Chapter 20
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Kayla
Kira was thrilled when I showed up a day early. The four-hour drive took closer to five hours. I was in such a hurry to get out of Willow Creek that I didn’t eat breakfast. I stopped an hour into the drive for gas and food, and once more for a light lunch.
The first night, we chilled out at her apartment and ordered pizza. Kira slipped into her room to take a call from her fiancé. She wasn’t the same when she returned to finish watching a movie with me. She hardly spoke the rest of the night.
For two days, we’ve been all over Knoxville and a few of the surrounding towns in search of wedding supplies. As I suspected, this wedding is being thrown together on short notice. It’s like she woke up a week ago and said Hey, I’m getting married in two weeks .
We’ve been to discount stores, thrift stores, and a local used clothing boutique that one of her neighbors owns. It’s where we got our dresses. They’re pretty, but none of the discount stores had a dress in her price range that could substitute as a wedding gown. Naturally, my dress is purple, her favorite color. She promises to have them dry cleaned before next weekend. I’m all for being thrifty or frugal, but this is ridiculous. I mean, her two-tier wedding cake is coming from Walmart .
I see so many red flags about this. Maybe I’m more aware of a few things because I help with Ariel’s Angels. One thing really bugs me.
“Hey, Kira.”
We’re staying in again tonight. I was supposed to have left yesterday. Since I don’t have to work until Friday night, I figured one more night wouldn’t hurt. And I’m avoiding Coty. It’s not like he’s called or texted me in the last three days. It kinda hurts that he listened when I told him to stay away.
“Yeah.” She sets our Chinese containers on the table.
I grab my orange chicken and rice and follow her to the couch. She’s avoided talking seriously with me. I’m leaving in the morning, so I need some answers.
“Why haven’t I met your fiancé? And what’s his name?” She calls him C. C. when he calls. You’d think the man would be eager to meet his fiancée’s friend.
“Oh, he works in North Carolina through the week and only comes home on the weekends.”
Okay. I get that, but something’s wrong. She’s not comfortable talking about her boyfriend.
“And his name?” This should be an easy one for her.
“Um.” She huffs out a breath that pushes the loose strands of hair from her face. “Cory Coleman.”
Now, I’m a different person. Cory Coleman was friends with Trent Colby. I’m not sure if they’re still friends. They must be, or she wouldn’t act so weird when talking about her boyfriend with me. My guess is that Trent will be at the wedding. She didn’t date Cory in college. She hasn’t told me how they met. Cory and Trent weren’t best friends in school. Still, they were close enough that if I had known there was a possibility of Trent being at this wedding, I would have told Kira no.
“You should have told me.” I set my food on the coffee table.
“I know. I’m sorry.” She won’t look at me.
“Trent will be there.” It’s not a question.
“Yeah,” she whispers.
I should bail. It wasn’t like she asked me to be her Maid of Honor. I was just appointed the position. She is my friend. Somehow, I’ll figure out how to get through the wedding. Maybe I can get someone to come with me. Coty instantly pops to mind. If I talk to him and work things out, he’d come with me next weekend. Trent wouldn’t come near me if Coty were there. But that means I’d have to tell Coty about my history with Trent. That’s not something I want to talk about with anyone. Will Coty even speak to me after I disappeared for four days? And there’s the fact that I pulled a gun on him. He would. I’m sure of it. Do I want to talk to him? Yeah, I do. I didn’t handle things well on Monday morning. I was a total B to him.
I need to do something to get Kira and me out of this awkward moment. “I’ll make coffee.”
Her phone rings as I walk into the kitchen. “Hey, C. C., how’s your night?” She’s quiet for a moment. “What? You’re what?”
Someone knocks loudly on the front door. An eerie feeling comes over me. Kira thinks nothing of it and rushes to the door. I pause, pouring the water into the coffee maker.
“C.C.!”
She sounds happy, so I go back to making the coffee. Well, I wanted to meet the fiancé. Now that he’s here, I’d rather not.
“What? No. That’s not true,” Kira cries.
“You ungrateful piece of trash!” a man yells.
“No, Cory. Don’t,” Kira pleads.
What in the world is going on? The sound of a slap comes from the living room. Kira wails in pain. The slap comes again. That’s not a hand. It’s a belt. I knock the bag of coffee over on the counter in my haste to get to the living room. What I find horrifies me and pisses me off at the same time.
Cory has Kira trapped in a corner. She’s crouched down on the floor with her arms over her head. Her cries and pleas don’t faze him. He swings the belt back again, and I spring into action. I run across the room and cover Kira with my body. I cry out when the leather makes contact with my back. I nudge Kira to the side just before the belt strikes my back again. I hear my friend scream. Words don’t register. I can’t make out what they’re saying. It’s like I’m in a tunnel. All I feel is the sting of another strike.
Among Kira’s screams, something crashes. Her screams stop, and she’s there. “Kayla. Oh, Kayla. Are you okay?”
“Kira,” I croak out her name and wince when she places her hand on my back.
“Sorry.”
“Kira, what happened? Where is he?”
She takes my arm and carefully helps me to my feet. Her hand flies up to cover her mouth as she cries harder. “I think I killed him.”
I’m scared to turn around, but I do. Cory is lying face down on the floor. There’s blood on the carpet. A shattered lamp lies next to him.
“What do we do?” She wails louder.
I grab her shoulders and shake her hard. She snaps out of it for a moment.
“Go. Shove a couple of outfits into a bag. We’re getting out of here.”
“What about him?” She looks past me to Cory.
“We’ll make an anonymous 911 call once we’re on the road.” I nudge her toward her room. “Go now. Only grab what you need, and fast.”
Thankfully, she listens. I grab my things as quickly as I can. Within ten minutes, we’re on the road to Willow Creek. An hour into the drive, I know I need help and make a call.
“Kayla, are you okay? Where have you been?” Lily asks.
“Nope, not okay. I need your help.”
Lily shifts like she’s sitting up. “Okay. What do you need?”
"We need a nurse." It’s a good thing my friend is one. “Can you meet us at my apartment?”
“I can’t leave club property right now. You come to the guest house. I’ll let the guard know you’re on the way.”
“Why can’t you leave?” Yeah, Jack’s protective, but this sounds like something more.
“I’ll tell you when you get here.”
“Okay. I need another favor.”
“Sure.”
“Have Nick call in a 911 tip for a domestic violence dispute.” I give her Kira’s address.
“Kayla, what happened? How bad is she hurt?”
“I’ll explain when we get there. I’ll see you in three hours.” I pause and glance at Kira. “I’m bringing an angel with me.