“Zack’s not the same person he was two and a half years ago. Granted it has been two years and people change, but he’s never acted like this. Not once did I see him lose his temper like that. I’m scared, J.”
J grabs my hand and lifts it to his mouth, planting a kiss on my palm.
“Don’t worry about Zack. Bo and I will make sure he leaves you alone. I’m going to talk with Bo for a few minutes. I won’t be long.” He kisses me sweetly before walking out, closing the door behind him.
J
My blood is boiling at an exaggerating temperature. After talking with Cassie, I’ve come to the conclusion that something is not right about this situation and I’m going to get to the bottom of it.
I walk into dad’s office and take the seat next to Bo. Dad is sitting behind his desk looking at something in a vanilla file. He looks up when I sit down. “What did you find out?”
I relayed the conversation to dad exactly how Cassie had told me. He leans back in his chair looking lost in thought. “Hmm…that’s strange.” He shakes his head. “I’m going to do some diggin’ around on him to see what I can find. Give me a description of this guy and his car so I can identify him.”
“Well, he’s about our height, skinny, dark hair, dark circles under his eyes, and he wore a red polo shirt and blue jeans. Oh and he drove a black Ford Taurus.”
Dad shuffles through the papers he had in the file before sliding a photo towards me. “Is that him?”
I studied the photograph for a second. “Yeah, that’s him,” I say bitterly tossing the picture down on the desk. There is no denying that the guy in the photo is Zack.
“The new kid I told y’all about, right?”
“Yeah,” I confirm.
“I’ve been keeping my eye on him over the last week. I got a tip from the Birmingham Police Department that he has been involved in some drug deals up there and they have yet to catch him. At first, all I had was a description of him until earlier when they faxed me a photo of him with a name. He is also the prime suspect in Ellen’s death.”
I knew from the beginning Zack was involved in some questionable stuff, I just wasn’t sure what or how bad it was. “I thought Ellen overdosed?”
“She did, but he was her supplier and it’s been said that he was with her in the woods just before she died. J, you need to talk to Cassie. Get her to tell you everything she knows about him. Also, did Cassie happen to mention why she moved here?”
It would explain why Zack wanted Cassie to leave suddenly.
Where is he going with this?
“No, she never really talks about her past.”
Bo clears his throat. “I know why Cassie and her parents are here.”
I cut my eyes to my brother. “How do you know and what do you know?”
“Remember the night Cassie’s parents were having a party and she ran all the way here and I took her home? Well, I snuck her back to her room and something felt off so I climbed through her window after her. You could smell the weed the moment your head was in the room, it was that strong. Anyway, we argued about it for a moment until we heard someone coming down the hall. Cassie shoved me in her closet and told me not to come out no matter what I hear. Her dad knew she left and he knew right away she ran to us.
“He spouted off stuff like, “Do you want them to find us?”, “If they find us we’re all dead,” or something like that. When he left she told me that her parents owe money to some people they bought drugs from and they split. She said they have moved eight times in the last two years.”
I clench my fists. “Did you not think this is something her boyfriend should know?!” I feel so betrayed right now.
“I wanted to bro, but I promised her I wouldn’t. She took a big risk telling me! We’re lucky she has stayed here as long as she has!”
“I still should have known!” I roar at Bo.
“J, calm down. Being mad at your brother is not helping Cassie,” Dad reasons.
“He’s only doing what I asked him to, J,” Cassie says from the doorway. “I didn’t have a choice. I was taking a huge risk by telling Bo. If my parents had even the slightest idea I said something to him or anyone else we would have packed up so fast I wouldn’t have had time to blink.”
“Cassie,” I breathe as she steps toward me.
“It’s not that I didn’t trust you, J, it’s just I’m taking the chance of putting you and your family in danger. The less you know the better.”
I grab her hand and tug her to me. She falls in my lap and I kiss her temple. “I wish you weren’t in the middle of all of this.”
“Me too, J.”
“Cassie, I need you to tell me everything you know about Zack,” Dad says.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know much about the person he is now. Zack and I went to the same school back in Indy and we even dated for six months before my parents packed us up and left. I’ve had no contact with him for two years until he started school here. I hadn’t seen him or heard from him.”
Dad leans back in his chair and sighs. “What was he like then?”
“He was a perfectionist. Everything had to be a certain way, from his hair, to what he wore. He was like the golden boy, always hung out with the popular students.” I used to be like that too, until my parents’ downhill spiral.
“No offense, Cassie, but I can’t see you with a guy like that. How could you stand to be with him?” Bo asks.
“None taken, though I used to be that person. I used to hang with the popular crowd. I was this vibrant, outgoing girl back then. My parents’ addictions ruined that life, that part of me. Zack and I used to be the ‘it’ couple of the school.”
“Really? I think I’ve seen you wear makeup one time. You hate that stuff.”
I nervously tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “Looking at me now, I know it’s hard to believe, but that was me. I loved my life then. My parents were normal and actually loved me. We actually did things as a family then.” My eyes burn with unshed tears. The same tears I have shed many times for the lost girl inside me.
J lifts my hand, placing a soft kiss to my knuckles. “I love the Cassie I know.”
I shift my eyes to J’s honey colored ones. They are soft, understanding. “I was forced into this version of me because I was practically hidden away. The only place I was allowed to go was to school. The phone I had? My parents took it away from me the morning we left because they were afraid I’d tell everybody where we were and lead the drug dealers right to us.”
“Cassie, do you happen to know how much your parents owe?” Dan asks.
I tear my eyes away from J to look at Dan. “No, I didn’t want to know. The more I knew, the more danger I was in. I’m not even sure what all they are hooked on.”
Dan sighs and leans forward, resting his elbows on his desk. “Okay, here’s the deal. All three of you go about your days like normal while I dig up as much information on this Zack kid as I can.”
I feel J stiffen beneath me. “Dad, Cassie can’t go back to that house. No way. It’s too dangerous.”
Dan opens his mouth to reason with J, but I beat him to it. “J, I have to go. If I don’t, things will look suspicious and it could blow your Dad’s investigation.”
Bo is next to speak. “I agree with you, bro, but Cassie has a point.”
“Son, things will get ugly real quick if her parents or Zack have any indication that we are on to them,” Dan adds.
“J, you want to know why I pretty much have only Saturday’s with you and your family? It’s because your Dad is a cop. Dad thought that if he forbid you to see me, things would look suspicious since I had been seeing you daily.”
Worry is swimming in his eyes. I wish there was a way for me to convince him I’ll be okay.
J looks from to his Dad and Bo. “What if something happens to her? How will I know she is okay?”
My heart drops at the sound of the anguish in his voice. “J, I’ll be fine,” I assure him, but he shakes his
head.
“You don’t know that, Cassie.”
Dan opens a couple desk drawers, shuffling through them until he finds what he is looking for. He pulls out a small black flip phone and passes it to me. “Here, this phone still works. It just needs minutes, which will take no time to add. It’s my old phone,” he explains.
I fist the phone in my hand, an uneasiness settling over me. I’m nervous about going back to the house tonight. Mom and Dad should be home by now and they’re probably wondering where I am at and why I’m not home.
I wonder if they know about Zack’s plan. Surely not, though.
Dan calls and adds minutes to my new phone, and after I program J’s, Bo’s, and Dan’s cell numbers in it, it is time to go.
My parents are going to be furious.
I’m not going to tell the guys this, but I have a bad feeling about tonight.
Chapter Thirty- Nine
Cassie
J takes his sweet time taking me home. As we grow closer to my house, the unsettling feelings grows. I don’t know if I feel this way because of Zack’s visit or the way J is acting. Clearly, he is on edge. He is driving as slow as a turtle, right now.
I’m sitting next to him, his arm tight around me. Resting my head on his shoulder, I try again to see if I can calm him. I’m worried about him and I will continue to be if he doesn’t calm down. “J, everything will be okay.”
Really, I have no idea if things are going to be okay. I don’t know what to expect from my parents when I get home. I have to come up with an excuse as to why I have been with J this whole time, especially arriving home after dark.
He holds me tighter against him, so tight I can barely breathe, yet I’m not going to move from his safe embrace. I hate that J and his family have been brought into this. This is exactly what I have been trying to avoid.
“Cassie, I have a bad feeling something is going to happen to you and it’s taking every ounce of strength to not take you home. I will never forgive myself for dropping you off if you got hurt.” He swallows hard. “Or worse…”
Never mind, I’m glad he is driving slow.
All too soon, J is turning into my driveway. All the lights are on in the house and Dad is sitting on the porch with his gun in his lap, per usual.
I’m on the verge of crying, but I force it down so I don’t worry J anymore. If he sees I am scared he will back out this driveway so fast I won’t even have time to blink. Letting him see my worry will only hurt him worse and I’ve already hurt him too much as it is.
J puts the truck in park then turns to me. With a shaky hand, he reaches up to caress my cheek. “Don’t go, Cassie, I’m begging you. We can run away and hide out until you turn eighteen. Just please, don’t go,” he murmurs, sounding pained.
Closing my eyes, I let out a painful sigh. “If there is one thing I learned from my parents, J, it’s that running never solves anything. I don’t want to leave you, but I have to go in there, whether it’s safe or not. I wish you and your family had not got involved in this because now, you all are in danger, and it’s all my fault.”
J leans forward, pressing his forehead to mine. I hear him swallow hard like he is trying to come to terms with reality. “I love you, Cassie, so freakin’ much. If it came down to it, I’d die for you, that’s how deep my love runs for you. I’m glad I’m drug into this because I need to keep you safe and I can’t do that if I am being kept in the dark.”
A hard knock on the window startles both of us. I turn around to see Dad with a furious expression on his face.
Turning back to J, I say, “I’ve got to go, J. But always remember, I love you.” My voice cracks at the end. I wish I didn’t have to leave him.
J crushes his mouth to mine, and I drink him in one last time. I will remember this kiss for the rest of my life.
“Use the phone, Cassie, I will need to know you’re okay.”
“I will, J. Love you,” I say again. Somehow, I know deep down that this will be the last time I see J.
“I love you,” he murmurs back as I open the door to my scowling father and climb out.
Dad waits until we are walking up the house to start his questioning.
“Where have you been, Cassie? You know damn well you aren’t supposed to be hanging around that boy this late at night!”
I wait until I am in the house before I start yelling back. J waits until I am inside to leave, so if I start my argument outside, he will never leave, and then all hell will break loose.
“That boy, is my boyfriend, and I love him! I actually belong here! This is place is home to me now!” I could spend all night going on about how amazing J is to me, but I will just be wasting my breath when it comes to Dad.
Dad sets his gun down by the door. “Tonight will be the last time you will see him.”
My heart slams against my ribcage. No, this can’t be happening. “What do you mean?” I know what he means, I’m just praying I am wrong.
“It means we are leaving, Cassie. It’s not safe for us here anymore. They have found us.”
An eerie shiver travels up my spine. “We aren’t safe anywhere! I’m not leaving Brilliant!”
Mom walks in the room, her arms crossed with a disgusted look on her face. “We would have been safe here if it wasn’t for you screwing it up!”
“I didn’t screw it up! Zack did! He founds us and I bet he sold us out!”
My parents glance at each other then laugh, like the idea of Zack betraying us is the craziest thing in the world.
“Cassie, Zack didn’t sell us out, you did by hanging around with the chief’s son.”
“Don’t you find it strange that he found us?”
“Cassie, I knew Zack was here long before you did. You see, I saw him one night and I had an idea. Since you wouldn’t stop hanging around that family, he became my little spy.”
Thanks Dad, but I already know.
“Why else do you think I let you go to the football games and over to Jesse’s? He was making sure you didn’t rat us out to anyone.”
My legs feel weak so I sit down on the couch. This is so messed up. What if Zack had been watching J and I while we went skinny dipping? Bile rises in my throat at the thought of Zack seeing us like that.
“Zack was here earlier,” I blurt out. “He was acting weird. He told me he came to take me back to Indy.”
“What?” Dad’s voice rises in anger and Mom lets out a gasp.
“Bo and J were dropping me off after school and he was here waiting on me. He demanded I go pack my stuff. That’s why I had been with J tonight,” I explain.
“Cassie, pack your stuff, now. We really have to go,” Dad demands suddenly.
Something more is going on and I am going to find out.
“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me why we have to leave suddenly.”
“We’ve been here far too long, Cassie.”
“That’s crap, Dad. You want to lie to me again?”
Mom hurries around the room, looking panicked, gathering stuff.
“I’m going to start loading the car,” he tells Mom.
“What. Is. Going. On?” I ask again, growing irritated that my parents are avoiding my question.
They ignore me and continue to run around picking up things they are taking with them.
“ANSWER ME!” I yell at the top of my lungs.
They freeze, looking shocked by my outburst.
Finally, after a tense moment of silence, Dad speaks. “We have no time to explain right now. I promise I will fill you in once we are on the road.”
“I’m not going with you!”
“Yes, you are!”
“No, I’m not!” I shout back. Leaving J, is not an option for me.
I bolt for the door and make a run for it. There is no way they are making me leave. My home is here with J.
I didn’t count for Dad being so quick, though. He tackles me to the ground, and I land on my back, sliding against the rocks.
Figh
ting through the pain that is shooting up my back, I try and fight Dad off of me. “Stop, Cassie!” he bellows. “Marcie hurry up, will you!”
Hurry up with what?
“I’m sorry it has to come to this,” Dad whispers.
Next thing I know, Dad has a hold of my arms and Mom is above me, covering my nose and my mouth with a wet cloth. I shake my head, trying to fight her off, but soon my vision blurs and I lose my fight.
Vaguely, I hear gravel crunching and the sound of a car.
“Shit,” I hear Dad mumble then I am out.
Chapter Forty
Cassie
I jolt awake, disoriented, and unaware of my surroundings. My memory is foggy, my mouth parched, and my body is sore, but I’m not sure from what. The room is dark, except for the moonlight shining in through the window.
I suddenly let out a scream and frantically crawl backward against the headboard when I feel something or someone touch my face. A light suddenly flips on, illuminating the room and I’m startled to see Zack sitting ever so calmly in a chair next to the bed I’m in.
“You’re finally awake,” he says, reaching out to touch me again.
I flinch backward away from his touch like it burns me. “Where am I, Zack?”
His eyes narrow at me as he cocks his head to the side. “You don’t remember?”
I will my brain to remember something, anything. “The last thing I remember is being at home.” Mom and Dad had been acting sort of strange. I’m guessing whatever it was that had them acting so weird ties into why I’m in this room, wherever I am, with Zack.
Zack nods once, confirming my answer. “Yes.”
“Then what happened? Everything goes fuzzy after that.”
He relaxes back into the chair, his arms crossed over his chest. “I had to come rescue you. J, is not who you think he is, Cassie.”
“Rescue me? J would never hurt me!”
“He killed your parents, Cassie. If I hadn’t of showed up you would be dead, too.”
I slap my hands over my ears, not wanting to hear any more. “I don’t believe you!”
Zack forcefully pulls my hands away from my ears and holds one of my hands in both of his. I try to jerk it free from his grasp, but he holds it firmly with his grip.
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