Torn Tears

Already Gone

I get the idea that something's wrong when my phone chirps at precisely 3:57 Tuesday morning. The fact that I was asleep shocks me as much as my phone's alert does.

I know that something's wrong when I thumb in my passcode and read a text message from a number that I do not recognize.

Don't panic. Jess is safe. You won't be if you aren't careful.

Naturally, I panic. I stumble from bed and sprint outside to the safety of the trees where my parents and Briley won't hear me.

I press the call button above the text and ignore the throbbing of my heart beating up in my throat.

A vaguely familiar male voice answers me, "I told you not to panic."

"Where's Jess?" I demand viciously. I run my free hand through my bedraggled hair.

"I imagine she's safe at home going out of her mind for your safety." The voice tells me in a bored tone.

"Who are you and what are you talking about?" I scan through the night, squinting towards the road. Not one car drives by.

"Calm down. You can trust me."

Which means I won't and I can't.

"Who are you?" I feel sweat beading across my neck. I have the nagging sensation that my whole family is in immediate danger because of my actions weeks ago.

"A friend."

"Quit with the damn secretiveness. Tell me what's going on." My voice has climbed with my anxiety.

"Sssh. You've met me before, Lucas."

My thoughts immediately run to when I broke in.  I met a lot of people. None I care to remember or to be speaking with at this time.

"You work for the government." I spit. I'm trying to hold my temper. If Jess and my family are in trouble, then any bad move on my part might--will--be devastating.

The man chuckles.

Damn it.

"Sort of. I'm a police officer."

My brain spews countless possibilities at me. "How do I know you?"

"I saw your girlfriend driving your car around town twenty minutes ago."

I clench my free hand into a fist. It is not fair in any sense of the word that this stranger has seen my Angel since I have. "How do you know it was my car?"

"I tend to remember the crappier cars I pull over. Especially when pretty red heads are driving them."

"I swear to God if you've laid one finger on her, I'll--"

"Easy there. I'm not a monster. I just remember pulling you two over a few days ago. Tonight, she was bawling her eyes out and driving alone in your car. I ran the license plate number for your address to see if you were actually a local." His voice turns stern, "I do not typically take kindly to being lied to. But you have a peculiar notice attached to your identity. I'll spare you the details. I know your whole situation. I know something you don't. The dome is a hoax, Royal."

Too many swears fly through my mind. My mom would be ashamed. I speak as evenly as I can manage, "Please explain, sir."

"Sir," he repeats, "Call me Rick. Short form of my last name, Ricardo."

"Ricardo," My patience is shortening, "you may not know this, but if you are going to drop a bombshell such as the one you just did on a man who is as desperately tired of his life as I am, he will not have patience much. Get on with your information. How is the dome a hoax and how does that affect Jess and my family and me?"