Chapter 25
TWENTY-FIVE
Z ack gripped the steering wheel. Now or never.
But the words wouldn’t form.
The pounding rain against the hood of Naya’s car fell in time to the steady thump of his heart. Each beat more agonizing than the last.
He’d meant everything he’d told Naya. Hurting her had never been part of the plan.
They both had choices to make about what happened next, and either way, someone would get hurt. She wanted to keep investigating the story, but now that someone was dead, he wanted her to forget the story and be safe. He wanted to shake some sense into her and tell her she wasn’t thinking clearly.
Had she not seen Will face down on the ground—dead?
This story, the truth, was not worth it if the cost was more lives. If it meant she gave up her life.
“Why, Zack?” Her whispered voice pierced through the recesses of his mind and took him back to that day. “Why did you leave?”
When you walk through the fire, I will be with you. The reminder from Isaiah 43 echoed in his mind.
Lord, give me wisdom. Help me speak the truth with kindness. Give me the courage to be honest. Whatever the outcome of this conversation, protect Naya. And may the person behind these attacks be caught quickly.
He leaned his head against the cool glass window and took a deep breath, willing his heart to stop racing. “I didn’t have a choice.”
He raked his fingers through his hair. He hoped Naya could see through to his heart. “We made a pact that we would always be friends. That we’d stick by each other.” Zack threaded his finger under the bracelet and spun it around his wrist. He’d been a freshman in high school, and she’d been in eighth grade.
“I remember.” Naya’s gaze trailed down to his hand. “We gave each other the red bracelets.”
“Then you lost yours.”
“I fidgeted with it all the time.”
Naya had told him she couldn’t find it when they got back from youth group one night.
“ I think it fell off during game time. You won’t forget me now, will you?” Tears sprang to her eyes, and her breath came in short pants.
He knew what it was like to lose people. And he didn’t want her questioning their friendship.
“I knew how much it meant to you, so I made a promise to myself to find your bracelet.”
In retrospect, he should be able to laugh, because the way he had gone about obtaining her bracelet hadn’t been the smartest decision. But it couldn’t be reversed now.
“What’s that mischievous look for?” Naya narrowed her eyes.
Apparently, he couldn’t hide his thoughts, either. “I was the goofy kid that my grandma always had to wrangle in.”
“That you were.”
He’d always found a way to make the other kids at school laugh. Coping mechanism? Sure. It had done his heart good during those years. But how did it serve him now? It was silly to think he could keep conversations surface level and still have quality friendships. It was past time to be real. Honest. “Naturally, I had to devise a plan that would become a tale that lived on. It quickly turned into a quest, and I got the help of two of the other boys from church.”
“You came up with a plan instead of just searching for it next time we were at youth group?”
Now she was catching on.
Zack nodded. “After service the following Sunday, I decided to sneak up to the classroom and look for the bracelet.”
The other two boys who’d been part of the plan had been meant to distract his grandma. Just long enough to give Zack time to find the missing bracelet. “I found it tucked in the corner by the snack counter. I had just picked it up when the lights went out.”
“No one saw you still in there?”
“They must have had all the lights on a timer to shut off after the service. When it suddenly went dark, I panicked. I stood up and slid my hand along the wall to find a light switch.” There’d been no windows in the room, which had made visibility harder because no natural light had peeked through. “I ended up tripping over a trash can, and I grabbed onto something on the wall. Suddenly a siren pierced the air, and a single flashing bulb lit up the space.”
“The fire alarm.” Naya’s eyes widened.
“I’d pulled the fire alarm.” And secured his reputation as the goof, the troublemaker. “The sprinkler system was activated, and I was drenched, along with everything else in the room.”
“Why don’t I remember any of this?” Her foster parents always chatted with people after church, which gave her time to hang out with the other kids.
Zack grimaced. “You stayed home with your foster mom that day with the stomach bug.”
“Ohhh.” Naya’s features softened. “That was a horrible few days.”
“I raced out of that room real fast. At that point, the rest of the plan slipped out of my mind, and I forgot to exit out the side door.” Zack rubbed his jaw. “I barreled out the front door and ran straight into my grandma. She tumbled backward and fell and broke her hip.”
He could still picture her frail arms shaking, trying to sit up. The wrinkles on her face deepening from the pain.
Naya sucked in a breath.
“They called an ambulance for my grandma and after her surgery, she went to a nursing home. CPS took over and with no other next of kin, I was put in a new foster home.” Zack sighed. “I was the goofball who caused too much trouble. And my grandma paid the price.”
“It wasn’t your fault.” Naya’s voice rose a notch.
Zack’s gaze locked with hers, but his expression told her he took full responsibility for the situation.
“That’s why no one came home and your grandma’s house went up for sale. My foster parents tried to contact her, but they weren’t successful.”
“My grandma only had a landline.” Zack let out a humorless laugh. “And I found myself clear across town in a completely different school district, with a family I barely knew. It felt isolating.”
Naya’s chin quivered. “I was wrong about the whole situation.” She averted her gaze to her lap.
He took his thumb and ran it along her cheek, then lifted her chin. “I never intended to leave you. The last thing I wanted was to hurt you or cause confusion.”
“I understand that now.”
The unspoken words still remained. It didn’t change all the years of wondering. The questions whose answers appeared evasive. The times of bitterness.
Silence lengthened. Zack had shared the truth. Now it was up to Naya to decide how to respond. His muscles were stiff, but there was nowhere to stretch his legs in the car. They were trapped in here together, but only they had the key to the chance of freedom that lay on the other side.
He wanted there to be restoration. But he couldn’t control Naya’s heart. She had to decide for herself what she wanted.
Zack took off the bracelet and unwound the two pieces of red cord. “I’ve kept your half all these years.” He held out his hand.
“Why?” Naya blinked.
“I made a promise. I guess I hoped at some point our paths would cross again.” He’d been about ready to give up when he’d spotted her in the water after the bridge collapse.
“So why didn’t you reach out?”
Zack shrugged. “I figured you were better off without me.”
“I see.” She swallowed. “Can you hold on to it for a little longer?”
She shouldn’t feel sorry for her answer. He didn’t want to force her to feel a certain way.
He rewound the two cords and slid it back on his wrist. He’d hold on to it for as long as she wanted. Maybe one day he’d earn her trust back, and she’d be able to see the lengths he’d go to stick by her side.
“Zack.” His name was a whisper on her lips. “None of that was your fault. You did a noble thing, even if it didn’t go as planned.” She sucked in a breath. “I’m sorry for what I believed about you.”
“You had every right to be upset.”
“Given my track record with men and them playing the great vanishing act, it’s been hard to trust and depend on anyone.” She shook her head. “I should have given you the benefit of the doubt. Regardless, it wasn’t an excuse to hold a grudge. No matter whose fault it was, my attitude was still a sinful choice on my part.”
“You’re forgiven.” Zack smiled. “I care about you, Nay. I want what’s best for you.”
Whatever the future held for them, he wanted her to know she had a friend in him. Although, he hoped he’d become more than that. Someone she could turn to.
He couldn’t promise he’d be perfect. More mistakes were bound to happen. But he prayed that even in his failings, he could point her to the One who would never leave her side or hurt her.
“Thanks. I’m grateful for you too, Zack.”
He could hear the but ready to come.
“I need some time to process everything.” She rubbed her eyes, then straightened in her seat. “Can you take me back to the hospital? I need to touch base with Ingram.”
“Of course.” Zack twisted the key in the ignition and put the windshield wipers on full speed.
The police had a handle on the investigation now, and that was the way it should be. They had the resources to put an end to this mayhem—hopefully sooner rather than later.
When they got to the hospital, Zack parked Naya’s car and headed into the lobby, where he could call one of his buddies to come pick him up and take him back to the firehouse.
“Thanks for driving.” Naya gave a short wave and headed down the hall.
Zack wanted to run after Naya and put everything behind them. He wanted to move forward, but he couldn’t. Knowing someone was willing to kill over the secrets surrounding the water contamination in town added a level of danger Zack didn’t want to gamble with anymore.
Maybe after all the events of today, Naya would realize it was better to leave things alone. Surely Ingram would advise Naya to stop chasing the story. With her boyfriend dead, she wouldn’t want her best friend to endure the same fate.
If Naya was safe, that was all that mattered. Now he could make good on his intentions to find his parents’ killer without worrying about Naya getting hurt. Zack would put the past behind him once and for all.