Текст книги "Claiming Her"
Автор книги: Alexis Noelle
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Текущая страница: 7 (всего у книги 9 страниц)
Chapter Twenty Two
Nina
I’m going over my apartment to see Tina today. I’ve been putting it off because of this whole situation with the notes. I feel like me being there might be putting her in danger, and I know she is going to want to know everything. The truth is, I have no idea what is going on other than some psycho has been following me.
As close as Tina and I are, she barely knows anything about me. I have never been someone comfortable with sharing my story, or much else about me. Whenever we would have girls’ nights, she would mainly talk, and I would listen. I liked it that way. Everything seemed so simple.
I knock on the door instead of just walking in; it hasn’t been that long since I went to stay with Jake, but I feel awkward. Tina opens the door greeting me with a smile, and I follow her in. Once I close the door, she wraps me in a hug.
“Are you okay? I’ve been so worried about you.” Her voice is full of concern and guilt consumes me that I haven’t come to see her sooner.
“I’m okay. I’m sorry I haven’t been around. Things have been so hectic, and I’m apparently horrible at juggling.” I’ve never had a relationship and really never had close friends before Sam and Tina, now having both and trying to balance everything is hard.
We walk into the living room and sit on the couch. “So what has been going on?”
That’s a loaded question. “Some creep had been sending stuff to my work. First it was a black rose; then it was a decapitated mouse. They come with really cryptic notes, and they are freaking me out. After the last one, Jake told me to stay with him because he wanted to be there in case anything happened. He’s been great.” I can feel myself blush thinking of being with him.
“Check out at that dreamy look on your face! I cannot believe you are all googly-eyed over this guy. Honestly, with the way you used to shoot him down I thought you might just be gay.”
I laugh. “Nope, definitely not. I’ve just never met anyone like him. He is so…different.”
“Different good, or different like he has a weird looking schlong?” She scrunches up her face.
Not expecting that I choke on my own spit, completely unable to breathe for a minute. “Different good.” I finally choke out.
“Okay, good.” She winks at me. “So anything else happening?”
My dead sister has been showing up in my dreams and giving me advice. Tina doesn’t know anything about Carly. I have never told that story to anyone but Jake. I guess I feel like since I couldn’t protect her when she was alive, that now I need to protect her memory. “Not really. You know I’m boring.”
“Have you and lover boy done the dirty yet, or are you still playing Mother Teresa?”
My mouth drops open. “We um…we did the other day.” I’m so embarrassed. I am not comfortable talking about this.
“Good. I mean, honestly, I worried he was gay too. I mean what kind of guy sleeps in girl’s bed and doesn’t touch her?” Jake never tried to make a move the nights he stayed over.
“He definitely isn’t gay! He told me he swore to himself he wouldn’t be the first one to make a move. He said he thought if he tried something too early he would scare me off.” When he said that to me, it only solidified how right he is for me. Without me telling him, he knew that I was scared of that type of connection. It’s like he knew me better than I knew myself.
“Whatever, my gaydar was seriously beeping for a while there.” We laugh and spend the rest of the night catching up. I have missed her.
When Jake texts me saying he is on his way, I say a silent thank you. All this wine has made me so damn tired, and I’m about to pass out in the middle of our conversation.
I give Tina a hug, and she makes me promise that I won't let it be so long until we see each other again.
Chapter Twenty Three
Nina
I wake up to an incredible smell. What is that? When I walk downstairs, Jake is standing in the kitchen shirtless, making pancakes. I watch him while I have the opportunity to do so without him knowing. His muscles tense and ripple with each small movement, and I swear they are hypnotizing.
He turns to grab a plate and sees me standing there. “Way to ruin my surprise. I was going to bring these upstairs to you.”
I walk over to him and wrap my arms around his waist. “How did I get so lucky?” I stand on my tiptoes and kiss him.
“I have no idea, but you can show me how thankful you are after breakfast if you want.” He gives me a wink before turning back to the griddle and removing the pancakes.
I sit at the counter and think about how much my life has changed in the last six months. How much Jake has changed me. Ever since the day we had lunch with my parents, Jake has been trying to help me work through my issues. I even called my mom the other day; we talked for a few minutes, and while it was awkward it wasn’t horrible. He has been so supportive, and even though the notes have stopped coming, I’ve still been staying with him. We both think that it was Jaimie since everything stopped once Jake fired her.
I have become more comfortable with the physical aspect of our relationship. I have never felt more at ease with someone. We have been spending more time with his friends, and they feel like a second family. Grace comes over a lot, and as much as I always shot down the idea of ever wanting kids, that little girl is adorable. She loves Jake, and I can’t get enough of watching him with her.
“Hey, where did you go?” He is standing in front of me holding the plates.
“Sorry, guess I’m still a little tired.”
He places the plate in front of me and then hugs me from behind. “I can take you back to bed if that will make you feel better.” He kisses my neck, and I relax against him.
“I just might take you up on that, after I stuff my face with carbs.” I turn my head to the side giving him a kiss.
“Please eat, you get kind of scary when you’re hungry.” I shoot him a dirty look.
“”The term is hangry, and I cannot control it.” I stick my tongue out at him before I take a bite.
We talk about today and Jake reminds me that he is supposed to help Mason with a new project today. Mason and Brian flip houses, so they need some muscle today, and Jake volunteered.
***
“Hey, babe! Mason is here, you sure you’re okay hanging out with the monster tonight?” Jake calls to me snapping me out of the cat nap I tried to sneak in. I stretch before sitting up to look at him.
Today, I told Jake and Mason that I would keep an eye on Grace. She and I have gotten so much closer over the past two months. My afternoon is going to be filled with cartoons and junk food, and I’m a little bit excited. “Yeah, don’t worry about us, we’ll be fine. I already have Netflix up and ready to go so we can spend the whole day vegging out.”
“You know you’re really good with her. It means a lot to me that you embraced her. I promised Lacey that I would watch out for her and Mason. She would have liked you.” I smile up at him. I can’t imagine losing my mom the way Grace did. It breaks my heart knowing that she doesn’t have someone to do all the girl things with; I think that’s why I’m drawn to her. A knock sounds at the door, and Jake gives me a kiss before opening the door for Mason and Grace.
“Nina!” She runs to me, jumping onto my lap. “Let’s watch Sofia!” I laugh as I reach for the remote and wave to Mason.
“I already had it set up for you, princess.” She is wearing a cute princess dress, complete with a tiara.
“See you later, babe!” Jake shouts from the door.
Mason comes over giving Grace a hug and kiss. “Bye, Angel. Thanks, Nina.”
“No problem.” The boys leave and I turn on Grace’s show. We watch the episode as she tells me about each character and sings along to all of the cheesy songs.
“You hungry? I think I have some popcorn we can make.”
“Popcorn! Yes, pease!” She is beaming at me, and I head into the kitchen to make it for us. As it’s cooking in the microwave, I can’t help but wonder if Jake and I will ever have kids. It’s so far down the road, but it’s something I never even considered or thought I wanted before. The more I’m with him, the more of our life I start to envision. He makes me happier than I have ever been.
When I first met him, I never thought he would be the person to change my life, to make me see how unhappy I was. Carly was right, he did save me. I have been wanting to tell him that I love him lately, but I keep second guessing myself. I don’t know if it is too soon or if he would even feel the same way. I’m terrified of the possible rejection from him. What if he doesn’t feel the same way about me?
The beeping snaps me out of my daydream. I grab the bag from the microwave before everything goes black.
Chapter Twenty Four
Jake
“So, you guys are serious?” Mason looks over at me.
“Yeah, she’s unlike anyone I have ever met, Mase. I was ready to give up before I met her. From the first time I saw her, I knew there was something there. It was like this crazy electricity started flowing through me. I knew I had to have her no matter how much she had tried to push me away.”
“You sound like Lacey. She always told me that she knew I was it for her from the start. For me, I just knew she would save me, and that’s why I avoided her for so long.” Mason lost Lacey about a week after Grace was born. She had cancer and lost her fight. “I can never thank her enough for giving me Grace. That little girl is the only thing that keeps me going some days.”
Mason hardly ever talks to any of us about this stuff, so I almost don’t know what to say to him. “You’re doing good with her. Lacey would be proud of you.” We pull into the driveway, and Mason about jumps out of the car. I can tell this whole conversation made him feel downright uncomfortable. “Jake!” His yell from inside the house has me running. I walk in frozen by the scene in front of me: things are knocked over, and the TV is playing, but no one is watching it. “Grace!” Mason runs upstairs as I go into the kitchen.
There is a bag of busted popcorn on the floor and next to it something that makes my heart stop. Blood. A puddle of it. I pull my phone out calling Ryan.
“Yo, I’m working can I call you later?”
“Get to my house now. 911. Bring whoever you can.” I hang up looking for any clue as to what happened here. I walk back into the living room, and Mason is holding Grace’s doll. He looks at me with murder in his eyes.
“I thought you said shit was good!” He comes toward me. “You fucking said everything would be fine! I would have never left her here!” He’s thinking the same thing I am. Whoever was terrorizing Nina never really went away. “She better fucking be okay, Jake!”
“Mason, calm down.”
He charges me, throwing me into the wall. “Don’t you tell me to calm the fuck down. She is my world! She is all I have left of Lacey!” His hand grips my throat. “I will not lose her!”
“Mason!” I hear Ryan’s voice shout. “Let him go, Mase, and tell me what happened.” I can hear sirens in the distance. Mason releases me, and I double over trying to catch my breath.
“Nina was watching Grace. This is what we came home to.” He turns away from Ryan and walks out of the room.
“You okay, Jake?”
“Yeah, how the hell did you get here so fast?” I rub my neck.
“We were only a couple streets down. What is going on?”
“There is blood and food spilled in the kitchen and the living room looks like this. That’s all I know. We just got home.” My mind races with what could have happened, with who this could be. “We have to find them, Ry.” My hands shake and my entire body is tense. She has to be okay.
A few officers come walking in, and Ryan begins to give them instructions. “Jake, I need you to think. Who would want to hurt her? There has to be motive somewhere.”
“Fuck, I have no idea.” We thought this shit was behind us. After everything that happened with Jaimie, the notes stopped, so no matter what she said I always thought it was her. “Do you think it could be her?”
“I’ll have one of my guys check on her, but my gut is telling me that we are missing something. I need you to think, Jake, who could do this?”
I sit down on the couch trying to figure out any possible scenario that might explain this. I can’t. I have no idea who the hell could have done this. I feel helpless, useless. I feel like I’m failing her. Where ever she is, I know she is praying that I find her. She needs me now more than ever, and I can’t do anything. I stand up pacing the room, anger flowing through my veins at being so helpless.
I always promised her that I wouldn’t let anything happen to her, and then this happens.
I need to save her.
I need to make sure that she stays safe at all costs.
Chapter Twenty Five
Nina
Nina! Nina, you need to wake up!
Carly?
Nina, you have to fight. Be careful.
I can hear noise, it’s muffled but it sounds like TV. I think I hear someone crying too. My mind is so fuzzy, and my head is pounding. Where am I? The last thing I remember is getting the popcorn out of the microwave. I try to force my eyes open, and the sunlight blinds me. I blink a few times before things start to come into focus. I’m on a couch, and the TV is on. Cartoons are playing. I turn my head wincing at the pain. I can hear crying coming from next to me. Grace is sitting on the floor at the other end of the couch. Her legs are pulled up to her chest, and her arms are wrapped around them.
The walls are all wooden and outside I can see trees. Where are we? Grace looks over at me; her eyes grow wide when she realizes I’m awake.
“Nina! I wa-want to go home. I don’t want to be h-here. I don’t want to be Cindy.” Cindy? Who is she talking about? The pounding in my head is making it hard to focus on anything. “I just want my daddy and Unkey Jake.”
“What—” I grab my head. Even talking hurts. I decide to whisper hoping it will be easier. “What are you talking about, Grace?”
“The bad man. He keeps calling me Cindy.” The bad man? I try to sit up groaning as my body fights me. I can’t see anyone else in the room. If no one is here, we should run while we can. That’s when I hear them, footsteps. They are coming from outside. They are coming inside. “He’s back!” Grace climbs onto the couch with me. The door opens, and I hold my breath.
Camden.
“You’re awake.” He smiles at me, and I’m utterly confused. “I was starting to get worried about you, Carly.” Carly?
“Camden, what’s going on? Why are we here? And why are you calling me Carly? You know we lost her years ago.” I hold my head in an attempt to ease the pain.
“NO!” His scream causes me to whimper from the pain. “See, that’s what you wanted me to think. You looked so peaceful like you were just asleep. I never knew you fooled me and then ran away with Cindy here.” He looks at Grace. “Come to Daddy, Cindy.”
“No! You’re not my daddy!” She clutches onto my shirt, and I can feel her shaking.
Camden’s face twists in anger. “What have I told you about that? Carly, you better teach our girl some manners, or I’ll have to.” He disappears around a corner.
What the hell is going on? Why does he think I’m Carly? What the hell did he mean by saying she looked like she was asleep? Then it hits me. The night she died. I thought she was asleep. Did he see her that night? He was on campus when Carly died.
I wrap my arms around Grace and pray that someone finds us. All I can picture is Jake coming home and us not being there. Please save me. I need your help, Jake.
I can hear Camden in what I assume is the kitchen. The rustling of dishes clues me in that he may be making something to eat. I know in the state I’m in that if we tried to run he would catch us no problem. I need to buy us some time.
He walks back into the room with some sandwiches on plates. When he places them on the coffee table, neither Grace nor I make a move to eat one.
“Don’t be like that, Carly. He wasn’t good for you. You and Cindy belong here with me. I’m so happy you didn’t hurt her like I thought you did.” I can’t make any sense of what he is saying.
“What do you mean ‘hurt her’?” Carly and I never even knew any girls named Cindy.
“You know what I mean, Carly, don’t play dumb. It makes me angry.” His brows furrow and I decide not to pry into what he is saying. As much as I want to know, I need to keep him calm. “Now you two need to eat your lunch.” I have no intention of touching that shit. What if he drugged it? I nod at him before he gets up.
Grace goes to reach for the food, but I grab her hand. “We aren’t going to eat these okay. They might make us sick.” I grab both sandwiches and put them under the couch, leaving just the empty plates.
“I’m hungry, Nina.” Her voice is weak.
“I know, baby.” I pull her close to me. “I’m going to get us out of here, okay?”
She nods against my chest, my shirt begins to feel wet, and I realize that she is crying. “Do you want to lie down?”
She nods once more.
“Camden?” I call his name feeling sick as he walks into the room. “Can Gr…Cindy and I go lie down?”
“Yes, but not too long. I have to catch up on lost time with my girls. The bedroom is right there.” He points to a door at the other end of the cabin. I nod before holding Grace’s hand and having her stand up. When it’s my turn to stand it takes a while. My head feels so heavy like it might topple and bring the rest of me down. My stomach is turning with each agonizing step that I take. I make it to the bedroom by holding onto the wall.
Grace and I climb onto the bed, and I hold her close to me. I slowly stroke her hair, trying to calm her down. She eventually falls asleep. I didn’t come in here to sleep, but more to get her away from him and to try to work through all of this in my head.
No matter how much I try to work it out, none of this makes sense. I can feel my eyes trying to close, but I will them to stay open. I need to come up with a plan. I need to figure out what is going on.
I’m at our old high school. Carly is standing by her locker. “Hey, sis.” I greet her, but she doesn’t even look at me. “Car?”
“Yeah?” Her voice is a whisper.
“What’s wrong? It’s senior year! Homecoming is tomorrow! Put a smile on your face, this is the time of your life.” I nudge her shoulder trying to make her snap out of this. “I’m heading to get shoes after school today, want to come?”
“I can’t. I have a doctor’s appointment.”
“We just went at the beginning of the year together. You sick?” She just shakes her head. “What’s up then?”
“Nothing, Nina. Don’t worry about me. Just go have fun with your friends. I’ll be okay. Everything will be okay after today.” Her voice is so low it’s almost hard to understand what she is saying. She closes her locker, and I see a tear run down her face.
What is going on with her? She’s been really out of it for the last two months.
“I’ll see you later.”
She walks away from me. I want to call out to her. To tell her I’ll go with her. I don’t though; I hear people call my name from the other direction. Chelsea and Leah are waiting for me to go to the shoe store. I shrug my shoulders and tell myself I’ll talk to her tomorrow.
I jolt awake. I hate that damn dream. I haven’t had it for the longest time. That was the last time I saw Carly alive. I would find her later that night.
What has always bothered me is that she had said everything would be better after that day. What doctor was she going to see? She wasn’t sick. The month before she had been really sick and throwing up all the time. That’s when it hits me like a train.
How sick she was.
The unexplained doctor’s appointment.
Camden thinking Grace is his daughter.
Carly was pregnant.
Chapter Twenty Six
Nina
Carly and Camden were sleeping together?
There is no way. She was more of a goody two shoes than I was. If they were sleeping together, and she got pregnant, would she have killed herself over it? I mean the family would have flipped, but we would have still been there for her. Was that what made her so depressed? Did she think that being pregnant meant we would shun her? Or that her life was over?
I try to go over in my head what information Camden has given me. He said that Carly fooled him and ran away with Cindy. Is Cindy the baby she was pregnant with? There is no way they would have known the sex. How did she fool him? He said she looked like she was sleeping. If he was there that night why wouldn’t he have called 911?
Oh my God.
Did he do it?
Did he kill Carly?
Why would he kill her if she was pregnant with the kid that he obviously wanted?
Unless Carly didn’t want the baby.
My head is spinning with questions and possibilities. Grace starts to wake up beside me, and I know one thing for sure, I need to get us the hell out of here.
I start to look around the room for anything I can use as a weapon or an escape route. There is a window. I get up trying to open it quietly. It’s old and even with my slow motion it’s creaking. I’m praying he doesn’t hear the noise and check on us. I get it about halfway open and decide I can’t chance opening it anymore
“Grace, come here,” I whisper to her. “We are going to get out of here, but we have to be quiet okay?” She nods. Thank God there is only one floor to this cabin. It should be easy to climb out. “You are going to climb out first and then wait right there for me.” She looks between me and the window. I can tell by the look in her eyes that she is scared. “It will be okay, I promise.”
I help her up, and she is able to get out. When it comes to my turn, I try to be mindful of my head. It’s still hurting, but my nap helped me some. At least I have my mobility back.
I climb out of the window, and once my feet hit the ground I grab Grace’s hand and we run. I can only go so fast because I’m not at one hundred percent.
“Nina, my feet hurt.” I look down, and she has no shoes on. There is no way I can pick her up, though. I’m not stable enough for that.
“I know, baby, we just have to keep going okay. We have to get home.” She takes a deep breath and nods. We continue then I hear it.
“Carly!” Shit. It’s him. He will definitely catch us. I look around, and that’s when I see it. The tree from my dream. The one Carly and I hid in. I run to it
“Grace, climb in there.” I follow her in. Space is tight, and Grace has to sit on my lap, but we are in it. If Camden looks he’ll see my shoes, but since they are brown I hope they blend in. I think this is why Carly showed me this tree. She wanted to show me an escape option.
“Carly, get out here. I will not lose you and Cindy again!” His voice echoes around us. And Grace trembles. I hold her tight, shushing her. If she makes any noise, he will find us.
“Nina!” Jake! He’s here! His voice is panicked.
Do they know about Camden? I don’t know where anyone is so I can’t just go running out there.
“Grace!” Mason’s voice screams.
I cover her mouth muffling her answer. Shaking my head, I whisper to her, “We don’t know where the bad man is, Grace, we can’t go out there.”
I put my finger in front of my mouth letting her know to keep quiet. If they get closer, then I will call out. Their voices are too far away right now. A pair of feet stomps in front of our hiding spot. It’s him. I know.
“You can’t hide from me.”
“Freeze!” I hear a voice I don’t recognize right away.
“Where are Nina and Grace?” Jake yells.
I can hear Camden laughing. “I have no idea. Why would I want Nina? I’m looking for Carly and Cindy.”
Please figure out that he means us. The voices are all around us, but I can’t pinpoint who is closest to us.
“Put the gun down, Camden!” It’s Ryan. Thank God.
“Why? Are you going to put yours down? I need to find Carly before she gets away again.”
“Who the fuck is Carly? Where is my daughter, you crazy motherfucker?” It’s Mason again. His voice sounds strained.
“Camden, Carly died years ago. Now where are Nina and Grace?” Jake is close to me I think. It’s so hard to tell.
“Carly didn’t die. Neither did my daughter. They were just with me. Carly, you get out here, or one of them will die!” No!
“Nina, stay where you are, babe.” Jake is pleading. I can hear the worry in his voice.
“Carly you have five seconds!” Grace is shaking.
“Five”
What do I do?
“Four”
He is crazy enough to shoot one of them.
“3Three”
I can’t let him hurt Jake.
“Two”
Carly, please protect me.
I move Grace to the side, signaling for her to stay put then I crawl out of the tree. I’m in the middle of them. Camden on one side, Jake, Ryan, and Mason on the other.
“Nina! Come to me!” I take one step toward Jake.
I hear Camden cocking the gun, and I freeze.
“Don’t you fucking move!” I look behind me and Camden looks completely unglued. His eyes are wild, and he is running his hands through his hair. “Where is my daughter, you bitch?”
“Camden, you are sick. I’m not Carly; I’m Nina.” My voice is calm. I’m trying to convince him of this fact. To make him remember that we lost Carly.
“I want my daughter!” He waves the gun toward me. “Show me where the fuck she is, or you die.”
“Camden, we will find your daughter. Just put the gun down.” Ryan is trying to talk him down.
“You will not touch my daughter ever again, you goddamn psycho!” Mason yells, his voice surrounding us.
“Daddy!” Grace runs out of the tree.
No! She runs straight for Mason as a loud bang sounds. I scream as I see Mason fall to the ground right before Grace gets to him. I make a run to get her when I hear one more bang. Camden falls to my right. I look over to where Jake and Ryan are. They are okay, and I breathe a sigh of relief. Both of them run to where I am holding Grace back from an unmoving Mason.
I scream as another bang sounds, and I look up to see Jake falling backward. Jake’s mouth opens in an O as a moan escapes his mouth. In the next second, he completely disappears from my sight.
“No!” I run to where he was. He fell down a hill. I slide down and land next to him. “Jake!”
He looks up at me. Blood is pooling around him. “I love you.”
“No, don’t you do this to me. Don’t you dare leave me. I love you so much. I’ve wanted to tell you for the longest time. I was just scared. You can’t leave me. You have to stay here.” I’m pleading with him now. Tears falling freely, marking small drops on his shirt.
He looks up at me. “You’ll be okay, Sparky.”
His eyes close and a gut wrenching scream rips through me. “Ryan!” He climbs down the hill, but he is alone. “Where is Grace?”
“The EMTs just got here. She’s with them.” I see medics coming down the hill.
“You have to save him!” I’m pleading with them. “Please! Please! Help him!”
Ryan’s arms wrap around me. “Nina, move away. You have to let them work.” I struggle against him I need to be with him. The medics examine him and begin CPR. Then they stop. They look at one another and shake their head.
“There’s no pulse, Detective.”
“No!” I break free of Ryan and collapse on top of Jake. My hands grip him trying to keep him here with me. He can’t leave me.
I can’t survive this.
