Chapter Twenty-Four
Aries
When my phone rings,I look down to see who’s calling.I don’t recognize the number, but the area code is familiar.
Could it be her?
“Hello?”
“Chase?”Her voice cracks.“I mean Ryder.”
Fuck.How did she…?
“I just read your note.I guess I didn’t see it in the envelope, then Timmy told me he thought it was odd you’d send me a necklace and not write a note too, so luckily my dad is a pack-rat especially as it related to envelopes because he hates, and I mean hates, to pay for those bubble envelopes.He thinks they’re just way too pricey.Anyhoo, I finally looked inside and BAM, there it was.A note.Granted.I didn’t understand some of what you were talking about in it so that’s why I’m calling.To see if you could explain.Especially about the part about missing me and giving me the wrong name all that time and using a fake number at the bed-and-breakfast.Bella thinks you’re a grade A asshole, by the way, and I do too, sort of.But I’ve got to say, I enjoyed our time together.Heh-heh-heh if you know what I mean.”
I’ve missed her so much.And while I assume she’s drunk off her ass, I don’t care.I’m about to respond to some of what she just said when she starts speaking again.I shut the hell up and let her.
“And my dad, well, he’s on the fence.I think he just wants me to be happy.Did you really go to Stanford?”She gasps.“Oh.My.God.I forgot to tell you.Someone broke into the house and destroyed it.I mean—”
“What?”I say it loud enough for her to hear me above her chatter.“Lou.What did you just say?”
“Someone de-destroyed it.”And I hear her sniffle.“They got inside and brokeeverything.Every single thing.All of my-my work, Chase.I mean Ryder.I’m going to have to sell it to the shoe guy, Mr.Firnstrip.You know, the one from California.He was going to pay a shit ton for it, but I just couldn’t sell it then.It’smyhouse, Chase, I mean Ryder.It’s always been my house.But not anymore, though, because I can’t afford to fix it again.There’s no way I’ll ever be able to keep it now.Because of what they did, it’s how I know your name.They, Finn, had to run all the fingerprints.Yours were one of them, but the, whoever did it, they didn’t leave any fingerprints.”She sniffles again and I can tell she’s starting to cry.“Wh-Why did you lie to me, Chase?”
“Lou….”
“I deserved better.”I hear her voice start to slow, to soften.“Don’t you think?”
“Yes.”I sigh.“You deserved better.”Isure as shit don’t deserveher.
“I really liked you, Chase.Or Ryder.Whatever your name is.”
I hate that she’s referring to me in the past tense.“I really like you too, Lou.”
She yawns on the other end.“I’m tired.I’ve had a long day of drinking.”
I want to laugh, but I fear if I do, she’ll get upset, and it sounds like my poor Lou has had enough upsetting her lately.“You should get some sleep, angel.”
She doesn’t respond to my words because… is she snoring?I hit the volume button on my phone and then the speaker button.Sure enough, the low rumble of Lou’s snores fills my small living room.And I smile.For the first time since I left Zodiac Hills.I’m smiling.
I listen to her sleep for longer than I should, but I can’t help myself.I lie down on my couch and place the phone on my chest and just listen.Until I fall asleep myself.I awake to the sun shining in my face and my phone on the floor.Picking it up, I half expect to hear her sleeping, but our call was disconnected at some point.Maybe it was when it slid off me onto the floor, or it could have been from her end.It doesn’t matter.None of it does.Not even that she drunk dialed me.The fact is, she called, and I could tell by her words, she missed me.Probably not as much as I’ve missed her, though.
I scan my living room.I take a moment toreallylook at it.There’s nothing in it.Sure, I’ve got furniture, but there’s nothing meaningful in it.There’s a single photo sitting on the side table of my mom before she died.I’ve got no friends because working for the police department has taken over my life.Missing persons.It’s depressing as fuck.Who wants to hang with a guy who only has sad stories to tell?Sure, every once in a while there are happy endings, but not usually.It’s the reason I took off in my car that day.The case I was working on, the one with the missing boy, the one ended in the worse way possible.It was the last straw for me.It was the proverbial case that broke the camel’s back.I’m the camel.
That day.The one I just mentioned.The one where we closed the case on a missing seven-year-old boy and after I sat down with his parents to tell them––to explain to them they’re never going to see their son again.They’re never going to hear him laugh or celebrate another holiday with him.The kid is never going to hit a homerun playing baseball or catch a football or graduate from high school
How many of these cases had I investigated?Too many.It’s not always kids but does it matter?We’ve found our fair share of people alive but even one that isn’t coming home, well, that’s one too many.I’ve seen one too many.
As soon as I drove back to the station and without a word to my partner or anyone else, I grabbed the extra shirt out of my desk drawer, jumped into my car, and took off.I had no idea where I was going, I just knew I had to go.I needed to leave.
So, I drove.For hours.Until I saw that house.It was a beacon.Like the house I’d pictured––the one with the two kids and the pretty wife.It was a magnet, and I was metal.I pulled into the driveway behind the old pickup truck, got out, and walked up the steps onto that amazing front porch and knocked.
I swear to you.I knocked.
Then, I heard her singing.She was a siren.One with a terrible singing voice but a siren, nonetheless.When I caught a glimpse of her, I felt this sort of energy, a charge run through me.Hell, just thinking about her gives me that sensation.One I can’t ignore.Not anymore.
I jump up from the couch and head to the bathroom for a quick shower.Next, I pack a bag, this time with enough clothing to last me for longer than a couple of days.In less than twenty minutes, I’ve got my hand on the front door, my keys in hand, and a message sent to my boss.No matter how angry he gets, it doesn’t matter.Not anymore, because I need to know what the fuck is going on with Lou, and I need to know now.
The drive tookme fifteen hours, plus some.It would have taken longer if I’d stopped to sleep, but I knew I had to get to her.Pulling into Zodiac Hills, I note the time.Just past nine at night.
