Anything But Ordinary

Anything But Ordinary

Kody Thomas

Published by Kody Thomas at Smashwords

Copyright 2013 Kody Thomas

Chapter One

I have always taken pride in just being an average Joe. I am average height, average weight, have brown hair, and brown eyes. I have a comfortable job, I'm in college, and I spend my free time watching and playing sports. There isn't anything too exciting about being me, but I enjoy my boring life. So when I rolled out of bed this morning, I had no reason to believe the day wouldn't be the same as always, ordinary.

I head straight to the restroom after getting out of bed. I have had to go for a bit but have been delaying getting out of bed because I really don't want the day to start. Would rather have slept in all day. But I splash some water on my face and that helps get me going.

My dog Jack attacks me as I leave the restroom. I need to take him outside but the heat of the summer is not appealing. Jack is a Shih Tzu so his obsession for a game of fetch allows me to distract him for a few minutes before he realizes he has to go to the bathroom.

When I open the door, the humid air hits me like a brick wall. It isn't usually triple digits in O'Fallon, Missouri, so it is hard to adjust to the extreme heat. Even Jack isn't handling the heat well. He usually likes to take his time outside and smell everything once or twice, but today he does his business and races back into the air conditioning. I hurriedly follow him in.

Once we are back inside, the daily routine begins. I get on the elliptical and do my daily cardio. After my workout, I head to the kitchen for some cereal. After eating breakfast quickly, I head off to take a shower and get ready for class.

Finding something to wear is putting me behind schedule. I'm not too picky about clothes but it has been quite a while since I've done laundry. After miraculously finding a semi clean outfit, I'm off to class.

I put the key into the ignition and am happy when the car starts. I have been driving this car forever and am riding it out until it completely falls apart. And it is almost to that point. The air conditioner has been broken for a while but I cross my fingers and try it to no avail. It just blows out warm air. It's going to be a long hot drive.

I'm running late since traffic is backed up two exits before mine. Now I'm not only dripping in sweat but a little cranky too. I hate when I'm late to class. The teacher is not very happy about having their lecture interrupted and all the students just stare at you. Always an uncomfortable feeling.

I finally arrive and get parked at Maryville University at the same time class is starting inside Reid Hall. I power walk/jog as I hurry towards the building. I speed walk once inside the building and get to class five minutes late. It could have been worse but I can tell Dr. Lin is not very happy about it as she glares at me as I head towards my desk. My phone vibrates as I sit down in my desk.

"Nice of you to join us, Jake" says the text from Ryan, my best friend and classmate.

"I hate traffic. But better late than never." I answer back.

Dr. Lin has been a great teacher the last four years but there are only three more classes until the end of the semester and the end of my time in college. This has caused me to pretty much sleep walk through class the last few weeks and today is no different in my Statistical Modeling class.

My degree will be in Actuarial Science though no one knows what that is when I tell them. It is a pretty obscure major but great degree for people who enjoy statistics, which I do. I just tell people it is what Ben Stiller's character does in "Along Came Polly".

But rather than focus on statistical models today, I'm more focused on browsing the web on my phone and texting with Ryan, Lacy, Jon, and Olivia.

There are only about 25 people that graduate each year from the University in Actuarial Science, so the students in the program get to know each other very well. We have had the same class together for four years. I've gotten to know some good people, especially Ryan, Lacy, Jon, and Olivia. It is hard realizing that these days are almost over.

We all seem to be headed in different directions. I'm going to be working with a consulting firm near St. Louis that is a short drive from my house. Ryan is working for a rival consulting firm a short walk from my building. Lacy is going to Kansas City for a job with a healthcare company. Jon is moving to New York to work for a company he has been interning with the last few years.

And then there is Olivia. She took my breath away the first time we met. She has blonde hair, beautiful blue eyes, and a great body. I have had a crush on her since our first day of class. Four years later, to my dismay, we are just best friends. I have no clue what she will be doing after we graduate. She also has no clue at all. She just keeps telling us she will figure it out someday. I hope she realizes that someday is approaching fast.

She is the only one of us that hasn't passed an actuarial exam. To become a certified actuary, you have to pass a series of exams. They are challenging and a big reason that many people don't take the actuarial path. She's come so close and had been studying the hardest I had ever seen her study the past couple of months. That was until recently when she starting seeing Trevor.

She told us about him after meeting him at a bar last month. Ever since that day, she has been out late my most nights, very secretive, distant from us, and not studying at all. The rest of our group has tried to get her to open up and talk about everything that has been going on, but to no avail. She has always been very open with us and especially with me. It is hard to see our relationship deteriorate the closer we get to graduation. I hope everything is okay with her, but I get the feeling that she has gotten herself into some trouble. I don't know what it could be, but I'm pretty sure I don't want to know.

As I tuned back into class, I was glad to hear Dr. Lin wrapping up. She almost always goes long so we all were shocked and excited when she ended a few minutes early. We walked out of class and into the hallway of Reid Hall. Ryan said, “Where do you all want to go for lunch? I’m star

ving.” The lunch dilemma had begun. The five of us always had trouble deciding on a place to eat. We all had strong opinions on it but nobody wanted to make the decision.

“I don’t know. We just went to El Maguey last week, so please not there.” Lacy added as she sent a text on her new iPhone.

“What do you think?" I asked Olivia who seemed to be lost in thought as she was staring blankly ahead.

“What?” Olivia asked. She looked like she had just been jerked back into reality.

“What do you want to eat?” I asked again.

“I say Chick-fil-a.” Ryan said before Olivia could say anything. He was pacing as usual. Ryan has a big appetite and he hated the indecision more than anyone because he was always ready to eat. Even though he was shorter than me and about ten pounds lighter, he always took control of the lunch conversation because he was always hungry.

“You always want Chick-fil-a,” I said.

“That’s because they have the most delicious food ever. A perfectly cooked spicy chicken sandwich. It doesn’t get better than that.

“Sounds good to me too.” added Jon and they headed towards the exit.

“Fine.” I said. I wasn’t the biggest fan but I was hungry and wanted to get going.

As we stepped outside into the blistering heat, it seemed everyone started to instantly sweat.

“Can you drive Lacy?” I asked. Lacy nodded. “Thank you, I don’t want to take Ryan’s old piece of junk Escort.” I said, teasing Ryan about his 1994 Ford Escort.

“Gets me from point A to point B, that’s all that matters.” Ryan said proudly.

“Just please tell me you are getting a new car before your wife has the baby.” said Lacy.

“I am, but I’m not looking forward to it.” Ryan said with disappointment on his face.

We all climbed into Lacy’s SUV. I sat next to Olivia in the back while Ryan and Jon wrestled for shotgun, with Ryan ending up in the back with me. As we got on the highway, I noticed Olivia was absently staring out the window. I became more concerned about her the more I was around her.

We are great friends but our relationship has been weird at times. We have come close to becoming an item plenty of times. We always have talked and texted. We would flirt with each other and I had come close a couple of times to asking her out, but my nerves would always get the best of me.

Towards the end of our first year at school, we were becoming really good friends and I was becoming even more infatuated with her. After talking with Ryan about her and building up the courage to ask her out, I was finally ready.

I met her outside of class before it started and told her I wanted to ask her something. Before I could get the words out, she interrupted to tell me about a new guy she just started seeing. That has happened multiple times over the last few years and now I have only three weeks to finally get the words out and our relationship is crumbling.

So now I'm left wondering what could have been and what is going on in her life. She almost always is the life of our group, loud and open, especially with me. We share just about anything with each other. However, now I can barely get her to tell me what she had for breakfast. Every conversation is a battle. “Are you ever going to talk to me about what is going on in your life?” I said in a hush as the other three argued over what radio station to put it on.

“You are a good friend Jake, but right now, I don’t want to talk about it. I promise you will be the first one I will talk to when I’m ready to open up.” Olivia said softly to me.

“Okay. Just know I will help you with anything you ever need and I’m always here for you.” I said.

“Thank you.” She said with a smile and some emotion that I hadn’t seen from her lately, though the smile disappeared quickly. I now joined the argument over what radio station to listen to. Lacy, Jon and I ruled over Ryan and we kept it on the country station. Everyone but Olivia was having a good time. We were flying down Highway 40, music blaring and realizing we didn’t have many of these moments left together. After next week, we would be graduates. As much as we talked about staying close, we knew they were just words. Ryan and I were best friends. Working so close to each other and living in the same neighborhood, we knew we would be friends for a long time. But with Jon and Lacy moving away for work, it was doubtful that communication with them would continue much. It was a harsh reality but it was just that. Reality.

Chapter Two

We arrived at Chick-fil-a around 11:30 a.m. and the lunch hour crowd hadn’t arrived yet so we ordered and received our food quickly. I was now so hungry that I was now excited about getting my usual, a chicken sandwich with waffle fries.

Ryan was done eating first, putting down his two spicy chicken sandwiches in a flash. He was working on his ice cream now and arguing with Jon about the Cardinals game tonight and how the Cardinals are easily the best team in the league. Jon was arguing back since Jon had really taken an interest in the teams up north since he starting working up there.

Lacy excused herself and headed to the restroom, wanting to avoid the guy’s baseball argument, Olivia received a text and I could tell it upset her.

“What’s going on? I questioned

“Nothing.” She answered unconvincingly.

“Olivia, if you are in trouble or having problems, you know I would help you with anything.” I said truthfully.

Olivia said “I know you would.” She sighed, “Okay Jake, I will tell you a little bit of what’s going on but please keep this to yourself.” I nodded. ”I’ve started to learn that Trevor is into some bad stuff and,”

“What kind of bad stuff?” I asked, cutting her off.

“Let me finish, Jake. I learned he is doing some things he shouldn’t be and he is in with the wrong guys now. I’m trying to help him get out of it, but it’s been of no use so far.” She said, deflated.

“What kind of things?” But as I asked, her phone went off and she excused herself and went outside just as Lacy returned from the bathroom. “Trevor?” Lacy asked.

“I think so. I don’t know what she sees in that guy. All he seems to do is make her unhappy.” I said, making it obvious my feelings for her.

“Well maybe you should have done something one of the hundreds of times I told you to.” Ryan shot at me, his debate ending at a bad time, allowing him to join in the conversation. “I like how you have always tried to convince us you don’t have feelings for her while the three of us have always known it. And now we are a week away from graduation and you have completely missed your chance.” Ryan always knows how to make a man feel better.

Olivia came back in the front doors and I saw her wipe away what seemed to be a tear. “So you were saying?” I asked in a hushed voice.

“We will have to finish tomorrow.” She said nibbling at one of the few fries left on her plate after Ryan helped himself to some while she was outside.

“Why don’t you call me tonight? I’m just going to go home and study for Exam MLC.”

“I can’t talk tonight. I’m going out with Trevor.” she said.

“Oh, okay. Well, let me know if you need anything at all or need to talk.” I said and she nodded. Olivia gave in and threw the rest of her food away, which I could tell disappointed Ryan. Lacy went and started the car to get the air going as Jon and I went and got refills. We headed back to Maryville to kill some time before our afternoon class.

We decided to head over to Jon’s dorm room to stay cool and hang out for a bit. After my lack of focus in class this morning, I decided this would be a good time to copy Lacy’s notes from class. It would have been easier to take them during class, but at the time I had no desire to do so. Thank goodness Lacy was still paying attention in class.

Lacy sat next to me at the kitchen table while Olivia sat on the couch watching Jon and Ryan play Madden. Ryan was cursing under his breath. Madden wasn’t his best game, and Jon was an expert. Jon loved anything football. He was a wide receiver in high school before hurting his knee.  He had a good six inches on me and was a little overweight after partying a little too much at school.  He showed his strong football knowledge as he dominated and took a big lead over Ryan. Lacy acted as if she was helping me but ended up just asking me, “Have you gotten Olivia to talk to you about anything? I am really starting to worry about her. We usually talk about anything and everything all day and now I have to force her to just respond to my texts.”

“Today was the first day she seemed to make an effort to open up at all. She was about to talk to me about Trevor when he called her. Now she is going out with him tonight and it is really worrying me.” I said with panic seeping into my voice.

“She will be fine, Jake. She is strong and smart and she can take care of herself.” I could tell she was trying to convince herself just as much as she was trying to convince me. “Is your game almost over guys, we need to leave in five minutes.”

“Yeah,” Ryan said turning off the PlayStation 3. “We will call this one a draw, Jon” he said trying to be serious but unable to hold in a laugh.

“Oh, okay. I guess you were going to make up that thirty point deficit in the last 4 minutes of the game.” Jon shot back while putting his controller away and grabbing his backpack.

“I had you right where I wanted you.” Ryan joked.

As we made our way to class, I began to reminisce some more about all the good times I've had with this group. I have always looked forward to being done with school, but now that the time was almost here, I wondered why. My time at this university with this great group is some of the best times I've ever had. But now that will all change. Jon will be off to the big city. Lacy will be off making a name for herself in Kansas City. Ryan would be around but it was already hard for him to find time to hang out with his wife being pregnant and it won't get any better once the baby arrives. I always thought Olivia would be around. I thought somehow we would end up together, but now I'm losing her too.

We were all relieved to get inside and in the air conditioning again. Ryan went to the restroom to wipe his face off because he was sweating so much from the walk. The rest of us went into class and sat in our seats. Dr. Wang was a good teacher but not as good or as well respected as Dr. Lin. So with only a week remaining, he may as well been talking to empty chairs because no one was interested in what he had to say. The senioritis was too strong. Plus, Actuarial Modeling was everyone’s least favorite class this semester. No one would miss this class.

Ryan came back to class wiping his forehead with a paper towel and carrying an energy drink.

"Not expecting good things from this class, I presume?" I asked Ryan nodding towards his energy.

"This will only get me through the first half, I don't know how I will make it through the whole class." Ryan said jokingly.

Dr. Wang came into the room shortly after Ryan and started class. It turned out to be worse than I expected. It had to be the longest hour and fifteen minutes of our lives. Jon was following the Yankees game on his phone, Olivia was sleeping against the wall, Ryan was texting his wife, Lacy was taking notes which the rest of us would copy later, and I was stressing about my actuarial exam I was taking next week. This was the third of five exams I had to pass to get my ASA, Associate of the Society of Actuaries. I wasn't nearly ready yet, so I planned on studying all night once I got home to help prepare some more.

It was hard to focus nowadays on getting myself to study. I was excited about school being over, I was nervous about the future and my worry for Olivia kept getting in the way of studying recently. When I'm by myself at home trying to study, my mind keeps wandering off to her and the thought of her being in some sort of danger. I desperately need a way to get her off my mind but after our conversation earlier, I don't see that happening.

As soon as Dr. Wang started to wrap up, everyone started packing their things. When he finally dismissed us, everyone bolted for the door. Ryan was one of the first to get out because he had to get back to work. I hung back with the rest of the group because I was in no hurry to get home to study.

We made our way to our cars in the blistering heat. We chatted for a few minutes before I said goodbye to the group and got into my truck. I rolled down the windows, began to sweat and headed home. I told myself to get my air conditioning fixed. I probably wouldn’t take it in anytime soon but at least it looked like it would be cooler tomorrow. A storm was moving in, and I could already hear some thunder in the distance.

Traffic was light on the way home which made for a quick drive. I arrived at my house at around 3:30. I have lived in the city of O’Fallon my entire life so when I moved out of my parents’ house, I just moved down the street. It has been consistently named one of the safest cities in the country. That is a big reason why when I accepted my position with the consulting firm, I put a down payment on this house and moved out of my parents. Normal and safe are a perfect combination.

I pulled into the garage which was full of all my sporting equipment. My mountain bike was against one wall, a hockey net and sticks along another and a bucket full of soccer, basket, and baseballs. I walked in from the garage into the kitchen. I threw my wallet and keys on the counter and tried not to notice the stack of dishes staring at me in the sink. Jack met me as I turned the corner into living room. I sat down on my couch and turned on ESPN as Jack jumped onto my lap for some attention.

I looked around and realized that so far the house was very bland. I don't have any pictures hanging up or much painted.  My office is one of the few places I have put time into. I have sports memorabilia on my desk and some family pictures on the walls. I spent most of my time in that room. It has my computer, PlayStation 3, elliptical, and desk.

I heard some more thunder and hurried Jack outside hoping we could beat the storm. I guess he could sense the storm because he went quickly and raced inside just as a lightning bolt struck in the distance. It looked like it would be around for a while. I didn’t mind the storm. I always like have some background noise while I was trying to study. I made a frozen pizza and brought it up to the office. I ate it and browsed the web for a couple minutes before I settled in for a long night of studying.

Chapter Three

Thunder and lightning continued to fill the air. I could see some flashes of the lightning through the blinds but I barely noticed the thunder as I rocked out to some music on Pandora. I started listening to music recently while I was studying to help myself stay focused. It was definitely helping tonight as I just finished answering my fourth consecutive question correctly. I was starting to feel better about my chances of passing this test next week.

As I started another problem, I heard something faintly over the noise coming out of my headphones. I took off my headphones and I could hear someone banging at my door. I picked up my phone to check the time and saw I had four missed calls from Olivia in a span of thirty minutes.

I raced downstairs and opened the door to see Olivia drenched from head to toe. She was wearing a red dress that went just past her knees and it looked great on her even though she was completely soaked. She had a silver wallet that went with her dress and was wearing some heels that I couldn’t believe she could walk in. Olivia's hair was a mess from the rain and her makeup was running down her face. I had a bad feeling the ruined makeup was from tears and not just from the rain. She asked so quietly that I could barely hear her over the storm, “Can I come in?”

“Of course,” I answered “what are you doing here?” I had no clue why she was here this late at night, standing on my porch soaking wet, but I knew the reason wasn't going to be a good one.

“Could I have a towel?” she asked. I stared at her for a minute trying to take in the situation then raced upstairs to get her a towel. I cannot fathom why she is here but I was nervous thinking about what kind of trouble she might be in. However, part of me was really excited that she was at my house. I came back downstairs with the towel and helped wrap it around her.

“What in the world is going on Olivia?” I asked with concern.

“Can I have something to drink?” She replied quietly, ignoring my question.

“Coffee?” I asked, trying not to get to inpatient with her. She nodded and now I knew she had been crying as I saw a tear run down her cheek. I went into the kitchen and warmed up the coffee pot. As the coffee brewed, I watched Olivia just staring absently at the wall in front of her. I was getting more anxious by the minute about finding out what was going on with her. No matter what it was, I was determined to help her however I could. I had only met Trevor once but had a bad feeling about him right away. Lacy convinced me that it was just the fact that I had feelings for Olivia that was causing me to feel that way, but now it looks like my hunch was right.

The coffee was ready and I poured two cups assuming that I was going to need the caffeine tonight. She was still staring straight ahead when I handed her the mug. “Thank you.” She said softly.

“Olivia, I know that you have not wanted to talk about what is going on in your life lately, but you are going to have to tell me what is going on tonight. You know I care about you and when you show up at my house in the middle of the night soaking wet, I need to know what is going on and what’s wrong.” I was determined to get answers.

“Can I stay here tonight? I can’t go back to my place tonight.” Olivia said evading my questions once again.

“You already know the answer to that. You are my best friend, you are always welcome.” I said. “Why can’t you go back to your place? Did Trevor hit you or hurt you somehow?” It was getting hard to hide the anxiety in my voice as I tried to stay calm.

“Can you get me some clothes to wear tonight?” Olivia asked, once again avoiding my questioning.

“Olivia, you can’t avoid . . .,”

She interrupted me at once, “Jake, I’m freezing and soaking wet. I need to change before I freeze to death. I know you are concerned and if the tables were turned I would be acting just like you. I trust you and that is why I’m here. But right now you need to let me get dry and give me some time to breath.” I just looked at her for a minute. I didn’t say anything, but finally just headed up to my room to find something that would be able to fit her. I was never able to be mad at Olivia, but I was starting to get really frustrated. I appreciated her little speech, but she wasn’t the one seeing the person she cares about showing up in the middle of the night crying and soaking wet, and most likely in danger. I grabbed her a t-shirt that was small on me but I kept around to motivate myself to lose weight and some pajama pants that had a drawstring she could hopefully tie tight enough to stay up.

I came back downstairs and found Olivia cuddling with Jack. I could tell he was torn over getting wet and getting attention. She put him down when I came into the living room and I handed her my clothes. “Turn around.” She demanded.

“Why?” I asked but realized why right away. She started taking off her dress and changing right there. I probably waited a second too long before finally turning around.

“Where can I put these wet clothes?” She asked, “I doubt your living room floor is the best place for them.”

I was glad to hear her make a joke. “I’ll hang them up in the bathroom.” As frustrated as I was, I couldn’t help smiling seeing her in my clothes.

“Thank you.” She said sitting back down on the couch. I went to the bathroom and hung up her clothes over the shower rod. When I came back into the living room, she was lying on the couch holding Jack. She definitely looked like she belonged on that couch. Three years of friendship and almosts were coming to me and it hit me that I may never get to be with her the way I have always wanted to because I had been too scared. “So, now that you have your towel, coffee, and a change of clothes, do you think we can talk about what brings you to my house at 11:30 p.m. during this torrential downpour?”

“Do you think people can change?” She asked. I was getting sick of not getting my questions answered.

“Of course. Why do you ask that, and better yet, why do you keep avoiding my questions.” I said, trying to keep the frustration out of my voice but doing so unsuccessfully.

“Jake, if you haven’t figured it out yet, I am not going to answer your questions. Not because I don’t trust you, not because I don’t want to, but because I just can’t right now. It’s for your own good.” She replied then continued her thought. “I know people can change some things about themselves, but do you think people change something that has been a part of who they are for many years? No matter how hard we truly want to, do you think that we can rid ourselves of some of our biggest sins?”

The seriousness of her tone and question concerned me, “I guess it just depends on the person, and what it is that they are trying to change. I feel like we can do whatever we want to. If we really want to change, we can do whatever it takes to make ourselves better people.” I answered, perplexed by this conversation. She didn’t answer but just looked away thoughtfully. “Do these questions about change have to do with Trevor?” She still just looked ahead and I could see a tear form in her eye.

“They did.” She answered. I was glad she wasn’t looking at me because I have no doubt she would have noticed the smile that crept upon my face for a second when she used the past tense. I recovered quickly and asked, “Did you two breakup?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” She was on the verge of crying, so I decided to leave that conversation for another time. One way or another, it seemed like I was going to have one more chance to make something happen before we graduated. She glanced at the clock and said, “It’s late and I’m really tired. I am going to go to sleep. Thank you so much for letting me crash here, Jake. You are a great friend.” I hated hearing her call me a great friend. I wanted so much more.

“Of course, anything for you. Why don’t you sleep in my room tonight and I will sleep on the couch.” I told her.

“I appreciate it, but something about this couch seems comforting tonight. I would like to stay down here, but if you don’t mind I am going to borrow Jack tonight.” She said while Jack yawned as she stroked his head.

“Of course, but it looks like Jack is happier about staying with you than you are about him.” I went to the closet and grabbed a pillow and a blanket for her to use. I took her phone and plugged it into the extra charger I keep in the kitchen. She thanked me, and once she laid her head down, I knew it wouldn’t be long before she was sleeping.

I made my way up the stairs and got ready for bed. I lied down and started to think about what had just happened. I couldn’t help but smile thinking about how Olivia was downstairs sleeping on my couch with my dog. It seemed like something that I could get used to, except the three of us would share my bed next time. I felt tomorrow was going to be the day that things start falling into place for me and Olivia.

Chapter Four

Boy was I wrong. I woke up around 6:30. I didn’t have an alarm set but I have gotten so used to getting up at this time for work and school that I always just wake up around this time. I first noticed something might be wrong when I realized that Jack was buried in my blanket, snuggled up against my feet. I am a deep sleeper so I thought that maybe he was bothering Olivia so she brought him up to me. But when I went downstairs, she was nowhere to be found. The pillow and blanket were neatly folded at the arm of the couch. I looked around the house for a couple minutes, and there was no answer when I called her name. I looked outside and saw no signs of her car. I started to panic, especially after I called her phone and it went straight to voicemail.

I didn’t know what to do. I went upstairs and got dressed and planned on driving out to her apartment. As I got behind the driver's wheel of my car, I dialed Olivia's roommate Heather. She answered on the fourth ring and I could tell that I woke her up, and she wasn’t happy about it. “Please tell me someone died because if they didn’t, you might Jake for waking me up this early.” She mumbled bitterly.

“I’m sorry to wake you Heather, but I’m looking for Olivia. She crashed at my place last night and when I woke up a few minutes ago she was gone without even saying goodbye. Did she happen to come back to the apartment?” I’m sure she could hear the panic in my voice.

“She crashed at your place?” I could tell that that bit of information had woken Heather up.

“Yes, but it is not what you think. Anyways, is she there?” I hoped she realized the urgency in my voice.

“I haven’t seen her since last night when she was getting ready to go out. I figured she had stayed with Trevor. Guess I was wrong about that.” She teased.

“Just tell her to call me if you hear from her.” I hung up without waiting for a response. I called Olivia again and it went straight to voicemail. I usually wouldn’t be so worried, but after everything that happened last night, I just knew something wasn’t right. I knew I wouldn’t be getting back to sleep, so I lied down next to a sleeping Jack, and I turned the television on and hoped some Sportscenter would help me relax. It didn’t work.

I got out of bed around nine and did my workout. Afterwards, I showered and went downstairs to eat some lunch. I tried to relax and get Olivia off my mind but that wasn't happening. I didn't have many options for lunch and I wanted to get out of my house, so I decided to go to Taco Bell.

I locked the front door and then grabbed my keys, wallet, and phone as I headed to the garage. Jack gave me a sad look, so I brought him along for the ride. He loves being in the car. He scratches at the window until I roll it down so he can stick his head out into the wind. Taco Bell is just a two minute drive from my house, but unfortunately it took awhile to get my food. After about fifteen minutes, I was heading back home with a stomach that was getting louder by the second.

I pulled into the garage, grabbed Jack and the food, and went inside. I heard the mail truck go by as I was starting to eat. This made me happy because I had been waiting for the new Sports Illustrated. I tried to turn the lock to unlock the front door and stopped when I realized the door was unlocked. I grabbed the mail and came back to the door a little startled. I  turned towards the street and noticed a car that was stopped a few houses down. There was a man sitting inside a plain black car, seemingly looking at me. He wore sunglasses and had a crooked nose. I took a step onto my porch to try and get a closer look when he drove away. I came back inside and looked around to see if anything had been taken. It didn’t seem that anything had gone missing. I tried to convince myself that I just forgot to lock the door but I was having trouble convincing myself of that because I always lock the door.

I ate my food while thinking about Olivia, the unlocked door, and the man in the black car. My life has always been very simple and ordinary. I had a feeling that things were heading in a direction that was anything but simple. I finished eating and as I shut the lid to the trashcan, my phone went off. I was relieved and a little angry when I saw Olivia on the caller id, “Where did you go? I have been worried sick all morning looking for you. I called Heather and she didn’t know where you were. I have been panicking about you Olivia.” I may have been sharing a little too much emotion but she always seemed to bring it out of me.

“I’m sorry Jake. I didn’t mean to worry you. I had to get out of there for your own good. There are some things going on and I shouldn’t have brought you into it.” Olivia answered sincerely.

“Please tell me what the hell is going on. This is ridiculous. You are showing up in the middle of the night upset and then disappearing just like that.” She could sense the anger in my voice.

“I understand you’re angry and you should be. I have not treated you right the last month, and especially yesterday. I promise to answer all of your questions tomorrow. I want to meet you in the morning sometime and we can go over everything. There are some things I have to take care of today. Once I do, I will need your help settling everything. Will you meet me tomorrow and help me?”

I sighed, “Of course I will. Thank you for finally letting me in. Please just stay out of trouble today and stay safe.”

“I will.” She said, but she wasn’t convincing anyone that she believed what she said. “I will call you tonight and we can figure out where to meet tomorrow. Okay?”

“Okay,” I said. I was about to hang up but something was still bothering me, “I need to ask you a question.”

“I told you I will answer all your questions tomorrow Jake.” She said with annoyance in her voice.

“It’s not about that. Did you come back to my place in the last hour? I asked.

“No, why do you ask?” She said

“It’s just that I went to Taco Bell to get some food and when I came back my door was unlocked and I was almost positive that I locked it. Then I saw this plain black car sitting outside with this guy with a crooked nose and he seemed to be watching me. When I started to come towards him, he drove off.” Silence filled the air. “Are you still there?” I asked after a minute.

“Yeah. You probably just forgot to lock the door, but just make sure you don’t forget again. You don’t know who is out there looking to be disappointed by trying to rob your house.” She said with a failed attempt at humor. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay. Be safe” The line disconnected. I looked at the front door. I know I locked that door.

Chapter Five

After taking a deep breath and doing my best to not think about the door, I went to my office hoping to focus enough to put in some good study time when my phone went off. It was a text from Ryan. "Shoot some hoops?" it said. There is a basketball court in our subdivision we play at.

"I'm studying." I sent back

"One game?" he asked.

"Study" I told him.

"Just one game of horse?" he countered. Ryan doesn't give up easily. I sighed and was close to giving in when my phone rang. "Just play with me for an hour. You would be working right now if I hadn't convinced you to take off work for finals week and to give you more time to study for MLC. I wouldn't have tried so hard to get you to take off if I knew you wouldn't play basketball with me.”

“And all this time I thought you were just being a good friend and trying to help me do well on my exams.” I said sarcastically.

“Hell no, I just really needed someone to play basketball with. I just knew you would give in to my peer pressure.” Ryan said knowing he had me.

“Fine. But only an hour. I really do have to study. Okay?” I hoped he caught the seriousness of my tone.

“Of course. When I have ever got in the way of your studies? Before today that is.”

At least I hadn’t started studying yet. I decided to take Jack with me and let him roam around the other side of the court while we played. It would be good for him to get out.

I was happy the storm came through last night because it dropped the temperature down over twenty degrees. It was in the seventies, sunny and felt spectacular. Ryan was already there shooting around. “You ready to get dominated.” I started the trash talking.

“This coming from the pansy that can’t even ask the girl he likes out after three years of spending pretty much everyday together. For some reason you don’t scare me.”

“Just because Riley was stupid enough to marry your ass doesn’t mean you are a player, just means you are lucky that she was delusional.” I quipped back.

“Haha.” He gave a fake laugh back.

“But since you mentioned Olivia, I got to tell you something. She showed up at my doorstep at 11:30 last night...” I said.

“Shut up." He interrupted. "You need to stop watching those dirty movies before you go bed. You are starting to get reality and your dreams mixed up.” But I could tell I had his undivided attention.

“It was not a dream. She was upset. I could tell she had been crying when she got there. She was acting strange and asking if I thought people could change. Then she referred to Trevor in the past tense. I am wondering if they broke up. She wouldn't tell me.” I tried not to smile, but it crept up anyways.

“You don't know what happened between them?” He asked

“No. I asked and asked but she got upset and told me she couldn’t talk about it tonight. Then she fell asleep on my couch and,” Ryan interrupted.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let me get this straight. The girl you have been crushing on forever, and I mean forever, shows up in the middle of the night. She is soaking wet, upset and referring to her boyfriend in the past tense and you do nothing. Nothing at all?”

“She was upset dude, I couldn’t,” He interrupted again.

“You don’t have to explain. I just wanted to get it straight. I would have actually been surprised if you had made a move. Doing nothing is the norm for you.” He said.

“You are an idiot. But as I was trying to say, I woke up this morning around six and she is gone. I try to get a hold of her but it just goes straight to her voicemail. She finally called me not too long ago and told me she is going to meet me tomorrow and tell me everything that is going on in her life.” I explained.

“That’s good. I’ve been really worried about her lately. She has definitely not been herself.” He said with genuine concern. “You ready to get this game going?”

“Game time!” I answered passing him the ball to get the game started.

Our game went back and forth. Ryan would go up two then I would tie it. I would go up by one, Ryan would tie it. We were really battling and it was Ryan’s ball and he was down one point. I played some tough defense on him but he got away for a wide open look. He jumped and as he was about to release the ball from his fingers, a huge boom exploded from close by. His shot went five feet wide to the right of the basket. “I get to redo that. That was not fair.” He complained.

“Ryan, what the hell was that? It sounded like a bomb or something.” I said with concern.

“It was probably just some stupid kids shooting off fireworks or something. Let’s redo that point.” Ryan said.

“That was no firework.” There was a bunch of commotion and we saw people running away from near my street and some smoke coming from the rooftops.

“You’re right, let’s go check it out.” He said. I grabbed Jack and the three of us ran up the street. We headed down the street that everyone was running from. It was my street. Ryan stopped in his tracks and said, “Jesus Christ.” I handed him Jack and kept running up to my driveway and looked at the burning rubble that used to be my house. I put my hands on my head and just stared at my house being engulfed in flames. I got my phone out and made a call. Olivia answered, “What’s up Jake”

“You know how you were going to meet me tomorrow and you were going to explain everything?” I said.

“Yeah, what about it?” She asked with concern as she could hear the fire trucks and police sirens making their way towards where my house used to be.

“I think you are going to have to tell me right now?”

Chapter Six

I hung up with Olivia as the police and fire department arrived. They questioned Ryan and I for awhile about what could have caused the explosion. I told them I had no idea what could have happened. I didn’t bring up the man I saw outside my house or the possibility someone broke into my house. I knew that it had something to do with the explosion and I wanted to hear from Olivia before I said anything to the police.

Olivia showed up about an hour after I called her in a blue Chevy Cruze that I hadn't seen her in before. She joined Ryan and I after the police finished questioning us. They told me I would have to stay away from the property and they would try to recover anything they could. I thanked the officers and the three of us walked to Ryan’s house. His wife met us halfway to his house and he told her everything that had happened. We went into his house and they continued to talk as they went upstairs so Ryan could change. I sat at his kitchen table while Olivia went to the back door and looked out the window. “Jake, come here.” Olivia said urgently.

I hurried over, “What is it?”

“Look at the street over there.” She said while pointing out to the left at the main street. “Is that the car that was outside your house earlier?”

It was far away but there was no mistaking the black car that had been outside my house earlier. He was parked along the main road near the street that my house used to be on. I studied it as well as I could. “I can't see the driver but I am sure it is the same car.”

“We have to get out of here. I don’t want him to see that we are at Ryan’s. We don’t want to put him in danger too. I should not have come to your house last night. This is all my fault.” she said with pain in her voice.

“As you can see, I’m alright. But obviously you aren’t. Let's get out of here. And once we do, you need to tell me what the hell is going on.” I said while turning around to see Ryan coming back downstairs.

“Riley can’t believe what just happened. This is usually the most boring neighborhood.” Ryan said excitedly.

“Jake and I are going to get out of here Ryan. Until I get this straightened away, I need you to not call us. I have put Jake in danger and I don’t want to do the same thing with you and Riley. I promise I will explain everything things are taken care of.” Olivia said forcefully.

“Don’t be stupid Olivia, you know I wouldn’t let you guys try to handle this on your own. This is obviously serious. Jake’s house just blew up for Christ’s sake.” Ryan said. We could tell he wasn’t going to give in that easily.

“Ryan, you are a great friend. We have always known that.” Olivia said in that sweet calming voice that always helped me relax when I was stressed. “The problem is you have a wife and a child on the way. Don’t be stupid and take the chance of leaving them without a father and husband. The less people that are dealing with this, the better.”

“Guys,” Ryan tried to say something but I interrupted.

“You know she is right. You will get that redo game when we are finished with this thing. Just remember that I’m up one.” I said with a smile.

He laughed. “Fine. But keep him alive Olivia. I’m going to win that game.”

“Will do.” She said coming back from the window. “However, I do have one small thing you could do for us Ryan. We need to get my car and we need to get past the black car without him seeing us. I have a plan and I need you to be a distraction.”

A smile came over Ryan’s face. “I’m in.”

Olivia and I went out the back door of Ryan’s house and crept through the backyards of a couple of his neighbors, hiding along the way to stay out of the view of the black car that was only a couple hundred yards away from us. We saw Ryan driving down his street and the turning along the main street. He drove up between the black car and where we were and slowly came to a stop. As soon as he stopped, we bolted for her car. Ryan got out of his car and went to the driver’s window and we knew he was asking the man if he knew what happened to Jake’s house. We could hear the man trying to get Ryan to go away but Ryan hung in there. He knew we needed two minutes. We made it to her car, hopped in and she sped out of the subdivision. I watched out the back window as I saw Ryan get back into his car. I could see a big smile on his face as he looked at a vacant parking spot that had been filled by Olivia’s car.

Chapter Seven

"We did it." I said triumphantly.

"Unfortunately that was just the beginning." Olivia said as we raced eastbound on highway 40.

All my questions started to come back to me, "Whose car is this? I asked.

"It's Trevor's roommate's. We borrowed it two days ago because he went out of town for the week." she explained.

"What's wrong with yours? I said.

"These guys know what kind of car I drive." she said calmly.

"Oh, okay." I said. I thought about asking her who they were but I decided to wait on that. "Where are we going?" I asked after thinking for a minute.

"To the Maryville library. I want to go somewhere public where we can find some privacy." she said. "Once we get there, I will tell you everything. After what I put you through the last 24 hours, you deserve to know what is going on." We drove the rest of the way in silence.

We arrived at the school around 4. We walked quickly to the library. We found an empty study room so we went it and shut the door. It was amazing how everything that was going on had put a damper on our moods. Everyone around us was excited. It was a beautiful day and only one week of school left. Normally this would be a wonderful day but after having my house blown up and running for my life, I wasn’t feeling too cheerful.

“I know you like to talk Jake but I am going to tell you what has been going on and you are just going to have to sit back and listen for a while.” Olivia said. I nodded. “Okay,” she said brushing her hair behind her ear.“ When I met Trevor last month, we hit it off right away. He was sweet and charming and we had instant chemistry. After a couple of dates, things seemed to be going very well. We went to a bar downtown last week and were having a good time when he excused himself to go to the bathroom. I went to the bar to get a drink and saw him talking to a guy in the back of the bar. I saw him giving something to the guy and then saw them walk outside to an alleyway behind the bar. I didn’t even have to ask. I knew what he was doing. So when he drove me home, I told him we were through. He argued with me asking what he did. I told him about what I saw and it didn’t take much brain power to realize he was into drugs. He went silent as we pulled up to my apartment. I got out of the car and went inside. I figured things we over but he calls a couple days later and asks if we can meet and if I will just hear him out. It took some convincing but I reluctantly agreed to meet. He told a long story about he had been taking care of himself since he was sixteen and a few years ago, he was desperate for money and became friends with the wrong people. He knew instantly it was a mistake but once you start, they blackmail you to keep you in. He said he had been working on a plan to try and take them down and get himself out. I could tell he was being truthful and I offered to help him however I could.”

“What were you thinking Olivia, how could,” I got out before she interrupted.

“Jake, stop. I knew at the time it wasn’t a good idea, but Trevor was a good guy. We really liked each other and I knew he was serious about getting out of the drug business.” she said, with a tear forming in her eye. She wiped it away and regained her composure. “He knew the only way out was to take them down. He found out they have a camera in the alleyway where the business goes down. The video is used to blackmail people like Trevor from getting out of the business. He knew it was kept on some files in their office of the bar we were at. He thought he could infiltrate the room and use his computer skills to hack in and get the videos onto a flash drive that he could take to the police. He knew he would also get in trouble but he would rather go to jail than be their servant any longer.” She paused and looked out the window into the library. I could tell she was getting emotional, so I gave her a minute to regroup. After a minute of silence, she continued, “So he put his plan into action two nights ago. I waited at his place for him to come back. He said it would be gone about two hours. After three hours, I was starting to panic. I almost gave in and called him, but right before I could, he burst into the apartment. He held the flash drive triumphantly and we plugged it into the computer. Unfortunately our excitement didn’t last too long as the files were encrypted. He tried all night to figure out how to get to the files. By the time the sun came up, he gave up. He hid the flash drive in a secret compartment in his desk. He said he has a friend Charlie that would be able solve it. He called Charlie and Charlie agreed to help him. We were going meet with him the next day. In the meantime, Trevor said he had to go back to the bar to check in so they wouldn’t suspect he was up to anything.” Now she was starting to get really emotional and I knew things were about to take a turn for the worst.

“Why don’t we take a break for a minute?” I offered.

“No! We don’t have time. I’m fine.” she said sternly.

“Okay, continue.” I said a bit taken aback. .

She took a deep breath and continued. “We arrived at the club and he said something wasn’t right as soon as we got there. We walked in and one of the goons tells us to go outside to the alleyway. Trevor tried to play it off saying he hadn’t finished his business inside yet but the man forcefully insisted we head to the alley. Another man met us out there and started interrogating Trevor, asking him what he did with the files. Trevor’s eyes flashed with panic as he realized they knew what he had done. The guard pulled a gun and put it to my head. Trevor then panicked and told them he will tell them where the files are if they let me go. Trevor looked at me and mouthed run as the guard let me go. Trevor ran at the guard and I felt the shot barely miss me. I kept running when I heard another shot and a yell of agony. I didn’t have to look back to know what had happened. I almost ran back but realized there was no use. I took off and somehow got away far enough to call a taxi. That taxi took me to your house last night.” These last few words were barely audible. I could tell she was devastated after reliving the horrors of the previous night.

“I am so sorry Olivia.” I said sadly. I went over and hugged her and she cried into my shoulder for what seemed like eternity. Once she regained her composure, I knew we had work to do. “Okay, we need to get to his apartment and get the flash drive. If we can figure out how to break that code, then we can turn it in and put them away.” I said confidently.

“I wish it was that easy. I had the same thought this morning. I had a taxi take me to get his roommate’s car from the parking garage downtown. Then I went to his apartment but when I got there, there was a red car parked in front of his apartment. I parked out of view and watched a guy coming out of the apartment. I could tell he was angry because he couldn’t find what he was looking for. He got in the car and stayed out front, I’m assuming waiting for me to come and get the flash drive. Before  I could figure out what to do, you called and I came over. I have no clue how they knew I came to your place. They must have tracked me somehow and thought that I gave the flash drive to you and that is why they blew up your place. I’m so so sorry Jake. I never would have come if I knew you would have been dragged into it.” She said with regret.

“Don’t be. You should not have to deal with this alone and you know I would do anything for you.” she smiled and I almost told her I loved her, but then realized this would be the worst possible time for that. Thinking about almost losing her, I decided if we made it through this thing alive, I would tell her exactly how I feel about her. “So, what is our first step?”

“The first step will be getting that flash drive. We need to come up with a plan to get past those guards and get into the apartment.” she said. We sat there for a few minutes throwing ideas around but nothing seemed like it would work until a thought came to my head.

“Do you have a key to his place?” I asked, a sly smile forming.

“Yes.” She answered.

“Then I have a plan of how we are going to get into the apartment.” I said.

Chapter Eight

I pulled out my phone and called Ryan. "Glad to hear you are still alive." he said.

"Does Riley's dad still work at Pizza Hut?" I asked.

"By the way, I made it away alive and well from the guy who blew up your house. Thanks for checking." he said sarcastically.

"I'm glad you are okay." I said.

"I knew you were concerned. And yes, Riley's dad does work there still."

“Then I need a favor." I said. “I need you to borrow a uniform from her dad and the car topper from him and meet us at the Maryville library."

"Strange request but I'll be up there as soon as possible." he said, then the line disconnected. I looked at Olivia and she was smiling.

"You really think that will work?" she asked.

"I don't see why not. I will be disguised. They don't know what car we are driving and a pizza being delivered to apartment complex is hardly out of the ordinary.

"I'm glad I brought you along. I would still be sitting here not knowing what to do.”

"I am pretty awesome." I said as she gave me a smile. We talked liked we always use to. Something about Olivia always made me feel better. Whether we were about to take a final or I was about to put myself in a life threatening situation, she made me feel like everything would be alright. Now that we didn't have any secrets between us, everything felt right again. We planned out how I would get in the building, where she would watch from, where the flash drive was, and also where to look for information about Charlie since we realized we had no clue how to get a hold of him. I made the mistake of asking where Trevor’s phone was. He had it when he died, which upset her to think about. We heard a knock and a distraction came in the form of Ryan.

"I wish you guys would have told me you were in one of these private rooms. I searched the library three times." Ryan complained.

"My bad. But you should have realized we would be somewhere private.” I countered.

“Whatever,” he said with a sarcastic roll of his eyes. “Anyways, I came through big time. I also brought the pizza bag. “

Good job.” Olivia said. “Where is all of it?”

“Well there is a little bit of a catch.” he said. “There is a red car out there that has been tailing me. The driver is a tough looking dude that is parked in the library parking lot. I have a feeling he is friends with Mr. Explosion that we met earlier. We are going to have to try to find a way to get it all into your car without him noticing.”

“These guys are everywhere. This in unreal. Anybody have any ideas.” I said.

Olivia was looking out the window of the room when she suddenly stood up, “I got it. But your uniform might get a little dirty.” She said to me.

Chapter Nine

After she finished telling us her plan, Ryan and I agreed that it might just work. The librarian was a little confused when we begged her for a trash bag, but she eventually gave us one. We watched through the window of the library as Ryan headed out the door of the library. He took some library books to his car to make it look like he came here for a reason. He opened his front door and put the books in the car. Then pulled the trash bag out of one of the books that he took. We saw him discreetly putting everything in his backseat into the trash bag. He then drove over to the dumpster by the dorms and threw the trash bag in there.

We watched as our stalker started his car and followed Ryan out of the parking lot and out onto the main road. We waited a couple of minutes to be sure and ran out to the car and drove to the dumpster. I climbed over the edge and pulled out the trash bag that Ryan left for us. Everything was in there and intact, but there were a couple extra things for us. “Ryan actually threw all the trash in his car in here too.” We looked at each other and smiled.

We went to dinner at Pizza Hut. It was around 8 when we arrived. Some people can’t eat when they are nervous. That wasn’t the case for me. I put down a personal pan pepperoni pizza and some breadsticks in record time. Olivia nibbled and I could tell she was getting really nervous. “Everything is going to go perfectly fine. I promise.”

“That’s what Trevor said.” she said.

“We are going to have home field advantage. They don’t know we are coming. I should be able to get in and out quickly. Everything will be fine.” I tried to reassure her.

“You better be right or I’m going to kill you.” she said with a smile. “What time do you think we should head over there?”

“I was thinking around ten. Gives us enough darkness and it is still early enough for someone to be ordering a pizza.” I said.

“Sounds good to me.” she said. I couldn’t help but get caught up in my feelings for her as I looked into her eyes. I had to keep her safe. I couldn’t live with myself if I let something happen to her. She was only in this mess because of her big heart and I was determined to get her out it. I checked my watch and realized it was time to get the show on the road.

“Let’s do this thing.” I said and stood up and we made our way to the car and drove off to Trevor’s apartment. I drove slowly because we had some time to kill before it was 10. When we arrived, the red car was still outside keeping patrol. There was a cafe across the street. Olivia had been there before and decided this would be as good a place as any to watch from. I dropped her off and drove down the road out of view and changed into the delivery man uniform. I had the Pizza Hut shirt, khakis, a visor, and the pizza bag. I put the car topper on  the roof and took a couple deep breaths. The biggest thing was to act as if I belong and to not let the man see my face. I don’t know how well they knew of me, but I didn’t want to take the chance that this guy knew my face. I hadn’t been nervous at all until this moment. My house blew up and it barely fazed me. I was so worried about Olivia I forgot to realize that I don’t even have a home right now. I hadn’t responded to my family all day. I’m sure they were worried sick. And now everything was riding on me. My life and Olivia’s. Even Ryan was a part of this now. I had to suck it up and make sure I didn’t screw anything up. I was going to get it done. I promised myself that and also kept telling myself that once I got out of this, I would live my life to the fullest no matter what.

After giving myself this pep talk, I put our plan into motion. I pulled up and parked outside the apartment. I did my best not to look at the man in the car and kept my head down the whole time. I rang the buzzer to Trevor’s room and waited a few seconds before I did it again. Obviously there was no response from the room, but I said, “Pizza” into the speaker to try and sell the act. I then put the key in the lock and turned the knob as quickly as I could. I got it open and stepped inside. As I headed towards the stairs, I glanced outside and saw the man in the car playing on his phone. I smiled as I made my way upstairs. “Like taking candy from a baby.” I said out loud to myself.

Chapter Ten

The elevators were out in the building so I had to take the stairs up to the fifth floor. Even with my cardio workout, taking these quickly caused me to be a little winded when I reached the top. After I caught my breath,  I headed for apartment 5F. I got to the door and took one more deep breath. I put the key in and went inside.

When I walked in, I realized I didn't know anything about Trevor. It turned out that Trevor and his roommate were big movie fans. They were posters all over the walls. There was a Scarface poster, a Star Wars poster, a Star Trek poster, an Iron Man poster, and many others. The kitchen was off to the right and straight ahead was the television with a couch facing the television. The posters covered almost every inch of the wall space in the living room. There was a dvd stand with hundreds if not thousands of dvds and blu-rays. The television was on a media stand with a Wii, Playstation 3, and a XBox 360. Along the back wall were two doors which I knew from Olivia to be two bedroom doors, with Trevor’s being on the right

Everything just seemed so normal. I don't know what I was expecting but I had thought of Trevor as the enemy and a bad guy. It hit me that he wasn't the bad guy. He lost his life saving Olivia's life and trying to make up for a mistake he made. I felt guilty thinking so much about getting this second opportunity with Olivia because this man lost his life. Now I knew I needed to take these people down for Olivia and Trevor's memory.

After I caught my bearings, I noticed for the first time that someone had searched in here. They were dvds on the floor, papers on the floor, the sofa cushions were turned out and it looked like the kitchen drawers had been raided. I just hoped they hadn’t found the flash drive.

I made my way into Trevor's room. His room wasn’t as exciting as the living room. There was a full size bed against the back wall by the window. To the right of the door was a television stand with a 32 inch television and dvd player. He had a night stand with an alarm clock and lamp on it. His closet was off to the right next to the television stand and his desk was to the left of the bed along the left wall. I went over to the desk and crawled on the floor. Olivia explained that the secret compartment was on the bottom part of the desk. I really hoped that the flash drive would still be there when I opened it. I found the compartment and was startled to see that it required a four digit combination lock to open it up. At least the flash drive would still be in there since the compartment was still locked.

I regrouped after the initial shock and gave Olivia a call. “How is everything going in there?” she asked with anxiety in her voice.

“Well I’m in. That’s the good news. But I do have some bad news.” I said.

“What is wrong?” She said with some panic in her voice.

“I found the secret compartment but it requires a four digit pin to open it. Did Trevor ever tell you what it was?” I asked.

“What? A four digit pin? No he didn’t say anything about it. I can’t believe he didn’t say anything about it. What are we going to do?” She said.

“Well it is probably a number that means something to him. Maybe his birthday, or his parents birthday, or ATM card pin number if you know that.” I said hopefully.

“Let me think for a minute.” She said.

“How is our stalker friend down there?” I asked.

“He is still playing on his phone. He doesn’t suspect anything. Hopefully we can get you out of there soon though because the longer that car sits there, the more likely he will discover something is going on. Okay I have one, try 1-1-1-4. That is his birthday.”

I lined those numbers up without success. “No luck.” I said.

“Damn it.” she exclaimed. “How about 1-9-8-4?”

“Nope.” I said, the concern starting to show in my voice. “I cannot believe we came this far and are going to get stuck like this.” Then something hit me. “Wait a minute, I might have an idea.” I put a pin in. 1-0-2-2, Olivia’s birthday. I heard a click and when I pulled, it opened and a flash drive was taped to the top of the door. “Got it.” I said almost in shock as I pocketed the flash drive.

“You did! You are amazing. What was it?” she asked.

“Your birthday.” I told her. I could tell it hit her hard. I gave her a second to take it in and regroup. “Now where do you think I should look to try and find information on our boy Charlie?”

"I would say that his desk would be a good place to start." That's what she thought. Once I got up off the ground and looked at his desk, I realized that it had been heavily searched. Papers were strewn everywhere. His laptop was open and on. All of the drawers were open and a mess. I searched through the drawers trying to find a clue. Most of what I found were receipts and information about video games. I called Olivia back. She didn't answer. I started to panic a little. I kept looking for a few minutes when my phone rang. it was Olivia. "You are a hard woman to get a hold of." I said jokingly.

"I'm sorry. The waitress would not stop talking to me. Have you had any luck?"

"No," I answered," and I don't think I'm going too. I don't know what we are going to do."

"Did you look on his computer?" she asked.

"It just loaded up. Do you know this password?" I said hopefully.

"I got it this time. s-a-b-1-7-8-1-7-8." she said confidently. "Don't ask me what it means though because I have no idea."

"I bet Trevor didn't know what that password meant." I said. Once I was in, I started going through his My Documents file to see if anything stood out that would help us. Unfortunately, nothing did. I pulled up his email and looked through his contacts. Nothing. I then looked at his recent email and was about to give up on the computer when I saw a folder titled help. I searched through it for a little bit and then sorted by name. I saw one e-mail to a Charlie. The email’s subject line said password help. I was about to click on it when Olivia said," Jake, get out!"

"What's going on Olivia?" I asked with concern.

"He must have gone in when the waitress was talking to me but the man in the car is gone. I'm on my way in." she said.

"Are you sure he isn't just stretching his legs?" I asked.

"I can't find him, just get out." she begged. I closed the laptop and took one last quick look at his desk. Then as I turned to leave the room, a loud noise filled the quiet room. The click of a gun. "Olivia"

"Yeah?" she said.

"I found him."

Chapter Eleven

The man took the phone out of my hands and threw it against the ground. It shattered into hundreds of pieces. "C'mon man, my buddy just got me a really good deal on that phone. Was that really necessary?" I said sarcastically. I don't think he was laughing.

"Shut up." The man said. I could tell by his voice he wasn't the smartest guy. I might have a chance to outsmart him. What I didn't have on my side was the fact he was about six foot four and 275 pounds. I wasn't going to out muscle him. "Now where is the flash drive?" he demanded.

"I don't know what you are talking about. I'm just here to deliver some pizzas. It looks like I have the wrong apartment. Why don't I just get out of here an out of your way?" I offered.

"Oh really," he laughed, "So this isn't you?" He handed me a picture of me taken outside my apartment this morning. It startled me for a moment. It made me wonder how much about me they knew and if my family was in danger. I regained my composure quickly. "There is an uncanny resemblance. I hope you find the guy." I handed him the picture and made my way for the door when he put the gun in my chest and pushed me back.

"You're not going anywhere. Now where is the flash drive?" he asked again. I had a plan. I didn't have time to make sure it was a good plan. I had to act.

"Olivia!" I yelled out. "We are in here!"

As the man turned towards the living room, I took the laptop and hit him in the back with it. The laptop broke into two pieces, which I realized wasn't good. He didn't fall but he dropped the gun towards the television stand. I went for the gun, but just as my hand reached it, he caught me in the stomach with his foot. It completely knocked the wind out of me. He rolled me over, then started searching my pockets. He found the flash drive. He dragged me to my feet as I finally started to catch my breath. I was not sure what to do now. He had the gun, the path to the door, and the flash drive. Then I thought I heard something. I took a stab in the dark. "Olivia! In Trevor's room!" I shouted.

The man laughed, "Are you really going to try that again?" Now I was certain someone else was in the apartment. I just hoped it was Olivia. I had to keep talking so he didn't hear her.

"Well, you were dumb enough to fall for it the first time." I said.

"Well unfortunately for you, I didn't fall for it this time. I will tell your girlfriend goodbye for you." he said with a grin as he pointed the gun at my head. He turned off the safety and put his finger on the trigger.

"Watch your back." I said casually.

A confused look came over his face, "What?" he said. But before he could get anything else out, there was a thud and he fell to the ground. Standing with a smile where the man was just seconds before was Olivia with a recently used baseball bat.

Chapter Twelve

"Nice swing. It looks like he is still breathing, so not a home run. I'll give you a ground ruled double though." I said with a smile. She ran up and hugged me.

"I'm so happy I made it in time. I don't know what I would have done if he would have ..." her voice tailed off unable to finish that thought. Then she pulled back and we looked into each others eyes. There was a spark that would be impossible to deny. All the years of almosts were bubbling up to the surface. I realized that I had been wasting precious time that I could have spent with her. I could see in her eyes that she felt it too. I almost kissed her, but the fact that we were in her dead boyfriend’s room with a man passed out who just tried to kill us put an end to that thought. Not a fairytale first kiss. Then the moment ended when the man on the ground started to moan. “We need to get out of her.”

“Where is the laptop?” She said. I pointed to the ground where the laptop was in two pieces. “Oh.” I could hear the disappointment in her voice, but it went as soon as it came. “Let’s get out of here. We will figure it out.”

I went over to the attempted murderer and grabbed the flash drive off the ground where he had dropped it. We then took off out the door and hurried down the stairs. We hopped in Trevor’s roommate’s car that was still parked in front of the apartment complex. I drove and we raced off towards the highway.

“We didn’t quite think this all the way through.” Olivia said.

“What didn’t we think through?” I asked.

“Where are you driving to?” she asked. “We have to go somewhere they won’t find us.”

“Good question. You are right, I didn’t think about that.” I said with concern. “Maybe we could stay in a hotel in the area. I wouldn’t think they could find us if we did that.”

“That thought came to me too but I don’t know. We also need to find a car. They know what car we are driving now. I don’t know what we are going to do about that.” Olivia said, making a good point.

I thought about a favor someone owed me and smiled, “I actually might know someplace we can go and someone that will be willing to help us out.” I saw that it was a little past eleven o’ clock. “And I can guarantee he would still be up.”

It took about 30 minutes to reach our destination. He lived out in St. Peters, which was a city about 15 minutes from my home town of O’Fallon. We pulled in the driveway of a good sized two story house. There were three cars parked in the driveway, two more in the street, a mobile basketball hoop flipped over in the street in front of the house, a bike in the middle of the yard, and some beer cans in the grass by the front door. The grass was overdue for a cut and there was no landscaping at all, besides the beer cans. I parked along the curb in front of the house. I didn’t call him because I didn’t want to give him time to think about it and turn us down. I knew if I surprised him in person, he would feel obligated to help me. I made Olivia stay in the car until I could talk to him about our situation.

I went up to the door and after knocking twice, my old friend Jeff answered. There was a lot of background noise since I was correct in assuming Jeff would be throwing a party. “Jake, my savior! Long time, no see. What are you doing here so late?”

“Hey Jeff, hate to interrupt you in the middle of your party." I apologized.

“No problem, what brings you here? Looks like something serious by the look on your face.” he said looking me over.

“Well you remember how I pretty much took all your online courses for a year so your dad wouldn’t cut you off?” I said accusingly.

“Shh, that’s a secret. I am guessing you are needing me to repay that favor.” he said.

“Correct. My friend and I need a place to crash tonight and to borrow a car in the morning.” I asked.

“That is a weird request. Are you in trouble?” he asked.

“Do you really want to know?” I said with a serious tone.

“You are right. I don’t want to have to worry about it. I still need to finish enjoying my party. You two can crash upstairs. You will still be able to hear us some but should be quieter.” he said.

“You rock man, I really appreciate this.” I said thankfully.

“No problem, but we are even now.” he said, putting his hand out.

I took his hand and shook it. “Even.”

I went back to the car and told Olivia that we had a place to stay and a new ride for tomorrow. I could sense the relief in her as she took a deep breath. “You are the best. We are lucky this guy owed you a favor.

“Agreed. And the fact that he was a little buzzed which made it easier to convince him.” I said.

She gave a little laugh as we grabbed our stuff and went into Jeff’s house. It looked like the typical bachelor pad. In the living room was a couple of recliners that were occupied by some drunken friends of his. There were about ten people there in all. Some were already passed out and others were close to joining them. Jeff seemed to have these parties almost every night. He did not have much drive and his father still took care of him. He made him work at his company part-time but everything in this house was paid for by his father. There was a keg on the kitchen counter, a beer pong table in the middle of the living room, a foosball table in the corner of the room and his television was a massive 60 inch 3D television. We made our way safely through the mess of the living room to the stairs and headed upstairs with Jeff leading the way. He pointed us to a bedroom off to the right. “That will be your room tonight. There isn’t much in there, but there is a bed and some pillows and blankets in the closet. I won’t be up before noon. Here are the keys to that red Grand Prix in the driveway.” He tossed me the keys, “Take that tomorrow if I’m not up, which I can guarantee I won’t be.” He gave me a wink and headed back downstairs.

We made our way into the bedroom and both flopped onto the bed. We didn’t realize how tired we were until we laid down. I took the right side and she took the left. I thought about how I always wanted to be in this situation with Olivia, if you take away the whole murderous drug dealer coming after us out of the equation. I lied there for a minute with my eyes close. “So, how do you think we will find Charlie.” I said while yawning. Olivia didn’t answer. I looked over and she was passed out. “Let’s sleep on it, good idea.”

Chapter Thirteen

I woke up and checked my phone. It was 8:00 a.m. I thought I would have slept much longer but now that I was up, it was time to figure out our next move. I looked down and Olivia was still sleeping, her head on my chest. Any other day, and I would have stayed in bed like this all morning. But this wasn’t an ordinary day. We had to figure out who Charlie was and oust these drug dealers so we could move on with our lives. “Olivia.” I whispered towards her. No answer. “Olivia.” I said louder and she started to stir.

“I don’t want to wake up Jake. That means we will have to face the troubles that we have in front of us. Can’t we just stay like this?” Olivia begged.

“Nothing would make me happier. But I need to protect you and the requires taking these guys down.” I answered. We got up and took turns using the bathroom to freshen up. We had to wear the same clothes, but luckily Jeff was a good host. He had people stay often after long nights so he had a good supply of toiletries. It definitely helped being able to feel clean after the chaos of yesterday. I went downstairs to grab us some food. There wasn’t much but I did find some Cheerios and some milk that had not expired yet. I took it and some bowls upstairs and we ate cereal  in bed. Not exactly the breakfast of champions but we were happy to get some food in us. After not talking about it all morning, I finally gave in. “How in the world are we going to find this guy?”

“I wish I knew.” Olivia said grimly.

“I just really wish I hadn’t broken that computer on the guy. It did nothing for me.” I said.

“If you hadn’t, you would be dead right now and I would be running for my life. You did what you had to. Don’t blame yourself. We will figure this out.” Olivia said, doing her best to console me.

"I know but it was our best shot." I couldn't help being a little down with myself. I couldn't knock him out, but Olivia could.

"We will figure it out. I promise." she said.

"Yeah." I said. We sat in silence for about twenty minutes. I tried to think of anything, but no good ideas came to me.We didn't even know his last name, or if Charlie was his real name. "I wish we had Trevor's phone so we could just go into his phonebook and call him."

"Trevor's phone." Olivia said quietly and thoughtfully.

"Yeah, the phone that we will never see again." I said.

"I have an idea. But we will have to bring Jon into this." Olivia said with some excitement coming out in her voice.

I was starting to understand where she was coming from. Jon used to work at Sprint for three years. He got his younger brother, Brandon, a job there a year ago and he still worked there. "I think I know where you are going with this."

"We can get Brandon to look up what number Trevor called that night and we have Charlie's number." Olivia said.

I gave her a big smile, "You are a genius Olivia.

Chapter Fourteen

I looked around for Jeff to thank him. I gave up on that when I found him passed out in his t-shirt and boxers on one of his recliners. We left at about 9:30. Since my phone was in Trevor’s room in a lot of little pieces, Olivia had called Jon and he agreed to meet us at his brother's store in Richmond Heights. We arrived around 10:10 at the Sprint store. We saw Jon inside talking to his brother Brandon. We walked in and Jon came over and gave Olivia a hug and shook my hand. “What the hell is going on with you guys? I hear your house blew up last night and then I can’t get a hold of you, I call Ryan and he says he can’t tell me what is going on. So please shed some light on what the hell is going on.”

“I’m afraid we can’t tell you everything right now Jon.” Olivia said. She continued, “It’s very dangerous and the less you know the better.”

“Screw that. You know I can kick some ass.” he said confidently.

“You are already helping us. Right now, just having it be the two of us is best case scenario. There are some very bad guys after us.” I said.

“Jesus, what did you get yourselves into?” he asked.

“It’s complicated. But tomorrow, with the help of you and your brother, we should be safe and sound and able to tell you this whole story over a couple of cold ones. We have a plan and there is no reason to worry.” Olivia said soothingly. She actually made me feel like this whole thing would be a breeze.

Jon looked back and forth between the two of us a couple of times. Then he sighed deeply and turned around and walked towards his brother at the counter. I looked at Olivia, “Nice job.” I mouthed to her.

“I think I convinced myself this thing will be easy.” she said with a smile. I laughed under my breath.

Brandon was typing something on his computer when we came up to him. “Hey guys, how have you been?” he asked pleasantly.

“We’ve been better. I appreciate you helping us out. I know it isn’t exactly part of your job description, but Jon said you didn’t seem to mind.” Olivia said.

“Of course. Luckily my manager is out of town so it isn’t a big deal at all. Like you said, not exactly in the rulebook but anything for you guys.” Brandon said. “So what’s your buddy’s number.”

“314-555-5487.” Olivia told him.

“Looks like it is a prepaid number. It will be a little tougher than I thought, but luckily you are having me do this and not my brother. I know some tricks. Why don’t you look around for a few minutes while I figure this out.” he said.

“Sounds good. Thanks Brandon.” I said to him. He nodded and became engrossed in his computer. Unlike his brother Jon, the big time athlete and jock, Brandon was much more of a nerdy guy who was really into computers and online gaming. They were both good salesman but in completely different ways. Jon was the social guy who you liked instantly and wanted to buy from. Brandon was great at fitting people with what they should be using and people really liked what he did for them. I looked around with a lot of interest because I had entered the market for a new phone just last night. I decided to get a phone today, but I looked at the basic phones. I had a good feeling that this phone might not last twenty four hours. Olivia helped me make a final decision on a basic black flip phone. Brandon had one of his co-workers get my phone up and running as he was busy on the computer. As I was disconnecting a test phone call to Jon, Brandon exclaimed, “Got it! Just want to let you guys know that I rock. I am not usually able to see the bill this early but I am a rock star. So what time was the call made?”

“Around 11 p.m. three nights ago.” Olivia said happily. Brandon took one of his business cards and wrote the number on the back. He handed it to Olivia. “You ready to take these guys down?” She asked me.

“Of course. Thank you so much guys. You guys might have literally saved our lives.” I said.

“Anytime you two. Let me know if you need anymore help. And don’t forget those cold ones you promised me Olivia.” Jon said with a smile.

“Of course.” Olivia said as we headed for the door. “We will tell you everything. It’s one of hell of a story.

“Hell being the key word.” I chimed in.

Chapter Fifteen

Once we got into the car, I pulled out my new phone and dialed the number on the back of the business card. It rang three times before there was finally an answer. It startled me when a woman answered. “Hello?”

“Who is this?” She said harshly.

“May I speak to Charlie?” I asked.

“Who’s asking?” she said with the same tough tone.

“A friend of Trevor.” I said.

There was a pause on the other line. “How did you get this number?” she said nervously.

Olivia snagged the phone from me. “Hi, my name is Olivia and I,” she was cut off.

“Olivia, Trevor’s Olivia?” the woman’s tone changed.

“Yes.” Olivia answered.

“I heard he is dead. Is it true?” she asked.

“Yes.” Olivia said grimly.

“That is horrible news." She said, her tone softening with sadness. "He told me you were trying to help him get his life back on track. I wish he wouldn't have gotten started. I told him it wouldn't end well." She said and then paused for a moment. “He said he needed my help to crack an encryption on the evidence.”

“That’s true. My friend and I were hoping you could help us. We are trying to take down the guys that killed Trevor.” Olivia said with desperation in her voice.

“Meet me at the Starbucks in Kirkwood as soon as you can. I will be there in five minutes.”

“See you then.” Olivia said and hung up the phone. She used the GPS on her phone to locate the Starbucks and we drove there quickly. We arrived around noon. We went inside and had trouble spotting her at first. Then as we made our way to the back of the coffee shop, we saw her wave to us from a booth. She was pretty. Curvy with green eyes and black hair. She was wearing a blue tank top, jeans, and sunglasses.

"Olivia and the friend I presume?" she asked directing us to sit across from her.

"Jake." I said putting my hand out to introduce myself, but she wasn't interested.

"You move on quickly." she said sharply to Olivia.

"We aren't together." she said. I knew she had to say it but it still stung. "He is a good friend that is trying to help me avenge Trevor's death. Now are you going to help us?"

"When Trevor first told me his plan, I knew he would end up dead. I really hated you then. You were the reason he was doing what he was doing. But the night he died I realized he was already dead. He couldn't get out and he hated living under their control. You helped him dream again, and I thank you for that." she said staring at nothing.

Olivia began to tear up. "How did you know Trevor?" I asked.

"He was my half-brother.” Charlie said.

“I didn’t know he had a sister?” Olivia said with shock.

“Not many people did. We both had a deadbeat dad. He always took care of me but did his best to hide me from the problems he was involved with. And yes to your earlier question. I will help you." Charlie said

Olivia was still a little emotional but I was definitely feeling better that we had Charlie on our side.

"Thank you." Olivia was able to get out.

"Now where is this flash drive?" Charlie asked. I pulled it out of my pocket while she pulled her laptop out of her bag and turned it on. She plugged the flash drive in while Olivia and I waited anxiously.

"You two might want to get something to eat. This is going to take a little bit." Charlie told us.

I didn't realize how hungry I was until she mentioned food. "Sounds good. I'm starving." Olivia and I went to the counter to order while Charlie stayed back and worked feverishly on her computer. We ordered some food and coffee then stepped off to the side while we waited. "I can't wait until she is done and we can finish this thing."

"Same here. I just want to go home and sleep in my bed." Olivia said.

"Me too. I probably will need to wash my sheets first though. They probably got a little dirty in the," I used my hands to signal an explosion and said with a smile, "Boom."

Olivia laughed, "So sorry about that. I guess I owe you a place to stay."

"You definitely do. And I'll take your bed since you seemed fine sleeping on my couch." I said.

"My bed is plenty big enough for the two of us." she said. I looked into her eyes but couldn't tell if she was serious or not. I definitely hoped she was. Our moment was interrupted when they called my name to come get our food and coffee. We grabbed our food and went and sat down again with Charlie. She barely acknowledged we were back. Just glanced up and then went back to work. She kept muttering under her breath and I'm pretty sure by the words she was using that things were not going well.

"I'm going to need some help from my roommate with this. We need to head back to my place." She wrote down her address on a napkin and gave it to us. "I'm going to leave now. You two leave in five minutes. Take a long way and make sure you aren't being followed." Then she left and we waited.

"Do think it is weird Trevor didn't tell me he had a sister?" Olivia asked.

I thought about it for a moment, "No, Trevor didn't live an easy life. I think he tried to hide some of the bad stuff like his dad and the drugs. He probably just wanted to start fresh with you."

She stared out the window and thought about that. Then quickly recovered and checked the time on her phone, "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be." I replied.

We made our way to Charlie's place and tried to take the longest way possible. Nobody was following us so we finally made our way to the apartment. It was your average apartment in an average neighborhood. We knocked on the door to apartment 1F. Charlie answered the door, "I thought you two got lost."

"Just wanted to be certain we didn't bring the bad guys here." I said. She nodded and invited us in. The apartment was very ordinary. White walls with nothing on them. When we walked in, the living room was off to the right. There was a television and DVD player in the living room, but nothing else except a sofa. The kitchen to the left had all the appliances but nothing more than that. She guided us straight ahead to where the bedrooms were. She opened the door on the left and we followed her in. My jaw almost hit the floor. This room was anything but ordinary. There was a bed, dresser, and television crammed along the back wall. But along the left side was what I can only describe as the coolest computer I'd ever seen. There were three monitors that were hanging from wall mounts. each monitor had to be thirty inches. There were two speakers hanging above the monitors.

But maybe the strangest thing was who was sitting at the computer. Charlie being a girl surprised me but this took the cake for surprises. I had been assuming that her roommate would be a girl. It turned out it was one of the biggest people I had ever seen. He had to close to seven feet tall and easily over 300 pounds. He was African American and I thought he should be playing left tackle for the Cowboys. Charlie introduced us, "Olivia and Jake, this is David."

David stood up and walked over to us smiling, "Nice to meet you two."

"And nice to meet you too." Olivia said. He motioned for us to come over to the computer. We went over and saw a lock screen on the computer that I was seeing for the first time. On the other side of that lock screen was our freedom.

"Alright guys, I've just started working on getting you into these files. I've taught Charlie a lot, but I'm still the master. From the looks of it, I should get us in in about twenty minutes." he said confidently, sitting down in his heavy duty chair.

"Let's let him do his thing. Come on into the kitchen and let's get a drink." Charlie said. We followed her out of the room and into the kitchen. "David is a genius with computers. There is no website he can't hack or code he can't crack. He actually has a lot of people who own websites that pay him to try and hack them to test security." she said. Then she laughed and said, "And then they keep working on their security. He has actually worked for the government a couple times."

"Wow." Olivia said. "I'm happy we found you two."

Then my curiosity got the best of me and I asked, "If you don't mind me asking, how in the world did you two become roommates?"

"That would be Trevor who set that up. Trevor and David were good friends growing up. When I was eighteen, I ran away from home. I was always in trouble and hated my parents. I tried to get Trevor to let me stay with him but he was already mixed up in drugs and didn't want me exposed to it. Right about that time, David's roommate moved out. David is a character and roommates didn't last long. So Trevor had the thought of having me room with David. I had always been good with computers and Trevor hoped David could help me get me on a good path. David and I have butted heads but for the most part I've made Trevor proud." she explained. She was having a hard time not getting emotional.

"That's great that you were able to get things turned around." Olivia said.

"Yeah, I just wish Trevor didn't die trying to turn his life around. David and I helped him get into the drug guy’s office and get the files on that flash drive. I should have made him come here to figure it out but he was confident he could do it. Plus he wanted to be with you." she nodded at Olivia.

Olivia didn’t have much time to think that over. David yelled from the other room, “Get in here everyone. The moment of truth has arrived.”

Chapter Sixteen

We all rushed to David’s side. He said he was finishing up and should have it in one minute. “Should we call the police now?” I asked.

“Let’s wait to see exactly what is on there before we do that, just to make sure.” Charlie answered. We watched as the lock screen dissolved away. We all stood motionless as we stared at the computer screen. There were hundreds of files, all of them named with different people’s names.

“Let’s take these bastards down.” Olivia said. She pulled out her phone and started to dial 9-1-1.

David backed out of the file. Then a screen came up asking for a password. David typed the password again. Password declined.

“Did you mistype it?” Charlie asked him.

He typed it again with the same result. Then a timer came on the screen and started counting down from thirty seconds. Olivia hung up just as the 9-1-1 operator answered. “What the hell is going on?” She asked.

There was panic in David’s voice, “I don’t know. It looks like it is trying to self destruct. I don’t know what to do. I won’t be able hack this in the ten seconds.”

We watched helplessly as the time ran out. Nothing happened. “Wow, that was,” I stopped instantly as the files started to disappear one by one. David starting clicking furiously but nothing was happening.

“Stop it!” Olivia yelled at David.

“I’m trying. I don’t know what is going on.” David said.

I watched blankly, knowing there was no hope. Charlie seemed to have the same thought because she just took a few steps back, sat on the edge of the bed and put her head in her hands. Olivia just kept shouting at David. I knew she knew there was no hope but was just in denial. Then they stopped arguing as the final file deleted away. Our lifeline, gone in a flash.

“That was our last hope. We are finished.” Olivia said bleakly. “Trevor died trying to save me and gave me the key to saving myself and I still am going to let them get me.

“I don’t know what happened. I’ve never seen this before. I am so sorry guys.” David said

“They had to have had it setup that if the files were on another computer there was a second password to protect them from this situation. I bet you could have solved this one much easier than the first one. It wouldn’t need that much protection since you only get thirty seconds.” Charlie said.

“David, could you figure out the password now even though the files are gone.” I asked.

“I probably could. I think I could go in and find out what it was and how to get through it.” he said.

“Figure it out.” I said determinedly. “Charlie, I know we have been a big burden but I need some more help.”

“What is it?” She said, obviously still down.

“I want you to help me go in like Trevor and get those files.” I said.

“What? There is no way I’m going to let you go in there and risk your life. We have almost died the first time. Let’s just try and go to the police.” Olivia said.

“There is no way that will work. We have no evidence. They won’t be able to bring any of those guys in and that will put our families in danger if they know we went to the police. We have got to put these guys away. We can do this. Charlie and David can help us. They have done it once before and we have already shown we are a good team. We can do this Olivia. You are going to have to be brave and be a part of this too.” I said, hoping I sounded inspirational. I definitely wasn’t as confident as I was trying to portray but it seemed to be working. Everyone seemed to be believing that we had a chance. And that is all we needed. A chance.

Chapter Seventeen

David worked on the computer while Charlie went through the logistics of our plan and what we needed to do to be successful. When they went the first time, it was at night when everything was shut down. I brought up the point that they will probably have more security now. We talked over what we could do to get around the security guards. We didn’t really have much of an idea until Olivia said, “We don’t go in at night. We go in while people are there. I will cause a distraction and then Jake goes into the office and gets the computer online for you and David.”

“I can’t let you go in their Olivia, they know you.” I said.

“They don’t all know me, plus I can make it hard to recognize me. There is no other way for this to work. I got you into this mess. I am going to help you get us out.” Olivia said.

“I don’t like it." I said.

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t like, Jake. Olivia is right. This is going to be the only way we are going to be able to do this. I want to get these guys. This is how is it going to go down.” and then Charlie went into her plan. “We will use some communication devices so we can stay in touch. We will take David’s van so he can set up from there and get ready to intercept the files. I will walk you guys through the building. We were able to get blueprints last time. We can also get into their system and turn off the security alarms so Jake can get in the office and unlock the computer. All we need is a distraction to get the kingpin, Ivan, away from his office.”

“He always goes outside around 10:30 to make a deal. How about as soon as he goes out, I pull the fire alarm. He will obviously head to the office once he realizes what’s going on but with all the chaos, Jake should have enough time to get in and out of there.” Olivia said.

“That should work.” Charlie said. She headed to her room and came back with something in her hand. “Here you go, you will need these.”

“I’m guessing this is a taser.” I said hesitantly.

“Yeah, you will need that. I can guarantee there will be a guard at the office. A gun would be too loud. This should keep him out long enough for you to take care of business.” Charlie said. I was happy a gun would be too loud. I had never thought about shooting a gun.

“Is this the key to the office?” I said very confused.

“No that is a skeleton key. Should open any lock. I told you I was a troublemaker as a kid. That is one of my favorite tools. Can be very handy.” Charlie said with a smile.

After we finished ironing out the details, Charlie went and checked on David. Olivia and I sat at the kitchen table. Charlie had made a frozen pizza for us all to snack on but neither Olivia or I had much of an appetite. I nibbled some but my nerves were getting the best of me this time.

“Do you think we can pull this off?” Olivia asked me while playing with her food.

“I really do. I trust you with my life. You will be awesome and I care about you too much not to get the job done in there. I am just glad we have these two to help us because I know nothing about computers.” I answered.

“Yeah,” Olivia said, “Charlie seems confident that she can knock out those alarms. That will give us a fighting chance.

“We got this Olivia.” I took her hand and looked her in the eye. “We will walk out of there together and take these bastards down. They have ruined enough lives. Trevor may have lost his life, but think of all the people just like him that he will have helped get their lives back.”

She squeezed my hand and we just sat quietly holding hands for a few moments until Charlie and David came out of his room. “David did it. He has the password for the the second lock screen. And he will bring his own program to copy the files right away onto his computer so no other security measures will kick in.” Charlie explained.

“Thank you David. You rock my man.” I said shaking his hand.

“I do what I can. But I wouldn’t thank me until after we get you out of that place in one whole piece.” David said not helping me feel better about the situation.  Ivan's headquarters was a bar close to downtown St. Louis. Olivia had been there only the one time with Trevor so she didn't know the place very well. She brought her laptop, pulled up the blueprints, and we came up with a point of attack. In the back of the bar there was an unmarked door that led to the back hallway where Ivan's office was. From what Trevor had told Charlie, there would be a guard at this door and a guard at the office door.

"We will have to make a distraction to get past the first guard. We can't let him suspect anything is wrong." I said.

"Well, maybe I can keep his attention long enough for you to sneak past." Olivia offered.

"No. You will need to be able to follow Ivan into the alley so you know when to set off the alarm. I will go in with Jake and be the distraction." Charlie said.

"Come on Charlie. Don't be stupid. They don't even know who you are. You are putting your life at risk for no reason. Don't do it." David pleaded.

"He's right. This is our battle. Not yours." Olivia said.

"I guess everyone is forgetting Trevor was my brother. I want to take these guys down more than anyone. I'm doing this." Charlie said with finality. I appreciated her dedication but was pretty sure I wanted to take these guys down just as much as her. I did value my life.

"Okay. Well you will get to enjoy taking Ivan down from the inside." I said smiling at her. We decided we would get there around ten to get setup. It was 9 now so we had thirty minutes before we needed to leave.

David and Charlie went to David's room to get his laptop and other equipment he needed. Olivia and I stayed in the kitchen. We studied the blueprints together to try and memorize any escape routes we might need.

"Olivia." I said and she looked at me. " I should have told you this a long time ago. I don't know why it's taken me three years to finally say this but I,"

I was stopped as she put her finger to my lips. "Not now. Give me something to look forward to when we get out of there." she said.

"Okay." I said putting my head back into the blueprints.

"But Jake," I looked up. "I feel the exact same way."

My head raced a little bit with those words. The moment ended abruptly when David asked for me to come help him move some equipment to his van.

I carried some equipment out to his van. It was an ordinary red van, except for the inside. there were two seats built into the wall. There was also a table built into the wall. He definitely seemed like a world class hacker. He grabbed the equipment out of my hands and said we would be ready to go in five minutes, once he gets everything in place.

I went inside and let the ladies know we were ready to go. Charlie grabbed the taser and skeleton key while Olivia grabbed the blueprints. I carried out the bag of clothing and makeup. Charlie had a wig that Olivia would wear to help disguise herself and would wear some makeup to disguise her face.

We all got into the van. I sat in the back with David. Charlie drove while Olivia rode shotgun. It was a very quiet and tense drive. Everyone just thought about what they had to do so that the four of us left alive. I wasn't very comfortable in the back but I barely noticed as I completely focused on the task at hand. We arrived around 10. Charlie parked on the side of a road fairly close to the bar. Closer than I would have liked, but we had to be close enough that David could hack their Internet connection.

Once I got into Ivan's office, I would unlock the computer which would allow David to access the files. At least that was his hope.

"How's it going big boy?" Charlie asked, turning towards the back to look at him.

"Almost there. Olivia, you should start getting ready." he said.

Olivia put on the black wig. In a dark area like the bar, it should do the trick. She then used plenty of black makeup to capture a Gothic look. I definitely preferred the real Olivia. She put a clip on nose ring and asked, “How do I look?”

“Not my favorite look, but should do the trick tonight.” I said.

“I’m set to go everyone. Let’s rock and roll.” David said comfortably from his chair in the van.

“Alright everyone put these in your ears. They are our way of communicating with each other.” Charlie said. We tested them out and everyone was able to hear each other. “Are you sure you don’t want to come inside? It’s going to be a lot of fun.” Charlie said sarcastically to David.

“I have a good view from right here. You kids have fun though.” David said.

“I always do.” Charlie said with a smirk. “Let’s do this thing you two.”

“I’m ready.” Olivia said pulling at her wig one last time.

“Same here. I am already picturing sitting in a courtroom watching these dudes get sentenced.” I said adjusting the Cardinals hat I was wearing to try and conceal my face.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We need to do everything perfect and a lot of luck.” Charlie said. “Alright Olivia you head in. We will follow in a few minutes. Remember to pull at 10:30 exactly. Is everyone at 10:17 right now?” We all nodded. “Good luck Olivia.”

“Thanks. See you all on the other side.” Olivia said as she got out of the van and headed towards the bar. She walked right in and everything seemed to be going according to plan. At 10:22, Charlie and I got out and walked inside together. It was Saturday night and you could tell by the bar. It was packed. It seemed like it was almost wall to wall with people.There was a band in the back playing some rock music. It was a group of four guys and one girl, the girl being the vocalist. They were playing loud and you barely hear anything else. The bar area was set off to the left. There were tables and restrooms off to the right. There was a dance floor in the middle that was jam packed. And the only thing I cared about, the door that led to back room along back left wall.

A night like tonight is the perfect cover for them to do business. It is so loud and crazy no one would notice anything suspicious going on. Charlie and I headed towards the back where the doorway to the backroom was. We were right that there would be a guard. He was trying not to look like a guard. But every time someone came near the door, he moved towards it and always stayed around it.

“Okay, we have to get going. How are you going to distract him. I asked.

“I haven’t actually figured that part out yet. Just be ready for when I do.” she said. That answer should have made me panic, but something about this girl made me realize she didn’t accept failure. It was 10:27 though and we had to move.

“Are you guys in?” Olivia asked through the earpiece.

“We are about to be.” Charlie answered. She made her way towards the guard. She had a devilish smile on her face. She walked straight up to him and he tried to stop her. There was going to be no stopping her. She got close to him and started to whisper in his ear. He was starting to smile when all of a sudden his face turned to shock and agony. Her knee was just leaving his privates as she had kneed him as hard as I could ever imagine. She continued to hug him so no one knew what was going on. She brought her right hand down and motioned me to go ahead. I slowly worked my way to the door and tried to casually to get in without anyone noticing that I was going back there. I looked at my watch and saw it was 10:29.

“Is Ivan in place?” I asked Olivia.

“No. Trevor said he is always here at this time. I don’t know where he is. I think we should abandon the plan. We don’t know where he is?” She said starting to panic.

“No. We go on with the plan. Let’s give him another minute and then you just pull the alarm no matter what.” Charlie said. “We’ve come too far to give up.”

“I agree with Charlie.” I whispered having to be quiet with the guard about 50 feet away from me. “I’m in position. Once you pull it, I will take this guard down and we will be in business. “You ready David?”

“I’m ready. Just get that computer unlocked and I will hack the damn thing.” David replied.

“Alright. Fifteen seconds and then I’m going to pull. He still isn’t here. Be careful you two. He could be anywhere.” Olivia said.

“He better hope he isn’t around here because if I see him, he will pay for my brother’s death.” Charlie said angrily.

“Five, four, three, two, one. Showtime.” Olivia said. Then the fire alarms starting ringing everywhere. The guard by Ivan’s office door started to look around. I had to act fast while he was distracted. He started walking toward the other end of the hall. I ran after him knowing I didn’t have to be quiet because of the fire alarm. I got about five feet away and shot him with the taser. He went down with a loud thud and continued to twitch. I did not hang around long knowing I didn’t have much time. I pulled out the skeleton key, put it in and after some maneuvering heard the door click. I was in.

Chapter Eighteen

I walked into the office and stopped momentarily to take it in. The desk was straight ahead and looked to be made of red mahogany. The walls were covered with pictures of Russia. Guess Ivan missed home. There was a bookshelf to the left that had hundreds of books and I could tell most of them were Russian. I raced over to the desk and sat down. The computer was in standby mode thankfully because I don’t think I would have had time to turn it on. The fire alarm continued to blare and I heard some noises outside as there were a lot of people moving trying to get out of the building. “David I’m at the computer.” There was a muffle in our ears. “What was that?”

“I don’t know but let’s get this going. You ready for the password?” David asked.

“Yeah, give it to me.” He read the long and complicated password slowly. He finished with @ - 7. I was just about to type in the 7 when I heard the last thing in the world I wanted to hear, a Russian.

I looked up into the mean eyes of Ivan. He was a evil looking man. He had a crooked nose and bushy eyebrows. He was about six feet tall and 200 pounds. He had two guards with him. My heart stopped as I saw the guard to the left. He wasn’t alone. In his arms, with a gun to her head was Charlie. She was putting up a fight. But each guard was around six and a half feet tall. She stood no chance.

“So you really thought you could get out of here like your friend.” he said with a heavy Russian accent. “It was stupid of your silly group to come back here. Just like it was the day he came back. It didn’t go so well for him.” Ivan said. Charlie fought even harder now and was giving the guard all he could handle. “Can you take care of her fool.” he yelled at the guard. Then turned back to me and said, “I have a feeling this night isn’t going to go so well for you either. Take him downstairs.” he said to the guard who was free.

I started to reach for the computer but Ivan clicked his gun. “That isn’t a good idea. Unless you want me to paint my office with your brains.” As the guard made his way over, I knew I just had to get that 7 and press enter. The guard was behind me and cuffed my left arm behind my back. This was my last chance. I head butted him and reached forward with my free arm and pressed 7, then I reached for the enter button and everything went black.

Chapter Nineteen

I awoke tied to a chair in a dark room. I had a horrible headache and could feel the pain from where I was hit on the back of my head. I was going to have a nice welt if I made it to the morning. There was a light shining right above me that was not helping my headache. I couldn’t see anything else in the room. I was startled when I heard a voice from right behind me.

“Nice of you to join me, sleepy head.” Charlie said with surprising humor given our situation.

“It’s been a long couple of days. I needed a power nap.” I could feel her hand near mine and realized she was also tied to a chair right behind me. “Is it just us two down here?” I asked hopefully.

“Besides a couple of goons, yeah it’s just the two of us.” she said.

“Any plan to get out of here?” I asked.

“No. You were only out for a few minutes. They had just left after tying us up when you came to. They asked me about Olivia and I think they are looking for her. Hopefully she got out of here. Were you able to get the computer unlocked?” she asked.

“I don’t know. I typed in the password and the last thing I remember was going for the Enter button when I was hit in the head. And now I’m down here tied up with you.”

“That’s not too reassuring. I hope she made it out okay.” she said.

I heard a door open behind me and footsteps approaching us.

“Ah ha, I see that troublemaker number two is now awake. That’s good. We are going to have some fun now.” Ivan said sadistically. “You should realize by now that neither of you are getting out of here alive. So if you answer my questions and make me happy, I will end your life quick and painlessly. But if you play around and don’t give me the answers I want, I hate to say that your death is going to be long and very painful.”

“I guess you are in for a long night then.” I said. Probably not the best answer but I had a headache and wasn’t in the best mood.

“I can do that. Now your friend behind you knocked out our second best interrogator with that ill advised knee. The problem for you two is that I’m the best interrogator and I will be leading this interrogation.” he said with a laugh. “So where is your other little friend? I believe her name is Olivia.” he said in a heavy accent. “I know she came here with you.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody by that name. Does that sound familiar at all to you Charlie?” I said with a look of mock confusion.

"I don't know this person you talk of. I used to have a friend named Olivia in grade school but I haven’t seen in her in ages. Are you sure you have the right people?” Charlie said. I paid for this conversation. After we finished our conversation, Ivan put some brass knuckles on and gave me an excruciating punch to the kidney. I could barely breath and could actually feel blood in my mouth. He took another big swing and hit me in the same spot but on the other side of my body.

“Do you remember her now?” he asked.

“Yeah.” I said spitting some blood out.

“Jake, no!” Charlie shouted.

“It’s okay Charlie he needs to know. I’m sorry for sleeping with your sister, Ivan.” I said and as the final word left my mouth, his fist connected with my jaw. A couple of teeth came out and I spit them out. I was getting ready to lose consciousness again. He pulled my head up and tossed some cold water on my face.

“I’m not letting you go to sleep that easy. You are going to suffer tonight. We are just getting started.” He said and he threw my head back. He kicked me in the shin for good measure. “You are tough, I will give you credit for that. But you obviously like to save the damsel in distress. It’s no wonder you tried saving your dead friend’s girlfriend. But will you save this damsel.” He walked behind me towards Charlie. She made a noise of pain as he grabbed her hair and pulled her head forward. “Do you know Olivia miss?”

“Screw you.” she said and spit in his face. He hit her across the face with his fist.

He came back around to me. He pulled out a gun from its holster. “Now is your last chance. Where is your friend?” he demanded.

“I’ll never tell you. You are going to have to kill me.” I said.

“Oh, I would never let you off that easy. The gun is for her. I am giving you one more chance to tell me where Olivia is or else you will watch a bullet go through your friend’s brain.” he said.

“I’m fine Jake. Take him down. I’m willing to die. He needs to go to hell.” Charlie said.

My mind was racing. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t give Olivia up. But I couldn’t just let Charlie die either. She wasn’t supposed to be here in the first place. He walked over to Charlie and put the gun to her head.

“Three, two, one.” The safety clicked off.

“Stop! I’ll tell you.” I said defeated. He laughed and came over to me again.

“Don’t Jake!” Charlie said.

“I’m not letting you die for us.” I told her.

“Good choice. Now before you say anything, know I’m trained to know if you are lying, so I wouldn’t think about doing that if you know what is good for you.” he said.

I had to give in and hope that they had gotten out of her. “She is ... is,”

“Don’t!” Charlie begged.

“Shut up!” He yelled at her.

“She is,” then we were interrupted again by some commotion outside the room. Then I heard a knock on a door. The door was facing Charlie so I couldn't see what was going on. Ivan walked over to the door and opened it. Then he made an evil kind of laugh.

"No!" Charlie screamed. Then there was a little bit of a struggle as I heard them make their way towards me. My heart sunk when Ivan came in front of me with one of the guards. The guard was holding a gun to the head of Olivia.

"If you hurt her, I will kill you." I said furiously.

"I'm having trouble believing you. At least for you three I have better things to do now. I can't stay and play much longer. You all are going to die, but I will do it mercifully." Ivan said.

My mind was racing. I had to figure out some way to save us. At this point, I wasn't scared of dying but I didn't want Charlie and Olivia meeting the same fate.

I quickly realized I had no plan and no chance to do anything. I tried getting my hands free but that wasn't happening. Even if I did get my hands free, I had no weapon and he had guards with heavy duty weapons. In the back of my mind, I started to prepare for the worse.

"I can't believe you were stupid enough to come back here. I'll give you credit for being brave. After watching your boyfriend die, you still come back. Very stupid, but brave." Ivan said.

This triggered Olivia and she kicked the guard and came after Ivan with her one last chance. It was no use. Ivan hit her in the stomach and she dropped. "I was going to kill you first since I respected you so much but after that, I'm going to make you watch me kill your new boyfriend." Ivan said.

If we were going to die, I was more than happy to go first. I don't think I could bare watching him kill Charlie and Olivia. Especially Olivia. I had given up trying to escape and all I could think about was her. I couldn't believe I wasted so many years without telling her how I feel. And now time had run out and I would never get to tell her.

Ivan gave Olivia back to the guard and walked over to me. "Well it has been fun. Sorry I can't stay any longer." he said.

"It's okay. I have plans anyways." I said.

"Well unfortunately, I don't think you will make it to whatever you have planned. Any last words." he asked.

"You are going down." I said.

He laughed and said, "You first." He put his finger on the trigger when the door to the basement exploded open.

"Police! Put your weapons down!" a man screamed. I couldn't see him but Ivan's gun left my head and aimed straight towards the voice. Then gunfire filled the room. Olivia hit the ground for protection. I watched her the whole time and she was smiling as the guard that was holding her headed towards the door. As soon as he lifted his gun, he dropped with a bullet to his chest. It was the first time I'd seen someone die but I was happy it wasn't me.

Ivan was next to me firing off some shots when I heard him scream in agony. He was shot in the arm. It knocked him down right next to me. A police officer raced towards him. The officer was still yards away when Ivan started to get up.

“This is your fault.” he said pointing his gun at Olivia. I didn’t make it this far for him to kill her now. His hand was right in front of me and I kicked his hand just as he pulled the trigger. And for the second time at this bar, a bullet missed Olivia by inches. The officer caught up and tackled Ivan.

"I told you that you were going down." I said with a smile. He just looked at me with hatred while the officer cuffed him. The officer purposely was a little rougher on the arm that was shot.

Someone came over and began to untie Charlie and me. When I looked back I saw David with a worried look on his face.

"Are you okay?" he asked Charlie.

"I'm doing great. Thanks for asking." I said jokingly.

Charlie laughed and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. The joker over there took the worst of it."

"Actually it looks like our friend Ivan took the worst of it." I said nodding to the ground. Ivan was lying on the ground next to us handcuffed and moaning in pain.

After David freed Charlie and me, Olivia came over and gave me a hug. "I can't believe we are alive!"

"Me neither. We were a few seconds away from being a goner. We have the big man to thank for that." I said as we turned towards David and Charlie.

She was letting go after giving him a big hug.  "He's right. You saved us." and she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Any time." he said, blushing after the kiss.

"So what happened?" I asked.

“It happened really fast.” David started. “I was giving you the password when I heard Ivan start talking to you. I was starting to panic when I tried to log in and I realized that you weren’t able to finish the password. I was afraid they stopped you. Then I heard you talking to them and trying to figure something out. Then I heard they had Charlie and really started to panic.” he looked at her and she was giving him a big smile, “And then there was a horribly loud noise which I assumed was them hitting you in the head.”

“You were right about that.” I said putting my hand up to my head where they hit me.

“I thought they might have killed you with how loud it was. I thought we were done but I tried one more time and it went through. I don’t know how you did it but you got it unlocked. I was able to start downloading some of the videos to my computer and as soon as they started transferring, I called the police. I just hoped they would get her in time to save you all.” I had a strange feeling he was just talking about Charlie but I was very happy that I was alive. “I kept getting video and when the second password came up, I was able to type it in and keep the files transferring. Then Olivia made it back to the van. As soon as she got in the van, she just kept talking about how Ivan wasn’t there but she still pulled the alarm and hoped for the best and hoped you guys would make it out okay.”

Olivia chimed in, “I lost my earpiece in the craziness of everyone trying to get out of the bar. I had no clue what happened to you two. When David told me what happened in the office, I started to panic.”

“That’s an understatement.” David said jokingly. “I could barely get her to slow down. After a few minutes and no sign of the police, Olivia tells me she is going in to keep them from killing you two before the police get here. I tried talking her out of it, but I’m sure you know how well that works Jake.”

“I do. I still can’t believe you were stupid enough to go back in there Olivia. I have a few teeth in that basement that I lost trying to protect you.” I said.

“I knew they would have killed you if we waited too long and then Ivan would have gotten away. I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if you two had died in there.” she said.

“And you saved our lives. We were about to die when you came in.” Charlie said.

“The timing worked out. She had her earpiece in when she came back and after the guards brought her down there, the police arrived and I followed them in here. Then the rest I believe you both are pretty familiar with.” David said.

After David finished telling us what happened, a medic came over and starting asking us questions. He guided us out of the basement and to the ambulances outside. They checked over Charlie, Olivia, and me while David spoke with a police officer. I was missing three teeth and they thought I might have broken a couple of ribs from the punches to my sides. I told them I would go to the hospital soon but I needed to stay for a little bit. The medic agreed and I went over to the ambulance that Charlie and Olivia were at.

“How are you two?” I asked with concern.

“Just some scrapes and bruises.” Charlie said.

“I am perfectly fine. How are you?” Olivia asked me.

“Might have a broken rib or two. Plus I get to look like a hockey player for a little bit.” I said smiling to show the empty spots where my teeth had been this morning.

“Well you look tougher. Not the most attractive look, but definitely looks like you could take down a drug dealer.” Olivia said with a laugh.

“I’ll have to try that sometime.” I said smiling. Charlie excused herself and joined David and answered the questions of the police officer. “We made a pretty good team these last few days.”

“I have to agree. We definitely kicked some butt. We should do this more often.” Olivia said as she took my hand.

“I think next time we should try a dinner and a movie. Hopefully that won’t be too boring for you but sometimes I really enjoy the ordinary things.” I said.

“I think I could go for a dinner and a movie.” she said. “I believe earlier you had something to tell me.” she said. We locked eyes and I could feel the last three years coming to the surface.

“You forget I am a man of action now.” I said. Then I put my hands on her face and kissed her lips like it was the last kiss I would ever get.

Chapter Twenty

“Alright Jake. You ready to watch a clutch performance.” Ryan said to me as he dribbled the ball at the top of the three point line.

“I will believe it when I see it.” I said in my defensive stance. Ryan had just scored to tie our continued game 14-14.

“Remember you have to play fair today. No blowing your house up to get me to take a bad shot.” he said.

“I already wasted that secret weapon.” I said.

“Will you two play already?” Olivia said.

“Yeah, we have to get you three to your graduation.” Riley said. Ryan drove to the right side. He started to go up for a layup when I knocked the ball out of his hands for a steal.

“Come on ref, call the foul.” he said.

“Clean steal.” Olivia said with a wink in my direction. I took the ball and started to drive, stepped back, pulled up and took the shot. It bounced off the front of the rim, then the back of rim, and then straight through the basket. “Game over!” Olivia shouted.

“Honey, you know that was a foul. This game was rigged.” Ryan said deflated.

“You lost fair and square. You two need to go get cleaned up. We need to leave in an hour.” Riley said taking Ryan’s hand and they started walking home.

“How has it been living with those two the last week?” Olivia asked me.

“They have been good hosts but they love each other too much. A little too much PDA for me. I can’t wait to have my home rebuilt.” I said.

“Well, I think tonight you are going to have a new home and a new bed.” she said. Then she gave me a kiss. I was never going to get sick of kissing this woman. I put my arm around her back and we walked up the street toward Ryan and Riley’s house. I went to their guest room and got ready for graduation. I went to the bathroom and washed my face and looked in the mirror. I couldn’t believe how much had changed in the past week. A week ago, I thought that I was going to be losing Olivia forever. Then I almost did as we had to fight for our lives. And now, I was about to graduate college with the girl of my dreams right there with me. Life doesn’t get better.

The four of us rode together to Maryville University where the graduation ceremony was taking place. Olivia and I held hands in the back seat the whole way there. We arrived and met up with Lacy and Jon. The five of us took some pictures. One of the last times the group would be together. It was sad but life changes for the better. We took the processional to our seats. I saw my family and it was exciting to see them here today. My parents were still recovering from the whole almost dying in the basement of a drug lord’s bar but since the whole ordeal was over,  I think they were just trying not think about it ever again. I smiled and my brother laughed at my lack of teeth.

We sat down and listened to the ceremony. I sat next to Olivia and held her hand again. After three years of almosts, we couldn’t stay away from each other anymore. I couldn’t wait to spend the night at her place tonight. Then they started calling the graduates across the stage. Our row got up and walked towards the stage.

“I better be getting that beer you owe me tonight.” Jon said turning around to talk to us.

“Maybe tomorrow night. We have plans tonight.” Olivia said squeezing my hand. I leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek. I was last in the line of our group. Ryan went across the stage first. He gave a fist pump in the air as his loud family screamed for him. Riley blushed as Ryan always seemed to embarrass her but she loved it. Lacy was next and I couldn’t believe she was going to be gone soon. She was the only reason I didn’t give up on Olivia and was a great friend. Jon went across next and gave the President of the school and a hug. I was going to miss that big fellow.

Then Olivia went across the stage. Her family shouted for her and I couldn’t believe that I was lucky enough to be with this woman. She was smart, gorgeous and as brave as anyone I will ever know. She turned around as she was walking off the stage and blew me a kiss. I couldn’t wait to spend the rest of my life with that woman.

Then it was my turn. I walked across the stage. I shook the president’s hand and grabbed my diploma. I couldn’t believe what I had accomplished in my life. I almost had it all taken away from me a week ago. It made this day mean so much more. I had put so much time and hard work to get here and it almost disappearing made me appreciate it more. Now I had a great job, a diploma and the woman of my dreams. My life was anything but ordinary.