34. Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Three
Allie
L ying in Jax's arms, I stare up at the ceiling. I've been back to my old self for about a month now. My old boss offered me a job again, and I've moved forward and tried to come to terms with my lost time.
Laura was arrested for what happened to me, but it doesn't feel settled. There are still missing pieces, and it's eating at me. Along with the memories came the nightmares, which feeds into the obsession that I need to find some type of true resolution.
"What?" Jax asks, kissing my temple. "Did I fail to satisfy you?"
Looking up at him, I smile. Our alone time as mostly been spent naked and wrapped up in each other. We're definitely making up for lost time. We've experimented and tried different things, but I can't stop wondering if he's already tried what we're doing with Laura. It's still difficult to picture them together, but I know they were. It's yet another nightmare added to the list.
"Trust me, seven orgasms in one night are more than satisfying," I say .
"What's wrong? You've been staring up at the ceiling like Tom Cruise might come down on a rope."
Narrowing my eyes, I groan. "Great, now I'll have that added to my nightmares tonight."
"Still not getting better?"
I shake my head. "No. They're getting worse, actually."
"What can I do?"
Turning to face him, I prop my head up on my shoulder. "Will you do me a favor?"
A smirk appears on his face. "Baby, after the things we've done this week, I'll do anything you want me to."
We've gotten rather adventurous in our sexual escapades, and while I didn't hate any of them, not all of them are on my list to do again anytime soon. The fact he's so sexually interested in me keeps me on a high, though. Part of me expected him to lose some interest after being together this long, and I'm not opposed to trying new things.
"I want to go out to the woods. Tonight."
"Why?" he asks, all humor gone.
"I need to see if I can find the house I ran away from."
He runs a hand over my hair as his brow furrows. "Why, Allie?"
"It's the one thing out of this whole mess that no one has found. If Laura really did do this, the only way to make sure she's locked up for it is to find the house. I just know it's what holds the key to solving the rest of this mess. I feel it in my bones."
"And we have to go at night?"
"It doesn't look the same during the day. I feel like I have to do this at night. My instincts haven't failed me yet."
Sitting up, he nods. "I'll go with you, but we're not going alone. "
"No, I don't want Parsons or Shields with us. Their job is to ask questions, and I need to try and find this place. They're just a distraction."
He laughs. "No, we're calling Benji and Drew. I want backup in case it wasn't Laura. There's still a chance she wasn't working alone."
Kissing him, I climb out of bed and walk into the closet to find the appropriate clothes for a hike through the woods at night while Jax texts our friends. I’m not sure what in my wardrobe will be best for this, but luckily, I have a bigger selection to choose from now that I’m finally gaining my weight back.
I know Jax is having a very difficult time reconciling the fact that the woman he almost married did this to me, but I'm not completely convinced of Laura’s guilt. As crazy and obsessed as she is, it seems unbelievable. Laura wouldn't want to hurt Jax, and my disappearance obviously hurt him.
"They're on their way. Drew and Sage were together, so she's coming, too," Jax says, walking in behind me to change.
"Sage and Drew? It's like midnight," I say and smirk as he nods. "Okay then."
Once we've put on the necessary attire, this time with shoes on my feet, we walk out into hallway to find our camping flashlights. Benji, Drew, and Sage all walk into the house, and I freeze the moment I see Benji and Drew. For the first time in my life that I remember, they look dead serious.
Sage walks over to hug me, and she asks, "How are the nightmares?"
"They're happening most nights now. I don't understand why now . Surely they should have been more frequent when I didn't remember anything but being down there?"
“Your brain’s trying to tell you something.”
"We won't let anything happen to you, Al," Benji says .
"Nothing bad will happen except maybe some fatigue from walking miles," Drew agrees. "But part of me hopes we run into someone who had something to do with this, that way I get to kick some ass."
I jump into Benji's arms, hugging him, before doing the same to Drew. "Thank you, guys. This means a lot. I just... There are still so many missing pieces that I think make it harder for me to move past this."
"Do you feel like you'll find the house tonight?" Sage asks.
"I don't know if I feel like I'll find the house, but I know I need to find it at some point to settle everything in my head. To close this chapter and never open up the book again," I say.
She wraps her arm around my shoulders. "Then we will do whatever we need to in order to find this place."
We all walk out to Drew's pickup and ride in silence as he drives to the area where I walked out and reached town. Climbing out, I continue walking perpendicular to the woods until I find the spot where I remember seeing the police station. The true finish line of my trek through the woods.
"Why aren't we waiting until morning?" Benji asks.
"Because I did all of this at night. It looks different during the day. Plus, it'll help me follow my instincts because I won't have the luxury of daylight. I'm hoping to remember what I experienced that night, minus the cuts and scrapes. I can do without that reminder."
"The goal is to backtrack to the house," Jax says. "The neighborhood was a bust, and they haven't had much luck finding another house that seems to match what she remembers."
Nodding, Benji shrugs. "Cool beans."
"Cool beans?" Sage asks and laughs at him.
Turning my back to the police station, I walk into the woods with my heart racing. I haven't been back here since that night, but I've learned to trust my gut. It's how I found the parking curb that brought everything flooding back. It brought me home.
"Does anything look familiar?" Sage asks.
"Not at all, but I vaguely remember some of the turns," I say, and I know Jax is following right behind me. "I focused on the pain as I ran. The rocks and broken branches cut at the bottom of my feet, and the pain helped me keep going. Gave me something else to think about as I just ran."
"Can I ask exactly what happened in that house?" Benji asks.
I hear his "oof" as Jax punches him, and I reach behind me to take his hand. "It's okay, Jax."
"No, it's not okay."
"It's natural to be curious. I'd be, too, if it were say, Sage that was locked up in there. Or you. Or Drew."
"What about me?" Benji whines.
Laughing, I shake my head. "You, too."
"I could completely understand someone wanting to lock up Benji," Drew says. "He's kind of annoying."
Pushing him, Benji scoffs. "Of everyone here, I'm like middle of the pack when it comes to annoying. Especially now that you and Sage have started boinking."
"Benji!" Drew hisses, and I hear Benji hit a tree as Drew pushes him.
"Yeah, when did that start?" Jax asks, and I know he wants to change the subject.
"It's nothing serious," Sage says, and I look behind me to see the shadow of Sage flipping her wrist in the flashlight.
"Excuse me?" Drew asks.
I turn left, remembering roughly where I'd done that on my way out. Everyone just follows, and I'm happy they're bickering and conversing behind me. It gives me a distraction to just go. Focusing too hard makes me question my memory too much. I take the turns on instinct, listening to my body instead of my mind.
"We haven't really discussed what we're doing, Drew," Sage says. "I haven't even told Allie about it yet. Not that I can get much time to talk to her now that she and Jax are back at it like bunnies."
Laughing, I just give a sound of agreement, and I know without looking that Jax smiles behind me.
"Are you sleeping with other guys?" Drew asks.
"No!"
Jax and Benji both laugh, but my heart melts when Drew sighs and says, "This is serious to me, Sage."
"Can we maybe talk about this when we're not in the middle of the woods at one in the morning?" she asks. "We're distracting Allie."
"No, it's actually helping," I say. "It's allowing me to go on impulse."
The conversation continues around me, and I like how even though we're on a mission to find the place I was held captive for years, this feels oddly normal. The dynamic between us all still works the same way it always has, and it almost feels like no time has passed. Almost.
"That girl who peed on me on the dance floor called me," Drew says. "She yelled at me for not calling her after our date."
"She didn't remember peeing on you, did she?" Sage asks, and I hear the smile in her voice.
"Nope. She told me I was a liar, and I asked her why she's not allowed to drink at the bar for six months. She had nothing to say to that and hung up on me."
Drew clears his throat. "Has Laura called anyone?"
"I wish she'd call me!" Sage almost shouts. "Hell, I wish I'd been able to have a crack at her before she was arrested. "
"Not me," Jax says.
"Nope," I say.
Benji makes a noise indicating no, and Drew sighs. "Why the hell would she call me?"
"Because you're the nicest one out of all of us now that Jax hates her," Sage says.
"What did she say?" Benji asks.
"She wanted to know if I could get in touch with her friend, Natalie. I said I had no idea who she was, and then she asked if I could get her an attorney. Even tried to plead her case that she didn't do this, but I asked her who did if she didn't."
I find it interesting that she would think to call anyone in the group. From what Seth told me, they all told her she was crazy when she stormed into the bar. She has charges for illegally recording Jax and me having sex along with breaking and entering on top of all the other charges.
"What did you tell her?" Jax asks.
"I told her to figure it out for herself. She did this to one of my best friends, and I wasn't going to help her. Then I hung up. She hasn't called since."
"Who's Natalie?" I ask.
"Her best friend," Jax says. "She was supposed to be the maid of honor."
The edge of the tree line comes into view, and the moment I step into the clearing, I freeze. We're off by only a few yards, but I see a dark house that looks more like a shack. Everyone falls silent behind me as I take in the scene before me. My mind shifts back to running away, and I know it's the house.
"Allie?" Jax asks .
"That's it," I whisper, my lungs struggling to take in air. "That's the house."
His hands grab onto my arms as my legs give out, and Sage rushes over. "Are you sure?"
Nodding, I fight back the tears. I don't even know why I want to cry. My hands grab for Jax, and he knows exactly what I want. He pulls me up to stand, letting me place my ear on his chest as I stare at the house. The house I spent years locked away inside.
"Allie, are you okay?" Benji asks, his voice soft and full of concern.
"Yeah, I'm okay," I say, letting out a deep breath.
We walk through the wild grass and weeds towards the house. There are no lights on, and I climb the back steps to the door to look in the window. I can't see inside, but it's familiar. All of this is familiar.
"This has to be it," I say.
"We need to call the detectives. Now," Drew says.
We turn and follow Drew's voice, and we find him around the house by a freestanding garage I hadn't noticed when I left that night. It was positioned just right that I couldn't see it at the angle I ran. Drew looks pale, and Jax moves to shine his flashlight into the window on the side.
"Oh my God," Jax gasps.
"What is it?" Sage asks.
"Allie's Jeep," Drew says.
I run to the window, standing on my tiptoes to see over the ledge, and I feel like I might pass out when I see it. That's it. That's my car.
"Whose car is that next to it?" Sage whispers. "Does someone live here?"
Next to my Jeep sits a silver or gray late nineties vehicle, and I shake my head. "There was no one here when I left. There's next to no furniture inside. Just mice."
"Then who's car is that?" Benji asks.