Crushing (7 page)

When we got home we picked up my mom and left for the police station. Dominic had sent a text saying he would meet us there with his parents. His were not overprotective like mine, but they were a very close family. I couldn’t imagine them not coming with Dominic to something like a police interview.

I’d never been inside a police station. It made me a little nervous, but once we got inside it was pretty much what you would expect. You check in. Someone takes you to a room, and you wait.

As we were making our way down the hall to meet one of the detectives, we passed an office. I saw Gage already speaking to one of the detectives we had met at the church. He was by himself. I felt immediately guilty and worried. Where was his uncle? They weren’t supposed to be talking to him without his guardian, were they? I wished my dad would be reasonable about the whole thing so we could help him. It just felt wrong to walk by and do nothing.

Gage looked at me as we went by, and winked.

I shook my head and kept walking. Maybe I shouldn’t worry so much. Boys.

We were put in the same kind of room as Gage. It just had a table and chairs. We only had to wait a few minutes before Detective Holbrook came in to ask questions. “Dr. and Mrs. Atherton, thank you for bringing Aurora down here so quickly. Obviously, it’s important we get as much information as we can as quickly as possible. Time is of the essence in these kinds of cases.” He sat down across from us. “Do you mind if we record our interview? It helps us not miss anything.”

“I guess that’ll be fine,” my dad said, but he looked concerned.

“I want to help find Lindsay. It’s fine,” I said.

“Okay, good. Tell me again exactly what happened from the time you got to the church.”

I related the entire story. I told him about Bailee running into me, Gage and Dominic standing on either side of me, the brush of someone at my back, and how it felt when something landed on my foot. I did remember one more thing that I hadn’t earlier.

“Before the ID landed on my foot I felt something.” I had to pause to think about exactly what it was.

“Take your time,” the detective said.

“You know when you get that feeling someone’s watching you?” I asked.

“Sure,” the detective said.

“I think whoever it was might have been standing behind me for a bit. We were on an end near the back because of Bailee. You know, the dog? I remember feeling someone there, but I was concentrating on praying. I didn’t think it was a big deal. Then I remember I could feel the rush of air on my neck and a brush against my back. Almost like they ran their hand from my neck to my back without touching me. They did touch my sweatshirt at my lower back just a little.” As soon as I said that, my dad straightened up in his chair. “Then, I got a chill. The ID landed on my foot like they tossed it as they moved away. From my right side, between me and Dom.”

“Do you remember anything else?” he asked. “Did you see anyone before it started that looked out of place? Did you look up at all during the prayer time?”

“No. I was concentrating on what the pastor was saying. I try to never open my eyes during prayer—too distracting. I forced myself not to look when the ID landed on my foot. I’m sorry.” I felt bad. If I had just looked, maybe they would have something.

“It’s fine. You’re helping. Really. Okay, just a couple more things. Do you know Lindsay at all?”

“Yes. I mean, we’ve been in the same schools since we were little. We don’t hang out with the same people, but of course I know her. It’s a small island. Everyone knows everyone.”

“Is there anything or anyone else you can think of that connects you to her? Sports, activities, maybe a mutual friend?” he asked.

“Not that I can think of.” Then something occurred to me. “Except we look a little alike. Same coloring, and neither of us is very tall.”

The detective seemed to brush this off and moved on.

“Well, if you think of anything else, just give me a call.” He passed his card over the table to me. I took it and put it in my wallet.

“Thank you so much for your time. You can go out the same way you came in.” Then he spoke right to my dad. “Dr. Atherton, can I speak to you for a moment?” I looked back, but my dad waved me and my mom on, so we kept moving out to the front. Just as we were crossing through the lobby, Gage’s uncle was coming through the front door looking harried.

“Rory! I heard what happened. Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine, Mr. Elliott. This is my mom, Phoebe. Mom, this is Nathan Elliott, Gage’s uncle and our neighbor.”

My mother shook his hand. “Lovely to see you again. It’s been a long time. I’m sorry we haven’t caught up sooner and under better circumstances,” my mom said, never one to let her manners slip.

“Yes, of course. I’m sorry, but I really need to check on Gage. Excuse me. Lovely to see you again. I’m glad you’re all right, Rory.” He smiled even though he still looked worried. He made his way to the check-in desk as my dad came through the door from the offices.

“Let’s go.” My dad looked grim again as he led us out to the parking lot. We got in the car, and I was dying to know why they kept him back.

“What did the detective want, Dad?”

My dad sighed and rubbed his hand over his face before he started the car. He gave my mother one of those cryptic parent looks; that couldn’t be good.

“He said we need to keep a close eye on you. He was a little concerned that the ID wasn’t dropped randomly. He thinks whoever took Lindsay picked you for a reason. So that means the plan is the same, but I need you to know how serious this is, Aurora. Now there is more reason than ever not to go anywhere alone. Okay? No arguing. This isn’t a joke.” He looked at me through the rearview mirror, and I could see how worried he was.

“That means no more night runs to Running Latte with your friends.” He gave me a pointed look.

Oops.

“Okay, Dad. I’ll take it seriously.” How could I argue with Lindsay missing? I had seen her parents tonight, and I would be a jerk to not understand why my parents were worried. In all truthfulness, I was a little freaked out myself.

“We also need to talk about this ‘Gage’ kid.” My dad started in as we drove home. “Why was he with you and Dominic? I’m pretty sure he and Dom are not friends.”

This subject was something to argue about. The other thing I understood. This one was not going to fly. “Of course they aren’t friends. You and all the other parents are gossiping about Gage and making him look like some kind of criminal. So now no one wants to be his friend.” I was getting really upset.

“He’s a criminal, Rory,” he insisted. “He assaulted someone.”

“What are you talking about? He’s not a criminal. He got kicked out of school for fighting. You’re completely overreacting about this.”

“I don’t want you around him.”

Time for some bargaining. “I will go along with all the rules about not being alone if you will admit to the fact that you know nothing about him now and you should not prejudge people because of gossip.” I was going to stand my ground here. Compromise in one area was fine if I got my way in the other.

“He comes from a very troubled background and has gotten kicked out of a very prestigious school. How is that prejudging?”

“Well, you don’t know the circumstances surrounding either one of those situations. You were incredibly rude to treat him the way you did, and whatever happened to turning the other cheek?”

“For myself it’s one thing, but when it comes to my children, it’s another.”

“Oh, so if I were Jeremiah or Jackson, you would be telling them the same thing? Not to hang around him? Or would you just let them decide for themselves and stay out of it?”

“It’s different. You’re a girl and he’s a boy. I don’t want him to come sniffing around you.”

“First of all, ewww. Second of all, if he was a she and I was Jeremiah or Jackson you would never even say anything. You’ve never said anything about the many girls they’ve dated. You’ve let them figure it out on their own. How is it remotely fair that I can’t even choose my own friends?”

“They’re boys and are not going to be taken advantage of in the same way. And his track record with you speaks for itself. You stopped getting into all that trouble when he left. That’s all I need to know. This conversation is done. I don’t want you anywhere near him.”

“Or what? Are you going to take my car? Oh wait, I can’t drive anyway. Are you going to ground me? Nope, can’t do that either. I am already pretty much under house arrest. What exactly are you going to do that you haven’t done? I think I’ll make up my own mind about my friends. But thanks for your concern.” We had just pulled into the garage, so I got out and slammed the car door.

“Aurora!”

“Done, Dad, all done. Going to my room, where you were going to send me anyway.” I stomped upstairs to my room and slammed the bedroom door too. I cranked my music up as loud as I could stand it and went out onto my balcony. I fished my phone out of my pocket, then sent a text to Gage. I was glad his uncle had shown up, but I was still worried.

U ok?

I looked out over the golf course to the ocean and took deep breaths. I didn’t like fighting with my dad, but this whole thing was completely out of hand. He wanted to micromanage every area of my life. I just couldn’t do it. He had to back off. My phone pinged.

Yeah. Almost home. U?

Good. Worried about u. Glad your uncle showed up.

It was fine. I just told them what happened. Wanna meet at our dune?

Sure. B there in 10.

This was going to be interesting. I wondered if I would have to go down the drainpipe again. I went downstairs to get the lay of the land. I went into the kitchen pretending I needed a drink. My mom was busy doing the dishes.

“You okay, sweetie? I know you’re upset.”

“Fine. Where’s dad?”

“He went to see Dom’s dad.”

“Okay, I’m tired. I’m going to bed.”

“Okay, I’ll see you in the morning.” I hated bald-faced lying like that. I just didn’t have a choice. I needed to talk to Gage without everyone else around.

#

I went back upstairs and changed clothes. I put on an old pair of jeans and a hoodie. I turned my music on low, turned out the lights, messed up the bed and put the pillows under the covers. I remembered to bring my keys so I could get in if they locked the back. I was set.

Another trip down the drainpipe was in order, since my mom was right next to the back door. I was getting as good at it as I used to be. No scrape this time. I opened the side gate and he was there. Whoa.

“I thought we were meeting at the dune?”

“Well, I was walking by, and there you were doing your whole Cirque de Soleil routine. Couldn’t help but watch.”

“Well, I hope you were entertained.”

“You’ve improved. Been practicing, have you?”

We headed out toward the beach with Bailee running ahead and back like we weren’t fast enough for her.

“Funny. I hadn’t done it in so long, and now it’s as easy as it was when we were younger.”

He nodded and smiled. “You were trouble even back in the day . . .”

I looked at him sideways as we walked. “People in glass houses…”

“Uh, yeah. That’s probably something I should live by.” He shook his head.

We made our way down the path to our dune and sat looking out at the water. It felt good to be outside. I took some deep breaths and sighed. I could feel some of the stress of the evening start to fade. Was it him or the ocean? I wasn’t totally sure, but I felt better.

I was nervous, and the squirrels had started their stretching exercises at the barre, but in a way I felt calm too. Weird.

“So your dad isn’t a member of my fan club, huh?” He wasn’t looking at me, so I couldn’t tell if he was bothered by that or just stating a fact.

“Well, he’s not a fan of what he’s heard about you and what he remembers about my troublemaking days. He doesn’t know you now, so I wouldn’t take it personally. He only knows what everyone is saying. Not just about school, but he keeps saying you come from a ‘troubled background.’ I don’t even think he realizes how stupid it is. He doesn’t even know anything but vague stuff.” I sighed. “I’m sorry about how he treated you.”

“Can’t blame your dad for wanting to protect his daughter. If I were him, I wouldn’t like what I was hearing about me either.”

“All that trouble when we were kids was my fault, and as far as now goes, it’s not like he even knows if any of it is true or not.”

He leaned back on his hands and stretched his long legs out in front of him.

“I’m sure some of what he’s heard is right.” He was trying to seem relaxed, but I could tell he was uncomfortable.

I wanted to know everything, but how do you ask those kinds of questions? It’s rude.

“You don’t have to tell me anything. I don’t care. Of course I’m curious. I’m totally nosey, but I will still be your friend without knowing.” I narrowed my eyes at him “Unless of course you’ve turned into one of those guys who puts girls in a well and wears their skin. I don’t think I could get past that. I mean, eww.” I made a face.

He chuckled.

“Nope. No girls in wells. Not a big fan of small dark places actually, so I think we’re good.” He smiled. “You’re dying to know all my deep, dark secrets though, huh?”

“Of course I am. Don’t you remember? I was the kid who never stopped asking questions. My parents invented the quiet game on car trips just to shut me up for ten minutes. But honestly, it’s your life. You don’t have to tell me anything just to satisfy my curiosity. I’m good with it the way it is.”

“I know you are. You always were good with who I was. What do you want to know?”

“The most?” I asked.

He nodded.

“I want to know what really happened at your old school. It couldn’t be just a regular fight.” I really wanted to know about this “troubled background,” but I didn’t want to be pushy. I had heard whispers about his parents when we were kids. I hadn’t really understood or paid much attention. I just knew it wasn’t good.

“That’s not what I thought you would ask, but okay. A guy at school was arguing with his girlfriend. He started to push her around a bit. When he punched her in the face, I stepped in.” He shrugged.