Chapter 40
Everyone seems excited about the long weekend at school in the morning, and teachers are having a hard time getting students to focus on classes.
Cara is waiting at our usual table when Alex, Nick, and I arrive for lunch.
“Hell no,” I say. “I’m waiting by the door for Seb.” Nick and Alex follow without a word to wait with me. When I see Seb, Bay, and E approaching, I tell them Cara is waiting by our table. “What do you want to do?” I ask Seb.
“Let’s go outside and eat. She has to give up eventually,” he replies, looking weary from having to deal with her all the time. She’s been trying to talk to him in every class they share, although more subtly than when she got detention in AP English.
We walk into the cafeteria and head straight for the doors leading outside, but Cara sees us and walks our way.
Gabby notices and cuts her off, getting right in her face.
I head that way as the guys continue outside, with Nick following me.
“Stay the hell away from my brother. You’re out of your mind, Cara,” I hear Gabby say.
“You can’t believe everything they’re saying, Gabby. I’d never hurt Seb,” she implores her.
“But you already did, Cara,” I tell her, coming to stand beside Gabby. “Take a hint and move on. He doesn’t exist to you anymore.”
A few of the girls I’ve seen Gabby hanging out with come over to stand beside us in support. Cara looks around the cafeteria, drops her head, and walks out. I nod at Gabby, then Nick and I join the guys outside.
After saying hi to Reesa, I dig into my lunch. As we’re getting up to go to class, I wish Reesa a Happy Easter and get a thank you in response. It’s the first time I’ve heard her talk, I think. She’s very soft-spoken.
Nick is holding something in his hands by my locker when Alex and I approach, so I can get my gym bag. “What’cha got there?” I ask.
He shows me a bouquet of lilies. The exact kind I always buy for Lily bee. That has to be a coincidence. No one would know about them down here. Don’t freak out, Summer, I tell myself.
“The note says to have a Happy Easter,” Alex tells me, holding a typed note up.
“Throw them out, Nick,” I tell him. He grunts and walks over to the neatest trash can and tosses them in.
Nick walks me to gym class and waits while I change. After I’m with Jaxon, he heads for the gym. “What’s up, Summer?” Jaxon asks.
“There was a bouquet of lilies at my locker.”
“Shit. Ben again?” He asks.
“I’m assuming. They came with a typed note, like the roses.” Please let the lilies be a coincidence.
“What is his problem?” Jaxon shakes his head. “He’s heading into stalker level. We’ve got you, Summer. He won’t get you alone.”
“Thanks.” We run in silence for the rest of the class, but I can’t get the lilies off my mind.
Why are they the same as the ones I always buy in Virginia?
If they were Easter lilies, I could easily explain them away with the holiday, but they’re not.
It makes little sense and makes me even more uneasy.
Jaxon asks if I want to go for a run with him and Holly tomorrow morning. I agree, and we decide to meet at my house to run in the park nearby. Nick waits outside the locker room, and then we head out.
All the guys are in the parking lot waiting for us. Alex has already told them about the flowers, and Seb wraps me in a hug. “I’m sorry, Sunshine.”
“Are we doing anything tonight?” I ask the guys. Nick says he has an update about Ben, so all the guys want to come over. E wants to cook us dinner, and Bay offers to go grocery shopping with him. I text Zander, who readily agrees, saying he’ll bring Troy. I hop into Alex’s SUV and we drive home.
I show the guys my Jeep when we arrive, since I forgot yesterday.
They all complement the vehicle, happy it has room for all of us.
The guys get comfortable inside while I shower and soak.
I call Sarah while I’m in the tub and express my concern over the lilies, but there’s nothing to be done but to be vigilant.
I help E cook an Italian feast for dinner.
It has everything you could want. Lasagna, two different pasta dishes, salad, garlic bread, and tiramisu.
Zander and Troy join us as the lasagna is pulled from the oven.
We have a lively dinner with everyone sitting around the table.
There are plenty of leftovers, so each household makes up containers to take home later.
Nick brings out his laptop and turns it on after we settle back in the living room.
“There’s still no connection between Ben and my father.
They’ve never been in the same state at the same time.
Ben’s father, John, can’t hold a job for more than a year at a time, and they’ve moved around a lot.
Employers fired him for being drunk and skipping shifts.
After he loses his job, there’s always a deposit into his account.
Anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000. Most of the time, that’s when they move.
The most recent was $50,000 in December, and then they arrived here from Florida.
John is working as a janitor. Ben has a job at a gas station. ”
“Where’s the money coming from?” Troy asks.
“Shell companies. Never the same one, and from all over the country. I’ve got a friend digging deeper to trace the companies back to the source, but it’ll take time. Someone is trying to hide the payments.”
“Can you print out the list of companies?” Zander asks.
Nick nods and clicks on his keyboard, then goes to the office. He comes back and drops several copies in the middle of the coffee table, but none of us recognizes any of the names.
“Any police reports or charges against either of them?” Zander asks.
“A few disturbing the peace charges for John, and he's spent a few nights in jail for getting into bar fights. He’s prone to pyramid schemes, gambling, and playing the lottery. Nothing on Ben I can find.”
“What did he want with you when he started school in January?” I ask.
“Nothing specific,” he responds. Nick’s voice is rumbly, even when he talks a lot. Despite the topic of conversation, I find myself listening intently to his tone. There’s something about it that’s calming.
“Let us know if your friend can find anything, and thanks for digging, Nick,” Zander tells him. Nick nods and puts his laptop away.
“So, what do we want to do now?” Seb asks.
“I’ve got to head home,” Bay says. Alex and Troy need to get going as well.
“Want to watch the Celtics, Sunshine? They’re playing tonight.”
“Sure,” I shrug. Those staying settle on the couch for the game after we say goodbye to Bay, Alex, and Troy. I’m distracted by thoughts of the lilies all evening, but the guys seem to enjoy the game.