500 Days (64 page)

I fought back the insult that was on the tip
of my tongue. I flicked the cigarette and turned to him waiting for
a relay on the new information. “Well?” I prodded.

“
Apparently the dead can
speak,” he said, making his way down the steps.

“
Wait, what? What the hell
does that mean?”

I grabbed his arm to stop him. “Not here.
I’ll explain everything in the car.”

My dad’s driver was waiting for us at the
front. My dad slipped into the town car first. The second I closed
the door I turned my attention to him. “Tell me.”

He set his briefcase aside and addressed the
driver. “Excuse us Thompson,” he said pushing the button to lift
the divider. Then he took out his phone and called his secretary.
“Yes, Carol, will you please reschedule the rest of my day.” Slight
pause. “No, no, everything is fine. Just have a few things I need
to take care of. Thank you.” I looked at my dad confused. He hung
up the phone and reached in the small mini fridge for a drink.

For crying out
loud
. “Are you going to tell me what the
fuck is going on?”

His face fell, showing his distaste for my
foul language. He took a sip of his drink, just to piss me off.
“Turns out the judge had gotten a very special delivery.” I watched
him curiously, waiting for him to continue. Another sip of his
drink. I gripped the door handle, trying to calm my nerves.

“
The judge was sent a
package a few days ago, but never opened it because it got lost in
the pile on his desk. After our meeting, he recalled the name on
the package and opened it immediately. Inside was a DVD. A video of
Jack Radcliff confessing his sins. Apparently, Jack felt the need
to get a few things off his chest. He confessed he killed his
father and told the entire story in detail. Details that only
someone who was there would know. The judge agreed his confession
fit with everything that happened. So in light of the new news, the
judge decided to drop the murder charge and release Alex’s
mom.”

“
So she’s
free?”

“
Not yet. There’s a still
ton of paper work that has to be filed, calls to make, and for the
fact that she lied on the stand, she still has to pay for
that.”

I opened my mouth to
argue, but he held up a hand to stop me. “The judge is letting her
time served
,
serve as penance for the perjury.”

I dropped my head to my hands, relieved. We
did it, we actually did it. “Why did you cancel the rest of your
day?”

“
Because I thought you
would like to deliver the news yourself.” I looked out the window
to see we were hitting the highway. My dad was taking me to the
prison.

Chapter 27

Alexis

I managed to reschedule all my finals. My
professors were very sympathetic to my situation and allowed me to
take the tests when I was ready. I decided to just take them all
right away. I needed a distraction. I tried everything I could
think of to keep my mind off of Jack and Casper. I even went as far
as too read one of Declan’s cheesy romance books, but that just
made it worse. All the talk about yearning, want, need, and fiery
loins (I snorted at that one) made me so desperate for it I was
half tempted to see if Colby was still in town. No matter how much
my head screamed bad idea – Alert! Alert! – I wasn’t in the mood to
worry about what good ideas were.

We were only two days away
from Christmas and it was the last thing I wanted to celebrate.
Jack was gone. I was no closer to figuring out how to get my mom
out of jail and I was all alone. The only thing keeping me company
was my current Netflix movie, my kitty Lucky, and a book about
zombies. I thought it safe to go with a zombie book – no romance –
just killing and brain eating. Or so I thought. Half way through
the book one of the zombies fell in love with a human.
Go fucking figure
. I
threw the book in the trash causing Declan to frown at me.
Surprisingly she had spent every night at home, mostly without
Colton. I insisted she didn’t have to stay, I was fine – on the
outside – but she wouldn’t hear it. She knew better. And I was just
happy to have her around even though she tended to be overbearing,
annoying, and always in my face, but I loved her and was thankful
for her company.

“
How about we go out
tonight?” Declan said cheerfully. She took my book out of the trash
and brushed it off. I rolled my eyes at her.

“
I wouldn’t mind just
getting shit-faced so I can feel numb for a while.”

Her smile instantly fell. “Alex,” she began
in that I-feel-sorry-for-you-but-I-don’t-like-your-ways-of-dealing
kind of tone.

I put up a hand to stop ‘the talk’. “The
last thing I want to do is risk running into Casper.”

“
Well you don’t have to
worry about that because Casper has been spending most of his time
with his dad.”

I pressed mute on the TV and shifted so I
was facing Declan. “Casper doesn’t like his father so I find it
very hard to believe he would be spending any time with him.”

She shrugged. “That’s what Colton told
me.”

“
I’m sure he’s just out
getting hammered and using his dad as an excuse which I’m surprised
Colton would be dumb enough to fall for that.”

“
I don’t know. I think
he’s telling the truth. You’re right, Colton would not fall for a
lie like that, but I’ve never seen Casper so…,” she paused looking
for the perfect word. “Determined. The boys tried to take him out
several times but he kept saying he was busy and would hit them up
later. And every time I saw him he was sober.”

“
Did he say what he was
doing with his dad?”

Declan shook her head no. “Alex, just come
out with us.”

“
Us?” I raised a brow. If
it was her and Colton then I was definitely staying in. The last
thing I wanted was to be a third wheel.

“
Shauna and
me
.
I won’t take
no for an answer. Alex you need to get out of this apartment and
out of those clothes and in the shower,” she wrinkled her nose at
me. I looked down at my outfit, lifting Jack’s t-shirt – that I’ve
been wearing for the past 3 days – and sniffed it. “Okay if you
have to do that then it’s time to change.” I tugged my knees close
to my chest. “Alex, you need to come back to the land of the
living.”

That hurt and she knew it too. The shocked
expression on her face told me she hadn’t meant to say that out
loud. “Alex I’m so sorry I didn’t –”

“
No, you’re right. There’s
nothing that’s going to bring him back. I have to accept that and
move on.” I stood and walked down the hall to my room.

“
Alex, wait,” Declan
chased after me. “Please don’t be mad at me.”

“
I’m not mad,” I said,
grabbing a towel.

“
Oh, so you’re going to
come out with us?”

“
Yes,” I said on a sigh.
“Just give me a little extra time to shower and get ready.” She
gave me an encouraging smile and let me be.

I wrapped my hair in a towel while I did my
make-up and got dressed. When I sat down in front of my vanity, I
stared at the letter that had been sitting there for days. I
haven’t had the courage to open it. Jasper gave us all an envelope
the day after Jack’s funeral. He told us Jack had given them to him
before he left and told him to only deliver the letters if he
didn’t make it back. Something told me he already knew he wasn’t
going to make it back which made it all that much harder. Did he
really know he was going to die? I shook the thought from my mind
and pushed the letter aside. I wasn’t ready yet and I didn’t think
I ever would be, but I kept it close by, just in case. I swiped the
few tears that shed and stared at myself in the mirror.

“
Okay Alex, you need to
get a grip.” Jack would be pissed at me for crying like a baby. He
would yell at me for holing myself up in a dark room and not going
out into the world. I could just hear him now.
“Alex, you can’t see all the good stuff because you’re too
worried about everything else that’s going to drag you down. Be
free, experience life the way it’s supposed to be. And always, be
brave.”

“
Be brave,” I said,
letting out a breath. “I promise Jack, I will try.” I hadn’t notice
Declan standing at the door.

“
Hey,” she said softly,
her smile sad. “You okay?” Her eyes darted to the still closed
envelope.

“
Yeah,” I smiled, slipping
the letter inside my drawer. “So where are you dragging me tonight?
And please don’t say Angels and Demons.”

“
No, Shauna wants to check
out this one place downtown. They’re having an open mic night.
”

“
Great, so we’ll have to
sit there and listen to people who think they can carry a tune,
singing sappy love songs. You just saved me a lot of time picking
out my outfit. Dark and depressing, like me. Don’t forget to pack
your knife so I can slit my wrists later,” I said with a sarcastic
smile.

She rolled her eyes. “Alex, it’s not like
that. They have a DJ too. It will be nice and something
different.”

“
Whatever, just as long as
I’m not driving, I don’t care.” Looks like my original plan to get
smashed was still in effect and slowly becoming a requirement, if I
was going to survive the night.

I went with my favorite little black dress,
boots, and little heavier on the make-up than normal. I wore my
hair down in long, tousled curls and did a quick walk through of a
cloud of perfume. I grabbed my favorite black and white clutch and
met Declan in the living room. “I’m ready.”

She stood up, her eyes wide as she looked me
over. “Ready for what, exactly?”

I pressed down the wrinkle in my dress.
“What?” I asked.

“
Nothing,” she said,
shaking her head. “The cab’s waiting, let’s go.”

Turns out the open mic night was only for an
hour, then at eleven they had a DJ. The place was fairly crowded
with all types of very good looking men. Suddenly the night was
looking up. As soon as we reached the bar I ordered a shot and a
beer. Declan gave me a disapproving look. “What, I’m not driving?”
I said.

We found an open table near the bar. I
hopped onto the tall stool and pulled out the pack of smokes I
bought a couple of days ago. Declan’s frown deepened when I lit up.
I ignored her and asked the waitress for an ashtray and another
shot. We arrived in the middle of all the lonely hearts belting out
their souls for no one in particular. The music was a little too
depressing for my taste but I passed the time by accepting shots
and drinks from all the men who offered. Shauna and I were having a
good time from all the attention we were getting, unlike Declan,
who felt uncomfortable with all the males crowding us. She excused
herself to call Colton. I didn’t complain. I was too preoccupied
with my current company.

I was actually having a good time – that
could also be the alcohol talking. We were only one lame lovesick
song away from having the DJ play. One of our new friends had
returned with shots and drinks. I held up my glass ready to clink
when I heard a very familiar voice.

“
I was going to sing an
original song, but my heart just wasn’t in it to finish it. Instead
I’m gonna sing something I know you’ll like. This song is dedicated
to everyone out there who fought for the one they wanted.” I put
the shot glass down and squeezed my way through the group of guys
surrounding our table, hoping my ears were deceiving me.

My chest tightened as I clenched my fists by
my side. Casper looked up from his guitar his eyes zeroing in on
me. His face said he looked almost surprised to see me, as if he
didn’t know I was going to be there. Instantly he started
strumming. My heart stopped at the sound of his voice, so pure, so
angelic. Most of the time when he played his voice was rough and
loud. I never expected he could tone it down. And the song he chose
to sing was ‘Say Something’ by A Great Big World. I was frozen in
place, unable to move. Declan was just returning from outside when
I grabbed her. “Did you know about this?” I demanded answers.

“
Know about what?” she
asked a little frightened. I turned her in the direction of the
stage. “Oh, wow, he’s really good.” I pushed her. “I swear I didn’t
know.” I believed her. Declan was sneaky in her ways, but I knew
this was even unexpected to her. Unable to tear my eyes away, I
turned back to the stage where Casper was singing directly to me.
Everything inside me began to crumble. My walls were tumbling down
at an uncontrollable speed. Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe. It felt
like all the oxygen had been sucked out of my lungs and they were
scrambling for air. Tears burned my eyes and I’d be damned if I was
going to cry, again, over him.

I tore out of the bar like I was being
chased. I faintly heard my name being called in the background, but
I kept running as far as I could. The cold blast of air smacked
into me like a brick wall. I gasped, needing air, but it didn’t
come. Like I was scratching the surface but couldn’t quite reach
it. I searched for an available cab. A warm hand encased my upper
arm. I spun around ready to strike. “Alex, it’s just me.”

I pulled away. “Are you stalking me?”

“
No, I didn’t know you
were going to even be here.”

“
Yeah, right. You just
happen to show up the same night I do.”