by Naomi Niles
“I will be safe, I promise. Oh,” she said as she turned to me once more, “you be safe, too, you know? With all that studying going on. I know things can kind of get out of hand with all those books laying around.” The three of them laughed together as they walked away from my table.
I hated that I wasn’t going to be able to go to the party with them tonight, especially since it was one of the last ones of the year. I knew that I was doing the right thing, though. As I watched them walk away, I nearly reneged on my decision to study and let them know I would come along with them to the party, but as they walked further away, I kept my mouth closed. It is for the best, I said as I poured more sugar into my iced tea. It is for the best.
Chapter Three
Harrison
I flipped on the news with a cup of coffee in my hand. The warm coffee mug heated my hand as I held onto it. I looked at my watch. It was almost 8:30 am, and I still hadn’t heard from Sarah. I laughed and shook my head; I know she must’ve had a late night. As the clock approached 8:45, I decided to get myself ready for work. It wasn’t like Sarah to ignore our morning phone calls, but she had done it occasionally because she was out partying the night before. She didn’t admit it right away, but eventually, she would come clean.
I tried not to let it worry me because if she didn’t call at our normal time, she would end up leaving an extended voicemail about how sorry she was for missing our morning talk. I arrived at work just before 10 am. Brian pulled in right behind me as I sat in my car. He knocked on my window, and I unlocked the passenger’s side door for him to get in. “You’re running a little late today, boss. Everything alright?”
“Yeah, everything is fine. I just had a late night.”
“Late night?” he asked, nudging my arm. “I guess I should ask you what her name was and if she was at least 18.”
I laughed. “Oh, come on, man, you know I’m not messing with anything under 18. Hell, I probably would think twice about calling them if they weren’t at least 20.”
He took the construction gloves out of his pocket and tossed them on the dashboard. “I don’t want to hear it, man. I just want to know your secret. How are you pulling all of these young women in like that? What is your secret, boss? That’s all I want to know.”
I glanced at him; then my eyes shifted down to his wedding ring. “I don’t think you should be worrying about my secret.”
He shook his head and stuffed his hand into his pocket, “Yeah, yeah.” He sighed. “Marriage. That is a completely different beast, and if you had free time for the next five years, we could talk about it all. Right now, I am just looking for a safe haven, man.” He laughed, more out of depression than anything else.
“I hear ya.” Silent beams of sunshine pierced through my windshield as the moments passed. “Well, let’s get on in here and get to work. Maybe we can cut out a little earlier today.”
We walked through the quiet office building. Our footsteps echoed off the floor as we walked to my office. “Oh yeah, boss, I forgot to tell ya. Our lawn guys aren’t coming in today.”
I slid the key into the hole. “What? Why not?”
“Some bug is going around, man. I know a few people who got wind of it the last few weeks. It’s pretty bad from what I heard, but the main guy called yesterday, and I forgot to let you know. I figured I’d take care of it since we had a little downtime.”
I tossed my bag onto the small leather couch in my office. “You’d take care of it?”
“Yeah. I don’t mind. It’s not like I haven’t cut a little grass and trimmed a few bushes in my day. Anything to help keep the office looking good, and besides, we can save a little money in the process.”
“Shit. How about you just do it all the time?”
He laughed. “No, it’s not my thing. I’d rather have it done professionally anyway, you know? When I get the job done, it’s just done, but when they do it, it’s a fucking work of art.”
I laughed and walked over to the closet to grab the hedge clippers. “Well, let’s get to work. I’m not going to let you go out there and do it alone when I am able to go right along with you. Lead by example, right?”
“Yes, sir!” Just as we started out of the office, my phone rang. I hesitated about going back to answer it, and as I stood in the doorway, I figured I’d let the voicemail pick it up. We walked outside. The heat hadn’t peaked up to its highest point yet, and we had a few hours to work before that happened. “So, that account I was telling you about yesterday. I think today is the day that we close on it. The guy knows that nobody in the area is competing with our price and quality. Our resume speaks for itself.”
“The Lancaster account, right?”
“You know it.” He pulled the lawnmower out of the shed and filled it with gasoline. The stench lingered in the air as I wiped sweat from my brow.
“Nice, Brian! Nice! You are making my job much easier. If I wasn’t a smart man, I would say that you were trying to take my position.”
He laughed. “No, sir, not at all. We are a team here. Bert and fucking Ernie. As much as you have helped me with advances and bonuses, I figured that the least I could do is make sure your business goes off without a hitch. Hell, it does me good just to know that this business is flourishing.”
Brian had been the second man in charge here at Harrison Construction for the past 10 years. He started off as a regular construction worker, but once I realized how diligent he was about his work, I quickly moved him up the ranks. “Oh, and another thing. I think we are going to need an accountant. The one we have now is doing a shitty ass job.”
“A new accountant? Bridgette isn’t working out, huh?” I pulled another lawnmower from the storage shed. It had been almost a year since I needed to use it myself. The dust fluttered from the top of it in a cloud as I smacked the surface clean.
“No, man. Not only is she lazy, but she is getting numbers wrong in the books. I know we just brought her on, but it may be time to look in another direction. Just a thought, you know? You’re the man to make the final call; I just wanted to put that in your mind.”
I glanced towards the sky. The sun’s heat picked up as we started work on the lawn. We were used to it, though, since we’d both spent our time doing construction under the same sweltering heat. Some of the workers drove into the parking lot as we cut the grass. I loved leading by example. If the head man in charge wouldn’t hesitate to come out here and do yardwork, then I knew it would make them work harder for me when the time came.
Almost an hour and a half passed by before we finished our work. The sun hung directly above us. Our shirts were soaked with sweat to the point that we had to change as soon as we got inside the building. The cool air conditioning made it feel like we walked into a cold shower. I removed my shirt once I got into my office and plopped down on the couch. “Man, I am getting too old for this stuff, Brian.”
He grabbed a cold water from the small refrigerator and tossed me one before he plopped down on the other side of the couch. “Yeah, I hear ya. It’s been awhile since I had to do some work like that.”
“I think I need to start leaving it to the young guys.”
“Young guys?” He wiped his brow, then took a swig of the ice cold water. “Man, you look as young as some of the guys that work around here. Shit, if you were to go out there right now and tell one of them to take their shirt off, there probably wouldn’t be a difference between you two. Now I see why all of the younger women flock to you. You're built like someone their age.”
I laughed as I took a sip of water. I did what I had to do to keep my body in shape. I knew I was getting older, so I had to do what was necessary to keep my body in shape before I lost control of it. I tried to make it to the gym no less than three times a week, and I’d kept that routine for the past two years. I was impressed with my physique, but at the same time, I knew I had to keep up the hard work for it to remain. “Yeah, I worked for this, Brian. You know? Oh, and cutting down on the honey buns and
crap like that helps a lot.”
He smiled and tapped his stomach, “Well, shit, I am good with this keg I’ve got here. You can keep your six pack on your stomach, and I’ll keep mine in the fridge where it belongs. We both win.”
A knock on my office door blended in with my laughter. I pulled myself off the couch and quickly grabbed a shirt from the top of my shelf. “Uh, one second,” I said as I quickly pulled it down over my head. When I got to the door, our secretary stood on the other side sandwiched in between two detectives. My brow wrinkled to the middle of my forehead. “Something wrong, Amber?”
“Um,” she nervously glanced at the detectives. “These men said that it was urgent that they spoke with you. Privately.”
I looked at Brian as he stood up from the couch. “Say no more, boss,” he said as he excused himself out of the room. “You um, you let me know if you need anything, alright? I’ll be just down the hall in my office.”
“Yeah, alright, Brian. Gentlemen,” I escorted them into my office. “Please, have a seat.” I closed the door behind them as the two men walked inside. They stood tall, at least a few inches above me, dressed in slacks and short-sleeved T-shirts. Their badges gleamed in the sunlight as they walked by the window. One of them took a seat on the couch as the other stood near my desk.
“Alright, officers, what can I do for you?”
“Sir, I am Detective Strasberg, and this is Detective Miller,” he said with a solemn voice. “We have been trying to contact you this morning via phone. Your office and your cell.”
“Oh, yeah, sorry about that. I got caught up doing yardwork this morning. Our regular lawn maintenance guys all caught the same bug, so I had to go out there and take care of the work myself. I apologize, but what seems to be the problem?” I immediately thought of Sarah. Maybe she had partied too hard, gotten herself in trouble, and now needed me to bail her out.
“Well, sir, this is concerning your daughter.”
“My goodness.” I laughed and walked to my desk to grab the car keys inside the drawer. “What has she done now? Is she in trouble? I know that she can get kind of reckless at times. A young college girl who likes to party. Which jail is she at? She couldn’t have done anything that bad, right?”
The seated officer folded his hands in front of him as he looked up at the other. The standing officer shoved his hands into his pockets and shook his head slightly as a downcast expression reflected from his countenance. “She is not in jail, Mr. Zimmer.”
My heart dropped like a bag of bricks. “Not in jail? Then where is she?”
He sighed, hesitating to say anything else. The silence nearly sent me into a coma as I barked again, demanding a response. “Officer Strasberg, where is she?”
“She is at the morgue, sir. Your daughter was killed in a car accident early this morning.”
It didn’t seem real. Detective Strasberg’s face began to darken right in front of me. In my mind, everything in the room faded out like the end of a movie. The detective’s lips moved, but I couldn’t hear any words leaving his mouth. My keys dropped from my hand and hit the floor that seemed to move right beneath me. Suddenly, I lost balance, and the last thing I saw was Detective Strasberg’s arms reach out for me as I plummeted to the ground.
Chapter Four
Caroline
I woke up with my books open on the bed next to me. I fell asleep studying all night, and I still felt like I didn’t know half of what I needed to know to pass the test. When I grabbed my phone to look at the time, I had all kinds of notifications from my social media networks. Sarah tagged me in videos of her drinking, dancing, and partying all night with our friends. She is such a jerk; I said with a smile as I scrolled through the pictures.
On second thought, I should’ve gone with her last night, especially since I felt like I didn’t know any more about accounting than I did last night. After I had scrolled through the pictures and videos of Sarah having fun with Johnathan and Bradley, I closed my books and hopped in the shower to get ready for the day. We had the same class together again this morning, so I knew she would be in there bragging about how much fun she had and how much of a loser I was for staying home.
Professor Morgan stood in the front of the room with a light green, polyester vest, black slacks and a white long-sleeved shirt. He lowered his glasses as I walked by him. “I trust that you and your friend will allow me to flawlessly navigate through my lesson today without any interruptions.”
I bashfully responded, “Yes, Professor Morgan, we will. I am sorry about yesterday. Really, I am.” He nodded his head, and afterward, I tucked my tail and walked to the back of the room as I felt his eyes incredulously staring a hole into the back of my head. I took a seat and settled in as two students behind me chatted about the party from last night.
They replayed different scenes in their minds as I shook my head, thinking Sarah had something to do with the fact that they were sitting right behind me. I couldn’t wait to see her just so I could get past the initial mockery that I knew she was going to throw my way like a snowball. I glanced at the time just as Professor Morgan started his lecture. “Hello, everyone. I trust that you all have talked to each other and gotten everything out by now so I can get through these next two hours without interruption.”
The class hushed to silence as he stood in front of the room. “Great,” he said, “I shall begin.” As seconds turned into minutes, and minutes fell into an hour, Sarah’s seat was still vacant beside me. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and sent her a text.
“Where are you at?! Are you still asleep!? Wake up! You’re going to blow your chances of getting an A in this class!” I slid my phone back onto my desk, waiting patiently for her response. She was probably hungover and still in bed. Every time I saw her on social media, she had a drink in her hand with a glassy-eyed look on her face. I knew she drank more than she wanted to. I sent her another text and waited for her response, but there was still nothing sent back to me.
I decided to text Johnathan to make sure she left the party safely. “Hey, Johnathan. Good morning. Did Sarah make it home alright?”
“Good morning, sweetie. Yeah, she left with Brad, I think. Shit, I was fucked up, and I still am, so I don’t remember.”
“Alright.”
“What are we doing today? I can come by your dorm later on if you aren’t studying this time around.”
“LOL. Don’t remind me that I made that decision last night. I wished that I would’ve come with her, but I guess it is too late now.”
“There will be more times. I’ll see you later. Oh, and Sarah is probably in bed asleep because she had a lot to drink last night. Her hangover is probably kicking her ass right now.”
“LOL. Thanks. I’ll check on her after class.”
I slid my phone back into my purse and leaned back in my chair as Professor Morgan went on with his lesson. His monotone voice nearly put me to sleep, and before I knew it, he was wrapping up the lecture, and I hadn’t retained a thing that he had spoken to us. I grabbed my phone to check if I had any messages from Sarah, but my phone was still void of any of her responses.
“Alright, class, I don’t want to tell you that there will be a quiz about what I said, so I won’t tell you. But, just know that there might be a pop quiz. You enjoy the rest of your day. I’ll see you all next week.”
I gathered my purse and headed out of the classroom as I sent another text to Sarah. “Oh my God, if you don’t wake up, I am going to come over there right now and douse you with a glass of ice-cold water! But seriously, if you are hungover, I will bring you some coffee. I heard coffee helps drunks like you…lol.”
I headed to the café to grab a bite to eat and a cup of black coffee to help ease Sarah’s hangover. As I stood in line, Meghan walked past me and did a double take once she saw me standing in front of her. With a look of concern on her face, she walked up to me and put her hand on my shoulder. “Are you alright?” she asked, standing close to me.
; “Alright?” My eyebrows wrinkled together before I flashed a curious smile at her. “Yeah, I’m fine. A little bummed that I missed the party last night and if I could do it over, I think I would’ve gone, but other than that, I’m good.”
She paused as if she’d seen a ghost standing behind me. “Um, Meghan? What is wrong with you?”
“You didn’t hear? Sarah was killed in a car accident after the party.”
I didn’t know how to take what she said. It was as if she had spoken a foreign language and my mind could not process her words. I stood still in line as the person ahead of me moved forward, creating a gap between us. I looked down at the coffee that warmed my hand, remembering that I texted Sarah earlier this morning. “No, no,” I said, laughing it off. “No way. I just texted her this morning. She is hungover in her bed right now. Are you sure you know what you’re talking about?”
I closed the gap in line as Meghan walked beside me. “Yes, I do.” There wasn’t a smile on her face. “I read the news this morning. She passed away in a car accident on her way home.”
“No,” I said, still in disbelief. “I think you’ve got something confused. Sarah is at home in bed right now. I have this coffee for her,” I said, holding the cup higher, “and I am about to give it to her.”
“Caroline, she is–”
I raised my voice. “No, Meghan! She is not!” The chatter around us hushed to silence as students looked in our direction. I was tired of her telling me something that I knew wasn’t true. Meghan took a step away from me and nodded her head. Her eyes watered as she turned her head away from me, and moments later, she headed out of the café. “The nerve of her,” I said as I placed the coffee on the counter and grabbed my cell phone to send Sarah another text.
I started to worry a bit once I saw that she didn’t respond to any of the five texts I sent her before now. “Sarah, is everything alright?” A sickening feeling shot to the pit of my stomach as I moved ahead in line and she still didn’t respond. I paid for my things, then quickly rushed to the bookstore to grab one of the morning papers. I grabbed it from the shelf, then sat down at one of the small tables to read through the pages.
