Page 89 of Don’t Open Your Eyes

“I don’t like being lied to, of course. But in your case, I do understand. Maybe if everything else hadn’t happened, I’d be angry at you, but right now the only thing I care about is that Scarlett’s okay, and that my son is alive. Let’s hope the D.A. will drop the charges when your lawyer presents him with the rental car evidence. Tara’s name is on that rental agreement.” She rolled her eyes. “For once, I’m grateful for these dreams.”

“Like he said, it will be important to see if the car was damaged, and if they have all those records.”

“Try Lucas again,” Annabelle said. Chase had been trying to reach him all morning.

Chase took out his phone and swiped, putting it to his ear. He looked at Annabelle. “Right to voicemail. He must have it turned off while he’s in school. I’ll send him a text.” He did so and then put the phone down.

Annabelle couldn’t shake the feeling that her son was going to slip through her fingers if they didn’t do something fast. “Do you think the order will come through today? What if they’ve already left the country?”

“I called my attorney this morning, and he said they’ll serve her either this afternoon or first thing tomorrow morning. She won’t be able to leave.”

“I think you should go to your house. I’m worried. What if she’s taking him today?”

“My lawyer told me to keep my distance from her. I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize her arrest. They have all the information from the rental car company, and he’s meeting with the D.A. now.” He looked at his watch. “Lucas isn’t getting out of school for another half an hour. I’ll go to the school and try to stop him before he gets on the bus.”

The Wife—Tara

“Why did you pick me up early?” Lucas says as he gets in the car. “I have basketball practice.”

“I have a surprise. We’re going to see Gamma and Poppy. I’ve booked us a flight to Paris.”

His mouth drops open. “I’m not going to Paris!”

This kid! Why can’t he ever do what I ask? “Lucas, come on! Do you really want to be around for your father’s trial? It’s going to be a circus. This is for your own good. It’s just for a little while.”

“I’m not abandoning Dad. I don’t care what you say. I believe him. There’s no way he would hit someone and then take off. Besides, I’ve done some thinking. I want to meet her.”

“But she didn’t want you! Why do you want to meet her?”

Confusion fills his face. “How do you know that?”

I grab my phone and toss it to him. “Her number’s in there, under Annabelle Reynolds. I’ve been to her house. We’ve met for coffee too. She said she wasn’t going to file for custody. That she wants nothing to do with you. She has her perfect life with her two daughters and her husband, who had no idea she got knocked up before she was married. She doesn’t want anyone to know. Call her if you don’t believe me.”

Lucas’s face turns red. “I’m still not going to fucking Paris! I won’t leave Dad.”

I resist the urge to slap his face. My heart is beating so fast, it feels like it will erupt from my chest. This little shit. He’s so ungrateful. I’ve sacrificed time and money raising him, and this is how he treats me. “You’re still a minor. You have no say in the matter. Your father is going to prison for a long time. I’m your legal guardian, and you will do what I say, or I will take away your phone, your computer, and lock you up in this house until you’re eighteen.” I pull up to the house and slam on the brakes. “Now go pack. We’re leaving here in an hour.”

“I hate you!” he yells as he storms away.

“Join the club,” I whisper under my breath.

Scarlett

“So now you know his real name,” Avery said, scrolling on her phone. “Here’s his real Instagram profile. I followed him, and he followed me right back.”

She handed the phone to Scarlett. Scarlett studied Lucas’s picture, looking for any similarity to herself. There was something familiar about him. His eyes, that was it. She glanced at his posts and saw that he had lots of friends—playing different sports, and then some pictures with some guys on the golf course. She clicked on a picture of him, Chase, and a woman. She looked kind of glamorous, all made up and in fancy clothes. Scarlett guessed that was his mom—the woman who’d been texting her. Her mom had told her who was really behind everything. It made Scarlett mad all over again.

“You should follow him too,” Avery said. “Maybe you guys could meet up for real.”

“I don’t know. What if he doesn’t want to talk to me?”

“Your mom said he knows, right? But he’s not ready to meet her. It might be easier for him to meet you. Less pressure.”

Scarlett thought about that. She was dying to meet her brother, but after everything that had happened, she didn’t think she could take it if he rejected her. Even though she knew it wasn’t him she’d been talking to, it still felt like the relationship had been real and then ripped away from her. Scarlett handed the phone back to her.

“Come on. What’ve you got to lose?” Avery persisted.

Scarlett picked up her phone, navigated to Instagram, and typed in “Lucas Sommers.” She took a deep breath. Here goes nothing, she thought as she clicked the follow button. She looked at Avery. “Done.” Seconds later her phone notifications lit up. “He accepted it!”