I don’t think Sam was raped at all. I think she called that guy to come out there and I think she fucked him.”

  I wanted to warn her to watch her language, but I couldn’t open my mouth.

  “I think it was a game to get you to feel sorry for her. Because you’d think you let her down and you did feel that way. Or maybe it was her way to get attention. I’m not sure.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me this before now?” I shouted, standing up, my thoughts scattered through decades of time. I was livid. I was sick. I was shocked as hell.

  But I believed her. That was the sickest, most shocking part of it all.

  Brielle was probably right.

  “Because I didn’t think she was really capable of it!” she shouted back. “Sam was my friend, Max. I didn’t want to think she would really do that. I mean, for heaven’s sake, I had a bruised rib and a slice on my head! Those guys assaulted me and who knows what would have happened if that truck hadn’t come down the road! If Sam planned that out, then she did that to me. Don’t you get it?”

  I balled my fists, wanting to rip into something. “So what? You just let it go? You don’t say anything at all? Damn it, Brielle.”

  “No! I did! I did ask her about it. She said that was crazy and that she was raped. She went crazy, Max, sobbing. Shaking. She asked how I could think that and if I knew what it felt like to be raped. I felt so sorry for her that I never brought it up again. But after all of this with Kari . . .” Brielle looked at me. “I’m sorry, Max. I should’ve said something to you sooner. But who wants to think that someone would do something like that?”

  “I’m going to find her.”

  “No, you’re not. It’s a bad idea. Just, I don’t know.” She blew out a breath. “I just feel so stupid. It’s no secret I don’t really like Kari, but now I wonder if everything I heard from Sam wasn’t a lie. Wasn’t some twisted mess.”

  I grabbed my Saints hat off the floor and stuck it on my head. “I’m going to get to the bottom of all of this, I promise you. If you’re right, she let you be assaulted, Brielle. Forget even what she did to Kari—she let some guy rough you up! Fuck her!” I turned to leave. “Stay away from that crazy bitch from now on. Hear me?” I asked as I walked out the door, not waiting on an answer.

  I jumped in my truck and backed down the driveway, dialing a number.

  “Hey, Nick, it’s Max Quinn,” I said, calling the private detective Cane used. “Can you run a quick check on a Joe Dumas for me? I’d really appreciate it.”

  KARI

  “My shift is over, but Chandra will be taking my spot. If you need anything, you just press the button, okay?” I smiled at the old lady in the hospital bed. We were just waiting for a bed to open up for her on the floor and she’d be transferred out of the ER. She was sweet, such a kind smile. I hoped that she would have family come and sit with her soon. I hated when people were alone and this poor little thing had been alone all day.

  She patted my hand and nodded and I left the room. I headed to the nurse’s station and gathered my things to leave. I was meeting Isa for a late lunch and was looking forward to it. She wanted to see my ring and help me plan the wedding. Apparently Isa had already talked to Fern and expected some grand affair; I was going to disappoint them both.

  “You done for the day?” Connor asked, leaning against the doorway with a chart in his hand.

  “I am. Having lunch with a friend this afternoon to talk all things wedding.” I couldn’t help but smile at the thought.

  “Are you going to be one of those Bridezillas?”

  I bit out a laugh. “Uh, no. I’ve had enough crazies for a while.”

  “What’s that look about?” he asked, watching me intently.

  “Max has . . . I don’t know. A stalker? A friend of his family that I think is kind of obsessed with him. The one I was telling you about before.”

  “Be careful with that. I’ve had my fair share of those. Women can be crazy.” He widened his eyes, making me laugh. “What? When you look like me, Kari, it comes with the territory.”

  “Oh my gosh,” I laughed harder. “That’s rich.”

  He shrugged and winked at me. “On a serious note, is everything okay? Stalkers can be dangerous.”

  “This one is certifiable, but I think it’s under control.” I tossed my bag over my shoulder. “So, how was your weekend?”

  He rolled his eyes, heaving out a sigh. I could see that he hadn’t rested much and that he was weighed down by something. When he first started at the hospital, he was young and fresh. He just seemed so much more worn down.

  “I spent most of it here. The part that wasn’t spent here was consumed by dealing with my mother. She heeded my advice and tried to contact her other son, but apparently he doesn’t want anything to do with her. She’s devastated and is now blaming me.”

  “Oh, Connor. I’m sorry. You were just trying to do the right thing.”

  “A good deed never goes unpunished. Isn’t that what they say?”

  I nodded. “It is. But maybe he’ll come around. It had to be a shock to him to hear from her out of the blue.”

  “I’m sure. And I can’t blame him if he doesn’t want to rekindle some relationship with her. But now she’s heartbroken and I feel like shit.”

  I squeezed his shoulder. “Don’t. You did what you thought was best.”

  “Yeah.” He gave me a sad smile. “Go. Go have lunch and plan your wedding to the man that is lucky enough to call you his fiancée.”

  Blushing, I said, “Thanks, Connor. But I’m the lucky one.”

  “I think you’re both lucky. Make sure you remember how lucky you are to have each other. Protect each other. It’s a bad world out there.”

  I nodded and flipped him a final smile before making my way out to my car. My phone rang just as I was turning on the engine.

  “Hello?” I said, turning the radio down.

  “Hey, Kari. This is Brielle.”

  What the hell?

  “Hey, Bri,” I said warily. She’d never called me before and it made me uneasy. “Is something wrong?”

  “Oh, no,” she said in a rush. “Nothing’s wrong at all. I just, uh, I wanted to . . .” Her voice trailed off. “I’m sorry, Kari, for not treating you as well as I should. I’ve been a child and I’m emb
arrassed about how I’ve acted.”

  I didn’t know what to say, my mouth going dry. “Oh. Uh, Bri, that’s okay—”

  “No, it’s not. I’m way too old to be acting like that and you’ve never been anything but nice to me. I’m sorry. You’re going to be a part of our family and I just want to . . . I don’t know. Start all over with you?”

  I buckled my belt, both because I was getting ready to pull onto the road and because the conversation was making me a little unsteady. “Yeah, Bri. I’d like that.”

  “Me, too. If you need anything with the wedding or whatever, let me know.” She quieted on the other end, the pause a touch awkward. “I’m really glad my brother has you, Kari. Welcome to the family.”

  MAX

  “Hey, Max. It’s Nick.”

  I was making my way through the city to a meeting when he returned my call about an hour after I asked him to look up Joe Dumas. If Bri was right and Sam had staged the whole thing, I didn’t know what I was going to do.

  Was there anything I could do?

  “Thanks for getting back to me so quickly,” I said.

  “No problem. So, Joe Dumas has a pretty interesting record. He’s been arrested a number of times for B&E, theft, things like that. He’s currently in Maricopa County jail for grand theft auto.”

  “But nothing in terms of assault or rape?”

  He paused and I heard pages being moved around. “No, nothing like that. He’s more of the petty gangster type, it seems. Nothing violent.”

  “Okay.”

  “Anything you need me to do?”

  “Nah, I just wondered what his background was, what kind of guy he is. But I think you’ve answered it. Just send a bill to Alexander Industries to my attention.”

  He laughed. “This one is on the house, Max. How are things? How’s Cane?”

  “Cane is Cane. Expecting a baby, so that should be fun.”

  “Cane as a father . . . Well, I can see that, actually. He comes across as this hardass, but he’s a good man. I know him enough to see through that bullshit he projects.”