Chapter 28
LENNON
“Ineed to see what we were brought to the hospital in again,” I tell Hendrix as he stands in the hall at my parents’ house watching me search through my old room.
“Yeah, sure. Whatever you need. What are you hoping to find?” he asks as he walks to the closet and pulls out a clear bag from the floor I hadn’t noticed before. I guess my parents put it in here before they knew I was alive. My room had been shut off because Mom said it was too painful.
The last time I asked about our effects from that night, I didn’t look through them, I just asked if our phones or necklaces were with them. But I’m determined to remember how I ended up wearing London’s shirt.
I take it from him. “The last piece of the puzzle.”
I’ve been on a mission since I left Dash’s house yesterday to destroy the power my stalker has over me.
“What are you going to do once you find it?” he asks while still hovering. I shift so that he’s behind me. I sit on the floor with the bag.
He’s been my shadow since Dash asked him to look out for me. I didn’t tell Hendrix what happened between Dash and me last night, but he senses the shift in my mood because he’s played twenty questions with me ever since.
I’ve started pulling the clothes out of the bag at an alarming rate until I find what I’m looking for.
My hands brush against the white shirt which has been cut down the middle.
It’s covered with my blood, and I feel the pain above my eye, the same headache I’ve gotten every time I’ve recalled something important since the accident.
Then I find the black shirt. It’s been cut down the middle as well, no doubt as they were trying and failing to save my sister’s life and the thought grips me.
I hold it up. This is the shirt I was wearing the entire night even though, somehow, I ended up in London’s white one.
Then I see it; the rip in the sleeve and I can almost hear the fabric tear as it catches on the gear shifter in Dash’s truck. I can’t take my gaze off the hole. I was hurrying to get dressed, and when I reached for my shirt, I didn’t realize it was hung on the shifter.
We’d been bowling in the town over, trying to keep a low profile from not just the world, but my parents…
and his. As much as my dad didn’t want us together, neither did his.
We’re racing rivals after all and neither my team nor his was impressed by us fueling the fires with the other that they said was crashing our careers.
We were tired of hiding out at each other’s houses.
We wanted to feel like a normal couple doing normal things.
We thought we could fly under the radar until we could be together without the condemnation of our families and teams. After all, our racing careers won’t last forever.
We thought if we could just hold on to each other tight enough and be patient…
But we were wrong.
Someone saw us. And everything fell apart. I was rushing to get dressed because after we were done bowling, we made love in the back seat of Dash’s truck. And that’s when my dad’s call came.
I remember every word.
“Lennon, someone said they saw you with Dash. I thought you and London were breaking in the Hellcat together. Where are you really?”
He sounds so angry.
“We are. London’s doing good. She’s only made it stall one time,” I tell him as I press a finger to my lips to signal Dash to stay quiet.
“They said you and Dash were all over each other. They told me every detail down to what you’re wearing—jeans and a black shirt.”
“I’m not with him, Dad. Why don’t you trust me?” I ask, suddenly angry. I shouldn’t have to justify loving someone.
“Because I see the way you look at him. I have eyes. I also know you’re my daughter and you’re as stubborn as I am when your mind is made up. So, I’m inclined to believe this person.”
“Who? Who told you that? Because they are wrong,” I lie again.
“It doesn’t matter. I’m not just your dad, Lennon. I’m your boss. He’s the competition and he’s sabotaging you. He doesn’t love you. You’re done with him. Am I clear?”
I shift out of Dash’s lap, angry and stunned before getting out of his truck to continue this call privately while leaving Dash in the truck to get dressed.
He knows this night is over. Luckily, after we left the bowling alley, we took a drive down a country back road and we’re parked at the back of one of his friends’ properties without a soul in sight because although I’m back in my jeans and bra, I’m sans shirt.
“I’ll prove to you I’m not with him right now,” I tell him.
“And how are you planning to do that, Lennon Shay Tyler?” he asks using my full name.
He’s so pissed because he told me to end things with Dash a long time ago and I’ve fought against him until recently.
I thought it’d be easy to make him believe I’d listened.
We’d just sneak around until we could talk some sense into him… and Dash’s team.
“I’ll come to your house right now and show you I’m not even wearing a black shirt, it’s white. The joke’s on you and your secret investigator or informant or whatever the hell they are,” I rush out.
“You have thirty minutes to get here. Anywhere you could be with London in town or in this county will take that long.”
“You’re wrong,” I say. He does love me, I think to myself.
“We’ll see,” he says before hanging up on me.
Dash is already zipping his jeans and pulling his shirt over his head when I open the truck door again. I dial London. When she answers, I curse. My shirt got hung on the gear shifter and I ripped the sleeve. This is one of my favorite shirts too.
“I need you to meet us in fifteen minutes. We’ve got a date at Dad’s. Someone snitched on me, and he wants to see me and you together with his own eyes,” I explain as I throw the shirt over my head despite the new rip.
“It’s not like we’re grown women in our thirties or anything. On my way,” she says. I overhear her tell Hendrix she’s gotta go followed by the sound of a kiss.
“Don’t worry, Lennon. It’ll be okay. We’ll get there,” London assures me.
I feel a sinking feeling in my chest like nothing is okay. Like something about this time is different.
When London pulls up to Dash’s truck, she waves at him from the car, and I blow him a kiss before jumping out without another word to him. Then, I hop in the passenger side of my Hellcat as London shifts into gear seamlessly, leaving Dash behind.
“You’ve gotten good at driving a stick,” I say with a smile, proud of her.
“Because I had the best teacher,” she says and glances at me with a wink.
She tells me how much Hendrix liked the new recipe she tried out. I smile at her. I’m so happy she’s happy. And little does she know, but her boyfriend will be getting down on one knee any time now. He’s just waiting for the perfect moment.
When we’re about five minutes out, I remember my stupid shirt and pull it over my head.
London stops at a red light and looks at me like I’ve lost my mind.
“I need your shirt. Quick, while we’re stopped,” I say while holding my hand out.
She pulls hers over her head and gives it to me with a quizzical raise of her brow.
“Dad was told I was wearing a black shirt with Dash. He can’t think anything he was told is true. Not even down to my shirt,” I say.
She smiles at me sympathetically before slipping my shirt over her head right before the light turns green.
After we’re moving again, she abandons the gear shifter for my hand and gives my fingers a squeeze.
“We’re like scary good at this, Lennon,” she says.
We both burst out laughing because…of course we are.
We’ve had a lot of practice covering for one another or just stepping into each other’s shoes for fun.
We are truly identical, so much so, even our parents can have a hard time telling us apart, much less anyone else.
Not that we’ve done anything really bad with the ability to transform into one another.
“Yeah, we are. I don’t know what I’d do without you, London. I love him and I couldn’t keep seeing him if you weren’t willing to help me.”
“That’s what sisters are for, Lennon. I’d do anything for you. And Daddy will come around…eventually. He thinks he’s protecting you by trying to keep you away from Dash.”
“I guess he wants me with someone as perfect as Hendrix.”
She guffaws and I laugh.
There was more to our conversation, and by the end of it, she told me she believed me and Dash would make it.
And not moments later, my sister’s happiness and life were stolen. And mine was left abandoned in shambles scattered on the side of the road as both of us lost our identities and our voices.
I grab both shirts in my hands and bury my face in them and scream.
From the depths of my soul, I scream in anger, in pain, and in shame. I scream until my voice cracks, and my throat is raw.
No one comes near me, though I feel their presence behind me. My mom, Hendrix, and Dad.
These tears are so hot, they sear into my skin. I’m angry. At this damn stalker, at Dash, at my dad, and most of all at myself.
Logically, I know there’s no way I could have known what was going to happen, but I had the notes. I knew I was being stalked. I thought I had it under control. But my reckless, careless decisions have destroyed everything.
The danger was mine; it shouldn’t have touched her!
I stand, gripping both shirts in my fist before turning to face the three sets of eyes staring at me in this room.
My dad steps forward and I point a finger at him. “Don’t. Don’t come near me.” I glance at my mom and Hendrix who stare with wide, shocked eyes at my outburst.
“Stay away from me. All of you. Don’t call me and don’t try to follow me,” I say in a voice that sounds calm but, in reality, is anything but.
“We can’t, Lennon, you’re still in danger,” Hendrix says.
“That might be true. But it belongs to me. I’m the reason…” I trail off unable to say the words as my chin trembles and Hendrix’s eyes flood with his own tears.
“You’re not the reason any of this happened, Lennon. You can’t control the actions of others,” my mom says.
“Maybe not, but I can control mine and I’m going to do whatever it takes to stop this madness. I’m going to stop him,” I tell them.
“Lennon—” my dad tries again but I cut him off.
“Drive fast, heart steady, live free,” I tell him before leaving them all in my old bedroom.