by Raathi Chota
“No shit, Sherlock, and tomorrow will be Tuesday,” Blake sarcastically said as we sat in the back of the class. Melissa spun around and gave an innocent smile as her eyes flicked to Blake then me.
“I heard we’re getting our results for that unique project,” she said as Mr. Dockwell entered the classroom.
“I only sent mine in a few days ago. Change of interest, I guess,” I admitted.
“Same,” Blake chimed in.
“What changed your mind?” Melissa asked as she wiggled her brows at me and gestured to Blake, who was on his phone. I squinted my eyes, then shook my head as I leaned forward to tell her. Mr. Dockwell cut me off as he spoke. I leaned back in my seat as Melissa spun around.
“As promised, I said I’d give your unique assignments back. Some of you sent them over the winter break, and I managed to mark them,” he said as he handed out the assignments. “I’m glad that you have understood photography terminology and used it well in your assignment.”
“An A. Thanks, Mr. D!” Tyler said. Mr. Dockwell squinted at him.
“Please, class, don’t call me that. Mr. Dock is fine, but not Mr. D.”
“Why? Are you saving the ‘D’ for someone else?” Blake asked as my eyes widened. Mr. Dockwell grinned as he slowly nodded; he quickly fisted bumped Blake, then walked to the front of the classroom. “I think I like him more than Mr. Bronx.” Blake laughed as I playfully rolled my eyes.
“As some of you heard from Principal West, these next few months are imperative. We have to get through a lot, and the first thing we’ll be doing is a test,” the teacher said as I wrote down notes. “Just a small test on the history of photography and parts of the camera.” I sighed in relief.
“Indeed, since it’s next Friday, I am giving you time to study. Those of you who haven’t finished your assignments, do so now or fail.” He walked to his desk. Melissa spun around and snatched my assignment before I’d even looked at it. I threw my hands up, and Blake laughed as he scanned through his. I watched as Melissa slowly turned around with her jaw dropped. She looked at me, then Blake. I watched as Melissa quickly took Blake’s assignment, and I laughed at him. We waited for a while, but it didn’t look like she’d give it back. Blake took my laptop and put in his earphones. He put one in, then turned to me with a cheeky smile. I looked down and noticed he offered me to listen. I put it in and smiled at the rock music. I watched as he put the laptop between us, then slouched in his seat as he leaned on my shoulder. I felt uncomfortable and shifted in my seat, then placed my arm on his chair. He whipped out his phone, then brought up the picture of us at the paint party.
“Should I make this my background?” he asked as I looked down.
“No way, that’s just weird.” I laughed.
“Aww, but I like it,” he cooed as I watched him save the picture. Melissa spun around, and Blake and I looked up. “What? Haven’t seen two friends hanging out before?”
“Oh no, it’s cool,” she said, then raised her phone and took a picture. Before I reacted, she winked at me, then spun around in her seat. While Blake chose another song, I checked my assignment. I stared at the photograph that I’d taken. It was of Levi when he ran through the field of sunflowers. I caught up with him and took a quick picture as he spun around. The corner of his eyes were crinkled as he laughed. His leather jacket blew in the wind as he ran a hand through his hair; it looked even better since it was in black and white. My phone vibrated, and I took it out to see that Melissa had sent me a picture. I thought it’d be the one she just took, but it was Blake’s unique assignment. The image brought back the memory of me when I stood by the pool as he took pictures of me with the glow in the dark paint. The image itself was beautiful, especially the color of the pool in the background. I was brought back to reality when Blake rested his head on my shoulder again. I raised a brow at his song choice but went with it anyway as we listened to “West Coast” by Lana Del Rey.
***
Benny and I arrived at the station. Axel’s car was already there. I took off my seat belt and opened the door. I was about to get out, but Benny pulled me back in. As I turned to him, he pressed his soft lips against mine. I smiled against his lips, then pressed my forehead against his. I didn’t want to go to the station anymore. I wanted to be with my boyfriend. I wanted his soft lips on my neck and my fingers in his hair. I parted my lips, wanting to kiss him again, but I knew that if we did, I’d be late.
“Thank you. See you tomorrow,” I whispered, then quickly pecked his lips. I grabbed my bag and got out of the car. As I walked through the front doors, I looked over my shoulder and waved at Benny. He smiled through the window, then waved back as I watched him drive away. When I walked into the busy reception area, I saw Miss Jackson at her regular desk. “Hey, Miss Ja—”
“I know. They’re all waiting in your dad’s office.” Deputy Paul pointed.
“Err…thanks.” I walked down the corridor. Deputy Paul gave me a firm nod as I walked past him and into Dad’s office. Axel and Keene sat on the sofa while Blake leaned against the desk.
“Hey, pumpkin.” Axel waved with a bright smile.
“Hi, guys.” I saw that my dad wasn’t here yet. I sat in front by his desk, and Blake sat next to me while we waited. None of us spoke as I thought over that traumatizing moment. At that moment in the back of my head, I knew James would do something like that. He’d do anything not to get caught but still leave little clues. Dad called each of us, one at a time, to the interrogation room. Once we finished, we returned to his office again. He decided to question us once more all together. I knew what he tried to do. To see which once spoke first so that the others wouldn’t be surprised at their answer.
“Right, the sooner we get this done, the better. I want to make sure I got everything, okay?” Dad asked as he walked into the office and shut the door. “So you guys were driving, then this guy stopped you and wanted to race Levi’s car,” Dad began as we nodded. “Levi accepted just for fun, but then you had to drive.”
“Yes,” I said as Dad sat behind his desk.
“Did you win?” he asked. The corners of my mouth pulled up in a smile as I nodded. “That’s my girl,” he mumbled, then cleared his throat as I giggled.
“Moving on. James appeared with two guys behind him. What were they wearing?”
“James wore a suit, but the other two guys were dressed in black,” Keene answered as he stood behind me.
“When the guy got shot, what happened next?” Dad asked, and I looked down.
“He stood on the man and said it’s not the first time that some of us are seeing blood coming out of a head…or something like that.” Blake shrugged as I picked my nails.
“Then he approached your daughter, Sheriff, but Levi stood in front of her th—”
“Then he whispered something to Levi, causing him to back off,” Blake cut off Axel. I looked up and noticed Dad stared at his notes.
“Dad, did Levi tell you what James said to him?”
“Err…yes, but let’s just stick to the story, okay?” Dad said as he motioned for us to continue.
“His men had guns so we couldn’t do anything. H-he, err…he stroked Lana’s cheek and sa—”
“Sheriff, sorry to disturb you, but I’ve just been to the…” Detective Kale interrupted as he entered the room. He stopped mid-sentence, then glanced at us. “Well, well, look who we have here.”
“What is he doing here?” Blake demanded as he eyed Detective Kale. No one answered as Detective Kale turned to my dad.
“You didn’t tell them yet?” Detective Kale asked, then let out a bitter laugh as my dad shook his head.
“Tell us what?” Blake demanded as he gripped the chair. Detective Kale sniggered as he walked to Blake. He crouched down so that he was eye level as Blake glared at him.
“Haven’t you heard, Gunner?” he asked as his eyes flicked to me, then Blake. “Sheriff Willson and I are working together, and things are finally starting to add up.”
&
nbsp; Chapter Nineteen
Lana
When we walked out of the station, my face drained of color. Detective Kale and my dad worked together to find not only James but Jack too! After Detective Kale told us that, he said we might come in for a few more interrogations. The creepy thing was he looked at me the whole time. The last thing we told him was what James said when he walked away. He mentioned two names, Mike and Christo. I knew Mike was the one in my room, but I didn’t know Christo. I glanced and noticed Blake walked ahead of us. He was pissed the minute Detective Kale entered the room. I looked over to my shoulder at Axel and Keene.
“Aren’t you going to talk to him?” I asked Axel.
“Do you really think he’d listen to me, pumpkin? I might be his brother, but he doesn’t listen to just anybody,” Axel replied as I sighed. I turned back to Blake, who crossed the road. Keene placed a hand on my shoulder and motioned me to follow him. I rolled my eyes as he gave me a supportive smile.
“Blake!” I called out as I crossed the road. Once I reached the other side, he stopped at the corner of a coffee shop. There was a bench in front of it, and he sat down. As I walked to him, I let out a sneeze. He looked up as I approached him and sat down. “You hate Detective Kale, don’t you?”
“What gave you that idea?” he sneered as we stared at the station opposite us. “When I got arrested, he’d always look after me. He also talked to me because he knew my father died,” Blake said, then let out a dry laugh. “I thought he felt sorry for me, but apparently he had a thing for my mom.”
My eyebrows rose as I turned to him. I watched as he took a cigarette out and put it between his lips. It’d be hard to get him to stop. It was only Monday, and it was his third one.
“He didn’t just talk to me, Lana. He didn’t like that I was a delinquent, so one Saturday night, it was just us two in the building, and he beat me up.”
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”
“Who could I tell? No one would believe me,” he stated. “Then one day I was drunk as shit and knew where he was patrolling, so I went there and beat him too.”
“What happened?”
“I got sent to juvie for beating a cop, obviously,” Blake answered, then took a drag.
“How long did you stay?”
“A month. Momma came to the rescue and said I was dealing with a lot of grief from Dad’s death.”
“I-I’m sorry you had to go through all of that,” I whispered as we locked eyes.
“I’m sorry you had to deal with Parker,” he said. I nodded, then turned away to Axel and Keene. They spoke by the car. Out the corner of my eye, I saw Blake throw his cigarette on the ground and crush it with his shoe. He stood up and turned to me. “Come on, we’ll take you home.”
We rose to our feet. We walked across to Axel’s car and got in. I sat in the back with Keene as we drove out of the station. Blake flicked through the radio, and I knew he was pissed, since he missed quite a few good songs.
“Heard from Levi yet?” Keene asked as he shuffled closer.
“Yeah.”
“So I’m assuming he didn’t tell you,” Keene stated, and I noticed how Axel and Blake looked at us through the rearview mirror.
“Tell me what?” I asked as the car went silent.
“We don’t even know the full story, pumpkin,” Axel sighed as I tilted my head.
“Well, tell me what you know,” I demanded as I thought of the other day when Levi said the things he did in California were bad and he wasn’t ready to tell me.
“It won’t make sense!” Blake hissed.
“Shit, sorry,” I muttered. Keene awkwardly tapped my shoulder, and I turned to him. He swung his arm around the seat and leaned in to whisper.
“Levi Radcliff should be the one to tell you; it’s his story,” he whispered as I watched Blake rest his arm on the window.
“When?” I asked.
“Don’t worry. You’ll see him soon.” Keene winked at me as I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Pumpkin, do you know her?” Axel asked. I raised my head. I didn’t even realize we were on my street. I leaned forward to see someone knocking at our front door. The car came to a stop, and we got out of the car. I approached the woman only to recognize that it was Linda, my neighbor. Mom somehow didn’t like her; that’s why she didn’t want to answer the door on Christmas Eve. She gave me cookies to give her children because Linda loved to show off her five children and how she had the “perfect” family.
“Err…hello,” I said as Linda spun around.
“Lana! Oh my gosh!” she squealed as she ran down the stairs and engulfed me in a hug. I awkwardly patted her shoulder as she squeezed me. Axel walked around and stood behind her as he gave me a questioning look. “I thought you were in there,” she said, finally releasing her grip on me.
“I don’t understand. Why are you here?” I asked.
“I was just walking my children home from school, and as I walked past your house, I saw someone trying to break in,” she stated as my eyes widened.
“Why didn’t you call her dad?” Blake asked.
“Well, the guy was on the tree by your window, and I started to yell. I think he noticed, so then he just jumped down and drove off,” she explained as I let out a sigh of relief.
“Did you at least get a good look at the guy?” Keene asked.
“Oh no, he was dressed in black, but he seemed quite tall, like maybe six foot two or something.” She smiled.
“You said ‘drove off.’ What did his car look like?” Blake asked.
“Well, I don’t know much about cars. I think it was black, or it could be those dark blue cars that you think is black, but it’s those dark green ones, but when it’s in the sun it looks black,” she said as I stared at her.
“Okay then,” Axel dragged out as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.
“Err…thank you, I’ll let my dad know.”
“No problem, Lana, just glad you weren’t in there. Wonder why he wanted to go through your window.” She laughed, then walked off.
“That woman is officially crazy,” Axel stated as we watched her walk into her house across the street. I glanced back at my home and wondered who could’ve tried to break in, and only one person came to mind. James. Axel handed me my bag, and I thanked him. I slowly approached the house and unlocked it. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Blake towering over me.
“Should I let your dad know, pumpkin?” Axel asked from his car.
“Yes, please,” I said, then pushed the door open. When I walked in, everything seemed to be in place. I still felt Blake’s presence as we walked through the house. I stood at the bottom of the stairs and noticed he gave me an assured look. I walked upstairs, and he followed.
“What if he wasn’t climbing up but down?”
“I think she would’ve noticed, Blake.”
“Really? She doesn’t seem very bright,” he stated as I let out a chuckle. We stood in front of my door, and I anxiously stared at the doorknob. I glanced up at Blake, who already looked at me. He opened the door, and I closed my eyes for a second and hoped that I didn’t see another shoe. Yet everything looked the same from this morning. I put my bag down, then glanced around my room. Blake walked to the window and glided his fingers over the windowsill. “No dust.” He rubbed his fingers together.
“Yeah, and I always leave my window open at least a couple inches for ventilation.” I looked at the closed window. “Well, he didn’t take anything.”
“Yeah, because he was probably looking for something,” Blake stated as he looked around the room. I walked to my wardrobe, then opened it. I searched the drawers, but I only found Levi’s clean laundry, which Mom placed in there a few days ago. I took out the familiar sweatpants.
“Err…you might’ve forgotten about this, but I just wanted to say thank you…again.” I closed the drawer with one hand and held out his sweatpants with the other.
“Thanks,” he mumbled as I felt him take the sweatpants.
As I lowered my arm, he gripped it. He spun me around and pulled me in for a hug. His one arm wrapped around my waist as the other went around my shoulder.
“Wha-What’s this for?” I asked as he let out a deep sigh.
“You looked pale at the station. You don’t deserve to go through all of this,” he began. “It’s hard to relive that moment, especially when James stroked your cheek and said ‘such a beautiful girl can cause so much damage’…Lana, what did he me—”
“Sshh.” I cut him off as I wrapped my arms around his torso and pressed my head against his chest. I didn’t want to tell him. Too many were involved. As I pulled away, his arms fell to my waist. I glanced up at Blake. My eyes widened as I slowly backed away, then cleared my throat. He dropped his arms. He shrugged it off as he shoved his hands in his pockets. “I-I think it’s best to leave, Blake.” My voice had dropped to a whisper. He had a stone hard look on his face as he nodded.
“Yeah, they’re probably waiting,” he mumbled, then spun around. We silently walked downstairs and to the front door. He opened the door and turned to face me. “Will you be okay here all alone?”
“Yeah, my mom will be home soon anyway,” I said.
“Okay, then I’ll see you in school.” He walked off. I leaned on the doorframe as I watched him get into the car. Keene and Axel waved at me, and I returned the gesture. As the vehicle started, Blake looked at me with a poker face. They drove off, and I shut the door. I let out a sigh as I walked upstairs and into my room to start my homework. I tied my hair into a bun and walked to the bathroom. I placed my glasses on the sink and stared at myself in the mirror. The bags under my eyes showed again. The dream affected me, but I couldn’t get the message it tried to tell me. I finally looked away and washed my face with cold water. I was going to wipe my face but noticed there was no towel hung up. I let out a sigh as I crouched down and opened the cabinet. When I took out a hand towel, I noticed something wasn’t right. I squinted my eyes because I knew that he bought another one and always left it here, but I couldn’t find Levi’s hair gel anywhere.
