Authors: Amanda Heath
“No you are going to stay on this phone and talk to me about it, asshole. You scream that girls name out in the middle of the night, so don’t tell me you ain’t fucked in the head right now.” Caden should really go into psychology. The guy is so insightful sometimes it is scary.
“We aren’t talking about me, unless you want to spill about Grace.” Caden has this “thing” with is twin brothers girlfriend. The rest of us have been trying to figure it out for months, but neither one will spill. The only reason any of us know anything is because Teagan walked in on them making out in his room. Everyone but Grace pretty much hates Jaden so no one told, but it’s still a huge mystery.
“Fair enough. You know I’m here dude. That’s why you fit with Dec and I. You have that crazy past with some girl you never want to talk about. Though Dec is the only one who fixed his. God they make me sick.” He makes a gagging noise and I feel my face smile. It’s true, not only are they loud when they are having sex, they kiss all the time. He calls her “beautiful” and “baby” all day long. If she is in the room his hands are somewhere on her person.
Then when they fight, it’s World War 3 in our house. Though I usually call Switzerland. Things get thrown and words are tossed around like grenades. For such a little thing, Teagan is feisty and full of fire.
“I know. I don’t want to think or talk about it right now.” I scrub my face with my hand and close my eyes. “I’m gonna go before I start telling you things you don’t need to know.”
“Alright. Though I sure as hell heard things I didn’t need to hear. Later.” The phone goes silent as I sit in the dark. The age old question is what the fuck did I do?
*****
“Dude wake up!” someone is poking me in the face and I’m not very happy about it.
“Go the fuck away Dean.” I growl with my eyes still closed.
“No, you need to get up. Your mom is blowing up your phone. I don’t know how the fuck you can’t hear it, since its right next to your head.” And as if the thing could read minds, it starts ringing.
“Hello?” I growl into the receiver. This doesn’t bode well for me, since my mom doesn’t call twenty times in row.
“Are you still up in Arkadelphia?” she asks frantically.
“Yeah…what
’s up? You sound upset.” I sit up and wave Dean out of the room, but of course he doesn’t listen.
“Okay good, good. I need you to come home. Something really bad has happened. Umm…” she chokes up and a chill runs down my spine. “Macy was kidnapped sometime last night. The cops are here and everything but I can’t calm your sister down and your dad is here making a scene. I just need you Chance.”
“I’ll be there in two hours mom. Just hold on till then. I’ll go as fast as I can.” My breathing is getting labored and I honestly think I might faint. Who the fuck would take Macy? This is the most fucked up shit I have ever heard.
“I know you haven’t talked to her in almost 4 years but I need you to get Norma Jean. She comes down every weekend and sees Macy so she might know something. I also know she would want to be here.” What the fuck. This could not be happening to me right now.
“Sure mom.” is all I say to her. She says she’ll text me the number and hangs up.
“What’s going on?” Dean asks me standing in the door way with his arm over Paige’s shoulders.
“Macy is missing.” Paige’s face goes pale and I see Dean squeeze her in closer. I keep thinking this can’t really be happening but I know it is. I have to get up and move but I realize I’m naked under this sheet and my female cousin is in the room.
“I have to call Norma and get her here so we can leave as soon as possible. And get out of here so I can pull on some clothes.” They nod their heads before leaving the room and shut the door.
I put the awkwardness of Norma out of my mind and think of who in the world could have taken Macy. Everyone loves that little girl, hell even my piece of shit dad acts like a saint around her. If anyone hurts one hair on her head I’ll fucking kill them. If I don’t kill the person anyway, for just taking her.
I can’t stop thinking about how scared she must be. Though I wonder if it is someone she knows. Seems she would put up a fight against someone she doesn’t, just like I told her. The girl is smart, so that has to be what it is. She just turned 4 and I just saw her, how can she be gone? God this is going to fuck with my head for the rest of my life. I have never been so fucking scared.
So I get up and go through the motions of getting decent to leave. I need to be on autopilot until I make it home. Ignore the fear and Norma or I just might lose it.
Chapter 9
Norma
When I woke up this morning I didn’t expect the bruises on my hips. It brings about things I don’t really want to remember. Though it has nothing to do with Chance, it stills scares me. I can’t and won’t go through that again. I just don’t have it in me.
“Where have you been Norma?” he asks me when I walk into his apartment. I flinch at the tone of his voice. I almost whimper when he rises off his bed and walks over to me. “And don’t lie. I’ll know you did.” His voice is menacing and not at all the man I thought he was.
“Out with Regina. She wanted to go dancing. I swear that’s where I was.” I cower away from him when he clenches his fists against his thighs. I’m praying for God to not let him hit me.
Those prayers go unanswered just like every time before.
His knuckles connect with my cheek and I fall to the floor with the force of the impact. He kicks me in my ribs shortly after and I bite my lip so I don’t cry out. Not that anyone would come to save me. No one cares what he does to me. Or they are more afraid of him then I am. “I told you not to lie to me bitch!” He screams down at me, kicking me again. “Where. The. Fuck. Were. You.”
“With…Regina…dancing. I swear…to God…call her.” I pant out. My side is burning from his kicks. I’m not lying. I really was out with Regina. Not that he would call her and ask. He’d just think she was lying as well.
“I don’t need to call that bitch. Slut would lie just like you. Who are you fucking? Tell me!” I’m shaking all over. I honestly don’t know what to do here. I’m telling the truth yet he refuses to believe me. I have never lied to him and I never would. I would probably be dead if I did.
“I’m…telling the…truth…I swear.” Tears are leaking out of both my eyes and I shut them hoping to stop the flow. He doesn’t like tears. He will hit me harder.
“She’s telling the truth. I saw her at bar with Regina. It was just the two of them dancing. No guys were around them. She didn’t even talk to anyone but Regina. Every guy in this town knows she is yours.” David is his right hand man. He has never agreed with the beating of women and tries to stop him all the time. But he doesn’t ever step up to stop him while he is doing it.
He gets right down next to my face and whispers in my ear, “You’re fucking lucky David was there to see you. I’ll find out one of these days who you’re fucking, Norma. Then you’re both dead. No one touches what is mine.” He licks my ear then, and I shudder.
I didn’t know how to get out of the situation. He didn’t start hitting me till about 6 months into our relationship. Then he was all kinds of scary. I found out he was dealing drugs out of his apartment and everyone knew in this town but me. Even Regina. Though she didn’t know until after I was serious with him.
I just happen to walk in his door and catch a drug deal. That was the first time he hit me. Said I had no business showing up at his place without calling, even though I had been doing it for months. After that day nothing was the same.
A couple of weeks ago I happened upon his car out in the dorm parking lot. I freaked out thinking he was watching me, but no he was inside the car fucking a girl from my dorm. Most woman would feel anger and hurt, all I felt was relief. I’m not one of those who wants to stay with the man who beats her. Maybe I’m different because I never loved him. My heart was always Chances.
I confronted him and asked if he was done with me. He said hell yeah and that I was
a bad fuck. I almost jumped to the heavens, I was so fucking happy to be out from under him. Let him be with his new girl and beat her. She has seen my bruises and busted lip. The limps and stiff walking because I didn’t want to jar my ribs. If that is what she wants, then go ahead girl. It will be you in the ditch, not me.
I’m standing in front of the mirror looking for more bruises when a ringtone I didn’t think I would ever hear again fills the room. I slowly walk over to the phone and look down at Chances name flashing across the screen. I let it ring and ring. There’s no reason for me to answer. I won’t ever go through it again, and I fucking mean that.
Chance leaves a voicemail and I pull the phone up to my ear to listen. “Norma, I realize I’m the last person you want to hear from, but we need to put that away for now. Macy is missing. Mom says she was kidnapped, but I’m not jumping to that. I’m hoping she just got outside somehow and they will find her before I get home. Call me back. Mom wants you there.” Then the message goes off.
I’m calling him back before I even realize what I’m doing.
*****
I’m in a fog. Nothing makes sense right now. I’m lost inside of it. I can’t help but to feel this has something to do with me. Why do you ask? Because I’m hiding things. Stuff I shouldn’t hide from those that love Macy. From those that love me as well. I have to talk to Cassie. She has to know who took Macy. I won’t believe anything else.
Not wanting to be anywhere near Chance, I climbed in the car with Harley and Spencer. Lucy and Mason are in the backseat with me. Mason keeps giving me knowing looks, and he would know. I have to wonder why he was even here, but apparently he’s with little ole Lucy, which is the strangest relationship I have ever seen. Not even going to go there.
They all talk softly around me, but I don’t listen. I stare out the window thinking of every place I need to look for Macy. I have to find her before something awful happens. He would hurt her to get to me. He found out about last night with Chance. I have no idea how he found that out, but that’s the only thing I can think of. He wouldn’t do this because of anything else.
“Norma, what’s the name of your roommate?” Harley turns around in her seat and meets my eyes.
“Regina. Why?” I take a deep breath hoping she doesn’t tell me Regina was going after Spencer. That is totally something she would do. Unless you’re her friend she doesn’t care if the guy has a girlfriend.
“She…um…told me something last night. I kind of wanted to talk to you about it.” Harley had a rough summer and I can only imagine what Regina told her.
“Do you really think this a great place to talk about this?” I say the blood draining from my face.
“Look, I know it might be hard to talk about, but I have to say something. Everyone will be worried about Macy when we get to Duke. I just want to get this out of the way. You can trust all of us in this car.” She smiles encouraging me to say something but I won’t. I can’t.
I throw my thumb in Mason’s direction and say, “He will tell Marley and then the world will end. So no thank you.” Mason is really close with my cousin. And I mean really close, like they are in the same gang. Though I wouldn’t really call it a gang because they do more good than bad. They are like the neighbo
rhood watch gone Scarface. Except no cocaine. Well not that I know of.
“Harley already told me what Regina said. All I want to fucking know is if it’s true. That mother fucker is dead if it is. Marley is like my brother, so that makes you family. No one fucks with my family.” A chill swipes over my body as I take in what he said. I know he isn’t joking. Mason, who I don’t know all that well but I could still tell you he doesn’t lie. And he doesn’t back out on his word.
That leaves me with nothing to say. I have to find Macy before I do anything else.
“It wasn’t true. She likes to make up shit when she’s drunk. Thinks it’s funny.” I choke out hoping he believes me.
“The fact you even know what we are taking about says otherwise Norma. If you want me to back off, fine. But if he lays another hand on you, he’s dead. Got me?” Mason has turned red with his anger. I don’t know what it is about this guy, but he has this freaky way of making you feel better.
“Got you.” I whisper and turn back around to the window. I won’t think about it. I won’t. I won’t be that girl anymore.
The rest of the drive is pretty quiet. Mason can scare the crap out of anyone, but the way he is with Lucy, makes you wonder if it’s all a show. The way he is always touching her. The way I have only ever seen him smile at her. I wish I had that. Someone to love me like that.
Pulling up outside Stacy’s house, I start getting nervous. I was already scared but I have to confront Cassie, and I hope she tells me something I want to hear. Because this will be over soon if she does.
Chance drove like a bat out of hell so he beat us. The hood of the car is cool meaning it’s been parked for a while. I haven’t even had time to feel awkward about stepping into his house. I’m just looking for Cassie.