2. Prologue - Landon
2
PROLOGUE - LANDON
W hat’s that? A thick block of ice lies painfully in the pit of my stomach. I don’t know what it is and where it’s come from, but it makes my eyes want to remain closed forever. I’m far too scared to open them and see what the world has for me. I’ve never woken up like this before and it’s terrifying. It’s like some weird premonition that I can’t shake off.
“It must have been my dream,” I mutter encouragingly to myself, trying my hardest to boost up my mood. Since I don’t recall what the hell was going on in my brain as I slept, it’s very possible that it was just a nightmare or something. That doesn’t happen often, but when it does, I have to admit that it causes a shift in my mood all day long. “Just wake up, you fool.”
The moment I pop my eyes open, I lighten up just a little bit. Of course there isn’t any reason to feel anxious. There’s nothing wrong here at all. It’s just a normal day and my brain playing tricks on me. Honestly, I need to shake this shit off if I’m going to survive all day at work without seeing Heather. Spending the whole day with her yesterday for her birthday was incredible. I wish I could spend the whole summer vacation with her, but I need money of my own. I need to make sure that by the time we go to college together, I have everything in place for our future.
My God, I can’t wait for the rest of my life with Heather. It’s going to be incredible, isn’t it? Us against the world, living our best lives possible. I don’t know what I’ll do with my life or where I’ll end up, but as long as I’m with Heather, it’ll be heaven.
“What the fuck ?” My mom’s shrill voice rockets up the stairs, actually making me leap out of bed. All of a sudden, I think I might know where that ice block of terror came from. My parents are arguing. Again . I don’t know what it’s about all the time, but it seems to be becoming a regular occurrence and I don’t like it one bit. I need it to end. “What are we going to do?”
I’ve been doing my best to ignore it, really, to act like it isn’t happening because I don’t want to get caught in the middle of it. As an only child, it happens more than I would like, but I really need to know what this is about. Maybe if I can figure out what’s causing all of these issues in their relationship, I can do something to fix it. I don’t know what. At eighteen years old, I don’t suppose I have enough life experience to really help, but I'd like to try. If I can help, I want to.
I creep down the stairs two at a time, trying not to make any noise. Not that I suppose it matters. Mom and Dad are now screaming at one another far too loudly to hear me, but if I want to work out what’s going on, I need to be careful.
“I thought you had him, Bill. I thought that he had all but handed over his goddamn life savings to you. What happened?”
“He caught wind of the scam,” my father replies pathetically, causing my heart to ball up in my throat. “I don’t know. Maybe someone warned him. I told you that we’ve been targeting too many people in the same area. It doesn’t work like that.”
“We have to get the rich fucks, don’t we? And unfortunately for you, Bill, there’s only one area around here. Now, we’re going to have Hank and his guys here again for the money we owe them and it’ll just get worse. You think he was joking about breaking our legs? That man is an asshole. He will do whatever. That’s why he’s top of the gang, because he’s ruthless.”
“Well, Alice, maybe if you didn’t keep going to him for stuff without warning me, then we wouldn’t be in this mess right now. I don’t want to scam people to make money for others. I want to keep doing it for us like we always have done, but you’re royally fucking things up for us. You’re going to make all of this fall apart. I’m pretty sure the cops are already sniffing around.”
I clutch my stomach, fearing that I may have heard too much. I thought that this was going to be just normal marital disputes, not some shit-show where they’re involved in stuff , which I can only assume means drugs, crime, scams, and gangs. I’m sure there is more, but I don’t even want to know. That isn’t me at all, and to be honest, I never thought it would be them, either. I didn’t think I would ever find myself living in the middle of a nightmare. Our next door neighbor is a police officer, for crying out loud. What the hell do they think they’re playing at? This is a game they definitely can’t win.
I can’t think straight. All I know for sure is that I need to see Heather, so I bolt out the front door, no longer worrying whether my parents know that I’ve overheard them or not. I race next door. A hug from my girlfriend is the only thing that will cure me at the moment. If I don’t get my arms wrapped around her, I don’t know what I’ll do. I need her. I love her. She’s everything.
“Heather.” I bang on the door a few times, hoping her father is at work, but no one answers. “Heather, help. Are you here?”
I try the handle and the door opens widely. I can only assume that Heather is still in bed, in which case I’ll climb in beside her and block out the rest of the world for a while. I know I’ve work to get to, but this is vital at the moment. Yet as I race up the stairs as fast as I can, another unsettling feeling over comes me. This house doesn’t look like it normally does. It’s different… emptier. My God, it’s like I went to sleep with my life all normal and I’ve woken up in a nightmare.
“Heather.” My heart sinks into my shoes as I enter her now very empty bedroom. It’s a shell. Nothing remains. I actually pinch my arm hard to check to see if this really is a dream, but no, I’m wide awake and in hell. “Heather, what the hell?”
A small, white square in the corner of the room catches my eyes and draws me toward it. I don’t get a good feeling as I move, though. It’s almost like I’m walking off the plank to my doom. I know that I’ll get my much-needed answer as to what the hell is going on here, but I’m also awfully aware that I won’t like it. That the answer might fucking kill me.
“A note.” I try to swallow down the thick ball of emotion that lodges in my throat, but it won’t go anywhere. “Oh, God.”
I pull it open carefully, fearfully, and run my eyes over the words, trying to get them to sink in as I read. But they won’t. I honestly don’t think that my brain is able to fully process any of this. It’s too much.
To Landon,
I don’t know what’s happening today. What’s gone from the best birthday in my life is now the worst. As soon as I got inside, my father began ranting about your family, saying that they’re criminals with gang connections…
Oh, my God, so my suspicions are correct. This is hell, and my entire world is crashing down around me. The worst part is I don’t even know why.
He wants to keep me away from you because he stupidly fears that you will go down the same path. I told him that wouldn’t happen, but he won’t listen to me. I’ll always be a stupid child to him. We’re leaving now, in the middle of the night. I don’t know where we’re going, and Dad has broken my cellphone so I can’t contact you. But I’ll find a way somehow. Even if it isn’t immediately, I’ll find my way back to you. I love you, Landon Ross, and I’ll always love you. This doesn’t change anything for me. I’ll always be yours.
Love, Heather.
I don’t even realize that tears are streaming down my face until I get to the end of the note. Shit really has hit the fan and everything is broken. I can’t be here anymore, not without Heather, not with them . My fucking asshole parents have truly ruined my life, and I need to get as far away from them as I possibly can. That’s all my brain can think of at the moment.
I grab my cellphone and through my bleary eyes I scroll through the phone numbers, forcing myself not to pause at Heather’s since that isn’t her phone anymore. I’m looking for anyone, a single living soul, who can help me out of this mess.
Huh, Mike. My cousin. He’s always offered open arms to me. I’ve never really taken him up on it because he comes from a military family and they’re all pretty scary. My mom’s brother couldn’t be less like her if he tried. But they’re family, and I need family right now. I also need the fucking opposite to what my parents offer me. I need to get away from it all.
Without thinking too much about it, I hit the call button and contact Mike, planning to run away for just a while so I can wrap my head around all of my issues and come up with a positive solution. I can’t do that while living under my parents’ roof, just waiting for the bomb to go off and for them to be arrested, all while simmering in resentment because they made me lose it all.
Heather. Fuck, it kills me to know just how close we were to our happy ever after, just for it to be snatched away like that. I’ve never cared about Heather being younger than me before, but now I’m irritated. If she were eighteen years old, just like me, she would legally be allowed to leave her father, who might be crazy and overprotective but who I can understand right now. Of course he wants his only child away from fucking criminals, but I suppose we just have to wait.
“Landon!” Mike sounds happy to hear from me, which is good. The one slightly positive thing to happen today.
“Mike, I need you,” I shoot back seriously. “Things have gone to hell with my parents. I need to get away.”
There is only a small beat of silence before he replies. “I’ve been waiting for this to happen.”
Shit, it seems like I’m the idiot, the last to know about who my mom and dad really are. Up until this point, I’ve been so wrapped up in me and Heather that I haven’t even thought about anything else, but now I can’t stop thinking about the whole mess that’s been building up around me for my whole life. I guess the only thing I can do right now is take charge and take control of my own life. Since everything else is so messed up, that’s about the only thing I can do.
Now, I might not have any idea about how my life will end up, but I’m about to get started on a brand-new path.