Chapter 11
Leo
“Iam just around the corner.” I say to Noah, who’s on call with me while I drive to his friend’s house.
I had to convince Kai that Rachel probably is visiting a family member or a female friend in order for him to not follow me here.
His jealous ass was convinced she is with that hot neighbor of hers.
It isn’t so far-fetched. They already had one date that Kai made sure was ruined, who tells him they didn’t find a way to have more while he was ghosting her?
Kai will never admit that he is actually ghosting the girl, but I know better.
“Take your time. I will be here.” Noah’s voice fills the car from the Bluetooth speaker.
“Are you waiting for me, pretty boy?” I tease, but before I can say anything else something, or someone runs to my direction from Rachel’s back yard. What the hell?
I step on the brake, the car spins and screeches, Noah is frantically yelling from his end of the call, and I am trying to hang on for dear life, holding the steering wheel with all my strength.
I try my best to get hold of the car, but it’s pointless.
It spins out of direction and into Rachel’s driveway, taking the gate with it.
I take a deep breath, trying to keep myself together.
There’s no point, I am already losing it.
I don’t know what that was, but I definitely hit something, or someone.
A gut feeling tells me this is going to be bad.
Really bad. Crime level, prison sentence, bad.
“What the hell is happening? Leo? Talk to me!” Noah shouts, but I was too busy trying to stop the car to realize. Finally, I manage to ground myself to the present when the car stops, wrecking half of Rachel’s garden in the process. I look around, I can’t see anyone. Who the hell was that?
I look back through the car’s mirrors checking the road for whatever I hit.
Whoever I hit. What I see is exactly what I was expecting.
A man is laying on the road, blood pooling already underneath him.
Fuck. This is not good. This is in fact terrible.
I knew we would need the bail fund soon, but I was convinced it would be for Kai.
Now here I am probably needing it for myself.
How am I going to explain this? Who the hell is he?
Why is he even here? Was he with Noah in the house?
I scold myself for the last thought, because being jealous should not be in the top ten of my priorities now.
“Noah, get out here.” I say, but Noah’s side of the call stays silent.
“Please.” I yell without realizing that tears are streaming down my face.
This can’t be happening. I run out of the car, leaving the door open, and rush in his direction.
He doesn’t move. He isn’t fucking moving.
Why isn’t he moving? Please, for the love of God, please be okay.
Please. I plea in silence as I kneel next to him.
I can’t touch him. I can’t bear to touch him.
Noah exits the house. He sees me on my knees next to the unconscious man, and he runs like hell until he is by my side.
“What the hell?” He looks at the man who’s still not moving, then at me, then at the car, and back at the man. “Is he dead?” He asks, but I can’t answer. I can’t do this. This is not happening.
“I don’t know. He came out of nowhere. He was coming from the house.” I say in a frantic voice and I am not sure if I am making any sense. “You didn’t say someone was in the house.”
“No one was in the house, Leo. I was alone.” Noah shakes his head when I look at him.
“Leo, no one was in the house. No one should be in the house.” He repeats, but the words don’t make sense.
The man ran from the house. I saw him. He is here.
Lying on the ground. Dead. This man is real. I know what I saw.
“But...” This can’t be right. “ I saw him.” This isn’t right. “I saw him running from the house.”
“That can’t be right.” Noah reaches for the man lying there, face down, still, as if he is dead.
Oh God, please don’t let him be dead. He pushes his body until he rolls on his back, and now his face is visible.
He looks familiar. “Fuck.” Noah puts a hand over his mouth and stands.
He walks away. I see him pacing around, trying to compose himself. “Fuck.” He repeats. “Leo, that’s Alex.”
“Alex?” I question, blinking in an effort to recognize the man. I am not sure I know any guys named Alex. Who the hell is Alex? “Who the hell is Alex, Noah?” I yell, and he motions me to lower my voice.
“Rachel’s neighbor.” Fuck. He is the one who she went on a date with.
If this man is dead, Kai and I are fucked.
They will think this was on purpose. They won’t believe me.
My record is sealed, for now, but with a crime like a murder, things will change.
They will know I killed before. They will know I am a monster.
“Is he dead?” I ask, this time, my voice is barely above a whisper.
My survival instinct just kicked in. I take a deep breath and two steps back.
I inspect my car from afar, the blood trail leading to the man.
Alex. It took me too long to get the car back under control.
The way it’s positioned, an expert will assume I hit him and kept going.
This will look like it was on purpose if anyone with a badge sees the crime scene.
Noah approaches Alex again. He kneels over and presses two fingers on the side of the man’s neck. I wait, holding my breath, praying this is not how my life ends. “I am sorry Leo.” Noah whispers. “We need to call the police.”
“No.”I rush to say and Noah stands.
He approaches me with a concerned look on his face. “What do you mean no?”
“I promise you I will explain everything, but for now you need to know that if you call them, I will be a murder suspect. I can’t be a murder suspect, Noah. Please. You can’t call them.” I plea. This man owes me nothing. He can turn me in. He will turn me in. I would if I were him.
“Fine.” He says. “Help me carry him.” I can’t believe what I am hearing. He won’t turn me in.
“What?” I stay frozen, looking at Noah, who goes straight into “hiding a body” mode and pulls the man from his shoulders. He is not even fazed, holding the dead body as if this were a normal date activity.
“Grab his damn legs Leo. You said you can’t be a murder suspect.
I get it. I don’t want to be one either.
” He wouldn’t be, though. I was the one driving.
He wasn’t even out here when it happened.
It’s clear that this is not an act to protect himself.
He is protecting me. Only me. It’s fucked up, and I probably will need additional therapy for tonight alone, but something inside me is slowly healing by the fact that this man is trying to protect me.
The man I met only a few days ago who barely knows anything about me.
It’s not often you meet someone like Noah.
Someone who’s willing to be your ride or die without questioning anything.
Those people are precious. They need to be protected at all costs. Noah especially.
“You are going to help me hide a body.” I say with hesitation because I need him to confirm it. I need him to say the words. This is insane.
“Obviously. Did you think I am only good for a hookup in the dark?” I would never think that. But there is a difference between dating, if that’s what we are doing, and hiding a body. At least it should be. “Leo come on. This guy is heavy.”
I finally give up and grab Alex’s legs. We carry the body inside and put him on Rachel’s couch. “Now what?”
“Give me your keys!” He demands.
I don’t argue. Noah is on a fucking mission, and I am not going to mess with this. Especially when his mission is to cover up the murder I committed. “They are still on the ignition.”
“Good. Go to the kitchen get bleach and the long hose from the storage cabinet under the kitchen sink. We need to clean the driveway.” The blood. He wants to clean the evidence.
“What about Alex?” How are we going to hide a body?
With my father, I was thirteen. Police came so fast that I didn’t have the time to even think about it, not that I would hide it.
I wouldn’t kill anyone, either, without a reason.
Hiding a body seems more like a killing without a reason type of murder process.
“I don’t know. Do you know anyone who can hide a body?” Noah jokes.
“Actually I think I do.” Maybe it’s a long shot. And the guy sure isn’t my biggest fan at the moment.
“Leo why do you know people who hide bodies?” Noah raises an eyebrow judging me.
“I don’t, but this guy is a regular at the bar. Rumors are going around since he came for the first time that he moved here to start over after getting out of prison. He was there for eight years or something. Supposedly.” I explain.
“Call him.” Noah shouts.
“He is not my biggest fan.” I admit.
“Well best case scenario he provides some type of advice, worst case scenario he turns us in.” He will turn me in. Noah wasn’t driving.
I take my phone out of my pocket, search for Melanie’s contact. I text her.
Me: Melanie can you send me the contact number for Logan.
It takes only a minute before Mel messages me back.
Mel: [contact attachment]
Mel: Is everything okay?
Me: I won’t judge but tell me the truth. Are the rumors about him true?
Mel: Yes.
Me: We never talked about this. See you on Friday.
Mel: Okay. See you on Friday boss.
I click on the contact and then the green button to start the call. I put it on speaker and Noah comes closer.
“Hello? ” Logan’s voice sounds as if he were just asleep.
“Logan, it’s Leo.” I start, but he cuts me off.
“Leo? From the bar?” He asks, more confused than before.
Noah grabs the phone from me. “For fuck’s sake, give it to me.” He says, and then speaks closer to the microphone. “Hey, Logan, you don’t know me, but is it true you did time in prison?”
Jesus Christ, Noah doesn’t do subtle, does he?
“Yes. I did eight years. Who the fuck are you, and why do you care?”
Logan’s voice comes from the speaker, and holy shit, he actually has done time.
“Well, we kind of need your help.” Noah hesitates for a moment. “Do you by any chance know how to hide a body?” Sure Noah, just tell him what I did right away. It’s not like this guy could turn me in or anything.
“Man, I know you don’t like me, but if you know how to hide a dead fucking body, I will owe you my life.” I spit out in frantic and Noah turns to me with a ‘what the hell’ look on his face. I don’t do subtle either, it seems.
“A dread body.” Logan repeats. “You need help with a dead body.”
“At least we know he can hear.” Noah jokes.
“Send me the address I will be there in ten. Do not move the body.” Logan ends the call before we can tell him that we did indeed move the damn body already.
Me: [address attachment]
“Now what?” I ask Noah who’s turning Alex into a human burrito with the throw blanket Rachel has left on the couch. She won’t get this back, that’s for sure.
I watch him frozen in place, because this man totally doesn’t know how to follow directions. “What part of don’t move the body wasn’t clear Noah?” I shout.
“We already moved him anyway this will make it easier to move him again.” I don’t want to argue. He has a point. Maybe. I don’t fucking know anymore.
“I am going to clean the driveway then.” I announce and head to the kitchen where he said the cleaning supplies are, knowing the location of the room from the camera feed I had watched for far too long before Rachel took them down. I need a moment for myself.