***
“Hey, babe! Mason is here, you sure you’re okay hanging out with the monster tonight?” Jake calls to me snapping me out of the cat nap I tried to sneak in. I stretch before sitting up to look at him.
Today, I told Jake and Mason that I would keep an eye on Grace. She and I have gotten so much closer over the past two months. My afternoon is going to be filled with cartoons and junk food, and I’m a little bit excited. “Yeah, don’t worry about us, we’ll be fine. I already have Netflix up and ready to go so we can spend the whole day vegging out.”
“You know you’re really good with her. It means a lot to me that you embraced her. I promised Lacey that I would watch out for her and Mason. She would have liked you.” I smile up at him. I can’t imagine losing my mom the way Grace did. It breaks my heart knowing that she doesn’t have someone to do all the girl things with; I think that’s why I’m drawn to her. A knock sounds at the door, and Jake gives me a kiss before opening the door for Mason and Grace.
“Nina!” She runs to me, jumping onto my lap. “Let’s watch Sofia!” I laugh as I reach for the remote and wave to Mason.
“I already had it set up for you, princess.” She is wearing a cute princess dress, complete with a tiara.
“See you later, babe!” Jake shouts from the door.
Mason comes over giving Grace a hug and kiss. “Bye, Angel. Thanks, Nina.”
“No problem.” The boys leave and I turn on Grace’s show. We watch the episode as she tells me about each character and sings along to all of the cheesy songs.
“You hungry? I think I have some popcorn we can make.”
“Popcorn! Yes, pease!” She is beaming at me, and I head into the kitchen to make it for us. As it’s cooking in the microwave, I can’t help but wonder if Jake and I will ever have kids. It’s so far down the road, but it’s something I never even considered or thought I wanted before. The more I’m with him, the more of our life I start to envision. He makes me happier than I have ever been.
When I first met him, I never thought he would be the person to change my life, to make me see how unhappy I was. Carly was right, he did save me. I have been wanting to tell him that I love him lately, but I keep second guessing myself. I don’t know if it is too soon or if he would even feel the same way. I’m terrified of the possible rejection from him. What if he doesn’t feel the same way about me?
The beeping snaps me out of my daydream. I grab the bag from the microwave before everything goes black.
Chapter Twenty Four
Jake
“So, you guys are serious?” Mason looks over at me.
“Yeah, she’s unlike anyone I have ever met, Mase. I was ready to give up before I met her. From the first time I saw her, I knew there was something there. It was like this crazy electricity started flowing through me. I knew I had to have her no matter how much she had tried to push me away.”
“You sound like Lacey. She always told me that she knew I was it for her from the start. For me, I just knew she would save me, and that’s why I avoided her for so long.” Mason lost Lacey about a week after Grace was born. She had cancer and lost her fight. “I can never thank her enough for giving me Grace. That little girl is the only thing that keeps me going some days.”
Mason hardly ever talks to any of us about this stuff, so I almost don’t know what to say to him. “You’re doing good with her. Lacey would be proud of you.” We pull into the driveway, and Mason about jumps out of the car. I can tell this whole conversation made him feel downright uncomfortable. “Jake!” His yell from inside the house has me running. I walk in frozen by the scene in front of me: things are knocked over, and the TV is playing, but no one is watching it. “Grace!” Mason runs upstairs as I go into the kitchen.
There is a bag of busted popcorn on the floor and next to it something that makes my heart stop. Blood. A puddle of it. I pull my phone out calling Ryan.
“Yo, I’m working can I call you later?”
“Get to my house now. 911. Bring whoever you can.” I hang up looking for any clue as to what happened here. I walk back into the living room, and Mason is holding Grace’s doll. He looks at me with murder in his eyes.
“I thought you said shit was good!” He comes toward me. “You fucking said everything would be fine! I would have never left her here!” He’s thinking the same thing I am. Whoever was terrorizing Nina never really went away. “She better fucking be okay, Jake!”
“Mason, calm down.”
He charges me, throwing me into the wall. “Don’t you tell me to calm the fuck down. She is my world! She is all I have left of Lacey!” His hand grips my throat. “I will not lose her!”
“Mason!” I hear Ryan’s voice shout. “Let him go, Mase, and tell me what happened.” I can hear sirens in the distance. Mason releases me, and I double over trying to catch my breath.
“Nina was watching Grace. This is what we came home to.” He turns away from Ryan and walks out of the room.
“You okay, Jake?”
“Yeah, how the hell did you get here so fast?” I rub my neck.
“We were only a couple streets down. What is going on?”
“There is blood and food spilled in the kitchen and the living room looks like this. That’s all I know. We just got home.” My mind races with what could have happened, with who this could be. “We have to find them, Ry.” My hands shake and my entire body is tense. She has to be okay.
A few officers come walking in, and Ryan begins to give them instructions. “Jake, I need you to think. Who would want to hurt her? There has to be motive somewhere.”
“Fuck, I have no idea.” We thought this shit was behind us. After everything that happened with Jaimie, the notes stopped, so no matter what she said I always thought it was her. “Do you think it could be her?”
“I’ll have one of my guys check on her, but my gut is telling me that we are missing something. I need you to think, Jake, who could do this?”
I sit down on the couch trying to figure out any possible scenario that might explain this. I can’t. I have no idea who the hell could have done this. I feel helpless, useless. I feel like I’m failing her. Where ever she is, I know she is praying that I find her. She needs me now more than ever, and I can’t do anything. I stand up pacing the room, anger flowing through my veins at being so helpless.
I always promised her that I wouldn’t let anything happen to her, and then this happens.
I need to save her.
I need to make sure that she stays safe at all costs.
Chapter Twenty Five
Nina
Nina! Nina, you need to wake up!
Carly?
Nina, you have to fight. Be careful.
I can hear noise, it’s muffled but it sounds like TV. I think I hear someone crying too. My mind is so fuzzy, and my head is pounding. Where am I? The last thing I remember is getting the popcorn out of the microwave. I try to force my eyes open, and the sunlight blinds me. I blink a few times before things start to come into focus. I’m on a couch, and the TV is on. Cartoons are playing. I turn my head wincing at the pain. I can hear crying coming from next to me. Grace is sitting on the floor at the other end of the couch. Her legs are pulled up to her chest, and her arms are wrapped around them.
The walls are all wooden and outside I can see trees. Where are we? Grace looks over at me; her eyes grow wide when she realizes I’m awake.
“Nina! I wa-want to go home. I don’t want to be h-here. I don’t want to be Cindy.” Cindy? Who is she talking about? The pounding in my head is making it hard to focus on anything. “I just want my daddy and Unkey Jake.”
“What—” I grab my head. Even talking hurts. I decide to whisper hoping it will be easier. “What are you talking about, Grace?”
“The bad man. He keeps calling me Cindy.” The bad man? I try to sit up groaning as my body fights me. I can’t see anyone else in the room. If no one is here, we should run while we can. That’s when I hear them, fo
otsteps. They are coming from outside. They are coming inside. “He’s back!” Grace climbs onto the couch with me. The door opens, and I hold my breath.
Camden.
“You’re awake.” He smiles at me, and I’m utterly confused. “I was starting to get worried about you, Carly.” Carly?
“Camden, what’s going on? Why are we here? And why are you calling me Carly? You know we lost her years ago.” I hold my head in an attempt to ease the pain.
“NO!” His scream causes me to whimper from the pain. “See, that’s what you wanted me to think. You looked so peaceful like you were just asleep. I never knew you fooled me and then ran away with Cindy here.” He looks at Grace. “Come to Daddy, Cindy.”
“No! You’re not my daddy!” She clutches onto my shirt, and I can feel her shaking.
Camden’s face twists in anger. “What have I told you about that? Carly, you better teach our girl some manners, or I’ll have to.” He disappears around a corner.
What the hell is going on? Why does he think I’m Carly? What the hell did he mean by saying she looked like she was asleep? Then it hits me. The night she died. I thought she was asleep. Did he see her that night? He was on campus when Carly died.
I wrap my arms around Grace and pray that someone finds us. All I can picture is Jake coming home and us not being there. Please save me. I need your help, Jake.
I can hear Camden in what I assume is the kitchen. The rustling of dishes clues me in that he may be making something to eat. I know in the state I’m in that if we tried to run he would catch us no problem. I need to buy us some time.
He walks back into the room with some sandwiches on plates. When he places them on the coffee table, neither Grace nor I make a move to eat one.
“Don’t be like that, Carly. He wasn’t good for you. You and Cindy belong here with me. I’m so happy you didn’t hurt her like I thought you did.” I can’t make any sense of what he is saying.
“What do you mean ‘hurt her’?” Carly and I never even knew any girls named Cindy.
“You know what I mean, Carly, don’t play dumb. It makes me angry.” His brows furrow and I decide not to pry into what he is saying. As much as I want to know, I need to keep him calm. “Now you two need to eat your lunch.” I have no intention of touching that shit. What if he drugged it? I nod at him before he gets up.
Grace goes to reach for the food, but I grab her hand. “We aren’t going to eat these okay. They might make us sick.” I grab both sandwiches and put them under the couch, leaving just the empty plates.
“I’m hungry, Nina.” Her voice is weak.
“I know, baby.” I pull her close to me. “I’m going to get us out of here, okay?”
She nods against my chest, my shirt begins to feel wet, and I realize that she is crying. “Do you want to lie down?”
She nods once more.
“Camden?” I call his name feeling sick as he walks into the room. “Can Gr…Cindy and I go lie down?”
“Yes, but not too long. I have to catch up on lost time with my girls. The bedroom is right there.” He points to a door at the other end of the cabin. I nod before holding Grace’s hand and having her stand up. When it’s my turn to stand it takes a while. My head feels so heavy like it might topple and bring the rest of me down. My stomach is turning with each agonizing step that I take. I make it to the bedroom by holding onto the wall.
Grace and I climb onto the bed, and I hold her close to me. I slowly stroke her hair, trying to calm her down. She eventually falls asleep. I didn’t come in here to sleep, but more to get her away from him and to try to work through all of this in my head.
No matter how much I try to work it out, none of this makes sense. I can feel my eyes trying to close, but I will them to stay open. I need to come up with a plan. I need to figure out what is going on.
I’m at our old high school. Carly is standing by her locker. “Hey, sis.” I greet her, but she doesn’t even look at me. “Car?”
“Yeah?” Her voice is a whisper.
“What’s wrong? It’s senior year! Homecoming is tomorrow! Put a smile on your face, this is the time of your life.” I nudge her shoulder trying to make her snap out of this. “I’m heading to get shoes after school today, want to come?”
“I can’t. I have a doctor’s appointment.”
“We just went at the beginning of the year together. You sick?” She just shakes her head. “What’s up then?”
“Nothing, Nina. Don’t worry about me. Just go have fun with your friends. I’ll be okay. Everything will be okay after today.” Her voice is so low it’s almost hard to understand what she is saying. She closes her locker, and I see a tear run down her face.
What is going on with her? She’s been really out of it for the last two months.
“I’ll see you later.”
She walks away from me. I want to call out to her. To tell her I’ll go with her. I don’t though; I hear people call my name from the other direction. Chelsea and Leah are waiting for me to go to the shoe store. I shrug my shoulders and tell myself I’ll talk to her tomorrow.
I jolt awake. I hate that damn dream. I haven’t had it for the longest time. That was the last time I saw Carly alive. I would find her later that night.
What has always bothered me is that she had said everything would be better after that day. What doctor was she going to see? She wasn’t sick. The month before she had been really sick and throwing up all the time. That’s when it hits me like a train.
How sick she was.
The unexplained doctor’s appointment.
Camden thinking Grace is his daughter.
Carly was pregnant.
Chapter Twenty Six
Nina
Carly and Camden were sleeping together?
There is no way. She was more of a goody two shoes than I was. If they were sleeping together, and she got pregnant, would she have killed herself over it? I mean the family would have flipped, but we would have still been there for her. Was that what made her so depressed? Did she think that being pregnant meant we would shun her? Or that her life was over?
I try to go over in my head what information Camden has given me. He said that Carly fooled him and ran away with Cindy. Is Cindy the baby she was pregnant with? There is no way they would have known the sex. How did she fool him? He said she looked like she was sleeping. If he was there that night why wouldn’t he have called 911?
Oh my God.
Did he do it?
Did he kill Carly?
Why would he kill her if she was pregnant with the kid that he obviously wanted?
Unless Carly didn’t want the baby.
My head is spinning with questions and possibilities. Grace starts to wake up beside me, and I know one thing for sure, I need to get us the hell out of here.
I start to look around the room for anything I can use as a weapon or an escape route. There is a window. I get up trying to open it quietly. It’s old and even with my slow motion it’s creaking. I’m praying he doesn’t hear the noise and check on us. I get it about halfway open and decide I can’t chance opening it anymore
“Grace, come here,” I whisper to her. “We are going to get out of here, but we have to be quiet okay?” She nods. Thank God there is only one floor to this cabin. It should be easy to climb out. “You are going to climb out first and then wait right there for me.” She looks between me and the window. I can tell by the look in her eyes that she is scared. “It will be okay, I promise.”
I help her up, and she is able to get out. When it comes to my turn, I try to be mindful of my head. It’s still hurting, but my nap helped me some. At least I have my mobility back.
I climb out of the window, and once my feet hit the ground I grab Grace’s hand and we run. I can only go so fast because I’m not at one hundred percent.
“Nina, my feet hurt.” I look down, and she has no shoes on. There is no way I can pick her up, though. I’m not stable enough for that.
; “I know, baby, we just have to keep going okay. We have to get home.” She takes a deep breath and nods. We continue then I hear it.
“Carly!” Shit. It’s him. He will definitely catch us. I look around, and that’s when I see it. The tree from my dream. The one Carly and I hid in. I run to it
“Grace, climb in there.” I follow her in. Space is tight, and Grace has to sit on my lap, but we are in it. If Camden looks he’ll see my shoes, but since they are brown I hope they blend in. I think this is why Carly showed me this tree. She wanted to show me an escape option.
“Carly, get out here. I will not lose you and Cindy again!” His voice echoes around us. And Grace trembles. I hold her tight, shushing her. If she makes any noise, he will find us.
“Nina!” Jake! He’s here! His voice is panicked.
Do they know about Camden? I don’t know where anyone is so I can’t just go running out there.
“Grace!” Mason’s voice screams.
I cover her mouth muffling her answer. Shaking my head, I whisper to her, “We don’t know where the bad man is, Grace, we can’t go out there.”
I put my finger in front of my mouth letting her know to keep quiet. If they get closer, then I will call out. Their voices are too far away right now. A pair of feet stomps in front of our hiding spot. It’s him. I know.
“You can’t hide from me.”
“Freeze!” I hear a voice I don’t recognize right away.
“Where are Nina and Grace?” Jake yells.
I can hear Camden laughing. “I have no idea. Why would I want Nina? I’m looking for Carly and Cindy.”
Please figure out that he means us. The voices are all around us, but I can’t pinpoint who is closest to us.
“Put the gun down, Camden!” It’s Ryan. Thank God.
“Why? Are you going to put yours down? I need to find Carly before she gets away again.”
“Who the fuck is Carly? Where is my daughter, you crazy motherfucker?” It’s Mason again. His voice sounds strained.
Claiming Her Page 9
