A Numbers Game

Chapter 17

"Tell me something, when you first met him, what turned you off so bad? He was good enough to slip past my radar but not yours. Well, you know, so I thought." Jackson asks, leaning back on the kitchen island. I roll my tongue up in my mouth before responding.

"He just rubbed me the wrong way. He didn't look like a kid from Chester Brooke; he looked like a kid who knew how to get into a lot of trouble. Not someone I was particularly keen on bringing into my friend group." I snap. His mouth straightens into a thin line.

"And that suddenly changed once he seemed interested in showing you a good time I guess."

"Sometimes you judge people to quickly." I state, ignoring the bait. "He was nice. He brought me to the hospital and we had a few things in common. " I feel my face warm as if I was talking to my Dad. "One thing led to another and you know the rest." He rolls his eyes at me, reminding me of the summer before high school when we spent hours perfecting the act of seeming disinterested.

"Give me a break." He lurches forward, bending at the waist. His eyes glisten excitedly. "Let's play a game." I open my mouth to say something snark when he shoots me a look. "My intel. My rules. Now, you tell me what you think you know. Where's your boy from?"

"Vermont, you psycho." His eyes narrow but he nods at me to continue. "He moved down here with his mom."

"How come?" I knew the deal with the obsessive and displaced Dad but I'm not about to share that with this nut job.

"His mom got a job down here." Jackson lets out a buzzer sound.

"Errr. Try again."

"What?" I ask, irritated.

"You're wrong. Try again."

"What do you mean I'm wrong, his mom did get a job-" He raises a finger to cut me off.

"That's not why he moved down here."

"Oh really?" I ask, crossing my arms.

"His Mom and Pops got divorced after his brother died, you know, the drunk one? A shame really." He says neutrally. My fingers curl around the arm rest.

"Okay. Great. So his parent's are divorced. Mine too." He continues as if I hadn't said anything.

"His Dad went a little," Jackson ironically circles a finger next to his temple and makes the coo-coo sound. "And little boy Carter couldn't handle it anymore so naturally he moved...But I'm sure he told you that. No, what you don't know is that he also has a few things to run from in his own social circle. Did he ever mention...a party?" I pause. How did he...I guess rumor could easily spread when the county Sheriff goes a little crazy. But still. Jackson must've dug pretty hard to find that out.

"You mean the party where his brother was killed? Yeah I think he might've mentioned something like that." I respond sarcastically.

"Did he ever 'mention' that he was there?"

"No but so what? I doubt he'd want to remember that night."

"Did he ever mention a girl named Lacy?" I roll my eyes.

"Is that what this is about? An ex? Jesus, you must think I'm real-" He looks at me pointedly. "What about her?"

"They were all out partying that night, not just Aaron. The whole team. Free booze, free drugs, free girls, if you know what I mean." His tone took one of story telling and his eyes became distant. I feel my knee start to bounce as nervous energy fills me.

"Is your goal to be punched in the face because it's long coming." I blurt out.

"It wasn't Carter's first party, he knew how to hold, but it was hard to remember your limit when your girlfriend was throwing herself at other men right in front of you. One after the other, beers went down. He'd follow her, silently observing, but never interfering. At every glance back, Lacy saw him staring at her and she'd knock back a shot. She was pissing drunk by the time it hit 1a.m. Meanwhile, the guys were out front, talking up the big game, clapping each other on the back in front of the bonfire. Airheads blowing bigger by the second." Jackson steps away from the kitchen and begins to circle the chair, his steps are slow and concise. He pauses at the corner, eyes fixed on a spot on the wall.

"After exhausting the possibilities of the guys inside of the party, little lady Lacy shimmies her way outside in the front. Her drawly voice and revealing outfit getting lots of appreciative stares from the intoxicated bunch. There are hoots and hollers from the crowd but the kid went straight to a familiar face...someone who looked shockingly like her boyfriend but a bit more mature. A little higher up on the social hierarchy..."

Aaron. The thought slams into my head and I'm quiet. Sensing the shift, Jackson beams at me. He's happy to see some reaction, an indication that I'd learned something new. He continues on, gleefully.

"Our dear friend's older brother, had had a few drinks himself, being the star wide receiver was more than a reason to celebrate, and besides, his house was less than twenty minutes away. No reason not to gorge on whatever came his way. He felt invincible. So when Lacy with the pretty face and warm body pressed her nipples to his chest and played with his hair, he didn't hesitate to pull her to him, claiming her for the rest of the night. He whispered dirty things in her ear and she bit her lip as he kissed her neck not even a yard from his brother." He said bitterly, coming in close before pivoting on his heel and heading to the side table across from me.

"For Carter, I guess seeing his brother move onto his loose girl was enough. He strutted right over there, poking him in the chest and getting in his face. The whole tough guy façade and what not. Aaron didn't care for that and told him he could do anything he wanted to with his girl because she was obviously down for it. To prove it he gave her a kiss," Jackson leans in far too close to my face, to the point where i could see every pore on him. "Right. On. The. Lips. Which landed him a nice punch in the face from his little brother, who wasn't so little anymore."

He pulls back, rocking on his heels and continues pacing the room. "Like the trash she probably was, Lacy gets tossed aside as they fight, fists being thrown and words being yelled. Until Aaron pulled back, grabbing Lacy by the arm and taking her towards the line of cars. By now a crowd has drawn and they follow like drama deprived vultures." Cars? Lacy? I feel my stomach lurch as I remember the days earlier events.

***

My hand bangs on the table, surprising the bartender and earning me a devil stare as he pours the customer a drink and slides it down to him. He sanders over to me.

"Can I help you, son?"

"This girl? Have you seen her?" I shove my phone in his face and watch as his eyes scan the screen dismissively.

"No, she looks too young to be in a place like this. Same goes for you." He says gruffly, eyes still on Zephyr's IG page. Dead end, damn it. It's been at least 15 minutes and I already feel like she's slipping further out of my grasp. I need to have another place to go. I need to stop running around like a chicken with no head and find a lead already.

"Great. Thank you for your help-" He grabs my hand, holding it in place.

"I know that kid though." He points a meaty finger at a photo with Jackson and Zephyr at the pool. I look at him expectantly. "His dad and I are in the same hunting group. We all board in his lodge in Evergreen every season." Lodge? I feel hope spark inside me.

"Where is it?"

"Whats your business in knowing?" I think fast.

"I'm a friend of his, looking for this girl who could get him in a lot of trouble. Just wanting to catch him before she does." It was a alibi filled with holes but I'm hoping it'll work.

"Hm. I'm sure the boy can handle himself."

"You don't know the girl like I do...please."

A few short moments later, I'm barreling down the road to this lodge somewhere in the woods, praying, that I'm not wasting my time. That's when I get a phone call from Rodney telling me that Jade confirms the lodge is where her and Jackson was before she was drugged and put in the trunk. I see his truck parked before a narrow trail and know I'm in the right place. I park the car and stare at the dense forestry ahead of me. I grab whatever might be useful in my car, rope, a small pocket knife, water, napkins, and begin to run.