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“Just let them sort it out. What are you going to do exactly?”
“I’m going to make sure they do everything they possibly can to get Meggy back!”
“And you think Dean and Jonah won’t do that? That they’ll let the bastards get away with taking Meggy? She’s your best friend, which makes her our friend. Jonah feels guilty as fuck about this whole mess, so he’ll do everything in his power to make this right. Calmness,” he says while he looks at me judgingly, “will get better results right now than you making a scene.”
Ouch. “I’m not making a scene.”
“I’m not saying you’re acting unreasonable, but yeah, you’re kind of making a scene.”
Did he really just say that? I scowl at him, and then I stomp on his foot, making him cringe. Serves him right. I’m still not getting out of his forced embrace though, but I’m done talking to him for the moment, so we stand there, both glowering at each other for a long while. Meanwhile, I’m chewing the insides of my cheeks like it’s a hamburger.
After a few minutes, a new police car arrives. These policemen are in uniform and walk to the officers that are already here. I’m dying to hear what our plan is going to be, I need to hear it. I need to be involved. This is all my fault, right? They probably were after me? Since they broke into my house and all.
“Please, let me go,” I beg of O, unclenching my fists and gently laying them on his stomach. I’m pleading with him.
He sighs and then steps away. “Okay, but just please don’t yell at the people that are trying to help us.”
“Promise,” I say, nodding very earnestly at him. Right now I’ll promise my first born child so I can be part of the conversation. He lets me go, and I all but run to where everyone is talking, hearing the middle part of a conversation.
“So, we need a recent photo to spread and we’re getting news stations involved in spreading the signalment of these two perpetrators. Does anybody have a recent photo of Meggy?” one of the new police officers asks.
Kellan steps forward, showing him the lockscreen of his phone, which is a picture of a beaming Meggy and Kellan who gives her a kiss on the side of her head, staring in the camera with a love sick look.
It’s such a happy picture my heart clenches. I remind myself very sternly that she’s not Julia Collins, that we’re going to get her back, and that there’ll be a million more pictures of them like that. The officer asks him to send the photo to them, so they can start spreading it and ask people to be on the look-out.
I don’t know why, but I step forward and I grab Kellan, hugging him tightly. I don’t know how his social network is, but if he just started his new life over, I don’t think he has very many people to rely on right now. His body is all tense and it only makes me squeeze him harder.
“We’ll get her back,” I reassure him.
He scoffs. “You don’t believe that yourself.”
I hug him even tighter, which is about the extent of how hard my little muscleless arms can handle. “Now, you try to convince me it’ll be okay, and I’ll convince you, and we’ll do some of that manifesting shit and the universe will listen and then she’ll be back before we know it.”
He snorts and finally relaxes into my embrace. One of the officers steps up to me. “Miss, do you know how we can contact Meggy’s immediate family?”
Oh crap, I haven’t thought about her parents for even a second. That makes my skin crawl. Jonah hears and takes over. “Yeah, I’ll get you the contact information of the Dukes.” Upside of living in a small town means that we know everyone. Downside is that we know everyone, and I feel bad for Meggy’s mom and dad to have to receive the news that their daughter has been abducted.
“Wrap this up and let’s go home, Joe,” Gil says. There’s nothing we can do here, I know that, but going home is also too big a step. I’m still clinging to Kellan, who looks a little lost to be honest. I guess he might feel lost too.
“Just follow us home, come with us. We’re in this together,” I say to him. He doesn’t answer me, but glances over to where Jonah is giving the cops Meggy’s parents contact information.
“Don’t,” I say. “Jonah’s not so unreasonable he won’t be okay if you tag along. You shouldn’t be alone right now. Is there someone you can go to if you don’t come with us?”
The look on his face hardens. “No.”
“Then it’s a done deal, just follow our car.”
All I get in response is a sigh and then he lets me go. Gil takes my hand as soon as Kellan lets go, like he’s worried that I’m about to break down or something. But now that my anger has subsided, I’m starting to feel a little numb. How the hell are we going to fix this mess?
Kellan sits down at one of the stools at the breakfast bar. He looks severely out of place while he oddly fits in with the guys at the same time. It makes me wonder how different everything could’ve been if the boys had gotten off to a better start.
O is rummaging through cupboards, pulling out a bottle of God knows what. Jonah falls in his natural role and pours the drinks in cups and hands them out. Kellan accepts his with shaking hands. The way he eyes the thing makes me think he’s afraid it’ll bite him.
“So we’re just going to sit here and drink? That’s how you’re dealing with this?” he spits out.
“What else do you want to do? All we can do is wait.”
“There’s a lot we can do!” he yells as he scoots the barstool back and stands up. “We should be out there! Looking for her! Fuck, everything is better than just staying in and drinking.”
