by Debbie Civil
Chapter 11
Peter leaps off of me and spins around. I lay there, confused about why he didn’t bother knocking. This must look bad because Craig shakes his head at us, as if he can’t believe what he just saw. I sit up and blush from embarrassment.
“Oh… Um… I knocked, and neither of you heard me. So I… Well, I figured that something had gone wrong.” His words don’t make any sense. What danger would Peter and I get into?
“Like what?” Peter asks sharply. His older brother curses.
“Well, Adam Smith escaped from prison.” His words serve as a bucket of ice water being dumped on our passion. Peter turns around and runs straight toward the window as if Adam is watching us. I just sit on the bed in shock. How on earth did Adam manage to escape from a maximum security prison? This doesn’t make any sense.
“Are any of the other prisoners missing?” I ask.
“His cell mate and one other prisoner were found dead.” So the monster killed two witnesses. Why?
“Where is he going?” I ask, feeling confused. The guy didn’t have much money, and he wouldn’t dare come to me. Who else could be helping him? Ivy. Maybe she’s behind it.
“What about Ivy?” I ask.
“She’s also missing. But her baby is unharmed. She ran and left the baby behind,” Craig curses. After the interview, nothing surprises me anymore. I sigh, knowing that the police are going to want to speak to me. In fact, it won’t be a surprise if they are on their way. Maybe this vacation in the middle of nowhere is turning out to be a good idea. At least Adam won’t be able to find me.
“Peter, put on a shirt. Mrs. Philips told Carmen that two detectives are on their way over here.” Peter sighs and scoops his discarded t-shirt off of the floor and slips into it. I mourn the loss of the exposed skin. I’m still a girl after all.
“Has Adam’s jailbreak reached the media yet?” I ask, my mind working again.
“Yes. Of course, none of us was watching,” Craig says as if this is all his fault. I stand, stretch, and leave the room. Aside from what must look like the worst case of bed head, I’m presentable. Everyone is in the kitchen. Well, everyone minus Malcolm, Grace, Peter, and Craig. Craig is probably giving Peter a talk. Sometimes people forget that we’re adults who can make important decisions, such as whether to have sex or not. Now that all of the glow and passion is gone, I flinch at the thought. I’m not mentally ready to be so close to someone. It isn’t time. We have just been reunited, and there is still a ton that I need to tell Peter. He still has to finish revealing what I missed over the last two years.
“Hey,” Carmen says as I sit on a stool beside her. She looks worried. And I don’t blame her.
“Don’t worry, Adam isn’t going to come after us. His only worry is getting away,” I assure her. Dominic’s face turns thunderous.
“How do you know that, Chelsea? What if he comes here and holds a gun to Danny’s head?” His words are delivered in a way that implies that all of this is all my fault. This is ticking me off.
“Then,” I say, making the words low and threatening. “I’ll kill him.” Carmen shivers at the thought and Dominic pales. That’s right. My ex isn’t going to hurt anyone. Aside for the fact that finding me isn’t in his best interest, he wouldn’t bother taking on a house with nine people with no back up other than Ivy. And believe me, she would be the worst back up. I should know because we got into a fight before.
“There’s nothing we can do about this. If Adam comes, we will have to defend ourselves. But I know him. He’s a coward. He isn’t going to bother with us,” Rain reasons. Danny shakes her head at us.
“Dom’s right, Chelsea. This is a dangerous situation. We should leave,” Danny decides.
“With what car?” Jake asks. “Because the two of you aren’t driving off with it.
“You let Malcolm and Grace go on a shopping trip,” Danny fires.
“And they’ll be back. If you two leave with the car, you won’t be. Besides, I don’t want to risk anyone figuring out where we are. Now that Adam has escaped, it’s more important than ever to stay hidden,” Jake reasons. Danny glares at her brother.
“I refuse to be punished because Chelsea couldn’t break up with a loser. We’re out of here when…”
“Shut up,” Carmen screeches. “Just shut up!” Everyone gives my cousin a look. She doesn't usually resorts to raising her voice. She’s normally as quiet as a mouse. “Seriously, I’m tired of your spoiled attitude. Danny, what has gotten into you? All you do is act unhappy and miserable. You should be happy. You’ve got the guy, a fiancé, and your health. Why are you like this?” Her words are softer now, and the two of them make eye contact. “Why are you so miserable?” Danny doesn’t give an answer. She stands and leaves the room and like a lost puppy dog, her boyfriend follows her. Not two minutes later, there is a knock on the door. Jake leaves the room and a moment later, walks back in the kitchen with two old men in suits following him. One of them carries a clipboard while the other a tape recorder. I frown up at the two men who flash their badges.
“Chelsea Philips?” he asks.
“Yes,” I respond.
“We need to talk to you in private,” the bald one says and my friends and family clear out. Despite that I have done nothing wrong, my heart pounds wildly. What if the man doesn’t believe me? What if the press followed them and are on their way? What happens when they arrive?
“Have you spoken to Adam or Ivy Smith?” They’re married? The concept that Adam is capable of that kind of commitment is a foreign one.
“No.”
“Do you know where they have gone?” The bald guy is persistent. I close my eyes and think about past conversations with Adam. One time during a marathon of Law and Order SVU, we saw an episode about a rapist and another criminal escaping from prison. We were talking about how stupid he was for stalking his victim.
“This is stupid, Chelsea, why do you watch these things?” he asked. He had been more interested in making out. But I had been on my period and wasn’t feeling well.
“Because it’s interesting,” I responded as I cuddled close to his side.
“If I ran away from prison, would you house me?” he had asked.
“It depends on what you did. Were you wrongfully accused?”
“Yes. I was wrongfully accused and escaped from prison. What would you do?”
“I would take you down to Canada and live happily ever after,” I said to him. Adam nodded in approval, and we continued watching the show.
“Canada,” I say. “Maybe Canada.” “He’d want to get far away.”
“We have people on border control. Does Adam have any family that you know of?” I close my eyes again, and try to think.
“He has an Aunt in Baltimore and a cousin in Chicago.”
“Do you know their names?” the bald one asks.
“Aunt Lynn lives in Baltimore and his cousin Gerald lives in Chicago.”
“What are their last names?” the bald one asks.
“Roberts,” I say, feeling excited that I remembered. “Lynn and Gerald Roberts. They are his mother’s family.” I recall, remembering how they each send Adam 500 dollars every six months for his college fund. I remember how I told Adam that they probably should have visited him more. He just told me that I was stupid and shouldn’t open my mouth when I didn’t have the entire story.
“If you hear from him, give Detective Green a call,” the bald detective says before leaving the room without even a goodbye. His partner glares at me before following him out. When the door slams shut, Peter rushes into the room. He looks worried.
“How did it go?” he asks. Carmen enters from a passageway that I’ve never seen before. It is right by the refrigerator. I yelp in surprise.
“It went well. They don’t think that Adam’s going to make any contact with her. He isn’t dumb enough to,” Carmen says before sliding into the stool closest to the fridge.
“I don’t understand it. Th
e guy blames Chelsea for everything then, escapes prison? Why?”
“Because someone gave him a way out,” I say, feeling sick. Adam is such an opportunist that he would take other lives to accomplish his goal. Ivy. She’s so selfish. Instead of moving on and caring for her daughter, she runs off with a criminal and abandons the baby. I’m hoping that the child is being well cared for.
“What now?” Jake asks as he enters the kitchen.
“We stay here, in case Adam is looking for vengeance,” Carmen says, her hands shaking. She may be a snoop, but she isn’t willing to face down a murderer. Everybody has limits. This is all a mess. I can’t believe that I’m going to have to watch my back. Adam is an idiot.
“Are you hungry?” Peter asks me, probably to change the subject.
“No,” I reply. He rubs my back.
“You barely touched breakfast. Are you sure that you can’t eat something? “He has a point. The more I relax, the more appetizing food is.
“I’ll take a try at eating the waffles,” I say. Carmen leaps to her feet and dashes for the oven. She uncovers my plate and puts it in the microwave. Peter sits down at the stool beside me and takes his hand in mine. The contact causes butterflies to dance in my stomach. He is so wonderful. I’m truly lucky that in the end, I chose what I needed over my obsession. Peter is gentle, peaceful, and caring. I was an idiot for not realizing that.
“Your mother wants to speak to you,” Carmen announces, and my heart sinks. No. She will drive up to the cabin and ruin everything.
“Did you tell her no?” I ask. Carmen shakes her head.
“Bob is coming up with her tomorrow. She’s going crazy. According to Grandmother, Aunt Kate is inconsolable. She thinks Adam is going to kill you,” Carmen says, which makes me frown. Mom has always been paranoid, but even she has to know he wouldn’t bother. Adam is too focused on blaming me for the crime. That would ruin the defense if he went after me.
“Maybe, I should talk to her and convince her to stay in Gately. Carmen, I’m not ready to see her yet.” The microwave dings and Carmen takes out the plate and plops it in front of me. She gives me silverware. I think that her serving me breakfast is peculiar before I remember that Carmen likes to keep busy. She needs a distraction. .
I eat the delicious breakfast that Tiller prepared. It’s a shame that Dominic ruined my appetite this morning. Then again, maybe not. Peter had come upstairs to console me. Thinking about what almost happened makes uneasiness fill me. We have to talk about it, eventually. Maybe it’s best to have that talk before mom comes. I glance at Peter and our eyes meet. He smiles and steals a piece of bacon from my plate. I playfully swat his hand away when he goes for a home fry. Honestly, Tiller has packed the plate. There is no way that anyone that isn’t a champion eater can finish that amount. I push the plate toward Peter and encourage him to help me. He takes the fork and pokes at the home fries, gathers up a couple and stuffs them in his mouth. I watch him chew, which causes him to raise a brow.
“What do you guys want to do today?” Carmen asks.
“Board games,” Jake offers.
“You don’t like board games,” Carmen responds, looking confused.
“Well, we can’t go out. Someone’s going to recognize Chelsea and probably tweet about it. Because Adam can’t stay out of the media, none of us can live normal lives. He’s an attention seeker,” Jake says.
“That doesn’t make any sense. Why would someone work so hard to get the media involved then escape?” Carmen asks.
“Because he’s found another way out. It makes perfect sense,” Peter interjects.
“Maybe. But we don’t have all of the facts,” Carmen says, a determined expression filling her face. Jake glares at her.
“And we won’t search the net to find them,” he says in a warning tone. Carmen shakes her head.
“I can’t go online to hack Adam’s e-mail again. This time, they will be watching it to make sure that he hasn’t logged on.” The words “this time” catch my attention.
“What do you mean by this time?” Carmen shrugs.
“I hacked his e-mail two years ago, right after you were assaulted by him. I had to find a way for him to go to jail. I… I found some interesting things,” Carmen confesses which makes me sick. What did Carmen find?
“Like what?”
“He was sleeping with a married woman. I sent the e-mails to her husband. That’s how he got into a bar fight. I figured that the husband would try to beat him up. Chelsea, the guy is scum,” Carmen explains. “I had to make it up to you. I hurt you. And…”
“You wrecked a marriage,” Jake says, interrupting her. “Sometimes you snoop too much.”
“She was cheating. She was bound to get caught,” Carmen argues. I’m in shock. Carmen went through those lengths to protect me. It makes me feel guilty that I didn’t forgive Carmen. She’s so loyal. She was clearly obsessed with Dominic and took it out on me. Obsession is something I know about.
“Carmen, I forgive you. I don’t know why you still feel guilty. That fight was two years ago.” She shakes her head.
“I don’t want to talk about this, Chelsea. I just feel terrible that a marriage got broken up because of me,” she admits.
“He cheated. I thought you said that,” I point out. Carmen frowns.
“I’m not talking about his marriage,” she says. “Look, I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s just say that the guy wasn’t the only person that received e-mails.” I shake my head at my cousin who has the passion for meddling. She needs to work on that.
“Okay, well, you aren’t going to snoop anymore. Right?” Peter asks.
“Of course not. The police would catch on.” That’s not our only concern, but Carmen’s been getting too many lectures from Jake.
“Monopoly?” Jake asks. Peter groans.
“Malcolm loves that game, even though I beat him every time.”
“I would have figured he would have been good at the game,” Carmen remarks as she walks over to me and takes one of my untouched sausage links.
“He is good at the game. But my brother likes to observe everyone’s moves. He likes to see if they’re the same.” So Malcolm is fascinated by the mind. I’m beginning to learn a lot more about the sunny guy who hated me at first.
“How about Uno?” Jake asks. Peter grins.
“Perfect. When the rest of them return, we’ll play a game of Uno. Until then, I think that I’m going to watch some TV” Peter says before standing. I follow my boyfriend into the living room where Craig and Rain are sitting on the couch. Peter grabs my hand and directs me to the love seat. He sits, and I plop down and toss my legs onto his lap and get comfortable. Carmen chuckles as she joins us.
“Where’s Tiller?” I ask.
“Warming up the grill. He wants to grill some steaks,” Carmen explains. The thought of lunch is unappealing since breakfast was so massive. But when my brother has a plan, he follows it through faithfully. Carmen flips the channel from a cartoon to a news channel. It takes a total of two minutes for the reporter to start talking about Adam.
“Breaking news, a suspect in a kidnapping and murder case has broken out of prison. Twenty year old Adam Smith has escaped the Elmview Maximum security prison late last night. Authorities believe this was an inside job.” The screen changes and we see a press conference the chief of police is holding. He’s beside himself, not knowing why anyone would have helped Adam escape. It’s clear that the police believe Ivy is helping him. There is a warrant out for her arrest. Her family, on the other hand, believe that she has been kidnapped. Ivy’s mom Liz I tearful when she speaks to a reporter.
“I think Ivy was kidnapped. She wouldn’t have left Brittney. She loves her daughter. Besides, she and Adam are going through a divorce. She wants nothing to do with him. My daughter has just enrolled in the community college. She wants to become a medical assistant. There’s no way that she would risk anything by helping Adam. Please. Adam, if you’re
watching this, let Ivy come home to me. Please. We all love and miss her.” For some reason, I believe Liz. She does have a point. Ivy is an opportunist as well. She wouldn’t throw everything away for a criminal. She isn’t made for a life of running. Then, what is happening to my former friend? I wipe a tear away from my cheek.
“She’s right,” I whisper. Peter looks down into my face with concern.
“Are you all right, Chelsea?” he asks.
“Peter, Ivy’s mother is right. She wouldn’t have left everything behind for Adam. Not when she wanted to divorce him. Ivy isn’t like me. Once she decides to leave a guy, he’s gone.”
“What about James?”
“She wanted them both,” I argue.
“Chelsea, she could still love Adam. What if they’re coming back for the baby?” Craig asks, but Rain shakes her head.
“She wouldn’t have left Brittney. None of this makes sense.”
“Who’s funding them?” Carmen asks. “Between paying off the prison guards off to help with the jailbreak and his hideaway, who has that much money besides my Uncle Eric? And believe me, most of his assets have been frozen. The IRS is sinking their claws into him. So who else?” Carmen asks. I look at her and for the first time, I have a sense that she knows something that we don’t.