Vanished (ONC 2023)

Chapter 13 - The Lure

Days after the altercation with Dustin, my ribs and heart still ached. A young boy was being abused by a woman whose actions had twisted her son's psyche so horribly he had killed several women without remorse. I could try reporting her, but I didn't know the family or enough about Ben for it to be credible. My interrogation with Dustin had also failed to get sufficient information to offer closure for the victims. I'd confirmed that he had killed women, but not which ones, nor the identity of the person found near Bear Claw Lake.

"You're thinking too hard." Josh set two bowls of minestrone on my coffee table. "You're supposed to be resting."

"It's difficult to relax after everything."

He sat beside me on the lumpy couch and rubbed my knee. "You don't need to do this alone or immediately. You have broken ribs, compliments of your terrified friend." His gaze drifted to his hands.

"My saviour friend." I squeezed his hand. The paramedics had told us it was common to break ribs during CPR. If Josh hadn't been there, Dustin's actions may have killed me.

His brow furrowed in a V like a gaggle of migrating geese. "I wish I fought harder for you to avoid that bus."

"It was my choice. If I hadn't gone, I wouldn't have confirmed Dustin was the murderer."

Josh stood up and rustled around my cupboards. "At the cost of your health. The detectives would have figured that out."

"But now they're investigating Dustin's place sooner."

After Josh set a packet of crackers on the table, I leaned over to grab one, wincing slightly.

"Let me." As he dumped too many crackers on my plate, I laughed and cringed again.

His gaze rested on me, and he frowned. "I'm so sorry, Mia."

"What are you talking about?" I dunked my cracker in the steaming soup. "You made me lunch, and you've taken care of me all week. Are you sure I'm not keeping you from more important things in Bear Claw Lake?"

His gentle eyes met mine. "You are more important."

I poked my tongue out at him. "Didn't realize I'd asked for cheese with these crackers."

He chuckled and blew on a spoonful of soup. "You'll need to tell me more directly if you want me to leave because I'm too scared and guilty to leave you right now."

"Here, I thought it was my charming personality keeping you around."

As Josh laughed, he placed his warm hand on mine. "It's also that. Every time we're together, you captivate me."

"Near death is memorable."

"Let's make that a one-off."

My phone buzzed with a text from Stella. Since I'd taken a few days off to rest on the doctor's recommendation, she wanted to visit. We hadn't told her about Dustin's ghost, just our suspicions about his actions. I invited her over to give her the full story, paranormal details and all, as I wasn't working there much longer, and she said she had more information about the couple from the video.

In the early evening, Stella stopped by with her laptop, of course teasing me about the cohabitation situation with Josh. We laughed it off, but I noticed this week and during our visits that he was a very pleasant person to live with. He was fun to talk to and make decisions with, he made me laugh when he wasn't being cautiously serious to spare my ribs pain, and we had similar tastes. When we binged shows together, he didn't mind my cuddling against him, although it was a recipe to lull me to sleep with his and the blanket's warmth. He'd tease me but always smiled when I proposed it. Despite Dustin's deception, I trusted Josh and felt safe with him. He wanted the best for me and everyone, be they friends or strangers.