With a sigh, I grab my keys and purse and open up the door.
“Jesus!” I shout out as I bump right into Mel.
“Hey, Gracie!” she chirps happily.
“Uh, hey Mel, what’s up?” I ask her. I haven’t spoken to Mel since that night at the pool hall. I know she doesn’t exactly like me so I can only imagine what she is doing here.
“I was hoping I could talk to you for a minute,” she says.
“Oh, well…I’m about to leave for work.”
She raises her hand and crosses one finger over her heart. “I promise you, this will just take a minute.”
“Okay,” I say as I lock the door. “What’s up?”
Mel turns and follows me as I head to my car.
“I just wanted to apologize for that night at Q-Stix. I’m so embarrassed for the way I acted. It’s just that Travis -”
“It’s fine,” I cut her off, waving my hand through the air, letting her know it really is no big deal.
“Anyway, I was really hoping I could make it up to you,” she says.
“That’s really not necessary,” I say. She frowns, glancing around like she is looking for something else to say. “Please consider it made up, Mel. I really have to go.”
“But I insist, Gracie, I just want to give you what you deserve.”
Before I have the chance to respond, something cracks hard against the back of my head. Pain sears through me as my vision goes black and the only thing I feel is my body falling towards the ground.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Travis
I'm halfway through painting a piece I had been commissioned to do when I hear a noise upstairs. Frowning, I set my paint brush down and wipe my hands off with a paper towel. My hands move behind my back to untie my smock, which I pull off and set aside before walking up the steps.
Once I open the basement door, I realize that noise is someone banging incessantly at my front door. I open up the door and am surprised as hell to see Evan standing on the other side. He looks like a mess. His face is pale, his eyes are red rimmed and his clothes are completely disheveled. He walks right in without waiting for an invitation.
"Come on in," I say dryly as he storms past me.
He walks around, poking his head into the kitchen before looking in my bathroom and then my bedroom. He’s clearly searching for something. My first thought is drugs and I wonder if maybe he has gotten himself hooked on something, and was in desperate need of a hit, so he came here to see if I had anything that could settle his needs. That is the only reason I can think as to why he would be banging my door down. Too bad for him, he isn’t going to find anything here. It kind of pisses me off that he would even come here looking for drugs.
"What the fuck, man, are you on something cause I don't do that shit anymore," I growl.
"Where's Gracie?" he asks, ignoring my question.
"What?"
"She's not at the diner, where is she?"
Rolling my eyes, I shake my head and throw my hands up in the air. "Evan, she chose me man, get over it and move on."
"That's not what this is about, Travis...fuck man, she's in trouble."
"What do you mean she's in trouble?"
My brows furrow as he scrubs his hands over his face. I am debating over whether or not I should call someone to come get him when he starts talking.
"I overheard Veronica and Melanie talking one day, about how they hate Gracie and how they wanted to do something to break you guys up, I was bitter about her picking you over me, so I volunteered to help."
My fists clench together and it is taking everything in my power not to hit him. He must know it because he holds his hands out in front of him.
“Just hear me out, man, it was supposed to be innocent. We were going to make her think you were using again and cheating on her."
"Evan, you seriously better get to a part that won't involve me punching you in the Goddamn face."
"We, uh, we were going to send Melanie over here. She was going to gain entry by apologizing to you for what happened at the pool hall that night where she would then offer you cookies as a peace offering.” Evan drops his head down and stares at his shoes. “The cookies were going to be laced with sleeping pills.”
My fists clench together so tightly that my knuckles turn stark white. I want to kick his ass, but I need him right now to find Gracie. Once she is safe, though, I’m not going to be able to refrain from beating the shit out of him.
“Continue,” I growl.
“Once you passed out, she was going to text me so that I could come over and help move you to the bed. We were going to drop bags of heroin from Veronica’s stash around the bed to make it look like you were fucked up. Mel was going to remove some of your clothes and hers and climb into bed with you. Then, we were going to text Gracie from your phone telling her you needed her to come over right away. She would come in and see you and-”
“And what?” I yell, cutting him off. “You thought that she would go running into your arms? Mel thought I would turn to her? Or Veronica?”
“Then, last night the plan changed,” he continues, ignoring my questions. “Mel said she wished there was a way to make Gracie disappear for good and Veronica said she could make that happen.”
My blood runs cold. The thought of someone hurting Gracie…I can’t even begin to process that. “What are they going to do to her?”
“They decided to switch everything around. They were going to go sweet talk Gracie into thinking they wanted to be friends with her, get her to get in the car with them and we were going to, uh, make you think she was…” He trails off.
“You were going to make me think she was having an affair with you?” I finish for him.
He nods, refusing to make eye contact with me as he glances at the floor. This can’t be happening, can it? This has got to be some kind of a sick joke that Evan is playing on me, maybe in the hopes that I start acting irrationally. He’s probably trying to frame me for something himself and he’s just trying to get me all riled up first. That is the only possible explanation that I can think of as to why anyone would do something like this. Neither Mel nor Veronica can honestly think that I would ever get back together with either of them in a million years.
"Why are you telling me this? Why should I believe you?”
"Cause I may hate you but I don't want to see Gracie get hurt and I think they are planning something awful."
I probably shouldn’t trust him, especially knowing that he still has feelings for Gracie, but maybe that is why I think he is telling me the truth. He may hate me, and want to split us up, but I don’t think he would every physically harm her, nor would he let anyone else do it.
I pull out my phone, without taking my eyes off of Evan, and dial Gracie's number. It rings twice and goes to voicemail. Frowning, I stare down at my phone, silently willing it to ring, flashing Gracie’s number as the incoming call. That is worthless, though, as my phone remains silent.
"What is it?" Evan asks.
"My call was rejected," I mutter.
I punch in Aidan's number next. "Hey, Aidan," I say when he answers. "I'm trying to get a hold of Gracie. Is there any chance she came in early today?"
"Look at you, chasing around a girl," Aidan teases. I growl and he chuckles. "I'm kidding, Trav. She should be in within the next half hour."
"Can you have her call me when she gets in?"
"Sure, everything ok?"
"Everything is fine."
I don't want to alarm anyone until I know something and I don't want to say no, cause he will just think I am using. Disconnecting the call, I drop down onto the couch, scrubbing my face with my hands. Evan sits down next to me and pats his hand on my back.
“Maybe she’s fine. Maybe I’m wrong,” He says, as if that is going to make me feel better right now.
“Have you tried calling Mel or Veronica?” I ask.
“Yeah, on my way over here. They didn’t answer.”
&n
bsp; I stand up and begin pacing the room. This can’t be happening. I know I’ve done some fucked up shit in my past, but really, what the hell did I do to deserve this? What did Gracie do? She has never been anything but kind to everyone. Even when I was being a complete dick to her, she was kind to me. I can’t just wait around like this. I have to do something. There are only so many places she could be in this Godforsaken town.
Shoving my feet into my dirty Converses, I slip my phone into my pocket and grab my keys.
“Where are you going?” Evan asks.
“I have no fucking idea, but I can’t sit around here waiting.”
I run outside and jump into my Jeep. Just as I stick the key in the ignition, Evan appears in the passenger’s seat. My eyebrow furrows as I frown at him.
“This is partly my fault. I want to help you find her.”
“I swear to God, Evan, if you know where she is and you are just trying to get me out of the house or something, I will kill you and it will be worth every second I have to spend in jail.”
Evan nods his head but doesn’t say anything. Smart move on his part. There isn’t anything he could say right now that could stop me from wanting to inflict some sort of bodily harm on him. I never thought I would see the day that Evan and I were working together on something, but right now he is my only choice. He is the only person that knows what is going on with the psycho twins in case we have to call the cops.
“Where are we going first?” he asks.
“Gracie’s house,” I mumble.
Just as I pull out of my driveway, my phone rings. I grab it out of my pocket and accept the call without looking to see who it is.
“Gracie?” I ask, my voice desperate and panicked.
“No, it’s me,” Aidan says. “Gracie hasn’t shown up. I tried calling her and so has Molly. Both calls went straight to voicemail.”
“Shit,” I say under my breath.
“What’s going on Travis?” he asks.
I fill Aidan in on everything that has happened, including giving him a brief run down of what happened that night at the pool hall with Mel and Dave.
“Evan and I are on our way to Gracie’s now,” I say.
“All right, call me when you get there. If she isn’t there, then I will call Remy, Nate, and Liam. We’ll help you look for her.”
I thank him and disconnect the call. Evan keeps yammering on about God knows what. I’m paying about as much attention to him as I am to the road as I drive to Gracie’s house, which is not at all. I can’t concentrate on anything. All I know is that the only woman I have ever truly loved is in trouble and I have no idea where she is or what to do for her. It’s times like this that I feel as though I should have just left her alone. I knew better than to bring her into my fucked up world, yet I did it anyway and now look what happened. She’s in trouble. I don’t deserve her and she doesn’t deserve whatever they are doing to her.
I pull up in front of Gracie’s, parking my Jeep halfway on her yard and halfway on the curb. I don’t even turn off my Jeep before I swing open the door and jump out, running as fast as I can to her door.
“Travis!” Evan yells out.
I turn to see him pointing down to the ground by Gracie’s car. Her purse is lying on the ground, some of her things have spilled out onto the concrete walkway.
“Do you think she’s here?”
“I have no idea, man,” Evan says, looking around in a panic. “I don’t…I don’t see either Mel or Veronica’s cars.”
“Don’t touch anything. Call my brother at the diner. I’m going inside.”
Evan nods as he pulls his phone out of his pocket and starts dialing. I rush to the front door and turn the knob, but it doesn’t move. I try the windows on either side of the door, but they are locked. There has to be a way I can get inside without actually breaking anything. I try every window I can reach but they are all locked.
“Fuck it, I can pay for her to get a new window,” I mutter to myself. Grabbing the hem of my long sleeved shirt, I pull it off, leaving myself standing there in nothing but a plain black tee. Wrapping the shirt around my fist, I take a deep breath before letting my hand fly through the window by her front door.
“Jesus, Travis!” Evan yells behind me.
I ignore him. He’s part of the reason I am having to do this right now. After removing any small shards that could cut me, I unwrap my fist and let the shirt drop to the ground. Placing one hand on either side of the windowpane, I hoist myself through, landing in her foyer.
“Gracie?” I call out. “Gracie?”
Just as I expected, no one answers. Everything is quiet. There are no lights on and nothing seems to be out of place. It’s pretty obvious that no one is here, but I make my way through the house, checking and double-checking every single room just to be sure. Evan is walking into the house as I make my way back towards the front door.
“I talked to Aidan,” he says, glancing around the foyer. “He said he is going to call your brothers. He says we should meet everyone at the diner.”
I nod as I look around one more time. I don’t want to take any extra time to go to the diner. I just want to find Gracie, but I know the more people we have looking for her, the better chance we have of finding her. I watch Evan as he turns and walks towards my Jeep. My blood begins to boil. I need to keep my emotions in control and focus everything I have on finding Gracie. Following behind him, I climb into the driver’s seat, and turn the key in the ignition.
“Just so you know,” I say, glancing over at him out of the corner of my eye. “If anything happens to Gracie, if she has even one bruise on her body, I will beat the shit out of you, ya got that?”
Evan doesn’t respond. He just turns to look out the window. I don’t even have to tell him that I am dead serious. He knows that I am.
My brothers are already formulating a plan when we get to the diner. I’m grateful for the fact that they love Gracie enough that they are willing to drop everything to help me find her.
“I think we should split up,” Aidan says. “Travis, Evan, and Remy should go to Veronica’s and Nathanial, Liam, and I will go to Melanie’s.”
“I agree with Aidan,” Nathanial chimes in. “If you guys find them then someone call us and if we find them then we will call you.”
Everyone nods in agreement before we disperse. I start to rush to my Jeep but stop when I feel someone grab a hold of my arm. Turning around, I come face-to-face with Remy, who is staring at me with serious eyes.
“I can’t let you drive like this, Trav,” he says.
I want to argue with him, to tell him to fuck off and leave me be, but we both know I am in no condition to drive. Every minute that passes I become more and more nervous. Where the fuck could she be?
Chapter Thirty-Four
Gracie
My head is throbbing from where they hit me in the back of the head with something. I don’t even know what it was or what is going on. I remember leaving for work and I remember talking to Mel outside of my house. Now, I find myself tied to a bed in a small bedroom. I have no idea where I am or how long I have been here.
“Oh look, she’s awake,” a voice says from somewhere in the room.
I hear the sound of someone walking across the room and then feel the pressure of them climbing on top of me, straddling my hips. My eyes crack open slightly, but everything is fuzzy. I blink a couple of times and everything starts to come into view. I've seen the woman sitting on top of me at the diner a few times but I've never waited on her. She’s somewhat tall and unbelievably thin. Her brown eyes look like the life has been sucked out of them and her leathery skin has been so damaged by obvious drug use that she looks much older than she probably is. I'm willing to bet she was beautiful at one time, but whatever she is on has robbed her of that.
She flashes me a smile, showing off a row of badly damaged teeth. "You know, I don't get it. I mean, sure you’re pretty and all but I don't really see why Travie and Evan are so hung up on
you."
She leans forward so that her face is just inches away from mine.
"It won't matter much for long though ‘cause nobody is going to want to put up with you after I am finished with you."
I open my mouth to speak but no words come out. I'm not sure if it is because I am so terrified of her or if it's because I still feel disoriented.
A door opens and I frantically look around, praying somehow that it is Travis. That maybe he realized I was missing and knew where to look for me. I know that the chances of that are slim but the hope of a miracle is really the only thing I have going for me right now.
It isn't Travis though. It's Melanie. I'm so confused. One minute she was apologizing to me and the next minute she is here? Did she follow whoever hit me in the head? She seemed so sincere in her apology that I can't bear to think that she had anything to do with this.
I reach a shaky hand out towards her. "M-m-mel h-h-help," I croak out.
"Ew! Don't touch me you stupid bitch! You have blood on your fucking hands!" she squeals as she jumps back away from me.
I glance over at my hand and realize that she is right. My hand is covered in blood but from what? From my head? My heart rate quickens. My chest is heaving up and down so fast as I begin hyperventilating that I feel like it could explode. Shrill screams ring out through the air and it takes me a minute to realize that awful noise is coming from me.
"Shut up!" the other voice screams. "Shut the fuck up you stupid bitch!"
"Veronica make her stop before my neighbors hear her and call the cops!" Mel shouts.
The other chick - Veronica - raises her hand up in the air and slaps me across the face as hard as she can. I stop screaming, shocked by the stinging blow she just dealt me. Tears stream down my face, which only seems to piss her off even more. Leaning forward again, she grabs a hold of my chin, her fingers digging in to my face as she holds it in place to make sure I am looking at her.
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