Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Marti
“I’m calling them.”
I turned my head from the window and stared unblinkingly at my friend.
“The police can’t do anything. The only proof I have that someone was in my house at all is the disturbed tape.”
I turned back to the window, not wanting to miss a single car driving by, just in case. The last thing I wanted was to bring bad attention to my best friend’s house. If that bad attention even existed. I was starting to worry I was just losing my mind.
I’d been distracted most of the day. Though I’d been pretty sure I’d just been seeing things that weren’t there at the park, I still felt like there were eyes on me almost constantly.
I’d even been distracted enough when I served Sutton and Wellston that I hadn’t even caused some kind of catastrophic event.
When I’d gotten home and found the clear tape I always put in the top corner of my door when I left every morning broken, I’d jumped back in my car. I’d gone the long way to Rendi’s house, constantly looking in the mirrors to make sure nobody was following me.
“We are going to have a conversation about why you even felt like it was necessary to do that, but also, you and Mom are the only ones with keys to your place, and I already texted her. She said she hasn’t been in there since that raccoon broke in.
Plus, you didn’t even go inside. How do you know there isn’t any more evidence? ”
I didn’t have the will to object anymore, and she didn’t wait for me to comply anyway. She was right, and we both knew it. I watched anxiously through the window as she called, hoping I was just being paranoid.
She talked to the lady in dispatch for under a minute before she was transferred to Officer Turner, and if I wasn’t so nervous, I might have laughed at the way she stood straighter, and her face pinched with something the moment his deep, grumpy sounding voice came over the line.
When she managed to get her composure and started to explain what was happening, he cut her off with a clipped, “I’ll meet you at the apartment,” and then hung up abruptly, startling a small laugh from me.
That was the first time I’d felt anything but terrified since getting home from work, and I finally took my attention away from the window to watch my friend for a long moment as she stood there, staring at her phone indignantly.
“How bad could prison be?” she asked finally, narrowing her eyes. “I would have terrible food, and an uncomfortable bed. Possibly even a toothless girlfriend if I play my cards right. Mom would only be able to visit like once a month or something like that.”
“I’m pretty sure the shampoo there sucks. I don’t think they’d let you take your bougie stuff with you.”
She huffed, dropping her arms to her side, defeated. “You’re right. Brittle, frizzy hair is where I draw the line.”
Rendi had obviously come straight home and changed immediately into pajamas, and even though she should definitely look ridiculous in the mismatched concoction of cartoon character shorts, barely peeking out the bottom of her giant T-shirt with a black cat turned away from the viewer, clearly licking his unmentionables, she actually looked absolutely adorable.
Especially since her blond ponytail, which was perched directly on top of her head, kept swinging around in front of her face, and she had to bat at it like her little friend on her shirt every few seconds so she could see.
Snatching my hand, she dragged me toward the door, only stopping to slip on her muck boots, even though it wasn’t raining and hadn’t in over a month, and then snatched a jacket off the hook on the way out.
It definitely wasn’t cold this time of year until the sun went down, but who knew how long all of this was going to take.
The trip back to my apartment felt like forever as I kept an eye out for anyone who might be following us.
Rendi refused to let me drive myself, which told me she had every intention of dragging me back to her place tonight.
Not that I minded. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever go back to my apartment to stay again.
Seeing the look on Langston Turner’s face when he first caught sight of my gorgeous friend in her less than gorgeous attire, almost made the whole ordeal worth it.
His eyes widened dramatically, which was really the first time I’d ever seen him look anything but disgruntled, and his lip curled as he blinked at her several times.
“I thought Marti was the one who needed help,” he grumbled after a long moment.
Rendi’s mouth dropped open and her eyes narrowed before she gave herself a once over, cringing slightly when she realized how she was dressed. “I was already in bed when she came running into my house in a panic.”
She hadn’t been. She’d been upending a bag of chip crumbs into her mouth, and I was pretty sure there was still a pint of chocolate ice cream sitting on her counter, melting away right then.
“You have nacho cheese dust on your lips and nose,” I whispered out of the corner of my mouth... definitely louder than was necessary.
She huffed, reaching down and pulling the bottom of her shirt up to clean her mouth.
She sent me a glare, but I happily ignored her, instead watching Officer Turner as he watched her.
His eyes didn’t miss the quick glimpse of tummy skin.
Or apparently, the orange mess at the bottom of her shirt when she dropped it back in place.
It was hard to tell what he was thinking, he was anything but easy to read.
His dark brown hair was a little long, curling around his ears, but his beard was neatly trimmed, and his uniform was spotless and completely wrinkle free, making my mind wonder for a moment as I tried to imagine how he would have to sit in a car in order for his clothes to show absolutely no signs of having ever been worn.
“Oh, like you’re perfect,” Rendi snapped, glaring at the officer with one eye, since her ponytail was covering the other.
His eyebrow rose slightly, but he didn’t respond as he turned to me. “Is anything missing or disturbed?”
“She’s barely in the front door.”
He didn’t even glance in her direction, he just continued to watch me as I looked around, his eyes narrowing slightly when I jumped at the sound of the AC kicking on.
“Nothing that I can see. It all looks just the way I left it.”
“Can I ask why you put tape on the door? Who are you worried about coming inside?” He was watching me, and though I usually didn’t talk about my family, I felt almost enthralled to tell him.
“My brother.”
He nodded slightly. “He’s dangerous?”
I glanced over at my friend, noting the way her face had softened even as her lips flattened into a line.
I knew that Livy and Rendi had probably made some guesses about the situation I’d run from, but we’d never actually talked about it.
Looking at her face then, I knew she understood how dangerous my brother might actually be.
“He’s pretty angry.”
Officer Turner glanced toward Rendi and then met my eyes again, and I knew he was wondering if the people around me were in danger as well.
“I’m not really sure what he’s capable of, but I know he won’t hesitate to hurt me if he gets the chance.”
How many times had Jackson held me down while my dad had beaten me, or burned me?
He didn’t have an ounce of compassion for me, and he’d delivered more than one kick while I was lying on the ground crying after one of Dad’s punishments. I was sure he was just itching to be the one to punish me this time.
Officer Turner nodded, his lips tightening into a line. “Since nothing is missing, I can’t really do anything––“
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Rendi whipped her head, sending her ponytail to the side before it bounced back, swatting her in the eye.
He paused, turning to give her a bland look.
“But...” She looked like she wanted to say more, but for once in her life, she took a deep breath and shut her mouth.
It was a good look on her. “I have a friend that runs a private investigation and security company. He’s not near as restricted as I am. ”
He paused for a second, his frown deepening. “That’s not to say you can’t call me personally if something happens and Sutton can’t help you out. I mean it. I’ll give you both my cell.”
“Not so by the book after all?” Rendi snarked, and I reached out and smacked her arm.
“Thank you, Officer Turner.”
He nodded, walking toward the door. “You can call me Langston. I’ll just step outside and call him. I won’t leave until he gets here.”
I wasn’t sure I liked the idea of him going outside when there was a possibility of my brother running around out there, but I had to remind myself that Langston was a very grown man, and probably more than capable of taking care of himself.
“Call me Langston.” Rendi mocked nasally, still glaring at the door he’d gone through while swatting at her ponytail again. “I think he might have a thing for you. He’s going to give you his personal cell.”
I didn’t think I was the one he was into. “He’s giving it to both of us.”
She didn’t respond, just pursed her lips and crossed her arms before clomping over and flopping on the couch. Her boots must have caught her attention then because she let out a snort, and met my eyes.
“Why did you let me leave the house in this?”
“I was a little preoccupied. I never would have let you out of the house without your retainer.”
“Like I still wear a retainer.”
“Ah. That’s why your teeth are starting to buck out again.”
She pursed her lips, clearly trying not to smile, but when her eyes met mine, she sighed. “You booby–trapped your door.”
The ball of dread and fear churned in my stomach, making my entire body feel heavy. I plopped next to her, letting my head fall to her shoulder. “It was just a precaution. It still might not be anything to worry about.”
“We both know that’s a lie. Normal people don’t boobytrap their houses.”
“Nothing in my life has been normal since my mom died. It really messed my dad up. Maybe Jackson too. We never really spent that much time together when we were younger, so I don’t really remember what he was like before except glued to Dad’s hip.”
“Marti, your dad was awful before your mom died. Don't you remember what he was like? Don’t you remember how often your mom brought you over to hang out with us? She did it to avoid your dad.”
Breath whooshed out of me. “What? No. He never even raised his voice at me before mom died.”
Rendi turned, forcing me to lift my head and look her in the eyes. “Emma Threatened him. She had something on him. She told him if he hurt you, or even treated you badly, she was going to turn him in.”
I shook my head, the knot in my stomach growing. “How... Where did you hear that?”
“I overheard her talking to mom one night after they sent us up to go to bed. I snuck down to get us a snack, and they were talking about it in the living room.”
Rendi had no reason to lie to me, but it was hard to reconcile what she was telling me with the way I remembered things back then.
In my mind, my family had once been happy.
Sure, we’d spent a lot of time at Livy’s but my mom and her were best friends.
That was normal. Jackson never came with us because he always preferred spending time with my dad, and even when he was young, he was helping Dad with work.
Had Dad really been a terrible person back then, teaching Jackson to be just like him? Was the only thing that had kept him from hurting me a threat issued by my mother?
“They’re here,” Langston said, poking his head in the door.