Twisted (23 page)

Finally, I was able to ask him how he found me.

He slumped down on the ground next to me and started working on the ropes bound around my ankles.

“I wanted to see you,” he admitted. “I knew I couldn’t talk to you but I know you run almost every night so I just…wanted to see you.” He gave me an embarrassed shrug. “I found somewhere else to sit. On the other side of the river. I saw Alec approach you. It looked for a minute like he was trying to drag you off. Then you must’ve gotten a call because you were on your phone. After that it looked like you were arguing but then you started walking away with him…Damn, this is tight!” he exclaimed, tugging at the knot. “I saw you walking away together. I didn’t know what to make of it. It looked like you were willfully leaving with him. But then it looked like you were arguing, too.”

He stopped talking as he worked to pull at the rope. I felt it give just a little.

“I didn’t know what to think. I couldn’t imagine why you would leave with him. Then you shoved him and I knew something wasn’t right. The way you were acting just didn’t make sense. Here it comes,” he said, and the rope fell away. He pulled it all the way off and I reflexively pulled my knees up to my chest, still mindfully cradling my wrist. Ben scooted up close to me, wrapping an arm protectively around me.

He leaned over, allowing his head to rest against mine for a moment. His skin felt cool against my hot, sweaty cheek. “I couldn’t imagine why you would go anywhere with him. It looked like you were leaving on your own free will but then…” he trailed off.

I pulled my head back. “What?” I asked, searching his beautiful, strange gray eyes.

“Something he said…after he started leaving you things. We got in another fight. I told him if he had a problem with me, he could deal with me but you were completely off limits. He didn’t like that at all. He said he had a big surprise for you. He seemed even more determined to go after you. I knew I needed to make him believe there was nothing between us. Not friends, not anything.” He paused then added quietly “I didn’t want to do it, Maya. I didn’t want to tell you to stay away.”

“You didn’t?” I sniffled.

His arm tightened around me and he circled me with his other one as well. “No. I meant everything else I said. That I want to be with you. You are the only person who has ever tried to understand. No matter how bad things got, you still didn’t blame me. The only time I feel anything even close to normal is when I’m with you. You make me feel at peace.” He paused for a moment. “That’s something most people just take for granted but I haven’t felt like I’ve had any peace since Katie died. After how bad the past few weeks have been I expected you to be relieved last night. I never thought you would be upset. When you started to cry, I almost couldn’t go through with it. It made me never want to leave you. Then I saw Alec watching us.”

“Is that why you left the way you did?” I asked quietly.

He nodded. “I was worried about you. He said the gifts were just building up to the big ‘surprise’. Considering what the gifts have been like I knew he was planning something bad. When he left the doll I really started to worry. I found him and I...” He faded off for a moment, giving me a guilty look. “When I found him I told him that there was nothing between us.  That I’ve asked you to leave me alone. I told him I didn’t want to have anything to do with you. He didn’t believe me. Last night he looked so smug.”

I told him I’d seen Alec too. He had looked smug.

“I knew he was planning something. Tonight when I saw him approach you I started to worry about the ‘surprise’ he’d planned. The more I thought about it, the sicker I got because that’s what Trent told Katie. That it was a ‘surprise’. I never thought this is what Alec meant. I never thought he would try to…hurt you. I thought he’d try to scare you. I knew he wanted to get back at me. But you and Olivia are such good friends and he and Olivia seemed so close—”

I interrupted.  “You knew about Alec and Olivia?”

He nodded. “I saw them at the park together all the time. Usually late at night. The day you mentioned Olivia and Henry at lunch, I had no idea what you were talking about. Then a while later Phoebe said Olivia and Henry had been together for a while. I knew Olivia was spending a lot of time with Alec.” I nodded and he went on. “I just thought that if I distanced myself from you
and
you were good friends with Olivia that he would back off.” He moaned miserably. “I had no idea he would do something like this. When I saw you leave with him, I knew something wasn’t right. I started running after you just to ask if you were okay. By the time I ran down to the bridge and then back up the field his truck was pulling out. When he turned to head out of town…” He looked at me, his face creased in confusion. “Why did you leave with him?”

I told him about Olivia. The phone call. How it was all a set up.

“You left with him because you thought you would be helping me?” he groaned.

I nodded. I heard the blare of sirens in the distance. Ben’s eyes flicked to the direction of the road. I knew I should call Remy. She would be expecting me home soon. I wasn’t ready yet. I would do that when Alec was safely taken away. They would be here for him any minute.

Ben hugged me tight and kissed the top of my head. Then he released me and stood. He leaned down and helped me to my feet, careful of my wrist. He pulled me to him again, wrapping his arms tightly around me while I leaned into him. I thought I might topple if left to my own accord.

“Where’s your car?” I asked, suddenly noting it wasn’t there.

Ben motioned down the road. “As soon as he pulled out of the parking lot, heading out this direction I had an awful feeling this is where he was taking you. I didn’t know if he had a gun or a knife or what he had planned so I held back. I didn’t want him to know I was behind you. I waited until his truck was out of sight before I turned off. I parked down the road and ran the rest of the way.”

“Why didn’t you call the cops on the way?” I asked. “If you knew he was bringing me here?”

He sighed. “I haven’t had a cell phone for two years.”

Oh.

The first squad car flew into view.

Ben’s eyes continued to nervously dart from the road to me and back again. I felt his body tense. I could only imagine what being
here
was doing to him. And the flood of cops and the questions to come. Only this time, there was no doubt of his innocence.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

A strangled sound arose from his throat. “I can’t believe it’s come back to this. Here. This situation. And because of me.
Again
.”

“What do you mean because of you?” I asked, completely stunned by the words.

“Trent brought Katie here. Because of me. Now Alec brought
you
here. Because of me. Because I told him you were off limits. Because he wanted to get back at
me
.” His face was clouding over and I could see the distant, troubled look seeping back into his eyes.

I hugged him, in my one armed grip, as tightly as I could. “Ben, I don’t know if you want to hear this or not…But not once, not the whole time I was with Alec did I
ever
think that it was your fault. And you know what? I don’t think Katie did either. I really, truly don’t think she blamed you. You have to stop blaming yourself.”

Gravel flew as the first car screeched to a halt, throwing up dust and rocks.  The first officer on the scene threw his door open and we were flooded with chaos.

I don’t know why I was expecting the place to be dreary, smelling like bleach and sickness. It didn’t. The outside looked like a plush apartment complex. There were enormous flowerbeds lining the walkways. This time of year, they were looking pretty scraggly. I had a hunch that during the summer months, they were gorgeous. Now it was the trees skirting the edges of the grounds that provided an incredible burst of color. They also provided a semblance of privacy for the patients who chose to wander the paved paths that appeared to weave in and out of the gardens.

The rooms, from what I could see as we walked through the spotless halls, were bright and sunny. The staff seemed friendly.

I was relieved that the place was so much nicer than I ever imagined it to be.

“Are you doing okay?” Remy whispered as we neared Mom’s room.

She had her arm looped through my uninjured one. The one
not
set in a cast and resting in a sling.

I nodded. Maybe I should be tired but I wasn’t. I figured I was probably still running on adrenaline. Or on caffeine from the two gas station cappuccinos Remy had gotten me. I was sure it would catch up to me soon but for the moment, I was a wide awake, nervous bundle of energy.

The night before was a blur. It had been a whirlwind of activity and we had not gotten home until well after midnight. Ben and I had been whisked away. Remy had met us at the hospital. She had not left my side as my arm was taken care of.

Ben and I were both questioned. We answered the officers’ questions separately. No one doubted our stories that matched perfectly. The evidence really didn’t leave room for doubt.

A reporter had shown up at the hospital. Ben had refused to talk to her and my initial reaction was to send her away, too.  However, I realized it was the perfect opportunity to tell our whole town how Ben had been viciously set up and so unfairly treated. I told her how perceptive he had been to realize I had been in danger. I let her know how heroically he acted, not knowing what he would be facing when he came to my rescue.

The article had already appeared in this morning’s paper. Remy had grabbed a copy for me at the same time she’d gotten us our caffeine fix. Right before we headed out of town.

She had called Mom the minute we got home last night, demanding the call be put through despite it not being placed during acceptable hours. Because it was a family emergency, they had gotten Mom on the line. She was frantic, insisting on talking to me before Remy had even finished explaining everything. She wanted to see us.

Immediately.

So after a short, sleepless night and an interminably long car ride, we were here.

“This is it,” Remy said as we stopped in front of room 203.

She knocked softly on the door. Mom opened it immediately. I couldn’t help but wonder if she had been pacing in front of it all morning. Possibly even through the night, as she impatiently awaited our arrival. The thought made me feel oddly comforted.

“Hi, Mom,” was all I managed to get out before she wrapped me into a tear-filled hug.

“Are you alright?” she whispered into my hair. Her face was red and blotchy, her eyes swollen and bloodshot. But this time, I was sure her tears of concern were what had made them that way. “I mean are you
really
alright?”

“Yes,” I whispered back because suddenly that was all I could manage. As it turned out, it wasn’t exactly true. My throat was constricting with tears of my own as Mom squeezed me tighter. Then I lost it completely. I think up until that point, I’d been in shock. And more than anything, I just needed my mom. I started crying and I couldn’t stop as Mom just held on tight, whispered she loved me and told me everything was going to be okay.

Remy squeezed my shoulder. Then she quietly shut the door to give us some privacy as we all scooted a little further into Mom’s room.

“Come here,” Mom said to Remy and then she pulled her into our hug, too.

“We missed you Mom,” Remy said. I wasn’t sure if she meant in the short-term, while she was here, away from us. Or if she meant all of these years when she’d seemed so detached she may as well have been gone.

“I’ve missed you, too. Both of you.
So much
,” Mom said as I started to reign in my sobbing. She finally relaxed her grip on me but didn’t let me go. “How long can you stay?”

“We can stay all day. We have a hotel room for tonight and we can come back in the morning. If that’s okay,” Remy told her.

Our mom nodded. Her gray curls bounced with the effort. “I’d like that. Now come on in,” she said as she motioned to her small room.

For the first time I glanced around taking in where my mom had been staying these past few months. It reminded me of a hotel room. There was a queen sized bed, dresser and a small couch off to the side. We made our way to the couch and the three of us sat, me in the middle tucked into Mom’s side.

“How are you doing?” Remy asked Mom.

She forced a weak smile. “I’m doing okay. I should be getting out soon and then,” she said as she took a breath, looking at each of us cautiously, “I was thinking maybe I could move back to Beaumont?”

“Good,” Remy said firmly as our eyes met. “I think we’d both like that.”

Mom looked at me. “I was thinking I would just look for a one room apartment. I don’t want to uproot you again. You’ll be going off to college soon enough. The last thing you need is another move right now. So maybe you can just finish out the year living with Remy since you’re all settled in?” She glanced at my sister who nodded. “Is that okay with you?” she asked me.

“Yeah,” I said as a feeling of relief rushed through my body. “I’d like that. And I’d love to have you move back. It’ll be great to see you whenever we want.”

“I’d like that too,” Mom said. Her sincere smile told us she meant it.

I listened to my sister and mom talk about apartments in the area. Remy told her she’d start looking around for somewhere acceptable, just to get a head start. And if she couldn’t find one right away, Remy told her she was welcomed to stay with us for as long as she needed to. Mom looked pleased with the idea. When the details of the impending move were as ironed out as they could be for the moment, Mom turned back to me.

“Tell me again how this happened,” she demanded as she took my hand.

I looked to Remy. I had lived it. I didn’t want to talk about it. Not yet. She repeated the story yet again while Mom sniffled and wiped away tears.

“What’s going to happen to him? To that boy who did this?” she demanded.

Remy sighed. “We don’t know yet. He’s in custody but he wasn’t really my top concern last night. I’m sure we’ll be finding out more when we get back home.”

“Well,” Mom said around a sniffle, “I hope he gets help. And the other boy? Ben?”

I smiled and told her all about Ben. It was the first time she had ever asked me about a boy. I ended up telling her all about Phoebe and school, too. It was the first time in years she’d shown interest. And now, it seemed like she couldn’t hear enough about my life.

Remy told her about Jeff. About how serious things were and that she was pretty sure an engagement ring was in her very near future. She’d never admitted it before but I wasn’t surprised. Her whole face lit up while she was talking about him. I couldn’t help but smile, too. This set Mom off on a tearful tangent all over again. Except this time, finally, they were tears of happiness.

Remy also told Mom about the McCaffeys. We had met them the night before at the hospital. They had come in to retrieve Ben, looking wide-eyed and cautious. Remy had pulled them aside, explaining to them what happened in her words. Not the detached, analytical words of the officer who had called them. She explained in detail, looking to Ben for clarification, how he had come to my rescue. She declared to his parents that he was a hero and he had her unending gratitude for what he had done.

Then Remy had very insistently invited them to dinner Friday night. They’d been reluctant, had even refused at first. But I wasn’t the only persistent female in my family and Remy had won out.

We told Mom all about this, talking for hours as we answered her questions. She wanted to meet Jeff, Ben and both of their parents as soon as she moved back to town.

She told us about her treatments. She admitted she felt better than she had in years. She told us that she was thinking of going back to work. She realized she needed to find something positive in life to focus on. In addition to her girls, of course.

Mom had a degree in business and had spent years working in retail management. She told us that she’d like to get back into that line of work again. Remy and I were both thrilled with the idea. A job would provide her with stability, a purpose. I hoped it would help her plant her roots firmly back in our hometown.

She apologized for her behavior over the past few years. At first, Remy and I had cut her off. We didn’t need apologies. But it seemed that she needed to say them. So we’d let her. In the end she’d looked relieved that we had heard her out. It was as if she were baring her soul. Clearing her slate.

She asked if maybe, once she got out, we could all have a fresh start.

Remy and I had wholeheartedly agreed that we wanted that. We would like nothing more than to put the past behind us and move forward.

We were able to stay for dinner. It was just a mediocre cafeteria meal. But it was the first family meal we’d had since I couldn’t honestly remember when. We didn’t leave until visiting hours ended that evening with promises that we would be back first thing in the morning. We agreed we’d stay as long as we could the following day. But we needed to get back to Beaumont at a decent time so Remy could prepare dinner for the McCaffeys.

For the first time in way too long, I felt like I had my mom back.

***

“That went well,” Remy said as she nudged open the hotel room door. “Don’t you think it went well?”

“Better than I thought it would,” I admitted as I shuffled into the room. I placed my overnight bag on the small table in the corner. Remy tossed hers down next to it. I wrestled my pajamas out of the bag and went into the bathroom to change. When I came out, my phone started to ring.

“Will you be okay alone in here, if I leave? To give you some privacy?” Remy asked and I nodded. “Okay then I’m going to go out to my car to call Jeff. I won’t be gone too long.”

I collapsed onto the hard, wooden chair as I answered.

“I’ve been calling you for hours!” Phoebe chastised. I had already talked to her once, late last night after we’d gotten home. Somehow news had spread. She’d heard about the ordeal while we were still at the hospital.

I let out an exhausted laugh. “I know.” I’d seen all of my missed calls. I hadn’t had a chance to call her, or anyone else, back yet. “I left my phone in the car while we visited with Mom. We just got to the hotel a few minutes ago.”

“How did the visit go?”

“Good,” I told her. “Great, actually. How was today? Did you see Ben? Is he okay?”

I hadn’t been able to stop worrying about him all day. I wished I was able to be there with him. To face everyone. But seeing my mom was important, too. So I was anxious to hear how his day had gone.

Phoebe snorted out a laugh of her own. “Oh yeah. I saw Ben. He’s probably pretty tired of me and Henry after today,” she said unapologetically.

She told me how she’d met him in the parking lot first thing in the morning. After that, she had stayed by his side as much as her schedule allowed. She and Henry had put themselves on gossip patrol. From what Phoebe told me, they had a lot of patrolling to do. It seemed some, people—but luckily very few—thought Alec had been pushed into his actions. That he’d just snapped because he’d been pushed too far. She said a few people actually felt sorry for him. As far as I was concerned, he made his own choices. Not just with what he had done to me but what he had done to Ben, repeatedly.

But for the most part, people didn’t feel that way. She admitted
everyone
seemed to be talking about what had happened. I was glad I had not been in school and wished Ben would’ve taken at least one day off to let things settle down. I imagined it had to have been an uncomfortable day for him. One of far too many.

Maybe things would be better for Ben now. Without Alec there, working at making things miserable for him. And most importantly, Ben had me and I was pretty sure he had Phoebe and Henry’s friendship, too, if he wanted it. He wasn’t alone anymore.

Olivia had not shown up all day. I had noticed a few of the missed calls on my phone were from her. I had no desire to call her back anytime soon.

I cringed at the thought of more gossip floating around. But it seemed that was the way things went around Beaumont. And now, hopefully, Ben would not be at the center of it. And if he was, I hoped it would be in a good way.

“Henry and I invited ourselves to sit with him at lunch,” Phoebe said. “I don’t think he minded. Not too much anyway. He’ll probably mind even less on Monday when you’re back and we can all sit together. But you’ll be getting back to town tomorrow night, right?”

“Yes, we’re having dinner with Ben’s parents,” I told her.