Hide and Seek Her Page 14
I took a sip and sighed. Maybe I’d unintentionally have to breach the levy that was Jackson Green a little. “I moved in here about a year ago.”
He nodded as I spoke, “First house of your own?”
I nodded as I sipped my wine.
“So, do you like living alone?”
I sighed and sat down in the window, Vance followed suit. “I do. Sometimes I get lonely but I usually don’t mind it.”
“There’s nothing wrong with being lonely,” Vance sighed quietly. “And before you lived here, did you live with your Aunt and Uncle?”
I shook my head, “No Vance I didn’t. I lived in New Haven with my ex-boyfriend.”
He stiffened next to me and I downed the remainder of my wine, he looked at me in a disapproving way but finished his glass as well. “Seems like a touchy subject.” He murmured.
I shifted in the window and glanced out at the quietness that had settled when the sun went down. “Very.” I could feel the tears prick at my eyes.
Vance sat his glass down and I felt his hand on my face, he gently turned it towards his own, his eyes were kind and soft, unlike any look I had ever seen in them before, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”
I sniffled a little, “It seems like we’ve been apologizing a lot to each other tonight.”
He smiled lightly and I relaxed a little which in turn made him relax, too, “We really are a wreck aren’t we?”
I nodded and pushed my face into his hand, I could feel it tighten a little.
“Can I ask why it makes you so sad?”
My eyes darted open and I pulled away from him then. “I don’t know if I’m ready to go into that with you yet, Vance.”
He nodded like he understood but it didn’t seem like he was going to give up, “When you’re ready to talk…I’m here.”
I shrugged in an understanding way and nodded. I didn’t want to think about Jackson when Vance was in my house, I didn’t want to think about Jackson at all. What I wanted was to ease the pain that was settling over me and I wanted to feel like I felt last night. The wine was making me brave and in one swift motion I rolled onto Vance’s lap and grabbed his face and kissed him deeply. His hands gripped my waist as I wrapped my legs around him. Pouring every emotion out of my mind and into the kiss I pushed my body against him and was aware of a low growl in his throat. The kiss deepened and I could feel him tense beneath me.
“Slow down, Charlotte.”
I moaned as he broke our kiss and kissed my collarbone lightly. “Vance…” my voice trailed off as he stopped kissing me and pushed me back onto my side of the window. I looked at him oddly, my eyes pleading with him to just let me kiss him.
“Hey.” He whispered as he held onto my face. “I want you, too but I don’t want to ruin this. Tonight has been a whirlwind of emotions and conversation for the both of us. I don’t know if throwing anything else into the mix will help us or destroy us.”
I shook my head and pushed myself against him again. “I don’t care Vance…I want you.”
He moaned again as my lips collided with his but he gently pushed me back. “You want me because you’re upset, and you want me because you’ve had enough to drink.”
“So?” I asked as my breathing became ragged.
“So…I want you to trust me Charlotte.” His eyes were soft as he spoke. “I want you to not question anything. From one of our earliest conversations I knew it would take a while and a lot to get you to trust me, I want that more than anything else.” His hands relaxed around me as he very gently pushed me away.
I felt disappointment and embarrassment wash over me and he could sense it. “Hey.” His eyes locked onto mine and he held my hand tightly. “It doesn’t mean I don’t want you, I do. Please believe that. It just means…I don’t want to hurt you Charlotte. I want more than just a good time with you.”
His words hit me like a brick and I stiffened. Was I ready for more; was I ready for anything really? The wine and the rejection was making me fuzzy and suddenly I just wanted my bed. Vance stood up and helped me off the window seat. He walked towards the couch and sat me down.
“Come on. Let’s at least have some normalcy on this date. Movie?”
I nodded still feeling embarrassed and handed him the remote. He flicked a small table lamp near the kitchen on and the dim light reflected off of his perfect face. He sat down next to me on the couch and positioned me so that I was sitting in front of him. “There.” He smiled and kissed my cheek. “Normal.”
I nodded at his words but I still couldn’t help the burning fire in the bed of my soul. I really did want Vance but I knew that his words rang true. It was as though he knew more than he let on about my past, like he knew more about the relationship Jackson and I shared than most people in town already knew or suspected. I felt myself ease into him as he settled on a movie about a missing person and wrapped his arms around me. I felt a familiarity when I was in his arms that I couldn’t place but I felt safe, I felt good.
I awoke with a stir as I was being covered up with a blanket. My eyes darted quickly around the room and I realized I was at home, on my couch. I vaguely remembered watching the movie; I must have dozed off at some point. I felt Vance’s lips press against my forehead and I sighed.
“I’m going to head out.” He whispered as he kneeled down and met my gaze.
I nodded, almost too tired to speak but I found the words, “Thank you for tonight. And I really am sorry if anything I said offended you.”
He smoothed my hair with his hand and smiled. “We’re just getting to know each other,” he whispered.
I nodded and closed my eyes again. I didn’t want him to go but I knew he wouldn’t stay, even if I asked. I was aware of my door closing and that was the last thing I heard before I drifted into a deep sleep.
Chapter 17
The following weeks passed quickly and I suspected most of that had to do with Vance. After our first “date” we waited a few days before seeing each other again, and he had me over for dinner. To my surprise, Riley joined us and I learned more about him. He had gone to an automotive college and graduated a couple of years ago. He loved working on cars, especially old cars and he was getting into repairing old sail boats and watercrafts. He mainly worked at his own pace, he didn’t want to work for anyone or be told what to do, but sometimes he helped out with charter boats during the summer season at one of the docks in town. I fell in love with Riley quickly. It was not the type of love you have for a boyfriend; it was the type of love you have for a friend, or a family member, even a puppy. Riley was fun loving and kind, unlike any person I had ever met. He made me feel good just being around him.
After dinner that night, Riley left to go visit some friends and Vance and I spent a few more hours indulging in “small talk”. I learned his favorite color, favorite band, favorite movie and favorite food. He didn’t touch base on anything personal. We didn’t talk about our pasts or our lives before the other entered it. If he wanted normalcy, this was the most normal I had ever felt with someone. It was an odd thing for me to feel so happy and so carefree. Rick noticed it when I went back to work but I think he assumed it was from my vacation. Kim noticed it during our phone calls and immediately assumed I had gotten laid. When I told her we were just getting to know each other and spending time together she seemed to not believe me. I don’t know why Kim always assumed sex was the only way to communicate.
We went on a few more dates. Once more to his restaurant and we tried out a newer place a few towns over. He never wanted to eat in town and I never asked why. I didn’t really want to deal with the thick crowds during tourist season and I didn’t want to potentially run in to anyone I knew, and I knew that would happen.
It was late on a Wednesday when Lara called me at work.
“When were you going to tell me about your new beau?” Her accent was thick as she spoke and I blushed.
“Lara…I don’t know if I would call him that, and how do you know about it?”
I wondered when Kim had felt the need to fill Lara in on my personal life, or why for that matter. I wondered if any of them would ever leave me be when it came to the people I chose to surround myself with. I knew they were worried, but at some point that needed to fade.
“Lara, he’s a friend and I’m really enjoying things. Micah doesn’t even know him, they didn’t meet.”
I could hear her unease on the other end of the phone. “I just worry, that’s all. Especially when I don’t know the person you’re spending time with.”
I rubbed my temples and sighed. “His name is Vance Wait and he lives off of Water’s Road. He owns a few businesses. There, now you know him.”
I heard her sharp intake of breath, “Vance Wait? He’s quite a catch Charlotte.”
“You know him?”
“Not personally…your Uncle Rich knew his father. He worked for him when he was younger.”
“What?” I was stunned, “Doing what?”
“He helped in the orchard they used to run before you get to their house. I imagine it’s still there just very grown up. After Vance’s parents died, certain things fell apart, the orchard they had was one of them. Your Uncle wasn’t working for them when they died, but he took it pretty hard. We were just dating then, I never knew the Waits personally, I just knew they were good and kind and had a lot of money.”
I swallowed, what a small world it really was, “How did his parents die?” I remembered what Vance told me but the look on his face and how elusive he became when discussing their death gave me the feeling that there was much more to the story.
“I’m not sure dear. Car accident maybe? You’d have to ask your Uncle. Now enough of that, are you sure you are just being friendly and there is nothing else going on?”
“Lara, we’re just getting to know each other.”
“It sounds like you’ve been spending a lot of time with him.”
“And with his brother Riley, too. Look I’m branching out like everyone has wanted me to. I’m making new friends and trying to get on with my life. I can’t sit in my house and never let anything happen to me again,” I knew I was being short and my tone was clipped, but I wasn’t seventeen anymore.
“I am not coming down on your Charlotte; I’m just trying to get a grip on things. And if Vance turns out to be more than a friend, I hope you have the decency to bring him around and introduce him to us.”
I sighed, “Yes ma’am.”
In my mind, Vance was more than just a friend but we hadn’t addressed what we were to each other, or exactly what it was we were doing. All I knew is he felt deeply for me and I felt something deep for him, but that was about it. We didn’t talk in terms of relationships and I wasn’t referring to him as my boyfriend. He was very good at keeping things slow although there were a few nights where it became harder and harder to stop ourselves.
The first weekend of August was approaching and Vance wanted to go out to a neighboring town that had a small festival going on. There was music, food, and drinks and he sounded really happy about going. I agreed to go with him and he told me he would pick me up on Saturday night.
I had spent most of the day Saturday working on some designs for a lady in town who was opening an art studio. She wanted a very clean and industrial feel, two things which did not add up very well to me but it wasn’t up to me. The job was keeping my mind busy which was exactly what I needed. Vance was doing a fine job and soaking up my thoughts and I was borderline obsessing over him; keeping my mind busy was much needed right now. I was finishing up some designs when my cell phone rang, I didn’t know the number but I figured it was one of the clients who I had been dealing with.
“Hello?”
There was nothing on the other end, just silence and the line went dead. I shrugged my shoulders and went back to work. Van Morrison was crooning out of my tablet and I was tapping my pencil against the designs and was completely lost in the moment as Vance flooded my mind again. I was unfamiliar with the way I had been feeling lately, it was almost as though the small, quiet, and broken girl I had spent the last year embracing was turning into someone who wanted to rejoin the human race. I smiled to myself knowing that he had much to do with that. At first, although I was attracted to him he was such an asshole. Now, I counted the minutes until I saw him again. The wall I had securely placed was slowly crumbling, just like my willpower. I wanted him; I was beginning to need him. He was like heroin to me, I was addicted to the feeling I got from him when he was near, and that searing heat that coursed through me when he touched me. I went from being a recluse to needing him to be with me, it was baffling.
My phone ringing again shook me from my daydream. I grabbed it noticing it was the same number and answered quickly, a little more persistent this time, “Hello?”
Silence plagued my ears again and I turned down my music to listen.
“Hello, can I help you?”
I could hear someone breathe, like they had been holding their breath and I rolled my eyes.
“I know there is someone there, what do you want?”
There was no answer, just the sound of breathing again and I was annoyed. Just as I was about the end the call, someone cleared their throat.
“You.”
All the emotions I had felt not five seconds before the phone call left me at that moment. The ability of my legs to hold up my weight caved, and I felt myself fall quickly to the floor, still clutching the phone to my ear, unable to believe the voice on the other end.
When words finally came back to me I took a deep breath, “Excuse me?” My voice was shaking, I was on the edge of tears and I couldn’t believe what I had just heard, or rather who I had heard.
I was aware that someone was still hanging on the other line, his breathing shallow now but I thought I heard him chuckle.
“I know you heard me, Charlotte.”
My name on his tongue confirmed my nightmares and triggered my shaking.
“Jackson.” It was not a question, it was not a statement; it was an affirmation. The fear that I had tried to let go of, the hope that he had somehow died or just ran away that I had convinced myself of, dissipated as his voice sank in to the deepest part of my soul. It awoke some strange, demonic feeling in me and I felt a rush of anger and panic spread through me.
Before he could answer me, before I could ask anything else, before anything could happen, the line went dead and in that moment I wished I had, too. I wished I were dead, I wished I hadn’t survived; I wished I had been like her…the woman before me. Death would be better than dealing with the latter, death trumped Jackson Greene.
Chapter 18
I was sitting in Officer Maloney’s office holding tight to a cup of black coffee that he had given me. Despite the heat of the Alabama summer sun, I was shaking. I sat my coffee down and wrapped my arms around myself like that would protect me, I knew better than that though.
After the initial shock of the phone call left my body I called the police and without hesitation they sent someone right over and hauled me to the station. One of the perks of living in a small town were that when something bad or life threatening happened to you, you were remembered; and as long as you weren’t crying wolf or abusing the help you were given, help always came.
When I got to the station, Officer Maloney took my phone and ran it over to an officer who was trained in tracking calls and numbers. He recommended that I get a hold of someone and tell them I was here, I told him that I didn’t want to make anyone worry until I had something to worry about, but I already had confirmation that Jackson had called me; his voice was enough.
I would never forget his voice; never forget the way my name sounded as it slid romantically off of his tongue. That’s probably why I fell for him in the first place, the way he talked to me was enough to do me in. I already kn
ew it was Jackson, but deep down inside I hoped I was wrong. I hoped that my mind was playing tricks on me; I hope that I was overreacting.
I took a sip of the coffee as Officer Maloney walked in with a short, blonde haired petite officer following him.
“Charlotte this is officer Forks. She is new but she has a lot of experience in cases like yours.”
“Cases like mine?”
He shifted uncomfortably in his chair and looked at the middle aged woman and sighed, she spoke for him. “Abuse and attempted murder cases, specifically abuse against women.”
I nodded towards her; I knew why she was here. She wanted to know more about what happened so she could hopefully get some insight on the situation. The fact that she walked in here could only mean one thing.
“It was him wasn’t it?” I closed my eyes and braced myself for the news that I already knew to be true.
“The tracking device we used confirmed the number was registered to a J. Greene outside of Houston, Texas. His D.O.B matched that of Jackson Greene from New Haven, Alabama who disappeared on March 29th of last year. At this point Charlotte, I’d say we’re about ninety eight percent sure that was him.”
“It was,” my voice was short and fast as I spoke, “I knew it was him by his voice, I was just hoping I was wrong.”
Officer Maloney looked worried and he leaned forward on his desk, “I don’t know what has provoked him to contact you. I’m sure he is aware that he was being searched for unless he spent the last year in a hole. I’ve let the Houston police know the situation and we’ve faxed them over the reports that we have on him. They’re issuing a warrant for his arrest but I doubt he is in Houston.”
I wrapped my arms around myself again, and panic shot through me and I wondered just how close he was, “Were you able to track the location of the call?”
Officer Maloney looked disappointed, “No. unfortunately we can only track the location if the phone is working. It would appear that he destroyed the phone shortly after the call. It’s the only explanation I have for not being able to pin point a location. When we tried the number it says it was no longer in service. The bastard probably trashed the phone and then cancelled his service before we had time to track things. Smart, but a pity for us.” He glanced at me oddly and sighed. “Charlotte we need to tell your family, we need to make sure you’re protected even when we’re not around. Typically one phone call wouldn’t raise cause for us to issue a red flag, but this is Jackson Greene we’re talking about and I’m not taking my chances after last time. Do you want me to call Rich?”