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To the outside world, my father looks like a model citizen. He has a successful import business, donates a ton of money to charity, and is involved in numerous civic organizations. My claims against him would go nowhere, which is why he shouldn’t be threatened by me. Even if I wanted to report him to the police it wouldn’t do any good. And yet he still feels the need to get rid of me.
If I go to Kansas City there’s a good chance I’d find a place that would sell me a gun, but going to a large city puts me at risk. I’m sure my father has put alerts out, asking people if they’ve seen me. And those people could very well be the people I’d be trying to buy a gun from. Those are his people. Criminals who are able to make a good living doing illegal activities while circumventing the police. I don’t know that much about my father’s business but I’m sure he’s well connected in that world. He’d have to be in order to do what he does without getting caught.
The phone rings and I nearly jump from the sound. I’m not used to the loud ring of a landline phone. My father had one in his home office but I was never allowed to go in there so I didn’t hear it ring.
I’m hesitant to answer it. There’s no caller ID. It could be anyone. What if it’s them? But how would they get this number? Even if they had the number, they wouldn’t call. They’d just show up.
I answer the phone. “Hello?”
“Hi.” I immediately recognize her soft sweet voice. It instantly calms me.
“Hey. Are you on break?”
“No, but it doesn’t matter. I’m allowed to make phone calls during work. Anyway, I was wondering if you want to come by for lunch again?”
I’d much rather have lunch with Sage than be off searching for a place to illegally buy a gun, but I need protection. This can’t wait.
“Sorry, but I can’t today.”
“Too busy writing?” Her voice is cheery. It makes me smile. Given my life right now, I shouldn’t be smiling, and I didn’t until the day I met Sage. Now just the sound of her voice makes me smile.
“Yeah. I just started a new chapter.” How I came up with this writer story I have no idea. It’s not something I’d planned ahead of time. Before I got to town, I should’ve figured out a story to tell people but I was too focused on staying alive. I assumed I’d have at least a few days to myself, hidden away in Miller’s house, before I had to interact with anyone. But then Sage showed up and insisted on getting to know me.
“You still need to eat lunch.”
“I’ll just eat something here. If I go out, I’ll lose momentum. Once I start writing, I need to keep going.”
“What about tonight? Are you still coming over?”
“I’m not sure. I’ll have to see how the writing’s going.”
“But you’ll let me know if you’re coming over, right?”
How am I going to let her know? I don’t have a phone. If I end up having to drive hours to find a gun I won’t make it back until late.
“Tell you what,” I say. “Don’t plan on me coming over tonight. If I’m able to, I’ll call and let you know. If you don’t hear from me it means I’m making progress on the book and can’t get away.”
“Oh. So I probably won’t see you then.” Now she sounds sad. I hate making her sad but I don’t want to say I’ll be there and then not show up.
“Probably not. But maybe tomorrow.”
“Okay.” She still sounds sad. “Then I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”
If I’m not dead by tomorrow. Going on this journey to find a gun could end up getting me killed.
CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
SAGE
I’mdisappointed I won’t be having dinner with Kyle. When I left him this morning I already couldn’t wait to see him again. That’s a sure sign I’m falling for him. I don’t normally miss a guy right after seeing him. But with Kyle it’s different and I still haven’t figured out why. I don’t know him well enough to like him this much. He still hasn’t told me much about himself and when I try to get him to talk, he shuts down.
But he did share how he felt about me. And I was shocked. I still am. He likes me far more than he was letting on but I don’t know why he decided to tell me that, knowing our relationship won’t last. But at least he said he wished it could, which makes me sad but also happy. I’m sad knowing this will end sooner than either of us wants. But I’m happy that we both like each other enough to wish this could continue longer than a few months.
All morning I’ve been trying to think of ways we could continue this relationship past the summer. We could call and text and maybe visit each other every few weeks. But traveling costs money and I barely have money for food so trips to California are definitely not in the budget.
I don’t know why I’m even thinking this way. I just met Kyle and here I am trying to find a way to see him after he leaves. I need to slow down and make this relationship what it was supposed to be. Just a casual summer romance to keep my mind off the situation I’ve found myself in.
As I’m driving home, my phone rings. Hoping it’s Kyle, I quickly answer it. But it’s not Kyle. It’s my mom.
