Silenced 2: The Overtaking (Silenced Series)

by RaeBeth McGee-Buda

  “How could you think that?” She says with a distressing look on her face. “I know Pat and I have some issues to talk through, but I want to go for you. I know this doesn’t look good. I want to be there for you. I can get my love life in order later.”

  She sounds so sincere. I hope she isn’t lying to me. The more support I have helping me through this, the better. It means more eyes, less time to let the darkness enfold and overtake me. With that thought, I decide she can go.

  “As long as it’s all right with Landon, I don’t see why you can’t go. I don’t want this to be vacation time for everyone. Remember my best friend died, and we’re attending her funeral.” I say, feeling uneasy.

  Casey takes offense, but doesn’t comment. I can see it in her eyes that it’s difficult for her not to say something. Death is a hard part of life, besides all the financial problems and family problems life has to offer. She knows how it feels to lose someone close to her. Even though Casey’s mother died when she was young, her death still hurts her.

  When the guys return, I take Landon to our room to update him about Casey joining us.

  “Why?” Landon replies in an uneasy voice.

  “She says she wants to be there for me to comfort me when I need her. Landon, she’s my friend. The only best friend I have left. I made the mistake of letting distance come between me and Sarah. I’ll never be able to talk to her again. I couldn’t live with myself if I let things come in between me and Casey. I need her with me.” I explain in a shaky voice, as a tear falls from my eye.

  “Who am I?” Landon asks, not caring I’m crying. “Why did I just argue with my boss to get time off? I can understand Patrick. He’s always been there for us. Unlike Casey. She pops in whenever she wants and says she’s your friend. She’s only going to be with Patrick, but what she keeps forgetting is he has a girlfriend!”

  “Are you forgetting what Pat really wants?” I ask with disgust in my voice. He’s really arguing with me about this. What an ass!

  “Forget that Amber! Live in this moment. He’s with Stacey. Not Casey. He wants this time to decide what is best for him. But with Casey there, it will put a huge fog on him. He’s not going to be able to find what he really wants.”

  “I’m sorry, but Casey is my friend. I know she hasn’t been the best friend lately. But Landon, she’s all I have. Plus, this isn’t about what Patrick needs. This is about Sarah. NOT LOVE!” I yell at him.

  “I can’t believe you just said that!” he emphasized through clenched teeth.

  “I don’t mean it like that. I’m mean female-wise. I know I have you. But having a female friend makes everything better. There are things I’d rather talk to her about, and not you. Then, there are things I can only talk to you about, and no one else. Do you see what I’m saying?” I plead with him.

  Landon is being an ass. I can’t believe he’s acting like this. After a few moments, he finally agrees with me and says she can go. He just doesn’t believe she wants to go for me.

  “Let’s get out of here. We have a long drive ahead.” I say, walking out of the room.

  The guys load up the bags, and I think it’s a good idea to talk to Casey before we leave. Nothing will be said after we get on our way. I pull Casey to the side and explain to her why Landon’s acting the way he is. After we are done, we go over to the guys and watch them pack the rest of the car.

  ***

  “The car’s full of gas, I got the oil changed earlier, and all bags are in the car.” I point out, trying to make light conversation.

  “We’re ready to go.” Landon replies.

  “Actually, I have one more stop to make before we can leave. I want to see my Mom and make sure she’s all right.” I say as I get into the driver seat.

  “That’s fine. Let’s go.” Landon mumbles.

  ***

  “Mom, are you okay?” I ask, taking a seat beside her.

  “Yeah, I’m all right. Don’t worry about me. I’m here with Dave, and everything will be fine. I called Donna and told her you are going down.”

  “Oh, great! I have to call her to let her know when we’re on our way. She wants to keep tabs on us and where we are, in case anything happens. Landon and Patrick know how to change a flat. Therefore, if something does happen to the car, they’re with me.”

  “That makes me feel more at ease. Call me when you guys get there and if anything goes wrong. I want to know you guys are okay, so a few phone calls would be nice.” She says, looking over the top of her reading glasses. I really hate when she does that. It makes me feel uneasy.

  “Okay. Well, we better go. Love you and I’ll call you later.” I mention while giving her a hug.

  The trip begins and I come up with an idea. The guys sit in the back and us girls sit in front. This trip is for Sarah. I know it may be wrong, but I don’t want them to forget why we’re on our way back to my birth town.

  This isn’t what I was expecting to bring me back there. I badly want to walk into Donnas’ house, dash up to Sarah’s room, shouting about the exciting things that are going on in my life. Then, Sarah would tell me everything that’s going on with her.

  Pulling myself away from these thoughts, I double check the directions. Traffic isn’t too bad, and the music’s playing. Casey’s rambling about what happened to her relationship with Teddy, and the guys are in their own little world.

  “As I told you a while ago, he was dating this girl and I was his side girl. I can’t believe I didn’t notice. Teddy’s such an ass.” Casey babbled pulling me from my bubble of thoughts.

  “Casey, I told you to let him go. He used you. He wanted you in his life to make up for what he was lacking.” I was trying to make her feel better.

  Patrick’s attention turns to our conversation, and he jumps in, “I know this isn’t my place, but you need to forget him. Just like Amber said, he used you. He was filling in where his girlfriend lacked. I know you see it, so why not just forget about him?” Patrick asked.

  I felt my face turn red. Okay, call me an ass, but I just said that. Damn, Patrick… listen up buddy... if you’re going to jump into someone’s conversation, at least say something that hasn’t already been said. Ugh!

  “I think he gave me something to look forward to,” Casey replies. “He made my day less boring. All I did was work, and I’m getting ready to go to WVU. I need someone to rely on besides my dad...most of the time he doesn’t even listen.”

  I can’t believe she’s still wrapped around that loser. Jeez, she was talking to me the other day, and it sounded like she’s over him and missed Patrick. This girl definitely needs to get her guys in order and pick one.

  “How long is this ride?” Casey asks after no one comments on her last remark.

  “Shouldn’t you have asked me this before we left?” I laugh, “It takes about nine hours.” I estimate.

  “I thought it was going to take a day.” Landon jumps in. Well, I guess he’s off of his whining horse, and decided to join us in the real world.

  “It depends on how many times we stop. The more we stop, the longer it’ll take.” I say baffled that they’re acting like they’ve never been on a trip.

  “Why don’t you tell us about some memories you have down here?” Landon suggests.

  “That’s easy… Sarah and I have been friends for a long time. We have or had our own secrets. Our bond was strong. We never had a fight. We had disagreements but we never went to the point of not talking. We’re the type of friends that were inseparable. When you saw Sarah, you saw me too.”

  I continue talking as a knot forms in my throat. The words are getting harder to say because I realize there wouldn’t be any more memories made. It’s like I just realized my lifetime friend is gone. I feel lost as a tear runs down my face.

  “I’d rather not talk about this anymore.” I manage to say, holding back more tears.

  I guess Landon didn’t realize just talking about good times would upset me. I’m sure he’s only trying to help but hi
s therapy isn’t going to work on me. I’m not the type of person that can be shrinked easily.

  Casey jumps in. “I have an idea, why doesn’t Pat start by telling us how his life is going, besides what we already know.” She’s trying to change the vibes I’m putting off.

  Although I think it’s not the proper thing to change to; I realize it doesn’t bother Patrick, because he begins answering her question.

  “I have a new job working for a drilling company that drills natural gas. I’m not sure if I like the hours, but the pay is great. I’m in the process of buying a new truck. Cars aren’t the best for my field of work. Oh, and I have my own place,” he rambles.

  “Um... Pat… we all know this.” I say sardonically.

  “I didn’t.” Casey chimes in. “I thought you were living with your mom and dad. What happened to make you want to move?”

  “I don’t want to be twenty-six years old, living at home with my parents. I want something to be proud of. He motions to Landon. “That is why I’m there all the time.”

  “Why don’t you tell them about Stacey?” Landon suggests. He knew what he’d say, but he wanted to prove his point to Casey.

  “She and I are doing okay,” Patrick answers. “We’ve been dating for three months. She stays with me on the weekends when she doesn’t have class. She’s going to WVU for nursing.” He looks at Casey.

  I can tell this isn’t what Casey wants to hear. I don’t understand why Landon brought it up. Patrick’s phone ringing pulls me back to the present.

  “Hello.” Patrick says, answering his phone.

  From the sounds of the conversation, I can tell that it’s Stacey, and she isn’t happy that Patrick didn’t tell her about his off-the-wall trip. Which, in my opinion, he should have, especially if things were going as great as he claims. His conversation started out calm and ends with him yelling into his phone.

  I glance at Casey. I can tell by the sound of Patrick’s voice, he isn’t happy. I want to see if she notices it too. By her returned look, I know she does.

  After Patrick hangs up, Landon quietly asks Patrick what’s going on.

  “She’s upset because I didn’t tell her I was leaving. I told her why we’re going down. She said she’s in disbelief about Amber not calling and telling her about what happened. By the time we got off the phone, she was crying because she feels left out. I think she needs to grow up because she’s acting immature.” Patrick says in a low whisper.

  I guess they think we can’t hear them talking. But I’m not the only one who heard the conversation.

  “We’ve been on the road for an hour and already someone’s upset. This is supposed to be my support. I can’t have anyone upset. I understand that you, Pat, are having a hard time with Stacey at the moment. I know we’ve had several talks about this.” I say looking in the rear view mirror at Pat.

  “Amber, we don’t need to get into this now.” Patrick says trying to stop me before I say anything else. Boy is he wrong!

  “Actually, I think we need to talk now. Quite frankly, I’m tired of being in the middle, and my work name is not cupid. I no longer want to be the person who sits back and listens to how much you two miss each other. I’m not a shrink, and I will not listen to either of you again. Now, talk.” I demand with a bit of detestation.

  As I finish, Casey looks back at Patrick with surprise on her face. “You still care for me?”

  I can tell Patrick didn’t know what to say. All of this came as a surprise, because he looks totally clueless. I honestly think he should tell her the truth. I don’t want it to be going on during this trip. My main concern is clearing the so called air between them, so they can focus on the cause of this trip, and not them.

  “Yes, I care for you, but I care for Stacey too. I don’t usually broadcast what’s going on in my life, but I guess it’s all in the open now.” Patrick says and glances at me. I can tell he’s pissed I started this, but I don’t care.

  I can see that Casey’s touched. I know she thinks Patrick doesn’t think of her as a friend. She told me the last time we talked. I know his accident made him realize life could be over in an instant, and all the things that should’ve been said, may not be said. When you have something to say, do it. Do it at that moment, and not a moment later. The time is always right, and waiting for the right moment is overrated. If only he would follow his own words of advice.

  Landon and I listen while Patrick weighs his pros and cons out loud. Casey sits in the front seat with surprise and hurt in her eyes. This isn’t the way I meant for him to do it. Gosh, guys are so stupid when it comes to love. I know what I have to do before Casey starts crying.

  “I think by the way this conversation is going it’s best to take a break on it. I’m hungry, and these snacks aren’t doing it for me. I need something warm.” I blurt out, cutting Patrick off.

  “Where do you want to eat?” Landon asks.

  It takes me a few minutes to think of a place. I take the next exit off the interstate. Fast food doesn’t sound very good. I don’t agree with it, because the food normally doesn’t agree with me. I decide to eat at a restaurant none of us had eaten at before.

  “We’ll order when we come back.” Casey says, grabbing my arm and pulling me in the direction of the woman’s restroom.“I can’t believe he said that in the open. He was never like that when we were together.” I see a tear fall down her cheek.

  “He’s changed a lot, since you were with him.”

  “I see that. I just can’t believe the change. It’s like a completely different person. He didn’t care if he hurt my feelings.”

  As Casey comes out of the stall, she hears me breathing hard. “Are you alright?”

  “Yeah, I’m really stressed with all this shit going on. I didn’t want to talk about Pat or his love life. I honestly don’t think it’s the time and place. But then again, I started the “talk” between you two. I guess I’m just having mixed feelings.” I say, even though she knows I’m lying.

  My foot’s bothering me. The cut’s healing but the redness around the cut is hurting me. When I cut on purpose, it doesn’t seem to bother me. But this time it is.

  I want to keep the cut a secret. If Landon finds out, he’d know how it got there. He’d start questioning me. I don’t want him to go looking in the closet for the razor when we get back. I’ll just replace it with a different one. This way he’ll think he still has it. I’ll have the razor he took, the one I have so many fond memories with.

  Once I’m done, we wash our hands and make our way to the table. We order food and wait.

  Chapter Eight

  The food’s really good. This gives me time to stretch my legs and relax a little. The conversation goes in a variety of directions. The one talk that hurts me the most is the questions about Sarah. I don’t want to talk about her.

  Why do they keep bringing her up? Can’t a person grieve in silence? People have to be so dumb when they feel someone needs help. They’re friends of mine; I get that. They want to help me; I get that. What I don’t get is why I have to keep telling them I don’t want to talk about her.

  After we’re done, I call Donna to let her know our whereabouts. “It’s me. We’re leaving Oscar’s now. We stopped to get something to eat and stretch our legs!” I say excitedly.

  “Okay dear, is everything going okay?” She asks in a shaky voice. She’s still crying.

  “Everything’s going as planned. Traffic isn’t too bad. It gets really busy in some places, especially around the major cities of West Virginia. The car is fine and we’re good on gas. I plan to fill up before we leave, so we don’t have to stop again for a while.” I say, trying to reassure her.

  “Good idea. Do me a favor, so I know I don’t have to worry about it,” Donna suggests.

  “What’s that?” I ask bemused.

  “When you stop at rest stops, make sure you girls don’t go far from the guys. I don’t trust anyone nowadays. I don’t want you to just trust anyone. Amber, y
ou can’t be too careful.” Donna says, reminding me of my grandmother.

  “I promise…. Oh, Donna…”

  “Yeah.”

  “You have enough on your mind. You don’t need to worry about us.”

  I wrap up the call, head out to the car, and pull out onto Interstate 79, South.

  ***

  The last part of the trip feels like it’s taking forever. We’re held up for half an hour because of an accident. The anticipation is growing stronger as we come closer to Jacksonville. My heart beats faster, because seeing my home town again reminds me of all the fun times.

  When I was forced to leave, I had so much hatred towards my mom and Dave. Deep down inside, I really didn’t want to leave, but my mother thought she knew what was best. If only we didn’t, then maybe Sarah would be here, and I wouldn’t have to see her lying in a casket.

  Sarah always told me everything. It bothers me she didn’t call to let me know she was having a hard time. Pills weren’t her thing. They scared us. Pills are unpredictable, and no one really knows how they’ll interact with your body. Sarah said she didn’t want to take the chance with a bad reaction, and having it end up killing her.

  But the next thing I hear is she died from an overdose. It doesn’t sound right, but the autopsy revealed that’s what had happened.

  As we drive downtown to Donna’s house, memories start flooding my mind. Tears come and I don’t have the strength to hold them back. Surprisingly, no one asks what’s wrong. They seem mesmerized by the surroundings. Casey’s surprised to see military officials. This is normal for me.

  Seeing trees is weird for me at first. I mean, we have trees back home, but not nearly as many in West Virginia. Stores line each street, and what I consider hills are just bumps in the ground compared to West Virginia. It’s kind of funny. I can’t believe I managed to adapt to what I now call home. Actually, it isn’t as hard as I thought it would be.