Sticking to the Plan

Chapter 13

Sarah's text was not immediately received by either of her friends. It was her text to a fretting Noah that began to alert the search parties. Mila finally saw the message and Noah entered the cafe announcing that Sarah had responded. Maggie saw her's as Bear received the same information via text from his youngest brother. It seemed as everyone else found out before Bam who was still pacing the town like a madman, oblivious to the numerous messages pouring into his phone. It wasn't until he saw the atv's headed back into town that he altered his attention.

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Once Kaley's emotions had calmed, she knew she wanted to see Bam. She knew that regardless of what Sarah had said, what anyone else might say in response to what had happened, that she needed to see him. She wanted to hear the words from his mouth; she wanted to hear him mean them. She felt like a complete idiot at the same time. Sarah however, seemed much less compassionate.

"I'm not going to tell you what to do with your life. But he was wrong. You didn't deserve what he did." Sarah was almost marching back to town. Normally shy, demure Sarah was on the warpath. Kaley folded the paper and put it in her pocket as she followed Sarah back to town.

"I know I didn't." She wasn't sure though. She tried to put herself in his position. What if he'd taken pictures of her while she slept. Pictures of her bare body and then posted them for the world to see or at least with that intent. She knew what she felt like when he took pictures and it was with her knowledge. It might have been with coerced consent, but it was far more than she had offered him. What would she do in retribution? She posed the same question to Sarah, "But...after what we did...what if it was flipped...what if it were pictures of you?"

Sarah paused for a moment. She was at a loss for what to reply. She put herself in her own mind in such a situation. While she had been resistant to the plan from the beginning she hadn't considered that alternative. Her pause in response seemed to allow the complexity of the situation to sink in, "Still....it's not like he was right either."

"I know."

"I don't know that it's a good idea, well...just after all that's happened...do you really think it's a good idea for you two to, you know...pursue this?" Sarah couldn't help but think realistically about the situation. It's not that the same thoughts didn't also run through Kaley's head as well. How could this relationship ever be healthy when they'd started so disingenuously? She played a visual reel of his letter over in her mind. It seemed like he was willing to amend what could be. As she walked alongside Sarah, she felt her stomach turn and knot realizing she would see him.

Most likely there would be an audience of police and onlookers; she dreaded the thought of the crowd. She checked her phone repeatedly for a signal, hoping to message Bam for a more private reunion.

Sarah frowned when Kaley stated her plan, "Is it a good idea to meet with him alone? What if he's trying to manipulate you?"

"Like we manipulated them?" Kaley shot back. She knew Sarah didn't understand how she felt. Sarah hadn't been through what she had. Whatever she had with Noah was different. It was starkly different. Kaley didn't understand their dynamic anymore than Sarah could understand hers, "I'm just asking you to trust me."

Sarah at first felt attacked before she realized the hypocrisy of her words. In fact Heather had berated her similarly for her budding feelings towards Noah. Kaley reached for Sarah's hand and squeezed it.

"I know you are worried about me. Just as I would worry about you." Sarah nodded, squeezing back. A few bars popped up for Kaley and she hurriedly texted Bam, trying to ignore the pages of text blocks. She'd read enough. She wanted to hear whatever else it was he had to say.