"Do you need me to wait on you?"
I straighten up in my seat. "Jess's dad will drive me home. Her mum just really wants to see me. She feels like I can shed some light on her relationship with Thom."
"Which you won't," Joe butts in and voices.
"I'm just going to tell her what I know. That's all a mother can really ask for in these circumstances. I know that, if it was me, I'd want to speak to the ones that she's close to and try to figure things out as to where and who she might be with."
"We know who she'll be with," he mutters while turning into a housing estate.
I tilt my head to the side and shrug. "We don't know anything for certain, Joe. Marie is just a worried parent and you can't sit there and tell me that you'd be fine to just sit about and do nothing if it happened to one of your kids."
He glances at me briefly before looking back to the road. "It doesn't make sense to me," he says on a small sigh. He slows and takes the next right before coming to a stop when we reach Jess's parents' house that's fourth on the left. "It strange how you can go from scared to be going out of the house, to suddenly wanting to go out and see someone."
"Joe, don't start." My words are said as a warning and I hope he drops whatever it is he's going to try and start. "I've explained to you why I'm going to see them. I've told you I'm going to try and help in any way I can. You just have to trust me."
"I do trust you," he defends quickly. He turns to me and takes my hand in his. "I just don't understand how it has to be now. You could have called them up and arranged to see them another time. It doesn't have to be today."
I recoil and pull my hand free from his grasp. "I just found out my best friend is missing yesterday. It's clearly obvious as to why it has to be today."
"There's no car in the driveway, Leigh. You can see why I'm suddenly concerned."
I look out of the window at the house that sits up off the road. Its sloped driveway has no grey Honda CR-V SE that's usually parked up at this time of the day. Marie normally works nightshift and because she needs the car during the day, she'll drop her husband, Tony, off at work before going home for some sleep.
I can't explain as to why the car's not there. I'll just have to make something up to try and cover my tracks.
"Marie said Tony was taking the car to the garage to get a new tyre fitted after he got a flat. He'll be home soon," I lie so easily.
"Alright," Joe nods. "Just call me when you're on your way home so I know when to open the gate and let Tony in."
"I will do," I smile. I take my seatbelt off and lean over to kiss him. "I love you."
"Love you, too."
I get out the car, closing the door behind me, and wave to him as I start walking up the paved driveway. I hesitate on knocking the door as I know Joe is still parked up and waiting for me to go into the house. I turn to look back at the car and gesture for him to go as I'll be fine.
He nods at me and the car starts. Slowly, it pulls away and watch it drive off down the road till it turns to the right and disappears.
"They aren't in, sweetie." An old woman tells me unexpectedly.
I look to my right at the old woman standing by her opened front door, her grey hair still in rollers and newspaper in hand.
"Are they not?" I respond with a small smile.
"They left an hour ago to go to the police station to do an appeal. They won't be back for a while."
"Well," I start as a black BMW pulls up in front of the house, "can you let them know that Jess's best friend stopped by?"
"I will do, sweetie." The old woman smiles at me and I return her given smile.
"Thank you."
I walk back down the driveway, automatically looking round at all of the houses as I go for signs of anyone watching me. There's no one around other than that old woman and as I get into the BMW, I smile at her again.
She must think its weird how I can arrive in a Range Rover but I'm leaving in a BMW. It is weird but I don't really care what she thinks. I only car what Joe thinks and if he knew I was getting into Thom's car or going anywhere near him willingly, he'd have a fit. He'd go mental and forbid me from doing so.
Just a shame it's not his place to tell me what to do. It's my choice and I'm going against my better judgement and helping the guy that's hurt me on a number of occasions to try and get my best friend back from whoever it is that's taken her.
"Thank you for agreeing to help me," Thom expresses after I close the door and get comfy in the leather car seat.
"It's for Jess. No one and nothing else," I remind him.
"I know and I'm so thankful and grateful you agreed to help after what's happened between us."
He pulls away and uses the empty driveway on the other side of the road to turn in. He takes off quickly, taking each of the bends and corners quick and neat.
"After you told me what happened, I couldn't really refuse."
I had refused to help him when I saw him earlier. He kept trying to tell me what had happened to both him and Jess but I didn't want to listen. All I kept telling him is that I don't trust him after what he's already done to me. I told him that I knew it was him who had sent me those flowers which are Jess favourite, and that I knew it was him that was driving the Porsche that tried to run me off the road.
I told him I knew but the look on his face told me something I didn't expect – it wasn't him.
He knew nothing about those things. He told me that when those things happened, he was in the middle of trying to escape from the person that had taken him and Jess. He had spent the past few weeks in what he described to be torture. He explained that they were out for a drive in one of his other cars and that it got a flat tyre, causing them to pull in on a country road to change it. It was nearing half nine at night and when they were almost done, someone came out of nowhere and knocked them both out with a swift blow to the head with an object he can't place. The next thing he knew, he was waking up in a dark place with Jess's plea for him to wake up.
Can't place anything as to where he was other than the fact that it was in the middle of nowhere and that there was fields stretching for miles. He tried to get to Jess but when he couldn't, he made a run for it, seeing it as his only chance to escape to get help. He walked for miles before he managed to get a lift from a lorry driver heading to Manchester, and when he saw Joe's car, he took a chance.
I guess you could say I felt sorry for him and that that's one of the reasons as to why I agreed to help him. It's one of the reasons I agreed to help him but the main reason was because it was Jess. I want to see her again and to know she's safe and sound again, I'll be much happier.
I asked him why he didn't go straight to police now Jess has officially been reported as missing but he came out with the most logical explanation - he'd be the one to be blamed for it with his background.
I get it.
"I still think we should have the police involved in some way," I mutter after almost forty minutes of driving goes by.
"And I'll be the one to get took away in handcuffs because of my track record. One look at me with you and I'll get done for kidnapping when you willingly came into my car."
"They won't care what you say, only about your past."
"We all have a past that we want to keep hidden."
"Things always mange to come out in the end, though."
"That they do."
I nod and rub my hands together to try and get some warmth into them. "Why is your car so cold? It's summer and sunny outside."
"Is it cold?" He stupidly asks. It's obvious it's cold, he's just acting it.
"You can't feel the cold? It's freezing!"
I reach my hand out for to turn the temperature up to try and get some warmth into me. My hand comes within centimetres of the temperature button and Thom's hand clamps over mine. My eyes snap up to look at him instantly.
"Thom-" I start, my voice tainted with both worry and a warning.
"It's not cold," he mutters. His hold on me grows tighter and I wince slightly in pain. "It's not cold."
"Thom-"
"You never learn, do you, Leigh?"
I frown. "What are you talking about?"
"You never saw the game I played five years ago and you can't see through the game I'm playing now."
He lets my hand go quickly and raises it to my head, swiftly pushing it towards the window with force so it knocks me out in one go.