Falling Madly

Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Trevor

“ W here is she?” I demanded of Charlie. “She can’t have gotten this far!”

We’d driven all the way back to town, me following Charlie and Bess in my car, scouring the roads leading away from the slopes, but Teresa had vanished.

“Has she messaged you?” I asked Bess.

She removed her gloves to check on her phone again.

“Nothing yet. I don’t think she’s seen any of our messages. She’s offline.”

Gentle snowflakes floated down, hitting our phone screens. We’d parked right outside the cafe, which still sported some pink decorations. The ones hanging from lampposts looked a little wilted, but there was nothing sinister about this winter wonderland scene. The terror existed purely in my mind.

“Was her phone out of battery? It must have drained while it was locked inside your car,” Charlie suggested.

“It was working when she picked it up. She messaged her sister.”

“Did she say it was running low?” Bess injected.

“No. But maybe it was. It must have been.” I was trying to calm myself down, but nothing was working.

She’d run off, upset, into the cold. I’d forced myself to not follow, to give her space. To not suffocate her. I’d expected her to head for the car and wait for us there. I’d even unlocked the car from a distance. But she must have run right past it, either down the road or into the forest. There were no tracks leading off the road, though. We’d checked. The thick layer of snow made you sink in. She would have taken ages to trudge through, easy enough to track.

At one p.m. it was still light outside, but it was winter, and days were short, the temperature just below freezing. If Teresa was lost somewhere, we’d have to find her quickly. Yet there was the possibility she’d turned off her phone on purpose. On top of that, there was a potential murderer on the loose, already responsible for another missing tourist.

Was I jumping to conclusions again? Thinking I was protecting her when I was acting out of fear, having knee-jerk reactions?

But, as much as I tried to be the chill guy who gave her space, I couldn’t shake the ill feeling. Something was wrong and I had to get to her.

“Maybe she just needs a minute?” Bess suggested. “That whole thing with those douchey guys was awful. Who do they think they are, banning someone from town? I’m so glad you said something!”

What had I even said? I remembered how I’d raised my voice and how it had cracked from emotion. I couldn’t let those pricks have the last word. Maybe it was best Teresa hadn’t been there to see it. This was not the new, snowman level of chill I was supposed to exude. If anything, I was getting more intense.

“For what it’s worth, I don’t think it was about Teresa burning down a building,” Charlie mused. “They’re architects and developers. They tear down and build new stuff all the time, and they’ve obviously done very well. It’s not like she burned down the entire town and it’s still a pile of ashes… so what am I missing?” He scanned the buildings around us as if looking for evidence of fire damage.

“I’m not sure,” I said. “But you’re right, it seemed personal.”

“Why did she do it?” Bess wondered. “She’s never mentioned anything. She didn’t even tell us she grew up here when we talked about the office move. She was just against it.”

“It’s making more sense now,” Charlie agreed. “I mean… she’s a fiery person.” He couldn’t hide his grin.

I threw him a dirty look. “She was sixteen and I’m sure she had a reason. It doesn’t even have to be a good reason. Everyone’s allowed a teenage blunder.”

“Totally,” Bess echoed. “Nobody is perfect.”

“I’m just worried she’ll never want to live here,” I said. “It’s not like the town has welcomed her with open arms.”

Charlie gave me a pointed look. “The town? That was two people and their two buddies, and to be honest, the other guys looked uncomfortable. I know we arrived a bit late, but I saw the tail end of it.”

“I looked them up,” I confessed. “The Nevilles own a lot of real estate around here. They support the local events and the school. I’m sure they’re well connected.”

“Doesn’t mean they rule the world,” Bess muttered.

Charlie glanced at the cafe, then at our cars. “Where to? Should we grab some lunch?”

“I’m so hungry,” Bess added apologetically, gazing at the cafe.

“Go eat!” I urged them. “I’ll head back to the hill. There might still be people around. Someone might have seen her.”

I was running out of ideas, but I couldn’t imagine sitting down to relax or even swallow food.

I drove back, scanning the roadside so intently I spotted a deer behind some trees. The sledding competition was in full packing-up mode, the stage pallets and broken cardboard pieces being hauled onto trailers in the empty parking lot. When I made it to the competition site, I saw the PA equipment had already disappeared and only a handful of kids remained on the slope, sliding down on toboggans.

The Nevilles were gone, but I spotted two parents grasping Thermoses and instantly recognized the lady Teresa had run into earlier. What was her name? My brain flipped through a Rolodex of flowers until I hit a familiar one—Peony.

“Peony, right?” I approached her with a tentative smile.

“Yes! You’re Teresa’s friend. Sorry, I forgot your name.” She smiled apologetically.

“Trevor,” I supplied.

“Hi, Trevor! Would you like some coffee?” She raised her Thermos. “I have an extra cup.”

Before I could refuse, she’d rummaged through her giant tote bag and discovered a plastic cup that looked like the cap of her Thermos. I accepted a cup of steaming coffee, suddenly grateful for the sense of normalcy it brought.

“Thank you. So, did you take part in the race?” I asked, to be polite.

“Oh, no! The kids don’t have patience for building those things. They just want to slide?—”

“Actually, I need to ask ye something.” It seemed I had no patience either, with panic gnawing my gut. “Did you happen to see which way Teresa went? She ran off when those guys cornered her.”

“Julian and his dad? They’re the devil! I hope she didn’t take it to heart. The Nevilles like running their mouths but they wouldn’t do anything.”

“Are you sure?”

She shrugged. “They like being seen as benefactors of the town. They wouldn’t do anything to hurt their reputation.” The look in her eyes belied the light tone she applied to her words.

“Are ye scared of them?” I asked without thinking.

Peony tried to laugh. “Oh, no! Not anymore. I just keep out of their way. It’s… mutual.”

She was scared, but I couldn’t figure out why.

“So… any chance ye saw which way Teresa went?”

She shook her head. “No, sorry. I think she ran towards the parking lot, but I didn’t see anything beyond that.”

“Me neither. To tell you the truth, I’m worried.” I took a sip of the coffee. It was black and so strong my eyes watered.

“I can ask my friend Kerry. She already left, but she was on parking duty so she would have seen more of what was happening on that side.”

“That’d be great. I’m probably overreacting, but she’s not answering her phone. I mean… her phone is not on.”

“Maybe she’s out of range? You don’t have to go far up Mountain View Road and you lose the signal. People who live that way are always complaining.”

“She was on foot, though. Could she have walked that far?”

Peony glanced over her shoulder, maybe to check on her children, then tilted her head. “No, you’re right. But maybe she got a ride with someone.”

The possibility had already crossed my mind, and now it wouldn’t leave me alone. “Did you spot any of her old friends? Anyone she might have known well enough?”

Peony thought of this for a moment, her head still tilted. “Only myself and the Nevilles. I didn’t see anybody else from our class. Most of us don’t live here anymore. I didn’t recognize that many people today, but we get quite a few vacationers this time of year and they love these events.”

I sighed, forcing down the rest of the coffee. Maybe it’d kick-start my brain and give me ideas. After a moment, one thought surfaced.

“What happened with the Nevilles? Do you know the details?”

Peony bit her lip, eyes wide. “She… didn’t tell you?”

“She said she burned a car and a building, but I don’t understand why. What does that have to do with the Nevilles?”

She looked conflicted. “It’s really not my story to tell.”

“I’m only asking in case it has something to do with where she is right now and whether she’s in danger.” I hated even saying it.

Peony whipped her head left and right. The only other human within a hundred-foot radius was the stocky guy right behind her—presumably her husband. He gave me a subtle nod.

“I don’t know if it has anything to do with that,” Peony said. “I don’t think the Nevilles would offer her a ride. And I don’t think she’d get in the car with them. Do you?”

“Probably not.”

We stood in silence, watching the kids climb up the slope with their sleds and toboggans in tow. I’d all but given up hope when she finally spoke. “Julian had this car… it sounds lame now, but back in high school, it was the coolest ride. He’d pick up girls in it and take them to the lookout. You know—the make out spot? Every girl had a crush on him. I mean, everybody.” She shifted a little further from her husband, who was pretending with great effort that he wasn’t listening. “And when I made it onto the cheerleading squad, he noticed me. It was right after the summer when I got my boobs, so it shouldn’t have been such a surprise.”

I nodded, keeping my gaze firmly on her eye level.

“I should have believed Teresa when she told me to stay away from him. That he was the kind of guy who wouldn’t hear the word ‘no’. I wanted so badly to think I was special. I heard he wasn’t really into her; he just had a bet going on with the guys over who could pop her cherry.”

“What?”

Peony winced. “Teresa could be a bit scary. She had a sharp tongue and I guess they saw it as a challenge. But she’s the sweetest soul and the best girlfriend you could ever have. Fiercely loyal.” She wiped a tear from her eye, her voice thick with regret. “That’s probably why it all happened. She felt like she needed to avenge all of us. Every girl who’d been picked up in that stupid Mustang.”

“So, she burned the car?”

“She didn’t mean for the shed to catch on fire. Or the school! And the fire department was there so fast there wasn’t too much damage. It was late. She knew he parked by the shed when they had evening practice. It wasn’t even a proper parking space. It was just convenient and since their family had donated the money to build the shed and the stadium…”

“He felt entitled,” I finished. “I know the type.”

“Yeah, well. Teresa didn’t tell us. She didn’t want to implicate anyone else. She just said he’d pay. But I think she struggled with the heavy canister of gasoline and left a trail, so the fire spread.”

“To the shed?” I held my breath.

Peony nodded. “The shed and the school building. It was May and warm and dry. She called 911, then ran away. But of course, they tracked her down. I’m not sure what exactly happened, but I know she didn’t go to jail. She saw a shrink for a while and did some community service. Maybe because she was underage and had no priors.”

“So, justice was served? What do the Nevilles have to complain about?”

She shrugged. “She destroyed their property.”

“If they donated the shed, it’s not their property. That’s not how donating works!”

“The car was, although I’m pretty sure she paid them back. Or her mom did.”

“Then what’s the issue? Why are they being such colossal pricks?”

Peony took a deep breath. “She accused him of sexual assault, so I guess they freaked out. Attack is the best form of defense.”

I swallowed, looking for the right words. There probably weren’t any, but I had to know. “What happened in that car? Did he… pop her cherry?” I cringed at the words. Why couldn’t I think of any other phrase?

Peony shook her head, looking away. There were tears in her eyes. “Not quite, she fought him off and ran away. I wasn’t strong enough.”