Between Now and Goodbye (31 page)

'You made it too easy.' I smile.

'I don't have to tell you.'

'Sorry, sorry. So about Colin?'

'I ran into him this afternoon while I was at the beach.'

'Uh-huh.'

'And he's sort of...well he kind of...asked me out on a date.'

'Oh.' I don't laugh. I clear my throat and take the pot out of the coffee maker now that it's finished. I pour out a large cup.

'Oh. Is that all you can say?' She asks.

'No, I just... so you're going out with Colin?'

'That's the embarrassing part,' she looks down at her shoes, 'I kind of didn't say yes.'

'Oh, so you didn't say yes and now you realize that you should have, and you... you want me to call him and tell him?' I hand her the coffee and walk over to the sink again. I don't know why this is bothering me so much. Maybe it's because it means that Julie was right about the two of them.

'No,' she laughs, but it doesn't sound all that happy, 'that wouldn't be half as embarrassing as this.'

'So...' I turn back to her, 'you don't want to go out with him?'

'No,' she shakes her head, 'I mean he's a great guy and everything, but I just don't think he's right for me.'

'I agree.'

'You do?' She looks at me surprised, and maybe I'm imagining it, but I think she looks just a little happy.

'Yeah, I uh...I mean he's great and all but...he uh...' I scratch the back of my head, 'He's really into fast food.'

'Ah.' She laughs and this time it doesn't sound off, it's just happy. 'So the embarrassing part, is that when he asked me, I kind of froze.'

'Froze?'

'Well, yeah. I wasn't expecting it, one minute we were talking about school starting up soon, and then the next thing I know he was telling me how much he liked me, and asking me if I'd be his girlfriend. It was a bit sudden, so I just kind of...switched off.'

'Did you say anything?'

'I think I said oh.'

'Oh.' I suppress a smile. She hits me hard in the arm. 'Ow.'

'What am I supposed to do?'

'You didn't say anything else?' I ask, rubbing the spot on my arm where her fist just hit me.

'I said I had to go, and then I ran here. I think he probably hates me.'

'He doesn't hate you.' I assure her.

'It would be easier if he hated me.' She groans, leaning her back against the counter and drinking her coffee, 'Why do relationships have to be so messy? Even when you're not in one.'

'I don't know,' I shrug, 'but they often are.'

'Ok so...I need to tell him that I don't want to date him, right?'

'That would probably be the best thing to do.' I agree.

'He'll hate me.' She says in a high pitch, 'He won't talk to me, and Julie's already not talking to me.'

'I'm still talking to you.'

'Yeah, until I do something stupid to make you freeze me out.' She groans.

'Hey,' I walk over and stand beside her, nudging her side gently, 'nothing you could do would ever make me freeze you out.'

'Good.' She drops her head against my shoulder, 'Then would you tell Colin that I don't want to date him?'

'Absolutely not.'

'Char.' She whines.

'No,' I shake my head, 'no way, not happening.'

'But what do I say?'

'Tell him that you're far too in love with me to ever consider anyone else.' I grin. She looks at me for a second, and then shakes her head a little.

'Ha.' She swats my arm again. 'You wish. Come on tell me honestly, what do I say?'

'Tell him the truth. That he's a really nice guy, and you don't want to lose him as a friend, but that you're not interested in taking it any further than just friends.'

'You think he'll hate me if I say that?'

'No.' I shake my head, 'Libs, he's a really decent guy. He'll understand, and he'll be hurt but he'll get over it. I got over my eight month relationship in three weeks, so I think he'll spring back fairly quickly.'

'I've never rejected anyone before.' She sighs and starts pacing the floor, 'What if I mess it up?'

'What you think you'll mess up and accidentally say yes to dating him?'

'I wouldn't put it past me.' She groans.

'Well then just practice what you'll say.'

'What?' She stops pacing, puts her coffee down on the table and stares at me.

'I'll be Colin, and you be you.' I offer, 'Practice on me.'

'You're serious?' She raises an eyebrow.

'I'm always serious.'

'Yeah, right.' She looks at me disbelievingly.

'Ok, fair point, but I'm serious about this. You're worried about what to say, so practice.'

'You really don't mind?'

'I really don't mind.' I assure her.

'Ok.' She nods, takes a breath and then, standing in front of me, she starts to talk again. 'Colin, I just want to start by saying that I'm sorry for running off earlier.'

'It's ok.' I say, pretending to be Colin by making my voice a bit higher. She raises an eyebrow, but I don't let it deter me. 'I figured I kind of sprung it on you.'

'Uh, yeah, you kind of surprised me.'

'It's just that, you know...I've liked you for a while.'

'Char you're not helping.' She groans.

'I'm being Colin, and he's very likely to say something like that.' I reply. 'Keep in character.'

'I'm playing me. I'm always in character.' She points out. I just give her a look, 'Ok, fine,' she concedes and clears her throat, 'that's really... flattering.' She pauses.

'So is that a yes?' I say.

'It's...uh...'

'Too many pauses.' I say in my regular voice. 'Try again.' I speak in a higher tone again, 'So is that a yes?'

'Colin, I really do like you, it's just that I don't really see you that way.'

'You don't think I'm good enough?'

'That's not it. You're a great guy and any girl would be good enough for you.'

'Just not you?' I know I'm pushing her a little bit, but this is actually the most fun I've had in a long time. She's starting to get flustered.

'No, no, that's not it at all. I don't think I'm too good for you, if anything, you're too good for me. It's just that I don't really think that we'd make a good couple.'

'Well, how do you know if you don't give us a try?' I ask. It's actually something I can imagine Colin saying, and I guess that Libby agrees, because she continues in the role.

'I don't want to hurt you Colin, I just don't think that we'd be good together. I don't see you that way.'

'So you won't even give me one chance? One date?' I say, 'Because I really like you, a lot.'

'I...' Libby looks up at me and her eyes connect with mine. 'I uh...um...I...'

Neither of us look away, somehow we've ended up closer together. There's barely any space between us and our eyes are locked on each others. I've never noticed before that her eyes have tiny gray flecks in them, giving her blue eyes a lighter more icy look. It's probably because I've never been this close to her before. I realize suddenly just how close we are, and I spring back.

'Uh,' I shake my head, 'yeah, if you uh...do it like that,' I clear my throat, 'then I think you'll end up on a date with him.'

She seems a little dazed, and then she shakes her head and clears her throat a little. While I back up and try to shake off whatever it is that just happened.

'Yeah,' she stutters, 'I told you, I'm hopeless.'

'You're not, you just need to have it fixed in your head why you're turning him down, and stick to that.' I say, turning back to the dishes. I plunge my hands into the soapy water, 'You'll do fine.'

'Ok,' she taps her fingers against the table, and though I have my back to her, I can tell that she's got her lips pressed together in thought, and she's probably holding her coffee again, 'so I just tell him that I'm not interested in being more than friends.'

'Yes.' I nod, keeping my back to her.

'Seems easy enough.' She replies. I hear her take a sip of coffee, then another and another until the cup is placed down on the table. 'I should probably go take care of it now.'

'Yeah, ok.' I nod. 'Let me know how it goes?'

'I will.' She promises, 'And I'll try not to agree to a date.' She laughs and I join in and just like that, any weird awkwardness that was there before, is washed away.

'You do that.' I smile as she heads to the back door, coming back into my line of vision.

'Thanks for not making fun of me too much.'

'You're welcome.' I smile as she walks out.

Thirty Nine – Julie

Elizabeth Vine. It seems funny to think of Libby as Elizabeth Vine, and yet that's who she really is. I wonder if that's what she went by, Elizabeth, or was it Liz, Liza, Lizzie, Eliza, Ellie, Beth, Lizbeth or always Libby? With the name Elizabeth there are several options. Perhaps she chose something different for each place she lived. I wonder if she introduced herself to Charles that first day as Libby on a whim, or had it been planned out that she'd be Libby here.

Yesterday, after discovering the reason Libby has been moving around so much, and finding out where she lived and who her dad is, it didn't take us long to track down Duncan Vine. He's still the chief of police in the same town in Oregon. His life has remained frozen, while the lives of his ex-wife and two daughters has carried on. It must be so strange for him, living alone in the house that used to be filled with his family. In the house where he found his daughter almost beaten to death. Maybe he doesn't even live there anymore, he's still in the same town, but maybe he's living in an apartment, or a different house. Maybe he's remarried, though maybe he's not willing to risk starting a new family after what happened the last time.

We found a contact number for the police department after just a few minutes of clicking. Knowing his name and the police department he worked in, made finding his contact information really simple.

I haven't used it though. The number for the station is programmed into my phone, and so far all I've done is stare at it.

I'm staring at it right now. The contact details on my phone, stare back at me, and all I have to do is tap the number and I'll be connected. So simple, so why hasn't Libby ever done it? Why after all this time, has she never contacted her father? Is she still scared that the people who attacked her will find her if she makes contact with her dad? It must have been terrifying for her to be beaten and left for dead. I can't even imagine what she must have gone through, but surely, since it's been so many years, she could at least talk about her father.

Maybe it's not about being scared, maybe she's just angry at her dad. After all, because of his job, she was brutally attacked, left bleeding on the floor. Yet, as the number in front of me proves, he didn't leave his job to protect her. He sent his family away. He wouldn't make the sacrifice of his career for his family. That would be something to be angry at him for, but maybe enough time has passed, that she'll want to reconnect with him. Maybe she wants him to make the first move, but he doesn't know where to find her. He doesn't know that Elizabeth Vine no longer exists, and instead the girl he's looking for is Libby Reid.

Maybe he doesn’t think she wants to be found, and so he's given up. I can understand why Libby's mom and especially Libby herself would be angry at him if he chose his job over protecting them, but it's been a long time and what about Pippa? She would have hardly known him, she would have only been nine or so when they left Oregon. Maybe she wants to get to know him, but she's too afraid to call him, in case she upsets her mom and Libby.

I hover my finger over the number on my screen. I try to imagine what I'd want to do if I were in Libby's position, would I want to see my dad again if he'd sent me away? Choosing his job over me? I think that after enough time had passed, I'd want to know him. I'd need to know him, if not to heal the broken relationship, then at least to get some answers.

I press the call button and hold the phone up to my ear. The line rings a few times, and I almost lose my nerve and hang up the phone, but I stop myself from being a coward and keep the line ringing until it connects.

'Poplar Hills Police Department, how may I help you?' A clear, crisp female voice comes through the line, and a tiny thrill of excitement rushes through me. I'm mere minutes away from talking to the man who has created so much mystery around my best friend.

'Hi, I'm calling for Duncan Vine.'

'May I ask the nature of the call?' She asks, and I almost say that it's personal but if I do that they might not let me talk to him.

'I have some information for him.' I say instead.

'Perhaps it would be better if I connected you to one of the detectives, is this related to a crime, you wish to report or have information about?'

'No, it's not, but it's really important.'

'Mr Vine is an incredibly busy man, would you like to leave a message?'