by Leanne Davis
And when she believed the psychotic murderer was satisfactorily disabled, she sprinted to the back of the truck. Hoisting herself up with surprising agility, she dropped to her knees in front of the tool box. Crying uncontrollably, Chloe’s nerves were frazzled and it was difficult to keep the panic at bay. She had to get to Tara. Now. Her hands shook as she grasped the lock and tried one key after the other, feeling so frustratingly slow and inept.
Finally. The lock released. Exclaiming in triumph and relief, her desperation was held in suspense as she quickly took the generic lock off and opened the lid.
“Oh, God. Oh, Tara!” Tears streamed down her face as Chloe reached inside the box. Tara was hogtied with her knees bent backwards in a horrific angle, and her arms pulled behind her and tied to her feet. She was also gagged. Her eyelashes fluttered open as the waning twilight barely illuminated her.
“Tara, I’m here. I’m here,” Chloe chanted over and over as she gently tried to grasp Tara’s shoulders. The torturous hours that Tara must have suffered inside this box. She suddenly came alive when her gaze focused on Chloe and she realized who she was. Tara started to struggle but she was packed inside there like canned fruit. It was heartbreaking. Chloe ripped off the gag and Tara started to cry. Chloe was crying too and never stopped as she worked on the rope binding Tara. She was wishing she had the strength and might to lift her up in her arms, and cradle her to her chest before pulling her out. But she couldn’t. Neither could she get the bindings undone. She finally reached for Tara’s shoulders, saying, “I’m going to pull, and see if you can’t wiggle around. I’m sorry if it might hurt.”
Tara nodded, sobbing, “Just get me out of here!”
Nodding, Chloe pulled on Tara’s shoulders and her torso until she was half upright; then she just kept tugging. Tara’s stomach and hips were tightly pressed into the edge of the box. Chloe let up, crying out in frustration, “It’s going to bruise you or make you bleed.”
“Pull. I don’t care what happens. Just pull.”
Spurred on by Tara’s frenetic panic, Chloe huffed and puffed, using her upper body to hoist Tara’s trussed-up lower half over the lip of the tool box. She was stuck fast and cried out in pain, but kept urging Chloe to pull as hard as she could. And Chloe did. With her arms shaking and using all her strength, Chloe released Tara’s body and they fell back together onto the metal bed of the truck.
Chloe lay there for a moment, exhausted and stunned. Then she flipped over and moved away from Tara before starting on the rope that bound her. “It won’t come loose!” she cried out as she approached Crystal’s body. Now she was no more than a heap on the ground. Dead? Chloe hoped so. She fucking well and truly hoped so.
There on Crystal’s tool belt, Chloe spotted a pocketknife. She took it out and raced back to Tara, cutting through all the rope. The tight knots left deep circles on her wrists and ankles, but Tara didn’t care because she was free. She fell onto her back, crying harder. Chloe embraced her upper half, crying right along with her. Tara grabbed Chloe and held on tightly as she sobbed. “I thought she was going to kill me. Oh, God.”
Her entire body was convulsing in sobs. “And I’m so numb. The pins and needles everywhere really hurt. Oh, God, all of it hurts.”
Chloe rubbed her forehead and hair, kissing her forehead softly. “Shh… I’m going to call for help. We’ll take you to the hospital. You’ll be okay. I promise. I know it hurts a lot now, but you’ll be okay.”
Scrambling to find her phone, Chloe quickly called the police, sobbing out her location, and telling the operator they needed medical help. She made her way back to Tara and they clung to each other. She called Ryder next and told her story to him, handing the phone to Tara so he could hear her. Tara was incoherent with her choking sobs. “Just get here!” was all she could say.
Chloe hung up but still clung to Tara. “I’m sorry I was so mean to you before. I promise, it will never happen again. You’ll soon be my sister. All I kept thinking about was you suffocating inside this box or that she’d shoot you before I discovered where you were. I was so afraid no one would ever find you. Wyatt! Oh, Wyatt couldn’t lose another mother. You’re it, and you’ll be it officially soon. I couldn’t let him lose you.”
Tara sobbed against her chest, clinging to Chloe. “I heard Ryder’s voice. He was leaning right next to my head, talking about Lance and the ring and I couldn’t… I couldn’t reach him. I was screaming in my head but couldn’t even bang on the box. I was afraid I’d choke on my own tears and nearly threw up from the agony of picturing that was how I’d die. That fucking bitch!” Tara tried to scream but her voice was hoarse.
Chloe laughed, but it came out more like a sob. “I shot that fucking bitch. I think… I think she’s dead. But I’m not sure.”
“What if she’s not dead?” Tara whipped her head around as if expecting Crystal to reappear as an apparition and point her gun at them.
She patted Tara’s shoulder as if she were a young child in need of consolation. “She’s trussed up just like you were. I have her gun right here. She can’t hurt you again, Tara. I promise.”
Tara burst into another round of sobs and curled towards Chloe’s body, moaning with pain as she did so. Chloe rubbed her. She must have been so sore and bruised from spending hours in the same position. “How did you figure it out? She had me tied up in this box before I even understood what was happening. She showed up this morning when I was getting ready to leave for work. She was in a panic and saying there was an accident at work and Ryder had sent her to come and get me. I reacted exactly as she expected and didn’t question it. Didn’t even ask why Ryder didn’t call me. I ran after her, practically begging her to hurry up and take me. Then she pointed her handgun at me. I didn’t comprehend what it meant for the first few moments. Crystal started babbling about Ryder and Ebony and… and me. She said I tried to take him from her again and it wouldn’t work this time, then she crammed me inside there, after tying me up and sticking that gag in my mouth. Luckily, there was a small gap in the tool box for air. I heard your voice at the house. I twisted and turned and tried, God. How I tried so hard, to make noise, but all I could manage were soft, little tinks. Nothing anyone could hear. I started to panic from the claustrophobia… Oh, God…” She began to panic again so Chloe stroked her.
“Shh. You’re safe now. Soon you’ll be with Ryder who’ll take you to a hospital and you will be okay, Tara. I promise you. She had me fooled too. I took a lovely joy ride with her this afternoon, looking for you. Can you imagine? I was sitting there thinking how nice she was. I even considered reaching out to her more often to become better friends because she’d been so nice and understanding about Ebony’s death. She always seemed to know the right way to treat me when others didn’t. I thought…” Chloe winced and shuddered. “I thought instead of being friends with you, I’d pursue a friendship with her.”
“How did you catch on? I thought I was dead after Lance was arrested.”
“Dumb bitch mentioned this ring of Ebony’s. Ryder later said it wasn’t found on her body. I thought Crystal was just confused. But today, she mentioned it again and then—”
“The ring was found at Lance’s house?”
“Yes. Exactly. The same place where Crystal was. She was the only one who ever mentioned it. I played dumb, however, knowing you were out there somewhere. If I turned her in at the police station, she might never have told us where you were in time to save you. We wondered if you were still alive and I feared you got a death sentence.”
Tara gasped. “You risked your life. For me? For what might have been a dead body?”
Chloe shook her head and her tears left tracks down her cheeks. “I had to try. You were still out there.”
Tara sobbed with her. “Chloe, thank you. You saved my life… you saved me.”
They sobbed together and only stopped when a pair of headlights interrupted them. “Oh, thank God. Help is here.” Chloe gently set Tara’s head down as she stood up, wavin
g her hands, with her gun still at the ready, just in case. Never would she be so naive or trusting again. Nope. She planned to be smart from now on.
Her entire body sagged when the residual strength that was keeping her going vanished. She stumbled down from the truck bed. In a matter of seconds, Chet was sprinting towards her before he had her safely ensconced in his arms. Her arms looped around his shoulders as he gently picked her up, holding her against him. “How did you manage to get here?”
“Why are you out here?” He glanced over her head. “Tara?” His puzzled voice drew her out. “What is going on? I thought she was missing and you were heading towards your parents.”
She nearly burst out in crazed, stupid cackles of laughter. Not because it was funny. No, none of this was funny. This was all deadly. Violence. Murder and death. But Chet had no idea what he’d found. She gripped him. “I think I killed Crystal. She kidnapped Tara, but I didn’t know Tara was tied up in the tool box. I had to shoot her when she least suspected it. She was going to march me into the swamp and shoot me in the head, pretending it was a suicide before killing Tara, and letting all the blame fall on Lance Huskin, whom Crystal framed. And he is now in custody because I pointed my finger at him. Oh, God. I helped her.” Sobbing harder, Chloe’s words tumbled out too fast from her mouth in a long, running, gasping monologue. Chet held her tighter. “How did you find me?”
“You have six phones. There was no way you could have lost all those. I activated the phone finder—which you applied to all six phones, something I admit I once thought a little excessive, but figured it was pretty cheap insurance to make you feel better. It turns out it was brilliant. I came as soon as I got your text. I had my phone off because I was in a movie with my mom. I realized your location, however wasn’t near your parents, it was close to the swamp if not in the swamp. I worried that you could be having some kind of breakdown and Crystal was with you. I thought I was coming to help with an emotional breakdown… not find you like this…” He slightly released her while glancing around and the ghost of a smile flashed over his face. “You didn’t need my help because you had it handled.”
She shook her head, biting her lip. “No. I didn’t. I’m so scared.” She started to tremble now that help had arrived and it was essentially over. The harshness of the reality seemed to hit her all at once.
Chet hugged and kissed her. “I was confused about what you were doing. Worried. But I didn’t know enough to be scared. God, when I think of what could have happened—”
“But you knew me. And how I usually act. You knew about the extra phones, and I counted on that. I tricked Crystal into letting me use her phone for that reason, so you’d know who I was with and track down where I was. I counted on you knowing me and my habits so well that you would question the text. I also figured you wouldn’t text Crystal back because that’s kind of how you are. I didn’t ask a question, so you had no need to answer…”
His lips touched hers softly, lingering, smiling, understanding what she was getting at. “So you know me now too?”
“Yes,” she sighed. “Yes, I know you. And you know what I never did? I never told you how I feel about you and then it felt like it might be too late, but now it’s not. I love you, Chet. It’s a concrete, hard fact, just the way you like them.” She gripped his hand in hers and finally smiled. “And I know you still feel that way about me, right? No mind changes.”
“No. No mind changes.” His statement was simple and clear. And it was all he’d say, and she knew that. He wouldn’t deliver a long soliloquy of his undying love for her, or express the fear he felt over almost losing her, even though she could see it in his eyes. She really could. The emotions he held inside were evident in his gaze and the depth of his love was captured in his eyes. All of it was for her. He would always accept her love as the truth and his love would be as deep as the ocean and as eternal as the stars over her head. Even if he could never articulate how he felt in words, his gentle touch and the warmth in his eyes, as well as the tenderness in his smile, told her he loved her all the time.
“Tara. Come on, we have to help her.” They parted to huddle around Tara.
Chet checked for broken bones before finally lifting Tara up in his arms. He took her off the cold, hard metal and tucked her gently into his front seat with the car running and the heater blaring. She was shivering and trembling as she cried out in pain. Despite being shuffled around, she clung to the safety of Chet’s embrace and the gentle way he moved her. Chloe’s heart burst with emotions while observing so much care and concern.
Whatever he “had” just worked for her. The unique way he interacted and communicated worked for her. Did it matter if it worked for anyone else? No. Not in the fucking least, she realized. It only mattered that he would be there for her in every moment and every way he could, giving her as much or as little as she asked for. He’d strive to always make her happy. Not just in words. But also in deeds. Care. Love. He gave her those in all the things he did for her. He seemed to know her better than anyone and took care of her in ways that fit her, and only her. There was nothing generic about Chet. He wouldn’t just go out and get her a bouquet of flowers if they argued. He never bothered with meaningless or empty gestures. He always tried to get her exactly what she wanted. He turned out to be more gifted than she was at customizing every single gesture he did to fit her exactly.
Finally, the blare of sirens preceded the two ambulances that pulled in, followed by multiple police cars from multiple agencies and Ryder’s truck. It chilled Chloe to see the truck pulling in because it reminded her of how she almost died. But Ryder jumped out, looking frantic. He took one second to embrace Chloe, and his panic was clear. She patted his back. “She’s okay. She’s okay. She’s in Chet’s car.”
He released Chloe, kissing her cheek. “Someday I’ll repay you for this.” Then he fell to his knees just outside Chet’s passenger seat and leaned in to kiss Tara’s face. They exchanged several heartfelt whispers, Chloe was sure of it, although she could not hear them. He backed off when the medical personnel asked him to before they gently removed Tara and put her on a stretcher so that her shock and injuries could be treated.
“Ma’am, let’s get you in.”
Chloe glanced up. “Who me? Oh, no. No. I’m okay…”
“They said you should go. Go,” Chet answered for her. She glanced up. His eyes were sharply focused on her. “Don’t be a hero. You already were. Now go and get checked out too.”
“Only if you stay right next to me.”
“Yes,” he said clearly as he held her hand.
She nodded before wilting and they ushered her to the other waiting ambulance. The last glance Chloe had of the place was the twirling lights on top of the cop cars and people all over the site where she and Tara narrowly escaped. She looked up at Chet, who was also watching the unfolding scene.
“I know what happened to my sister now. She never wrote that note willingly. Crystal forced her to do it.”
“And she never betrayed you.”
“Never,” Chloe whispered.
“Why did you go after Crystal all alone? That could have gone so wrong, so fast.”
“I had my gun with me. She didn’t realize it. And I had my spare phone. I knew that you thought it strange, but you never once said not to do it.”
He shrugged. “It made you feel safer. Why would I object to that?”
“I love that about you. You never question me.”
“But you could have lost too.”
“For so long, I was enraged about having to remain here all alone. I missed my twin and didn’t know how to be an only child. My parents didn’t know how to have one child either. But Wyatt never knew her so I get it now. He never lost Ebony and he loves Tara. He wants her to be his mother. I couldn’t let Tara die, not if I knew I could possibly find her and help her, so I took the chance.”
He squeezed her hand. “Strictly for Wyatt.”
“And Ebony,” she said softly. “M
aybe now, she can rest in peace because I am at peace in my heart. And you know what else?”
“What?”
“I think… I think Tara and I might just become very good friends now.”
He smiled and chuckled as he leaned down to kiss her. The ambulance siren blared as they roared towards the local hospital. A paramedic was monitoring her so she closed her eyes and let it all go. Letting Chet handle the details, she finally grew quiet.
She did the right thing for Ebony. She finally learned what happened to her twin sister during the last moments of her life. It was as painful an experience as everything else about Ebony eventually turned into. The difference was, Chloe didn’t cry this time. She sucked in a deep breath. A streak of evil flowed through her as she reviewed the events again in her head. She killed the person who killed her sister and she didn’t regret it. She didn’t care anymore. There would be no post-traumatic stress syndrome or lasting regrets for her. She smiled softly. She did the right thing. The only thing she could have done. And nothing and no one could ever convince her otherwise.
Now, maybe instead of just treading water, Chloe could start to heal. She longed to move forward past Ebony and remember that part of her life without so much pain every time she thought of her. After all, she already spent more than three years grieving for her and learning to live without her. Now, she had to let her go.
She also discovered that whatever she imagined would make her happy before wasn’t always the best choice. Sometimes a person that you would least expect in your life turns out to be the best choice for a chance at sustained happiness. She kept her eyes closed and squeezed Chet’s hand tighter. He rubbed her forehead and she knew she didn’t have to explain her thoughts because he’d know what she meant.
****
Crystal died before the police arrived. She expired at some point while Chloe and Tara were huddled together. Tara would eventually be okay, but remained in the hospital overnight to be treated for lacerations and shock. Her entire body was bruised and achy, but she was alive.
