Chapter 47 – Charlie
CHARLIE
As soon as the engine switches off, I’m unbuckling my belt and climbing out of the car, heading straight for the two vehicles that followed us down the driveway. Mum is the first to get out, beelining for me and pulling me into a hug the moment I’m within reach.
“Mum,” I whisper, closing my eyes, my arms automatically hugging her back. “Dads,” I say as they circle around us, joining our hug.
Pulling away from my parents, I spot Ariana and her guys making their way over to us. I shake my head, finding it hard to believe they’re all here right now. Right when I need them most. “What-how?”
“Family don’t go through shit alone.” Eric shrugs.
“There’s no way you could have known. It took Jace and I two days to drive here.”
“There are two of you, and significantly more of us but also, there’s this little invention called a plane,” he teases, lifting his arm up and putting it around Ariana’s shoulder.
“Still.”
“He was chomping at the bit to come and visit for days,” Ari explains. “I held him off as long as I could. We were already on our way with your parents when he started getting antsy on the plane. He called you after we landed.”
I shake my head. “How did you guys know where to go?”
“That would be your friend,” Mitchell pipes in, coming to stand beside me. “Eric, is it? You always track your friends’ locations?”
“Yes,” he answers unashamedly, shrugging his shoulder. “Came in handy, didn’t it?”
Mitchell hums, holding his hand out for Eric to shake. “Mitchell. Nice to put a name to the face.”
“Eric. Like you didn’t already have it.” He places his hand in Mitchells, smiling as they shake hands and gestures to Ariana beside him. “This is Ari, and that’s Ethan and Elias, my brothers. Though you already know that, don’t you?” He looks at me. “And you call me a stalker.”
“You just admitted to tracking me.”
Mitchell eyes Elias with interest before taking his hand, shaking it firmly. “You designed the app.”
“I did.” Elias designed the app we use to share our locations? How did I not know this?
“You’re Charlie’s mum,” Charlotte whispers, her voice filled with awe as she stops in front of Mum who kneels down to her height.
“I am.” Mum offers a hand. “I’m Lucy.” Charlotte ignores the hand, launching herself at my mother and wrapping her arms around her neck.
Each of my dads introduce themselves to Mitchell, even though he knows who they all are. When they’re done, Declan places his hand on my shoulder and pulls me into his own hug. “I’m sorry,” he whispers in my ear, and I have to force my tears back.
“We’re staying as long as it takes,” Ryan declares as Dad and I pull apart.
“We can watch Charlotte for you,” Mum adds, straightening and looking at Mitchell. “That is, if you’re okay with leaving her with us. I know we just met, but…you’re family.”
I stay quiet, not saying anything and trying to keep my face neutral as I hold my breath, waiting for Mitchell’s response.
I won’t blame him if he says he isn’t comfortable with my parents and friends watching Charlotte.
He may have done his research on each of them, but that doesn’t mean he knows them.
But I’d be lying to myself if I didn’t admit to myself that I’m hoping he accepts their help.
His eyes move from adult to adult, before landing on Charlotte. He watches her for a long moment as she holds her palms up in a prayer, not fully aware of the enormity of the situation.
Mitchell lets out a long sigh, smiling softly at Charlotte and nodding his head subtly. “Okay.” Charlotte pumps her fist in the air, jumping up and cheering.
Mitchell pulls his keys from his pocket and hands them to Charlotte, telling her to go on inside. She doesn’t waste a second, grabbing Mum’s hand and pulling her toward the house excitedly.
“So, what’s the plan?” I ask once Charlotte is out of earshot.
“We go to the car first. It didn’t look like they were still there, but the dashcam footage will give us a place to start.”
Mitchell parks the car in front of Bonnie’s, and we immediately get out. When we drove by, I wasn’t sure if they had crashed into the telegraph pole or not, but up close I can see they’ve just stopped in front of it. Though, with the front doors wide open, I’m not sure if that’s a comfort or not.
“Jace was driving,” I note, pointing out that the headlights are still on despite the car being off. “He always drives with the lights on; says it’s so the dickheads on the road don’t have an excuse for not seeing him.”
Mitchell doesn’t comment. He just crouches down and looks under the car. I frown when he pulls a soccer ball out from under the vehicle. “Do you think a kid ran out onto the road or something?” I look around, searching for signs of life.
“Maybe. Need to check the dashcam.” He drops the ball, stopping it from rolling back onto the road with his foot and heads for the driver’s side.
"I don't see it," I point out when I can't find a dashcam in the windshield.
"It's built into the rearview mirror," he answers, rounding the car and leaning inside. I move to follow but something in the garden catches my eye as the sun reflects off it and I cross the lawn of the house we’re parked in front of instead.
Reaching into the rose bush, I hiss as one of the thorns scratches my hand but ignore it, pulling out a set of car keys. My stomach drops as I hit the lock button and hear the locks engage on the car behind me.
“Charlie,” Mitchell calls my name, and the tone of his voice sends chills down my spine. Whatever he’s found, I just know I’m not going to like it.
He’s holding his phone, an SD reader plugged into the bottom, and I shake my head. Suddenly feeling reluctant to watch it. I don't need to see the recording to know this wasn't an accident.
Accidents don’t cause car keys to be thrown ten metres away from the car. Or doors to be left wide open and headlights still on like the car has been abandoned.
Every step I take toward him feels stretches out. My eyes scan the neighbouring houses. No one comes out to investigate or ask what happened, what we’re going here.
No curtains ruffle, signifying we’re being watched.
There’s no one home.
No one to help them.
Mitchell presses play and holds the phone between us when I make it to him. I watch as the car turns onto this street, no doubt heading for the river. In the distance, I spot what looks like a teenager and a kid kicking a ball in someone’s front yard.
Suddenly the ball flies toward the car, hitting the windscreen and the kid steps onto the road.
Jace curses.
Bonnie screams.
Tires screech.
The car swerves.
“Fuck, are you okay?” Jace’s voice comes through the phone’s speaker once they’ve stopped.
“Yeah. We didn’t hit them did we?”
“No-” his words are cut off as the sounds of doors opening filter through the speaker. “What the fuck?” Jace shouts.
“Jace!” Bonnie cries.
Jace grunts.
The sound of fists hitting flesh sound from the phone's speaker.
“Bonnie!”
Then…nothing. Silence.
“Check for a dashcam.”
“I don’t see one.”
“Good, let’s get them and get the fuck out of here then.” A blue commodore turns onto the street, and for a second I’m hopeful. Hopeful that someone saw what happened, helped and got Jace and Bonnie the fuck out of here. Maybe they’re at the police station-
The car quickly does a u-turn, parking where Mitchell’s car is now and the driver gets out. “Hurry the fuck up,” he calls out, his head down as he walks to the back of the car and opens the boot.
A guy in black mask backs into the camera’s view, dragging Jace’s unconscious body. “Little help? This fucker is heavy,” he hisses out, adjusting his grip and the driver grabs Jace’s feet.
Together they toss him into the boot, and I wince as the sound of Jace’s body hitting the floor resonates loud enough that the dashcam’s microphone was able to pick it up.
Another masked man steps into view, carrying Bonnie, an arm under her knees, the other under her shoulders as she rests against his chest.
Open your eyes. I internally beg, but she doesn’t, and she disappears from the camera's view.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here before someone sees.” The guy slams the boot shut, the driver and first guy getting into the car while the remaining man opens the front passenger door and waves to someone, beckoning them over.
A few seconds later, the kid and teenager approach the car. The teenager hangs his head, hands in his pocket as he climbs straight into the front seat without a word and the guy slams it shut behind him.
“Leave it,” he growls out, grabbing the kid’s arm as he points toward Bonnie’s car.
Then they get in and drive off.
Just like that. Gone in a matter of minutes.
“How are we supposed to find them?” I ask hopelessly. Two of the guys were wearing masks; the driver kept his head down so we couldn’t see his face, and the teenager didn’t look up when he got in the car. The only face we got a clear image of was the kid.
How are we supposed to identify a kid by an image? At least adults have licences, social media, all sorts of shit these days that people like Mitchell and Mia can use to identify them.
“We go home. I’ll pull the footage up on the computer, see if we can get a clearer image to identify any of them.”
“What about Jace’s phone?”
“There’s no point trying to find it. I have Bonnie’s-” he holds it up. “-it was sitting on the passenger seat. Jace must have had his on him when they searched him. They would have tossed it out the window. The chances of finding it are slim and it’s time we don’t have."