Twilight's Peak

Liam's POV

I drop Jaxon off at his house the morning after Nathan's disappearance and make my way towards my own. " Hey Siri? Call Nana." I say. She picks up and I ask her if she would like me to bring dinner home. " That sounds great sweetie love you." She says. I tell her I'm going to call the pizza joint and have them ready by the time I get there. We talk a couple of more minutes and I hang up and call Hook and Latter Pizza.
" Hello? I would like to order two large pizzas please. Make one a supreme and the other a cheese. Also, can I have an order of cheese bread? Thank you." I say.
I pull in the parking lot and it begins to rain. The weather is so crazy where we live. There's a bell above the door that dings as I open it up. "Hey, I'm here for the Halstead pick up, I call a little bit ago." I say.
They tell me that it will be a couple more minutes so I walk over to the pictures to pass the time. A smile begins to grow across my face as I see the picture of me Nathan and Jaxon trying beat the contest they had. We had to finish three large drinks and a huge pizza within an hour to have the whole meal paid for. I remember how we were bloated after finishing it all. They didn't know that three skinny teens could eat that much. My left eye was closed from the flash and it made me look kind of funny, and I laugh.
My thoughts are interrupted from a man telling me that my order was ready. I pay him and thank him. The bell dings again as I open the door and walk out and into the rain.
I place the pizza in the backseat of my truck and get inside. The rain had already stopped by the time I pulled into my neighborhood. I see the little yellow house on the right and pull into the cracked driveway. Nana is waiting for me on the front porch smoking her cigarette. She opens the front door for me and I walk inside. She puts the cigarette out and comes inside. I've never seen her smoke inside, except when papa died a few years ago.
I place the pizzas down on the dining room table and walk over to grab us some plates. "Thanks for cooking us a delicious meal honey, it looks great." She says laughing. We loved to joke about things like that.
She opens up Netflix or Netflick as she calls it to find us a good show. As she's scrolling, she tells me that they will find Nathan, and not to stress myself out over it.
"What about Locke and key?" I ask. It's suppose to be really good. She finds it and puts it on. "I've heard that too, I didn't want to start it without you though." She says. I thank her and it begins.
After my fifth slice of pizza and three breadsticks, I feel bloated. My stomach gurgles and I know I need to go to the bathroom. I get up and walk fast down the hall to the bathroom on the left. Pizza does this to me every time, but do I stop? Nope it's too good I talk to myself.
I shut the door and turn the radio on, Lady GaGa comes on and I hum to it. After I wash my hands, I open the door and walk back to the living room. Nana is snoring quietly in her chair with a half eaten pizza on her plate.
I call for our fat wiener dog Franny and he comes waddling in. I toss him the food and he catches it and runs back to his bed to eat it in peace. My eyes grow heavy, so I get up and shut the tv off. There's a blanket in the closet and I grab it to cover her up. I double check all of the locks on the house and turn to walk down the hall.
I open the door to my bedroom and the dog runs in with me. He walks up his stairs into my bed and curls up and waits for me to lay down.
I strip down of my clothes from yesterday and gab some clean clothes to sleep in. I pick my dirty clothes up and put them in the hamper in the hall.
I pull the covers back and get inside. I plug my phone up to let it charge and set it on the nightstand. I lean up and shut the light off and lay in bed. I try to sleep but my mind is wide awake. The dish remote is right next me and I grab it to turn on some background noise.
The KY3 news is on and I hear a name that sends a jolt of pain down my spine. I heard the name Nathan Adams and how his search is still continuing. I try and force myself to change the channel but can't bring myself to do so. Confusion runs through my mind and I put a pillow over my head. It has been 24 hours since his disappearance.... I think to myself.
After what seemed like a long time, I fall into a deep slumber. I don't dream about anything but I do hear whispering and laughter through the night.
I should be awake I tell myself. This feels like an eternal abyss of darkness. The laughter and stops and the whispering gets louder. Wake up, wake up! I think to myself. I try clawing at my eyes to pry them open and after a few tries, they open.
It's staring down at me watching me, studying me. I try to move but I'm frozen. My lips won't move a muscle.
There is a suitcase and an umbrella in its hands. A spider crawls out of a crack in its lips and up into its left ear. I gag at the thought of that. It drops the umbrella and it lands on my bed. With both hands he opens up the suitcase and leans it towards me. It's pitch black inside the suit case with cries for help escaping it. I begin to feel a tugging sensation on my body and I begin to float in the air towards him.
I try to stop myself but it doesn't work. I stop right at the suit case and stare right at his face.
"To know what I know, you must see what I see...", it whispers. It begins to open its mouth and a nasty black tongue comes out stretching to the bottom of my chin. There's a cold sensation from it.
The tongue begins to follow up my face and towards my eyes. I try to move and stop him but I can't.
He doesn't say it but somehow I feel what he's saying. To know what I know, you must see what I see... the tongue digs up under my right eye and I try and scream as it pulls it out and swallows it. Help me! I scream to myself. Someone please help me! The tongue comes back and repeats with my left eye.
It's total darkness surrounding me. Why didn't that hurt? I ask myself. There's a tugging sensation on me like I'm soaring through the sky at night. I see a small glimpse of light ahead. It continues to grow, now I can tell that it's two circles don't know how I can see, I must be feeling it from inside me.
It seems to be two eye balls looking out from the inside. I begin to stretch like a balloon until the eyes are normal size. I get a feeling to lean forward and as I do the eyes pop into my empty eye sockets, they fit perfectly. It feels just like when I put my contacts in, in the mornings. I blink a couple of times and everything begins to focus.
I look around and see that I'm in an elevator. The door opens and I step onto the top floor of a building. It's all clean and brand new. I can smell the fresh paint of the walls and sound of walking on a newly waxed floor. There is a faint echo to each of my steps.
I walk past the waiting room and head towards the huge oak doors leading into the conference room. "Daniel, hey. We were just talking about when you were going to ever show up.", says Bailey. I laugh and said the traffic was bad on my way back from collecting the suitcase.
I set it on the table and push in the buttons on either side. Two little clicks come from it and the lid opens up. Inside are documents signed from the president of the United States.
It was top secret, the assignments he had for us. We were to go undercover and take out those who were against us. He even funded us to start this undercover business. Everyone believes that we are business men but in reality we're agents who find out the truth about everything no matter the cost.
We continue talking about our new assignment. It's instructed for us to board a bus as soon as possible and take care of business. My wife walks in carrying a small box.
"Our new buttons came in today. Everyone put one on." She says.
Thinking to myself, I can't believe how much our "company" had grown within the past year. One by one, we all reach into the box and grab a button to keep. I toss mine into my pocket and thank her for bringing them. We begin talking about when the best time would be for us to travel and I mention at Twilights peak. It would be dark for the rest of the trip there and it would give us enough time today to go home and pack some quick things before leaving.
Everyone ponders for a second and agrees with it. My wife goes home to pack us a suit case and comes back with the newspaper for me to read. Nothing unusual besides the weather section stating there was a possibility that it could rain tonight, which isn't a big deal.
By the time we got to the bus station to purchase our tickets, it had already begun to rain a little, adding a bit of damper to the trip. Before boarding the bus, we give each the run down and sit scattered upon the bus. I find myself having to sit in the very back of the bus near the exit door. The other three including my wife were closer to the front. I Adjust the suitcase in my lap, which consisted of top secret knowledge.
As the wheels screech forward, the clouds grow angry and forces the sun to retreat, the light beginning to fade into eerie darkness.
I drum my fingers across the suitcase and look around, studying peoples face through the lights above the windows. Everyone seemed to be normal and going on with their daily lives.
I hope this is a success. If not, the president may get killed. There were speculations that there was an inside spy within the white house, threatening to send us to war. Please let this mission be a success. I keep begging myself. I close my eyes, hoping to get a little rest.
Twenty or so minutes go by, and the sound of gears grinding stirs me from my little slumber. It sounds like the engine stalled out. We come to a stop and the drive keeps reassuring that everything will be alright. A sharp feeling in my gut sends fear shooting across my body. I look out the window trying to make out where we were. The rain seemed to come down harder and faster.
This voice in my head tells me to get off the bus, that's when I hear it. The most bloodcurdling heart stopping sound came from the distance of the left side of the bus. The next thing I know, the bus drive begins to say something and gets cut off by a huge tree plowing into the side of the bus, sending us off of the road.
My wife searches for me from the middle of the bus and screams for help before we hit the ground and the middle of the bus crumples shut, killing them instantly. I try to scream, but nothing comes out but a sob. I branch comes through my window and rips open my lips. I scream in pain and the bus flips up and something lands on my legs breaking it on impact. I black out for a moment and everything stops. The water begins to fill the bus, for the next couple of minutes, the screams begin to be replaced by sudden gurgles and thrashing in the water to get out. They must be stuck I think to myself. As the water continues to rise, I beg for my soul to be saved. I call for help, begging for someone to find me. The water continues to rise until I have to force myself up to breathe.
The last thing I spit out before the water goes over my head is begging not to die alone. I quickly grab my last breath and wait for the inevitable. As the seconds grow longer, my lungs feel as if they could burst; I just let go. The water enters my lungs and I feel myself choking.I claw at my throat, trying to gasp for air. It burns! I keep thinking to myself, please don't let me die alone. As I begin to slip off, I begin to see a white light. Before I can step in, something holds me back.
"You have been answered... you shall not die alone..." death whispers like the howling winds in a wintery storm," you must wait till the right person comes along. Someone who is suffered enough....For now, you wait... alone"
"Please no! Don't do this!" I plead.
"Tis too late... " it says. Before slipping back into the shadows. The light is replaced by water and I feel myself beginning to drown all over again. 'Tis too late...' haunts my thoughts as I sit in this eternal abyss of loneliness.
Tis too late
I awake in a cold sweat, my sheets soaked. I focus in on the tv and see that it's 3:33 in the morning, a storm bellowing outside my window. My eyes burn like I had looked under the water in a pool. I realize that I slept in my contacts. I force myself out of the cold bed and over to the small bathroom off of my room. It only had a sink and a toilet, but it was all mine. I pluck the contacts out of my eyes and stare at the mirror.
Staring back at me was a petrified boy, soaked with sweat. I quickly turn the faucet on and splash cool water across my face, sending a small amount of relief. I shut the light off and walk back into my room. I strip out of my sweet drenched clothes and quickly put on a dry set.
Standing for a moment, I stare at the bed, trying to wrap my head around my dream or more so nightmare.
I pull the bottom sheet off of the bed and begin to strip my bed. By the time I got back into my room, the clock read 3:57. I can't go back to sleep. I get the sudden urge to go for a run. My track shoes were in my closet, I pull the black adidas out and grab a pair of black socks out of the second drawer of my dresser. I quickly pull the socks up and push my feet into the shoes to lace up. I grab my phone and Franny watches me from his bed in the floor and I shut my light back off. I quietly make my way to living room where nana was still sleeping. I walk through the dining room and into the laundry room to open the door into the garage. I check the little stone by the door outside to make sure the spare key was still there.
I lock the door behind me and find myself at the end of the driveway. I turn left and begin at a slight jog, the cool damp air opens my lungs. The street lights were still on, I turn left again and find myself speeding up, as if I were being chased by a wolf.
As I continue running through the quiet neighborhood, I try wrapping my head around my dream. What did it mean? Who was that? What do I do? Where is Nate? My mind is running a million miles a second trying to find something.... Anything.
As I round the the top of the hill near the old baseball field, I freeze dead in my tracks. There in front of me, nearly hidden against the shadows of the tree, it stood there watching me.
A man with a suitcase and umbrella stood there, as if it belonged to the shadows, longing to be let loose. I rub my eyes and to my surprise, it's gone. I frantically turn around searching for any sign of it. Nothing.
I pull my phone out and the clock reads 4:59. I turn, finally giving up, and find myself running back the way I came. What I going on? I think to myself. By the time I got back to the house, the moon had begun to sink upon the starry sky. I pull the key out of the rock and unlock the side door of the garage. I'm drenched in sweat again and I turn to put the key back. I hear the sound of the coffee pot as I open the door into the laundry room. Nana must be up for her morning coffee.
She spots me coming in and asked me where I went. I tell her I had a nightmare and I couldn't go back to sleep, so I went for a run instead. She asks me if I want to talk about it and I just shake my head. She says that it's okay but she's there if I wanted to talk. I thank her and give her a quick side hug, careful not to get her all sweaty.
I find myself in the hall bathroom with the shower turned on high, waiting for the perfect temperature of scorching. I grab a towel from the closet and peal out of my nasty clothes. As I stand under the cascading water, I feel the warm water working it's way through my muscles. I find myself able to relax and clear my mind. A good forty minutes go by, and I finally shut the almost cold water off. I used all of the hot water up but it was worthy it. I quickly dry myself off with the white towel and wrap it around my waist, hanging off of my hips.
I quickly brush my teeth and floss my teeth and clean my ears.
Before opening the bathroom door, I look in the mirror and whisper, " You the man."
I turn to the left and walk to my bedroom door. I open it back up and walk over to my dresser to get dressed. After a few minutes, the smell of bacon and eggs drift down the hall and fill my room. Nana must have started breakfast. I quickly turn and find myself standing in the small kitchen watching her.
"How many eggs would you like?" She asks sweetly.
I tell her two bad she instantly pops the yoke, she knows I don't like runny eggs. I can see some biscuits in the open being baked and the orange juice carton already set up on the table. I grab a glass from the cabinet and begin to pour my cup.
A couple more minutes go by and nana pulls out the tray of biscuits and puts my eggs and bacon onto a pale blue plate with bird designs in it. I grab a fork from out of the drawer and hand her one too. She thanks me turns to finish flipping her eggs.
I pull the old wooden chair out from under the table and sit down. The cold spindles send goosebumps across my naked back. I pick up a hearty piece of bacon and begin munching on it. With each bite, I savor the taste.
"Thanks nana, this is great." I say.
She smiles and says," Anything for my precious grand baby."
As the morning grew older, it begun to fall into the the late afternoon. Jaxon was home babysitting his sisters why his mom rested and dad worked. That left me alone, I pull my phone out and call Nathan. I didn't expect an answer, I just wanted to hear his voice Mail. We had set it up last Christmas and you could hear Jax and I in the background goofing off while Nate was trying to set it up. I never realized he left it that way.
My phone pings and I see that Brynn texted.
Heyy. Sorry I just got back from camping. She says. I tell her it was no problem and that I hoped she had a blast. She also tells me that she heard about Nathan and that she hopes they find him and that if I needed anything, she'd help in any way. I thank her and quickly change the subject over to tomorrow night. I was actually kind of nervous to go on the date. She says she can't wait for it. I replied me either.
All of a sudden, Jaxon's face pops across my phone and I answer.
"Hey man, what's up?" I ask.
"Hey, I just got off the phone with Callie, she said she took Sam to the hospital; he passed out and wouldn't wake up. It's been over a day." He says.
I talk a few more minutes and tell him I would come up as soon as I could. He agreed and said that he was going to go to. I thank him for letting me know and hang up.
Nana was just getting into the shower, I'll tell her when she gets out. I force myself up from the couch and open the back door to sit on the porch swing. I dial Brynn's number and after the second rings, she picks up.
"Hey, what's up?"she says with her raspy voice.
"Oh nothing, I just wanted to talk to you. So I was thinking, how does Pizza sound? And we could walk the landing." I ask.
"That actually sounds like fun!" She says.
As the minutes pass by, I find myself calming down with everything that's going on. Every time we mentioned something that was fun, I would find myself thinking about Nathan. I promise we'll fine you buddy. I reassure myself constantly.
A woman's voice calls for Brynn ending our phone call. She quickly says she has to get off and help her mom with unpacking and says goodbye. I repeat it back to her and soon after the only sound left is the phone hanging up and my own breathing. A noice comes from inside the house and I hop out of the porch swing to go see if nana was out yet. In her pink robe, with her short damp hair hung right above her shoulders.
"Hey nana, Jax called and said that Callie had to take Sam to the hospital. He passed out and wouldn't respond back or wake up." I tell her.
"We better go check on them, let me finish getting dressed and we'll be on our way. I love you babydoll" she says.
" I love you too!" I say, with a now wake heart.
I walk Down the hall and turn left into my bedroom to throw on a shirt and grab my shoes. I pull out a navy shirt from the closet and some black socks from the dresser. Franny watches me as I sit on the bed to put my Twisted X's on. He waddles over to me and licks my hand. I scratch the back of his ear and tell him that he's a good boy.
Five minutes go by, and nana comes out of her room dressed in her pink blouse that had ruffles around the neck. She pokes her head in and asks if I'm ready. I push myself off the bed and nod my head.
"Okie dokie then, let's roll." She says and gently pats my chest.
I grab my Yankees hat and follow behind her. She reaches over to the end table next to the front door and grabs her keys to her Cadillac Deville. She unlocks the car and I open my door to sit in the passenger seat. She double checks to make sure she has everything and starts the car up and turns to look behind her and back up.
Nana zones in to her music and starts humming along as I stare out of the window. The sky was as bright as it could be with not a cloud in sight. An old couple passes us in there little mini van and they looked to be singing along to a song. I think to myself, that's how I want to be when I'm old. Not a care in the world about anybody's opinion. Just the sight of them makes me smile.
We only loved about 15 minutes away from the hospital in Branson. Nana turns her blinker on and she begins to take the exit to the hospital. I see the huge sign that reads Cox.
Nana pulls into the handicap parking spot and makes sure her pass was hanging across the mirror. She shuts the car off and tosses her keys into her purse. I open my door and step out onto the concrete. I lean on the car and stretch my legs. Tall guys like me weren't meant to ride in cars like that. I complain to myself. Nana loved her little caddi though.
I follow beside nana as she makes her way to the sliding glass doors and into the waiting room or the first floor. I remember Jax saying they were on the second floor and I tell nana. She thanks me and we turn towards the elevators. She presses the up button and after a moments wait, the doors slide open and a man walks out with a burdened face. He excused himself and walks past us and into the bathroom. God please don't give us bad news. I plead in my head.
The quiet elevator music plays as we journey up to the floor above us.
Ding!
The doors slide open and nana steps out first. I follow behind her and follow her up to the front desk.
"Hello ma'am, we're here for Samuel Adams. Could you tell us which room he's in? Thank you." Nana says sweetly.
"Ma'am, it seems they are in room 208. Which is that way," she points to the right and through the double doors," you'll take that hall and then take a right and then follow the numbers until your there. If you have any questions, I'll be here. Have a great day!" She says.
The phone rings and she picks it up. Nana thanks her and we then to walk down the hallway.
"How you feeling Liam?" She asks.
" I'm doing okay nana. I could be doing better, but I'm okay. How are you?" I ask back.
She gives me a squeeze from the side and says that she's doing well, and that if I needed anything that she'd be there for me.
I spot Jaxon sitting on a bench with his little sisters. They spot me and wave.
"Liam!" They both squeal.
" How's my little princess's doing?" I ask.
They both reply with great and they tug on my arms to sit down with them. Jaxon smiles and says what's up.
"Oh you know, nothing much. Is that your mom I see in the room? Is she suppose to be out?" I ask concerned.
He just shrugs and says that he didn't know why she would come. She knows the risk.
"Mom felt she needed to be there for Callie cause you know... with everything that's going on." He says and looks at his feet for a moment.
We begin talking hushed so the twins couldn't hear us and I mention my nightmare.
"Something isn't right Jax. I can feel it. I had this dream and.... I.... Just.." I gulp and finish," there was this bus and it crashed and this person was the only one left alive and he was begging to not die alone."
Jaxon listens with a terrified but serious face.
" That's not it though, there was this voice that kept saying you won't die alone. And then I was the person and I kept drowning over and over..." I say with a tremble in my voice.
Jaxon thinks for a moment and then asks if I was okay. I nod my head and reassure him I'm all good.
"You know, that's very weird, I'm not going to lie. I don't know what that means.... Ugh sorry changed the subject." He says abruptly and points with his eyes telling me that the twins were starting to listen to us.
Jax begins asking me about Brynn and how everything is going. I tell him about her again and how she said she would go on a date with me. I talk about how we plan on eating pizza tomorrow night and walking the landing. The whole time, Jaxon made comments about how that was sweet or cool and how he hoped it all went well. I could tell he was a little bummed about talking about Brynn because Jayci had left for Spain for the summer. As I talk, I notice Jax zoning out. I ask him a question and his face has a dazed expression. I pause for a few seconds waiting for him to return to earth.
His eyes focus back in and he apologizes. He said that he saw a kid with the same shirt that Nate wore when he had first met him. That leads me to thinking of when I met them. We had just moved from Harrison which was only like 30 minutes away from here. We all had the same class together and I don't even remember how it happened, but there was an instant connection and we had been the best of buds, all three of us, ever since.
The best thing about Nathan was that he was so down to earth and humble that it wasn't even funny. He always had my back. Jax was the same way, he had my back. He was the goofball in the friendship.
"I need to go potty!" Jordan said jumping from her spot.
Jaxon smiles at them and states it's potty time. I laugh and stand to follow them.
"You too be good okay? In and out. I'll wait for you right here." Jax says firmly.
We talk a moment longer waiting for the girls to run out together when my phone rings. I pull my coral iPhone out to see that nana was calling.
"Hey what's up?" I ask.
She says that we had to go, cause we still needed to go by the cemetery and drop flowers off. I tell her I'll be right there.
"Hey bud, I've got to go. Call me if you need anything. Tell the girls bye for me." I says and he smiles and says goodbye.
I turn and walk back down the hallway and see nana waiting for me by the chairs. She gives me a little squeeze and smiles sweetly before turning and walking to the elevators. She presses the down button and I step in after her. The same little elevator music was still playing.
By the time we made it to the car, nana and I were talking about what kind of flowers we should get and before I answer, I could tell she already knew. Every year she asked and, and I always said roses. It was her favorite flower and I remember them being in the kitchen.
I sure do miss her though. It had been five years to the day she had died in car accident. She had lost control of her car in a storm, while coming home from work. I had been at my old house while nana had watched me. I remember waiting and doing homework, when the blue lights begun to show through the windows. Nana met a young office at the door and had broke the news to us. That was the worst I had ever hurt. I had no siblings and my father ran off when I was born, never heard from him. That's why I moved to Hollister, cause I moved in with nana. She had always took care of me and mom.
That's why Nathan being missing, has left this numb feeling. He's like the brother I never had. The family I always wanted but never had. Him and Jaxon were my brothers. And Callie and Karen, we're his moms. They knew it too.
Nana pulls into the flower shop a few miles from the cemetery and I open my door to go get them. She tries handing me money but I swiftly decline. I turn and shut my door and walk to the double glass doors. There's a loud ding as the bell gets tapped from the door. There's a middle aged woman with coffee colored skin doing inventory. She greets me warmly and turns back to her job.
I turn right down the second isle and spot the ones I want. Huge roses with every shade of red you could imagine. My heart jumps just from thinking about mom. These are the ones she'd want. I grab them from the box and walk up to the front to pay. The middle aged woman walks up to the desk and asks if that was all I wanted. I told her yes and thanked her.
"Are those for a special someone?" She asks with a smile. Hinting at possibly a girlfriend.
"Yes.. they're for my mom, we're visiting her today." I say back and smile.
She opens her mouth to say something, but glances over to the side where the cemetery was. Instantly she realizes and catches herself. She hands me back my money and says that they're on the house. I try to tell her it was okay but she wouldn't take no for an answer.
"Well, thank you for the flowers. They're beautiful." I say thankfully.
"You're welcome young man. Have a great rest of your evening." She smiles with sweet smile but saddened eyes.
I wave at her as I walk out and she waves back. Nana was lighting a cigarette by the time I opened the door and sat down to buckle up.
"We'll babydoll, are you ready?" She asks and takes a big puff before putting the car into reverse.
I tell her yes and pull my seat belt over me to click in. There was a few people scattered among the cemetery as we parked the car and began walking. Nana walked slower because of the uneven terrain and roots. She shoo's me on and tells me to go ahead. I try helping her but she won't take no for an answer.
I find moms head stone at the very end of the row, right under a huge maple tree. Right next to her was a grave that still didn't have grass over it yet. I read the name Aiden Phillips. He had died this year in February. I remember watching the news and seeing his face come across the screen. I used to go to school with him before I left Harrison. We weren't friends, but he was always really nice when we saw each other. He was literally a couple of weeks older than me. My heart aches for a second and it just makes me think of Nathan. He was someone's best friend, brother. Please let Nathan come back to us.
I hear nana coming up from behind me and she smiles at me. And looks at the head stone I was.
"His dad killed him." She says with a bitter look on her face.
A few seconds go by and we turn our attention over to my moms grave. The name Amy Pierce engraved across the top. Below her name is a picture of her and I hugging each other. The picture was taken the last birthday she had with me. A small tear trickles out of my eye and I place the roses on the ground in front of her.
Nana gives me a tight squeeze and says, " She was a wonderful woman. I loved her like my own. More than I can say about my real son."
I wrap my arm around her and hang on. We finally begin exchanging what all was going on in our lives right now and what she had missed out this year.
The sun had just dipped under the huge trees as we made it back to the car. I asked nana if she would like me to drive and she nods her head. I could tell she was tired. She hands me her keys and I walk around to the drivers side. I put the key into the ignition and grab my seat belt to pull over me. I look over and nana is clicking hers in. The car starts with a quiet purr and I put the car into gear. I put the blinker on left and pull out onto the road.
By the time I pulled into the neighborhood, the sun had been replaced with the bright full moon and I stare for a second. I round the sharp corner and spot our house up the driveway. I quickly pull into the driveway and park the car in front of the garage door. Nana opens her door and pulls herself out of the seat and into the cracked concrete. I lock the car doors and walk in front of her to unlock the front door. The smell of pine cones fills my senses as I step up into the house. The smell never got old. Nana steps up into the house behind me and walks over to her chair to rest. I drop the keys into the bowl and quickly walk down the hall to use the restroom. By the time I got back in the living room, she was already snoring softly. Franny had already climbed up into his spot in her lap.
I walk into the laundry room to check the puppy pad and see that he had pooped and peed since we had been gone. I grab the pad by the corners and toss it into the trash. I quickly wipe the area down with disinfecting wipes and place a new pad down.
I pull my phone out and see that Jaxon had called me twice. I open my phone to call him and he picks up.
" Something with mom. She was in the floor with blood coming out of her mouth. I'm on my way to the hospital right now. Liam, I'm freaking out. What do I do?" He says with almost a sob.
With as much panic growing inside me, I tell him that I'm going to pray. For the next minute, I pray with him. For safe travels, and for his moms health.
God please let her be okay... I think to myself.
I hear Jason's voice again and he thanks me. I tell him I'll be up as quick as I can and hang up with him. I turn to tell nana but she was dead asleep, snoring still. I grab my truck keys from the bowl and open the front door to leave. I lock it back and practically race to my truck. I open the truck door and place the key in the ignition. My truck may not be new, but it sure could get me from point A to point B.
Rihanna begins to play on the radio as I back out of the driveway. Some way to start the summer huh? I think to myself. My phone rings and I see that Brynn was calling.
"Hey how's it going?" I ask.
" It's going pretty well, I was just bored and wanted to talk with someone. What are you up to?" She asks.
" My friend's mom is in the hospital and I and driving up to be with my friend." I say.
" I thought you said your friends brother was in the hospital and that you went to visit today." She says confused.
" Oh my friends little brother is in the hospital too. That's Nate's brother Sam, I went and checked on him at the hospital earlier today. This is my other friend Jax's mom, she has cancer and she's very sick." I say with a slight tremble at the end.
" I'm sorry... I didn't mean to pry.." she says with a concerned apology.
I tell her that it was no problem and that she didn't have to worry about anything. It had just been a stressful couple of days. She continues talking and I honestly don't know how I didn't wreck and die cause I zoned the hell out. By the time her voice shook me from my trance, I found myself parked in a parking lot. Curious to where I am, I shut the truck off and grab my keys and turn to see that I was parked on the south building of the hospital.
" Hey Brynn... I've got to go. Sorry. " I say and hang up.
She says it's no problem and wishes me luck before I did.
Each step towards the door shook as I made it to the front desk. I can barely her myself as I ask for Karen Grey and she looks her up in the system. For a slight moment, her face paused and she looked up at me and said that she was on the fourth floor.
I turn and begin walking to the elevators. The doors slide open and an old couple steps out of the way. They both smiled at me and I return a quick smile back and press the button to the fourth floor. This elevator music was different than the hospital in Branson.
Ding!
The doors slide open and I walk the out into the waiting room. I look over to see Jax and his family crying softly. My feet feel like lead as I force myself to walk over to them. I dread what I'm about to hear. Jax's dad glances over and spots me. With tearful eyes rimmed red, his eyes meet mine. Oh God... I think to myself. Without anything to say, I already know what he's going to say. She didn't make it.
I sit next to Justin and he pulls me in for a tight hug. The tears begin to fall from my face and leaving a wet spot on my knees. There were no words said, but none were needed. I lost the second mom I had ever known. Some doctor comes back up to us and asks to speak with Justin alone and he quickly sniffles and wipes his wipes with his blackened stained hands. He walks off leaving Jaxon and the twins sitting to my left. I try to speak but no words would form. What do I say? I think to myself. The only thing I can think of is grabbing his shoulder and giving it a lungful squeeze, showing that I'm here for him.
The twins both had red faces but were sleeping across Jax's lap. I pull the hat off my head and squeeze tightly, waiting.
Finally after what seemed forever, Justin walks back into the lobby with a plastic bag filled with something. The ring at the bottom of the bag catches my eye. Those must be Karen's things. I quickly advert my eyes and look up to meet Justin's expression. You couldn't see his expression through his bushy beard but his eyes were filled with sorrow. He finds his place next to me and the others once again and let's put a long filled sigh.
My stomach begins to cramp, I need to eat something. I force myself out of the seat and excuse myself and walk over to the area with vending machines, I spot one with a sandwich and I pull my debit card out and buy the last two. One was turkey and Swiss, and the other one was ham and American. I open the now unlocked door and grab both of them and turn to head back inside.
I offer one to Justin and he takes it and thanks me for it. He tries to pull his wallet out to pay be but I decline.
"It's not biggie Justin. I promise." I say.
He thanks me again and I peel back the plastic and grab one of the diagonally cut sandwich. The turkey was cold and tasted peppery. I offer my other half to Jax but he just shakes his head slightly. The clock on the wall had read 9:58p.m. and I knew that I really needed to be heading home. I finish the other half of my sandwich and reluctantly push myself out of the seat.
"Is there anything I can do?" I ask before having to leave.
He shakes his head and thanks me for coming up here to be with them. I tell him of course, because they were his family. With the word family, his face makes a puzzled face and then sighs.
"I still have to call the rest of the family and our friends... I hadn't even thought of it when Jaxon had called me to come up quickly." He says with a strain.
He lifts his fist to give a small bump before I turned to leave. Even at the worst time, Justin always knew how to make me feel better. I bump his fist too and say goodbye.
I find myself standing outside outside in the humid dark with a line of sweat forming across my face. I pull my phone out to call nana as I walk to my truck. The phone dials for a few seconds and she finally picks up.
"Hey sweetie where did you go?" She asks.
"Jax called me and said that his mom was in the hospital... I came up to be with them." I say and choke down a sob.
"Oh baby, is everything okay? Are you?" She asks with her soothing voice.
"Nana... Karen.. she didn't make it..." I fore out and choke up.
"Oh baby... I'm so sorry." She says with empathy.
I tell her that I need to get off cause I'm about to leave the parking lot. She tells me to drive safe and she'll see me when I get home.
The drive one was long and quiet. I kept the radio off and just listened to the hum of my truck's engine. Our street finally comes into view. I read the name Rushing Drive as my headlights reflect off of the sign.
The living room light was on as I pulled into the driveway and parked my truck. Nana met me at the front door and held her arms open for me. Instantly I was weeping in her arms like a little baby. I hadn't cried like this since my moms funeral, even when my grandpa died it just wasn't the same. We stand there a solid minute just hugging.
I finally push back and wipe the snot from my dripping nose. Nana wipes a stray tear or two from her face and cups my face with her soft wrinkled hands.
"Baby doll, it's all going to be okay." She reassures me and I thank her.
She give my face a gentle squeeze and I step up into the house. She shuts and locks the front door before turning and asking if I wanted anything to eat. I shake my head.
"No Nana, I think I'm just going to go to bed. Thank you though. I love you." I say and give her a swift hug.
She pats me on my back and says alrighty and says goodnight.
I open my bedroom door and the fat dog runs in behind me and I turn the light on. Just how I had left it with fresh sheets and no top blanket. I kick my shoes off and pull my shirt over my head and toss it on the floor. Fall forward into my bed and hold my breathe... just as my lungs begin to burn, I release the air out and let out a long sigh.
I try closing my eyes and sleeping but the room is too bright, I left the stupid light on.
"Dammit!" Is spit out irritated and force myself to lean up and grab the cord from the ceiling fan.
I lay back down on the bed and stare up at the pitch black void. The quiet ticking of the ceiling fan lull's me into dreariness and I feel my eyes begin to grow heavy and close.
I'm awoken to the sound of water and I instantly feel something off. I feel something move and I slap it off of me. I peel my eyes open to see that I'm laying in tall grass. The sound of a car driving over head draws my attention. This is the bridge by Nathan's house, the one where he went missing. I stand out of the mashed down grass and turn to look around my surroundings. All I see is the water flowing down the creek, and the huge trees in front of me. Staring at me, almost like they were teasing me. The next thing I heard sent an ice chill through my whole body, causing me to shiver.
"Help me Liam... help me..." said the unmistakably voice of Nathan. He sounded like he was in pain and scared.
"Nathan! Where are you?" I yell back, " Nathan!"
I awake gasping for air with the sun beaming through my window. What do I do? I think to myself, trying desperately to come up with anything. I grab my phone from my pocket, i guess I slept with it last night. The battery was close to dead and it had read 2:23 pm. Nana must have let me sleep in. Partially grateful but kind of aggravated that I slept through half of the day. Brynn had tried calling and texted.
She said that she just found out about Jaxon's mom and that she was really sorry. She then texted that she understood if I didn't want to go on our date tonight. Reading that made me remember I've got a date tonight. I send her a quick paragraph about how I just woke up and that tonight was still on. I swipe up and open the phone app to call Jax. After several seconds, it goes to an automated voicemail that he never set up.
I guess I need to get up and take a shower and brush my teeth, my breath reeked. I open the drawer on my dresser to grab some clothes and I open my door to walk down the hallway. The house was silent, nana must have went to work. I turn the water on hot and wait for it heat up. A good thirty minutes later, I find myself staring at the mirror in the bathroom as I brush my teeth. I spit the toothpaste into the sink and rinse with mouth wash before grabbing the hairbrush and brushing my hair to the sides. I made sure my hair was parted in the middle before calling it good and unlocked the bathroom door to leave.
I toss my cloths into the hamper and walk back into my room to get dress. I make sure my phone is plugged up and charging. I grab my deodorant to put on and pick up the little bottle of cologne to dab on. I grab a grey t-shirt and throw it on. I walk over to the nightstand and pick up my glasses and push them onto my face.
By the time I grabbed my phone, the time was 3:18. I didn't have to pick her up into around 4:00. Franny was in the living room lounging in his bed as I walk in and his face lights up. I sit down in the chair and scratch behind his ears before grabbing the remote to turn on the tv. I put on The Conjuring to pad the time before I had to go. The seconds drug on and turned to minutes that finally went by. I walk back into my room and quickly grab my Hey Dudes and shut the light off. Franny follows me to the front door as I open it to leave. I grab the keys from the bowl and turn to see in front of me.
"Buddy you can't go with me, sorry." I say and pat his face before shutting and locking the door. The sky was scattered with huge fluffy clouds, making the temperature a little cooler. There was a light breeze blowing through the trees. I walk over to the truck and put the key in the lock and open my door. I quickly start the ol gmc to start cooling down. The radio was still off from last night. I turn the volume up to hear post Malone playing. I think it was called 'Circles'.
Brynn only lived about five minutes away on the other side of the neighborhood, which was good news for me. I could see her a bunch and not be far from home.
I whip my truck out onto the street and step on the gas to pick her up. We all had similar houses in this neighborhood but Brynn's house had been recently remodeled. It was like the best one. I see her grey Nissan kicks parked on the street and I put my blinker on to pull into the driveway. I check my self in the mirror one last time before opening my truck door and walking up to the porch. The front door was a solid black door with these little details engraved in it.
The doorbell rings and I hear the sound of somebody coming to open it. There's a little girl no older than seven opens the door and looks straight at me and slams the door shut.
"Okay...little bitch." I mutter under my breath.
A few seconds go by and the door opens again and this time it was Brynn dressed in a baby blue cardigan with white pants and converse.
"Sorry about that Liam, that was my little sister. She can be a brat sometimes." She says.
I just choke on my words for a second and clear my throat.
"Oh... that's no problem. Haha... you look very pretty tonight." I say nervously.
She blushes and thanks me. Her short light brown hair moved with the wind, making her look like a goddess.
"So shall we?" I ask as. I walk over to her door and open it.
She thanks me pulls herself up into the seat. I shut the door and walk over to my side and hop up into the seat also. I put the truck into reverse and back out of her driveway as she starts making small talk. It was something about school and how she was excited for our senior year. I was ready to be done with school. If I hadn't have been held back in kindergarten, I would have been out of here this year. I think to myself.
The whole way to the landing, I made sure to keep talking and listen and add little comments so she wouldn't think I was ignoring her.
The roundabout comes up in front of us and I turn right to get on the bridge to take us there. It was packed tonight. I swear we drove five minutes looking for a parking spot. Finally when I was ready to call it quits and park at the very back, some expensive truck backs out and I replace it with my truck. Brynn opens the door and I follow her lead. Both doors shut and I lock them to make sure nobody would break into my truck.
We first started down the long landing and begun windows hopping. I spotted the fudge factory and we both walk inside. I saw her face light up so I knew this was a smart choice. I ask the boy about my age if we could buy some fudge.
"Sure thing guys, what kind would y'all like tonight? I recommend the chocolate with mini mnm's, it's my favorite." He says charismatic.
"That does sound good. Give us two of those please." I say.
Brynn studies the flavors and asks for the sea salt dark chocolate and the Oreo one. I got peanut utter with Reese's and cheesecake. By the end of it, I hand the boy a twenty and a five and he hands me back my change. There were a couple of tables outside and Brynn followed me out to one.
I open the box and hand her one of the pieces of fudge. She takes s small bite out of the Oreo one and savors it.
"Oh my god...this is literally heaven in my mouth." She says pointing at it.
I laugh and pick up the cheesecake one and take a huge bite out of it.
"Of my fughh...oh man." I say with a mouth full.
She giggles and asks me if I want to try hers. I hand her the one I had and try some of hers. It was really good too but it sure didn't beat the cheesecake one. Man....I think to myself. She agrees with me and savers every bite of it.
By the time we had finished tasting all of the flavors, I checked my phone and it was almost 5:00. I was going to take us to Hook and Latter but I thought the new Paula Dean restaurant would be better.
As we slowly made out way down the street, our arms were loaded down with things that were bought here and there. Like fudge, another candy shop we hit, Brynn bought a pair or sun glasses and shoes and I got me a new pair of sun glasses too.
By the time we got to the restaurant, my arms were tired from carrying everything. Some old man greeted up and asked how many. I told him two and he said that we have a booth open if we'd like that. We both agreed and followed behind him. The restaurant was pretty neat inside. It was so clean and bright.
The man sat us down in a booth towards the back of the place.
"What will y'all be having to drink tonight?" He asks.
I said a Dr. Pepper and Brynn wanted a Sprite. He said that he'd have those right out and walked off to retrieve those. Momentarily, he returns with our drinks and some menus for us to look at. Brynn grabs hers and begins looking through it all. I grab mine and instantly spot fried chicken and I wanted to get mashed potato's and steamed broccoli with mine. Brynn chose the meatloaf and got corn and Mac and cheese for her sides. The man jots down on his notepad and says that he would have those delivered as soon as he could.
Brynn brings up me being stressed and said that if I wanted to talk that she would listen, I thanked her. I sit in silence for a few seconds and finally open my mouth to speak. It's been hard this week, maybe even one of the hardest weeks of my life. I best friend, my brother, goes missing one day. Then, the second mom I ever had lost her battle to cancer last night, it was a sore subject.
" You know Brynn, I think this week has been the hardest weeks that I've ever had to go through. But everything happens for a reason right?" I tell her.
She looks at me with her soft green eyes and says,"I believe you're right. Everything happens for a reason. I do know that though. Everything happens in life. Every choice we makes helps determine our future."
Her hand was on the table and I reach over and gently squeeze it, thanking her. I eventually bring up how I start my job for the summer tomorrow and I'm not going to lie, its boring. I'm already dreading it.
"I'm actually doing an internship at the local vet clinic. That's what I want to do when I grow up." She says with a sparkle in her eye.
Our food comes out on these huge platters that take up the whole table. I have to move my water and phone over to make room. I notice Brynn had to do the same. Her purple iPhone had a splintered crack along the back of it. The chicken was cooked so perfect, that it fell right off the bone. And the mashed potatoes were possibly the best that I had ever eaten in my life, and my nana was a great cook. Brynn kept savoring the Mac and cheese. It had toasted bread crumbs on top and it was so cheesy. Even my steamed broccoli was probably the best I had ever had. It wasn't too soft, but not too crunchy. It had the percent consistency of flavor and texture.
My flat stomach was replaced with this bulging mound of food in my stomach and I lean back trying to get comfortable. Even though Brynn didn't eat as much as I did, she sure looked like she was about to pop. All of the Mac and cheese had been devoured. The whole time though, we just literally talked random shit that was feeding the fire of a grand time. Rosalie was amazing, but I never had this with her.
The waiter comes back over us finally and asks us how the meal was. I found myself stumbling with my words, trying to find the best way to describe such good food.
"Sir, I think this was the best food I've ever had." I say, alone with Brynn agreeing.
The waiter smiles with content and hands me the bill. It was $122.67 for everything and I about shit myself. Son of a bitch, I think to myself. I do my best hiding my facial expression and pull my wallet out to pay for it. Brynn tries grabbing the receipt and i quickly pull it back and say I've got it. I hand the waiter my debit card and he hurries off to run it through the register. I pull out a twenty dollar bill and leave it under the cup.
"This was too much Liam, let me pay for half of it." She asks.
I shake my head and said that I wanted to do this, it really wasn't a big deal.
"You were worth it." I say.
Man though, $300 on one date, that was pretty pricey. I didn't tell her that but dam Liam, watch what you spend. I think to myself. The waiter hands me my card back and wishes us a great rest of the evening. I scoot to the right to stand and wait for Brynn to get up.
By the time we made it back to the truck, the sun had already set under the trees in the distance. We stopped at a couple other shops but really found ourselves talking and heading back to the truck. I shine the light on my phone as I open the side door for Brynn to get in, making sure nobody was under there trying to cut us.
"Were you checking for a mugger under the truck?" She asks.
I not my head and tell that I didn't want to end the perfect date on a bad hand. She looks me in the eyes and leans in to kiss me across the lips. The feeling is like fireworks, her lips were the perfect cooling temperature with this smell of strawberries. She holds the kiss for a solid seven seconds. My lucky number....I think to myself.
"I've never had a guy do that for me ever. That's so thoughtful." She says finally after kissing me.
Her kissing me sent my hearts into overdrive, it was like being on a thrilling rollercoaster, I never wanted to get off. I start my truck and back out of our parking spot as she continues talking me up about shining my light to make sure she could get in my truck safely. I finally ask what her parents do for a living. I don't even know how I forgot to ask. She says that her dad is a sales person at a ford dealership in Springfield, and he has such a heart of gold. She said he was one of the kindest person that she had ever known. . Her mom worked at the targets as the manager or something like that, she said that her mom was really sweet but could be a bitch when she needed to. She was above almost everyone, so she has to use her authority to get what needs done.
Brynn finally asks me what my parents are like. She knew I lived with my nana but I never told her why. I start with how my dad, which is my nana's own son ran off shortly after I was born and never came back. My mom was forced to raise me by myself and my nana helped her as much as she could. She was the daughter that she had never got and loved her more than her own son. I tell her how my mom had died in my sixth grade year and I had to move in with my nana and grandpa. It was the three of us until my grandpa died a couple of years ago. My nana and grandpa had opened their own business when they were in their twenties and that's where she still works, keeping everything in line. Which is where I'm going to be working too.
Part of me was sad of my past, but every hint happens for a reason and I wouldn't change it for anything. I would have never moved over here and met my two best friends and found my second families. Brynn and I continue talking about family and begin talking about the expectations in our families. My nana wants me to take over the family business, but I don't want to be stuck with something that isn't my true calling.
"I totally understand Liam, my mom expects me to go to this pristine schooling across the country to get as much education as I can but I don't want to. I just want to be like a vet nurse. She's very hard to talk to at times, so these past couple of weeks had been straining." She says and sighs.
We sit in silence just thinking. No words were needed, just each other's presence was enough. I wind through the sharp turns and steep roads till I spotted the beginning of our neighborhood. Brynn was more on the north side and I was in the very back on the South side. I don't remember ever feeling this way with anybody before. There was just something about Brynn that was very promising. The lights on her house were still on and I pull into the driveway.
"Hey, sorry for not talking the rest of the way home. I honestly enjoyed just being in your presence. So thank you for that," I say," but seriously though, I had the best time. So thank you for going on a date with me."
"Oh I totally understand, the date was amazing and I want to hang out with you again. And your presence was pretty amazing too, I was at a loss for words, but none were needed being around you...Again, thank you for this amazing night, I had such a blast."
She opens her door to get out and I walk her up to her front door. We talk about the date again, clearly it was a success. She steps up onto her porch and turns to look back at me, a foot taller this time. With a mischievous smile, she grabs my shirt and pulls me in for another kiss. I spot a pair of eyes looking at us through the window next to the door. Brynn lets up for air and stares into my eyes. I push my glasses back onto my face and she giggles.
"I think your little sister is getting a show." I say and point to the window with my eyes.
She laughs and kisses me quickly once more before turning to reach for the front door. I slowly walk backwards, waving to her as she steps into her house. I turn around and continue walking over to my truck. She waves to me as I back out onto the street and she shuts the door, her little sister poking her head through the door as well. With a little smile, I put my truck into gear and drive off.
Nana was already sleep in her room by the time I had opened the front door and walked in. I quickly tossed my keys into the bowl and turn to lock the front door and dead bolt it. Franny was no where to be seen, he must be sleeping with her tonight. It was getting close to eleven and even though I had gotten up after two, I still felt exhausted. I try calling Jax to check on him as I walked down the dark hall. It rings and eventually goes to voice mail. I opened my bedroom door and instantly kicked my shoes off. I plugged my phone up and shut the light off above me. I toss my socks and shirt into the floor and plop into the middle of my bed. I roll over and find myself drifting off ever so quickly.
In my dreams is an old building that looks abandoned. The grass has taken over what looked to be an old parking lot and there were vines growing all over the building. The longer I stare, I have this weird feeling that's tugging at my side. What importance does this have? I keep asking myself in the dream. I hear something behind me and I turn to investigate, must have been the wind. I turn back to find that everything was gone and I was standing in the middle of nowhere. Where am I?
I see a road sign ahead of me about 400 feet. I start walking that way still looking around for any landmark to jot my memory of where I'm at. Before I could reach the sign, the sound of a shower running abruptly ends the dream and wakes me up. Nana must be in the shower. As I lay there thinking of my dream last night, it just seems to get fuzzier the more I think of it. Like it was on the tip of my tongue, but yet I couldn't quite describe what happened.
I lean over to check my phone and see that it's 8:29. Work starts at 9:00. I force myself to get up and begin getting dressed. I find a red shirt with our school name on it and I pull that over my head and down my chest. The pair of black shorts that I grabbed were almost too short for my comfort, along with another pair of black socks. I grab my phone again and text Brynn good morning.
On my way out of my room, I grabbed my hat off of the wall and put it my head before shutting my door and leaving. I grabbed my keys from the bowl and opened the front door to leave. If I didn't leave now, I was going to be late. Nana owned the place, she could come and go as she pleased.
The pharmacy was near the twin square in one of the old buildings. We lived about 15 minutes away from it if the traffic was good. I put my truck into reverse and backed out of the driveway.
For a Saturday, the roads were pretty dead. I think I passed like only five or six cars altogether. I was mistaken, by the time I got into Branson, people were everywhere. I mean it was the first weekend of summer and I just know people were probably going to swim or do shopping. I pull into an open parking spot near the Pharmacy and grab my keys and lock the truck. Kessa who was a junior in college was already inside and seemed to be logging onto the computer.
"Sup little man!" She says teasing me.
"Just because you're a few years older than me doesn't mean anything. I still tower over you." I say and tease her back.
Kessa was like an older cousin that would pick on you, but the second you came to her for help, she would be on the person in a heartbeat. She had her long red hair pulled in a ponytail and had a black t shirt with leggings on. I walk over to the computer and clock in before I could be counted late. Mason, who was in his early forties wasn't going to be here today and it was just going to be the two of us plus nana when she showed up.
I ask Kessa what all needed to be done today and she said that there were several boxes in the back that were going to need to be put on the shelves. I give her two thumbs up and a very sarcastic 'yay'. She laughed, she understood too, cause this would take hours to unbox and put prices on them and then stock them on the shelves. I walk down the hall and into the back storage area and sigh. God, this sucks... I think to myself. I walk over the the little coffee station that nan had put in and I find my AirPods behind a cup. Well, might as well jam out while I work. I think to myself. I place both the left and right one in and begin scrolling through all of my music on my phone. I choose a playlist of all of the throwback songs from the 2010 era. To me, that was the best music, it just went down hill from there. 'Hey There Delilah' begins to play and I grab a box and begin pulling small packages out. This box was filled with candy. I grabbed the marking gun and started marking them off of the list, double checking everything.
It took thirty minutes just putting prices on all of the candy and I still had like 20 boxes left to do. I grab the small grey cart and toss all of the candy up onto the top rack. I open the door that leads out to the carpeted hall and begin rolling the cart out to the front. Kessa was trying to get everyone's medication to them correctly. I swear every old person came in on Saturday. She smiles briefly and I push the cart over to the isle by the door and begin sorting and placing the candies onto the shelf. This was the easy part, it usually only took me a couple of minutes to put them on the shelves. I turn and see nana had came and was in the back pulling peoples orders out to give to Kessa.
I wheel the cart back into the back and open another box. I take a quick video of what I was doing and post it onto my story. I send a quick text to Brynn and tell her that I had the best time last night and couldn't wait to do it again. I put my phone back into my pocket and open up a box that was full of health products, like little bottles of medicine and bandaid and such. I begin checking things off of the list and putting prices on everything. As the music continued to make its way through the playlist, I worked on opening and putting prices on several boxes, taking them out to the f don't and placing them on the shelves, and walking back into the back and doing it over again.
The sweat drips from my brow and I use the back of my hand to wipe it away. I pulled my phone out and it was just shy of 1:00, it sure felt like it, cause my stomach had begun to growl. Demanding food in return of falling back into hibernation. I open the fridge up and grab a slice of pizza that was left in the fridge. I think it had only been a few days but I was going to risk it, I was starving. I walk over to the bench that was sitting against the wall and pull my phone out to call Jaxon. I wanted to call and check on him. The phone rings for several seconds and eventually takes me to his voice mail. I usually don't leave one, but I felt like I needed to this time.
"Hey buddy, I just wanted to call and check on you... I know that what you're going through is tough, but I just want you to know that I'm right here if you need anything. You know I love you like a brother. Anyway, call me when you get a chance. Bye-Bye." I say and begin munching on the cold thin crust pizza. The veggies on top were kind of crunchy but the pizza itself tasted just fine. I finish the slice off and check my texts. Brynn had texted and said that she couldn't wait to hang out again. I send her a couple of funny emojis and that I had to work today and then put my phone back into my pocket with the music playing again. I grab another box and begin pulling it out of the box and checking the list for everything. I finish the box by putting the prices on them and wheeling them out onto the shelves. These went by the glass door near the side, which really was the front but hardly anybody used it. I spot a blonde curly headed boy about twelve or thirteen walk by and it looked just like Nathan when we were that age. It looked just like Sam. I really needed to check on him after work this afternoon.
My hours were 9-5, and I was already 1:00 now. That meant I only had 4 more hours before I got to get off of work. Whatever I didn't get finished today, I would just have to finish tomorrow. I usually go to church but I may come in earlier and finish it. I finished another box and wheeled it out to the front and Kessa was still serving to people who just seemed to keep coming. I begin stocking the rest of the health products but can't help but think that Nathan should be at work too. He was suppose to start around this time. I don't even know why he popped in my head but it just began randomly bothering me. It's like this itch on your hand that nothing seems to relinquish from its constant nagging at your skin and nothing seems to help.
"We'll find you man..." I whisper softly to myself.
I quickly finish the rest and wheel the cart back into the back to do the next box. Nana spots me and actually has enough time to wave before having to find an old lady's medicine. I let the cart come to a stop in the middle of the floor and grab another box to start labeling.
I pull my phone back out and try to call Jaxon. I really wanted to talk to somebody. He sees Nathan in his favorite and presses his name so he could listen to the voice Mail. The line rings several times and to liams disbelief, it answers.
"Nathan? Nathan!" I scream.
There was a bunch of static like bad cell service and I hear a muffled cry.
"Please...help me... Lia..." and the phone line goes dead.
I try several times to call him back but it goes straight to voicemail. Was that even real? I ask myself. I need to tell someone. Instantly Callie pops in my head and I dial her number. She picks up after the third ring and asked if everything was okay.
"Callie, you're not going to believe..." I begin telling her what had happened and what he said.
The words 'help me' still haunted my thoughts. It sends a chill up my spine causing me to shiver.
"Oh my poor baby!" Callie says with so much emotion in her voice, I could feel her pain.
She says that we need to tell the sheriff. Agreeing with her, I tell her that I'll call them and tell them. She thanks me and I say with a hopeful attitude that they'll be able to find him. She says goodbye and I hear the line disconnect. I quickly look up the number for the sheriff and dial it.
"This is sheriff Manis is everything alright?" He asks like a robot.
I can tell he gets a bunch of phone calls a day. That would get on my nerves so quickly. I think to myself.
"Sir, this is Liam Pierce. I am a friend of Nathan Adams, who is missing." The word missing sounded like nails on a chalkboard to me.
"Ahhh yes, I remember you. You're the one who I talked with at the bridge. What brings you to falling today?" He asks kindly.
"Uhh sir, I was calling Nathan's phone to listen to the voicemail we had set up and the phone actually answered... sir... he spoke to me...he was begging for help and he sounded hurt... before I could say anything else, the line went dead and... and... an-" I say and gulp for air.
"Okay son, I'm going to need you to come down to the station so we can have that call traced and try to pinpoint the location. And son? Everything will be just fine. I promise." He says in a reassuring voice.
I thank him and tell him that I'll see if I can get off of work and come right now. I toss my air pods onto the bar and quickly walk into the front where nana was. She was behind the counter putting meds into the slots in order.
"Hey nana... Nana!" Trying to get her attention.
She spots me and walks up to the front. She was wearing her cream colored shirt and a long skirt to go with it.
"Yes babydoll?" She asks.
"I talked to Nathan nana... he's hurt and I have to take my phone to the station for them to trace the call and try and pinpoint his area." I say quickly.
For a second, nana's eyes looked to be scared but I couldn't tell. She tells me that her and Kessa would be fine by themselves. I thank her and she gives me a long hug before whispering into my ear.
"Baby, they'll find him. I just know they will." She says and pinches my cheek.
I agree with her, hoping they were right.
I bump into Kessa who was coming back from the restroom and asks where I was off to so soon. I tell her that I had to go do something. I couldn't tell her, not that I wanted to, but I couldn't form the words in my head. She sighs for a second and says lucky before turning to walk back to the computer.
I said goodbye again and found myself practically sprinting to my truck. I put the key in the ignition and turned it, starting it right up. As I made my way over to the station, I tried calling Jaxon again. There was no answer again. This time, I tapped Brynn's name and listened as the phone began to ring. She picked up almost immediately and said hey.
"Hey, I can't stay on long but I just needed to talk to someone." I say.
"Oh for sure Liam, I'm all ears." She says.
For the next ten minutes, I found myself talking about what had happened. I even found myself talking about the night that Nate went missing and what all had been going on since. I sounded crazy but there was this feeling of weight being lifted off of my chest as I spilled my thoughts out. I didn't want to sound crazy, was I crazy? I asked Brynn. She sounded like she was shaking her head and said I was not crazy.
"Everything happens for a reason right? So maybe this was leading to a bigger picture. I don't know, but I don't think you're crazy." She says.
Just hearing that made me feel better about myself. She's right, I'm not crazy.
The station was coming up quickly and I told her that I was going to have to get off of the phone.
"Also, I don't know how long I'll be without my phone cause they're going to use it to try and track Nathan's phone call." I say.
She understood and said just to text or call her when I got it back. I said goodbye before hanging up the phone and pulling into the parking lot. There was an open spot near the front door, which was lucky for me. I parked my truck and found my self walking up the steps and into the glass doors of the building. Inside, was a normal little waiting room with a tv on the wall and a receptionist behind the glass.
"Can I help you sir?" The lady, who looked to be in her seventies, asked me.
"I need to speak with sheriff manis, he told me to come talk to him." I say.
She grabs the phone from next to her and dials a number. A few awkward seconds go by and she says something to the phone. A couple of seconds later, the sheriff came out from the hall and asked me to follow him to his office. I followed behind him down the grey Linoleum to a door with his name on the door. He opened the door and motioned with his hand for me to walk in. I do so, and find myself sitting in the small black chair that sat in front of his desk.
"Okay, let's see what we can do." He says.