Real Connections

Chapter 8

Disclaimer: This chapter has intense situations, violence and curse words.

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Chapter 8

"Callie?" Detective Anderson's voice breaks through. I look up at her.

"Do you recognize them?"

A sharp pain shoots through my chest. Yeah, I recognize them. Especially Chris.

What the hell is going on?

Despite my initial reaction, I don't say anything about knowing Chris.

"I saw these two running from the store. I recognize his jacket and the mask in this one's hand."

I had to get out of here. I needed to think. How could I be so stupid? I trusted him. Our whole relationship is a lie? What, did he think winning me over would keep his ass out of trouble? Does Fiona know? That is a whole separate pain that I set aside for now.

"Do you need anything else from me?" I ask, my voice wavering.

Detective Anderson looks at me sympathetically. She escorts me out the lobby, where my mother is waiting. She asks me how everything went. I don't want to tell her yet. I am still in a weird space between denial and anger. I don't want to explain myself.

"I really just want to get home mom. Can we talk later?"

"Sure, sweetheart."

We drive home in silence, except for my mom asking me if I am okay. I tell her that I am fine, it is just overwhelming. Thankfully, she understands. As soon as we get home I head to my room and close the door. My room looks the same, minus a few things that I took with me to college. I change into a pair of sweats and a tank top before crawling under the covers. I pull the blanket over my head so that just my face is peaking out.

My thoughts jump around, weaving a web of questions. Chris always seemed so genuine. But he had to have known who I was. He drove to the gas station while his friends killed someone, then drove them away. I feel like I don't even know him. I love him... loved him... I don't know. I can't think. All I feel is betrayal.

My heart breaks into pieces and sobs make their way past my lips. I cry until my face hurts, then I fall asleep.

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CHRIS POV

Close to two years ago, I got involved with my cousins. Randy and Terry are not good people. Always in and out of jail, not caring about anyone but themselves. Except this one time. I was 18, we were at a party. Evidently some of the people were underage. There was an open bottle of liquor between me and this girl, who I later found out was only 15. The police came because of a noise complaint and decided to investigate when they saw teenagers, weed and alcohol. Since I was 18 and legally an adult, the officers were going to arrest me for "contributing to the delinquency of a minor".

It was then that Randy decided to rescue me. He took the blame, saying that it was his liquor, that he left it sitting there while he went to the bathroom. Luckily, I wasn't drunk yet, so they bought his story. I didn't know that he was going to come back and hold it over my head.

A little over a year and a half ago, my cousins showed up on my doorstep. They were coming to collect the favor I owed Randy for keeping me out of trouble at that party. Terry explained that they wanted to rob this gas station they've been casing for the past two months.

I told them to get out. Of course, they didn't listen. Randy kept pushing me, saying that I owed him. He said that no one comes to that gas station between the hours of 9pm and 10:15pm. Weirdly specific. He said that I just needed to drive to the store, keep the car running and be ready to go. They both tried to assure me, saying that no one would get hurt. Terry even threatened Fiona. He said he had a friend who would love to have her for a night.

Before Terry could even finish his sentence, my fist connected with his jaw. He stumbled back but recovered quickly, landing a blow to my stomach. I doubled over and a boot connected with my nose. I crumpled to the floor, holding my nose. They took turns kicking me with their heavy boots. Terry pushed me down, raining blows to my face. Randy pulled him off but looked at me with this evil look.

"You will be our driver tonight. Got it?"

"Fuck you." I spit out.

A boot connected with my head and everything went black.

I awoke later, on the floor, feeling like I had been hit by a car. I managed to get up and make sure I was alone. I locked up and made my way to the bathroom. My face was swollen, and I had two black eyes. Pulling up my shirt, I saw nasty bruises littering my sides and abdomen. After I got cleaned up, I grabbed an ice pack and a beer. At 8:45 there was a knock on the door. Terry and Randy had returned. They tossed me a black ski mask. Defeated, I drove them to the store.

When we pulled up, I noticed another car parked at one of the pumps. No one was supposed to be here. My cousins went in anyways and I waited, the car in drive, ready to go. I heard two gunshots and then my cousins came running out, yelling for me to go. I peeled out of the parking lot and drove to their "safehouse".

"What the fuck was that? You weren't supposed to shoot anyone!" I yelled.

"I panicked! That dude wouldn't take his hand out of his pocket! He was trying to call the police! I know it!" Terry blubbered.

"Dumbass!" Randy yelled, "You fucked us! Now we have armed robbery and attempted murder!"

"Fuck you. I shot them in the leg. If I wanted to murder them, I would've fucking murdered them!"

I tuned Randy and Terry out. I was freaking out. What did I do? How could I let them force me? I needed to get the hell away from them. I took a turn down a dirt road, then turned between some trees and drove until we came into a clearing with a rundown trailer. I pulled around the back and we went into the house. Randy handed out new clothes to put on and we put our old clothes into a trash bag to be burned later. I was sitting on the couch, trying to figure out how to get out of here when Randy passed me a bottle of whiskey. I took a swig and went to the bathroom.

When I came out, I heard Terry and Randy arguing. I took this opportunity to sneak out the back door. As soon as my feet hit the ground, I took off running. It was dark, but I managed to make it back to the dirt road we came down. I was betting on them not wanting to take the car out and risk getting caught. I made sure to keep to the trees so I would not be seen. We were pretty far away from the gas station, but I didn't know how far the police would be looking. It was really creepy out but, the adrenaline of the situation kept me going. I made it to a different gas station and used their phone to call a taxi. Thankfully, I had some cash on me. Not from the robbery, I didn't want any of that.

I couldn't bring myself to watch the news or look up anything about the robbery. I did not know what I would do if I found out someone had died. So I locked that night away and moved on. I never told Fiona. And Callie... Oh Callie. I really did not make the connection. She told me about her dad being killed in a gas station robbery gone wrong. I didn't see any girl at the gas station the night we robbed it, so I thought they were separate incidents. 

When she had a panic attack after we passed that store, I became suspicious. I wondered if they were the same robbery. But I dismissed that theory because all I saw in the store were the clerk and a man. When Callie called me to tell me about going to the police station to look at some pictures of possible suspects, alarm bells went off.

So here I am, trying to figure out if I was the getaway driver in the robbery that killed my girlfriends' father. I click on an article about a man killed. His name was James Reese. Reese is Callie's last name. I can't stop the tears that start as I read further down. It says he left behind a wife and daughter.

 Oh my god, Callie.

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AN: Thanks for coming back!