Bri
Bri’s labored breathing sounded like a freight train in her head. Thank goodness she wasn’t claustrophobic or else she might have hyperventilated in her hiding spot under the bed. She pressed her cheek into the hardwood floor that seemed to echo her breaths. She pressed her hand over her mouth to stifle them. She hadn’t imagined someone else being in the house. She hoped it wasn’t Kael. Her mom had mentioned a visiting nurse. She wished it were her. If the nurse caught her she could claim to be a friend of Kael’s. How else would she have had a key?
Bri waited another few agonizing minutes before starting to slide her body across the floor. She needed to get out of there. She froze when two feet appeared at the other side of the bed.
Kael’s sneakers faced her accusingly. They appeared to be in a standoff. She didn’t move a muscle. Thankfully she hadn’t come out or surely she would have been caught. He walked around the bed and Bri moved her body to the middle. Her lips were pressed together so tightly that her teeth threatened to poke through her skin. His feet stopped at the closet. She didn’t remember if the closet was already open when she got there. She hoped it had been.
A faint electronic beeping caught her ear. She immediately recognized it as dialing.
A few seconds later he spoke. “It’s me.” A pause. “Yeah I’m aware you’re in school. Do you have eyes on Bri?” An electric shock pinched at Bri’s heart. “Huh. Nothing. Don’t worry about it.” Another pause. “We can finish this tonight. I’ll come over to your place.”
Something pressed into her body from above and she let out a whoosh of air. He’d sat on the bed so suddenly that she didn’t have time to move. The weight of his body pinned her against the floor. One of his feet disappeared from the floor momentarily until the empty shoe struck the ground, making her flinch with the vibration. Then the other foot went up and another came down a few seconds later.
She crossed her fingers. Please don’t let him fall asleep.
Her silent prayer was answered when his body lifted from the bed and crossed the room. His socked feet padded across the floor and through another door that she hadn’t seen before. What a great detective she was. What if he had been in there when she came in the room? Multiple worst-case scenarios flooded her mind.
Get your head in the game!
When she heard the shower turn on she knew this was her chance. She pressed her hands into the floor and pushed. She glided across the smooth floor. Her shirt caught on something sharp sticking out of the wood. She unlatched her shirt from the floor as it caught on another piece.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
She pulled her phone from her pocket and flipped on the flashlight. She didn’t have time for this. She needed to get out of there.
The light beam from the flashlight illuminated a raised carving in the floor. She was able to detach her shirt completely from it but not before noticing that it was in a familiar shape. Her teeth started to chatter as the realization flooded her. She snapped a picture of the design and pushed herself out the rest of the way. She jumped up from the ground and darted out of the room, down the hall, and descended the stairs. When she landed in the foyer she practically sprinted to the door.
She wrestled it open and screamed when she saw a figure on the other side.
A woman, probably in her forties with bottle blonde frizzy hair, stood at the entrance. Bri noticed she had a badge with the symbol from the local hospital on it along with her name, Melissa.
“Hi,” the woman said, her thin eyebrows raised.
“I was just—” Bri stammered and moved out of the way.
Melissa walked into the house and turned on her heel. “You’re Abbey’s daughter?”
“Yeah.”
“She’s always showing me pictures of you. I’m Melissa, Mr. Theron’s nurse.”
Bri took Melissa’s outstretched hand and weakly shook it once before letting go. “I was just dropping off—” Bri nodded in the direction of the muffins she’d baked.
She swallowed. Kael had to have seen those when he came in. And if he knew Abbey was missing, who else would have brought them? She needed to leave before he caught her.
“Those are from my mom,” Bri offered before launching herself onto the stoop, hoping Melissa wouldn’t say anything to Kael. The front door closed behind her, sealing her fate. With her hands free, she ran down the front walkway and onto the road. She didn’t stop running until the house was out of sight.
She was out of breath when she reached the main road, adrenaline coursing through her body. Kael would know she’d been at his house. Now she had proof of his involvement with her mom. She wasn’t sure of what exactly he had done but she knew without a doubt he knew what was going on. She knew Jake and Tucker would be pissed that she’d lied and gone to Kael’s house. The photo on her phone would be the evidence she needed. Bri pulled up the photo she’d taken of his floor. She’d only seen the design a few times before. Only when she’d been in dressing rooms with her mom or at the beach. It was proof that Kael and Abbey were more than they seemed. For what other reason would her tattoo be carved into his bedroom floor?
***
Bri spent the next hours searching her mom’s room for more clues. She knew it was a fool’s errand but she did it anyway. She’d already exhausted most of her baking supplies and without swim practice to look forward to she needed to keep busy.
I should have gone to school. The thought was immediately dashed away. She wouldn’t have been able to figure out how much Kael was involved if she had. And being locked up in that building would have made her stir-crazy.
Something stopped her as she was elbow-deep in her mom’s hamper. A noise almost like knocking filtered up through the second floor.
She held her breath until she heard it again. Yes. Definitely someone knocking.
Max had a key to the house. Why didn’t she use it? Maybe Max went home right after school? Or she might have left her key at the house? Her thoughts were hazy; it was completely possible. Bri raced down the stairs.
She pulled open the door and choked on her next breath.
Kael stood on the doorstep, his hand mid-knock, and his mouth turned down in an angry scowl.
He pushed past her into the hallway. His tall frame only magnified how wrong it was that he was in her home. Other than Friday at the natatorium, she’d rarely caught a glimpse of him outside of his mansion.
“Um hi?” She stood motionless, still holding the door open.
He dropped something on the table. She followed his hand and her heart plummeted. The plastic container glared at her. It might as well have been a photograph of her under his bed.
Think!
His voice was low and threatening. “You were in my house.”
She waited a few seconds, attempting to unscramble her thoughts. “Dropping off food. For your dad. My mom is … away and asked me to.” She wasn’t sure where the lie came from but a light bulb went off in her head. If she could trick him into giving away any information she could turn the whole conversation around on him. She had to be smart though.
“In my room?” He shoved his hand in his pocket and pulled out a key. His front door key. “It’s funny because I found this on my floor when I got out of the shower.” He stepped closer to her, his eyes burning into hers. He was inches away, almost stealing the breath from her lips.
She took a step back, her skin immediately flushed. “I wasn’t in your room.” Even she didn’t believe that lie.
He shook his head. “I have a feeling I know what you saw. And I need to know how much you know about Abbey going missing.”
The weight moved from her shoulders to the pit of her stomach. Hearing someone confirm it was so much worse than she imagined. “I could ask you the same thing.”
He stepped back from her, his hand resting next to the container on the table. “Why would I know anything?”
“You have her phone.”
His eyes widened. “How do you know that?”
Bri swallowed, gathering courage. “I saw you and Chloe take it. So I should be asking the questions here.”
“I don’t—”
She knew he was going to lie so she stopped him. “The carving. Under your bed. It’s the same as the tattoo she has.”
He bared his teeth. “Do you know what it means?”
She shook her head. “All she said about it in the past was it was a dare when she was seventeen.”
He scoffed. “A dare. Clever.” His eyebrows lifted briefly. “I shouldn’t talk about this with you.”
This time Bri was the one to invade his space. Someone knew about the secrets her mom held. She needed answers for herself and Sloane. She grabbed his shirt sleeve. “I need to know. She’s been missing for almost two days. And I know you know where she is.”
He chuckled grimly. “If I knew where she was we’d never be having this conversation.” He swiped a hand over his mouth; his eyes were distant. “When was the last time you heard from her?”
Tears welled up in her eyes. She had expected him to come clean about everything. This was going to take more cajoling than she thought. “Before she left for her conference. She was supposed to call but she never did.”
Kael looked away from her, leaning more heavily into the table. He shook his head before he met her eyes. “Everything has changed.”
“What do you mean?”
“With her missing.” He almost said this to himself. “Everything has changed for you. She was supposed to protect you. Now more than ever.”
Those stupid tears welled up again. She held them back as much as she could.
“When I sent you the note, I thought it was enough to keep you inside.”
“You sent the note?” Had he also sent for Sloane?
Kael leaned close to her, his hands were on her arms as if he was holding her upright. “This might sound crazy. There is another girl here in Willows Lake that is pretending to be you.”
Not what she expected. He knew about Sloane? How?
He continued. “And I think she has everything to do with Abbey’s disappearance.”
Bri knew Sloane had nothing to do with it. Sloane wanted to talk to Abbey as much as Bri did. She wasn’t sure telling him about Sloane would help the situation. And she needed to protect her. And to see how much more Kael knew.
He stepped away from her and peered into the living room as if realizing Bri might not be alone. “Abbey should be the one doing this.”
She reached for him, touching his hands. His gaze fell to where they connected. He didn’t pull away. “Tell me.” She tried to hold back the panic in her voice. “My mom is missing! If you know where she is you have to tell me. Or else I’m going to call the police.” She had no intention of calling the police. It had been the right thing to stop him from leaving.
“You can’t.”
“Then tell me.”
He scratched his chin. “You’re part of something bigger. Abbey has worked her whole life to keep you safe. Trust me. Don’t go to the police.” His mouth opened and closed a few times before he was able to form words. “Give me a day or so to try to figure this out.”
He opened the door and came face to fist with Jake.