“You’re letting me go?” she stammers.
“No.” I chuckle at her assumption. Her shoulders slump as the little bit of hope she has deflates. “Let’s get something straight, Hazel. I’m never letting you go. I’m simply allowing you your goodbyes.”
CADY
“You’re not going,” Dale and Cash say in unison.
“Why the fuck not? I want to be there. I want to see my best friend.”
“You’ll see her when we bring her back,” Cash reassures me.
He’s crazy if he thinks Phil will let her go. I don’t care how much money Cash throws at him, Phil will find a way to get the money and run away with Hazel. This may be the only chance we have to see if she’s still alive. After watching Cash for the past couple of weeks, I’m not sure if he is even up for a round two. He’s like a soulless body taking up space. This entire situation is taking its toll on him.
“Can you promise me that you’ll bring her home?”
Cash doesn’t look at me. He only stares at the bag full of money that Dale brought back with him. His lack of an answer tells me he has his doubts too.
“That’s what I thought.” I drop my face into my hands and massage my temples.
“It doesn’t matter. You’re still not going. I’m not risking your safety,” Dale says.
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned lately, it’s that tomorrow isn’t promised. Not to you, not to me, not to anyone.” I lift my head to find Dale and Cash focused on me, their expressions grave as they remember what has been sacrificed for their greed. “We had a good life. Thenyou showed up. We let you into our lives and gave you the benefit of the doubt, because that’s what good people do.” Cash’s emotionless expression doesn’t waver. I shake my head, frustrated with his lack of remorse. “You know what? Nothing either of you say or do is keeping me here. I’m going to that fucking meeting. At least then one of us will have Hazel’s best interests at heart.”
“Fuck you, Cady.” Cash’s response is cold, and sinister.
“No, fuck you, Cash. She is like my sister—”
Cash shoves his face into mine, his hands painfully clamping my upper arms. Dark eyes drill into mine, madness swirling in their depths. “I will do anything to get her back. She means everything to me. Everything!”
Pain, torment, loneliness, rage, remorse. I feel it all as he shakes me. Cash has been trapping it all inside, allowing it to fester and eat him alive. It’s a wonder he hasn’t lost his mind yet.
Dale grips his arms and yells his name while trying to pull him off me. His hands release their hold, and he shoves Dale away. A bellow so deep I swear it rattles the windows tears from his chest. Like an injured and cornered animal, he lashes out, putting hisfist through the wall. Yanking open the door, he walks out onto the porch, then slams the door shut behind him.
BOBBY
We’ve been walking on eggshells all day. Phil clocked Dustin a good one, breaking his nose, and I knew all bets were off when Joseph walked out of the back room with a broken finger. The anticipation of the meeting has had him on edge. When he took Hazel into the bathroom to help her shower, I almost intervened, but it wouldn’t take much for him to pull his gun and shoot me. He’s already made her suffer enough, I don’t want her blaming herself for the death of another person. The only thing keeping me going is knowing the meeting is coming up, and that this will all be over soon.
“He’s not letting her go.”
Joseph’s words played over and over again in my mind as we worked on the next batch, killing time before we had to leave. A few times, I glanced over to the corner where Phil and Hazel sat. Her lifeless eyes would meet mine, and I would silently urge her to not give up. She’d just look away, staring off at nothing as if she were imagining something outside these concrete walls. I wondered what she was thinking about—if she was slipping away to a better time in her life. Or if she was dreaming about revenge. I know I would be, but I couldn’t see Hazel hurting anyone. Not even Phil. That’s okay, though. I wouldn’t want her to do anything that would make her question her morals or change her into someone else. She has people who would do it for her.
As I stand outside the barn at the old farm waiting for Cash to show, I stare up into the night. More stars than anyone cancount twinkle and burn brightly in the dark sky. I find the few constellations I learned growing up and try to remember the tales that went along with them. Is our fate also written in the stars? I’ve always been told our choices determine what the outcome will be, but now I wonder if it would’ve happened the same way, no matter which course of action we took.
Headlights appear at the end of the road glowing brighter than any star. I take a deep breath and prepare myself for what’s to come. I’m just a pawn in the bigger scheme of things. My fate is already written, blindingly obvious in the headlights heading toward me. Either I get us out alive, or I die trying.
HAZEL
“He’s here.”
My heart pounds in my chest and my stomach flutters nervously. Phil hasn’t shared what he plans to do at this meeting. The only thing I know for certain is he’s not letting me go.
I’m worried more about Cash than myself, though. He said he would kill Phil the first chance he gets, and I won’t stop him, but what will that do to him? What will taking a life turn him into? He didn’t want me to learn about that side of himself, but I think he fears facing it more than he fears me knowing about it. Add to that the fury he will feel when he sees me barely able to stand on my own, that I’ve lost at least twenty pounds, and sporting a freshbruise.
How will he react when Phil tells him I’m not part of the deal? I want to believe that he will fight for me. Take down whoever stands in his way to save me and whisk me off to safety. Unfortunately, I’m a realist, so doubts have wriggled their way into my mind. He’s known Joseph his entire life. They are like brothers. He could trade the money for Joseph and walk away, washing his hands clean of the entire situation. It would hurt. Fuck it would hurt, but at least they would be free of Phil.
The sound of his vehicle gets closer and closer, and eventually, headlights shine into the barn. Phil leans me up against a beam and stands in front of me, blocking my view. Dustin and Samuel take a spot on each side of Phil and Joseph as they wait for Cash to enter.
For the second time in my life, I’m left wondering if these are my final moments. The first time, death wasn’t able to claim me. I was able to escape its clutches. But what if I wasn’t supposed to? What if it was my time to go? If it was, will taking me now claim more than just my life? I’ve never believed in fate. Maybe I should have and shown her a little respect, because I’m quickly learning a few lessons: if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be, and fate is a fickle bitch when that rule is broken.
