CONVICTION (INTERFERENCE) (20 page)

“Yeah, we still have enough time to get there,” he said, looking at me like he really didn’t want to get up.

“You really don’t want to leave the warmth of this bed, do you?” I asked.

“No, I don’t want to leave the warmth of you,” he said, nuzzling my neck and before long class was forgotten and we were wrapped up together…literally. The only problem was…we fell asleep and my phone was on silent.

I woke up to the sound of a pounding noise, but I was so warm and comfortable that I just rolled over, snuggled up close to Shane and ignored the noise.

“Rebecca! Oh, God, wake up. It’s after 4 in the morning. I think your dad’s pounding on the door.”

“What?” I said, sitting straight up in bed completely awake now. “I’m dead!” I said as I jumped up to search the room for any signs of my clothes.

Shane was up and quickly pulled some pants on and then helped me search for my clothes. I had just wrapped a blanket around me when my mother came bursting through the door.

“Get in the car! NOW!” she roared.

“Mom, would you um, just give me a minute…?” I asked, knowing I probably wouldn’t be allowed to even see Shane until the wedding.

“It’s 4:15 in the morning, Rebecca! You’ve had plenty of time! Get dressed and get in the car!”

“Mrs. Brigham…”

“I’ll talk to
you
later!” my mom said and headed toward the door. 

I finished dressing and walked up to Shane. I could see he was devastated. I kissed him softly. “She’ll get over it. I’m sorry I fell asleep. It was my fault.”

“REBECCA NOW!” my mother shouted through the front of the store.

“I wonder how she got in? I hope she didn’t break anything.”

“I’ll fix it. You better go.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too. Call me when you can.”

“Okay.”

I headed to the car and took a deep breath as I opened the door and climbed in the passenger seat. 

She refused to look at me as she drove home. When I could no longer stand the deafening silence in the car I said, “Mom, I…”

“Don’t! I don’t want to hear it. You’re safe. I’m taking you home.”

“Does Daddy know?”

“No, and you better thank your lucky stars that I was able to convince him that you were studying late. He fell asleep hours ago, while I laid awake wondering if you were dead in a ditch somewhere!”

“I’m sorry. I just…we fell asleep. Thank you for not telling dad.”

“Don’t thank me! You’ve been lying to me this whole time.  I guess I always knew it, but until tonight, it was easier to live in denial.”

“I haven’t been lying to you!”

“Really?  So, this is the first night you’ve…spent with him?”

I looked down. “No, it’s not. But I didn’t lie to you. We’ve only been sleeping together for a few weeks.”

“Just drop it. It’s over!”

“You mean you’re not going to punish me?”

“If I punish you, then I’d have to explain to your father
why
I’m punishing you. So, no, I’m not punishing you. It’s over. You’re getting married soon, that’s enough to have to worry about.”

“Mom, I’m sorry I disappointed you. But, I love Shane and I’m not sorry for that.”

“You didn’t disappoint me, Rebecca. Not for the reason you think, anyway.”

“Then, why?”

“Because, I was up worried all night long. You were irresponsible, and that’s not like you. It also sets a bad example for your sister who looks up to you. I don’t want her to think it’s okay to…sleep with her boyfriend.”

“You don’t really think it’s okay for me to, either, do you?” I asked.

“I told you, I understand. But, if what you say is true, then why couldn’t you just wait until you got married? You’ll be married in less than six months.”

“I know. And I can’t wait. I love him, Mom. So much! I just want to be with him every second. I can’t help it!”

She pulled into the driveway and turned off the ignition. “Honey, I understand, believe me, I do. Just, be careful and please don’t make me worry like that again. This is a one-time ‘get out of jail free’ card. Next time, I won’t lie for you.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

The weeks flew by, bringing us closer and closer to the big day. My parents surprised us with a honeymoon in Jamaica at an all-inclusive resort. I was so excited. I could hardly wait. I was on my way out the door to see Shane and show him the tickets when I ran into Parker, coming out of my father’s office.

“Hi Beccs.”

“Hi, what are you doing here?”
I ignored the dreaded nickname and let him talk.

“Oh, um, I just had some business…with your father.”

“What business?” I asked.

“I needed some…advice.”

“Oh, okay. Well, I have to go. See you later. Say hi to your parents.”

“I um, I heard you were getting married?”

“Yeah, I am. Um, so, how’s…um, Kiki?”

“Oh, she’s gone.”

“That’s too bad. She seemed…nice,” I lied.

“Yeah, they were all nice. But, they weren’t you.”

I looked into his eyes and said, “I um, I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry if I hurt you, Parker. I never meant to.”

He nodded and I headed out the door.

I Don’t Believe You!

“Rebecca?” my father called me downstairs one afternoon. His face was pale white, and I noticed my mother had been crying.

“Dad, what’s wrong? Mom?”

“Sit down, Honey. We have to talk to you.” My mom’s eyes were bright red.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s about…Shane,” my mom said.

“What about him?”

“He um…he’s gone.”

“What?”

“He’s gone, Rebecca. He left…for good,” my father said.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, confused.

My mother pulled me to her and rocked me back and forth, trying to comfort me for some reason. 

“What are you guys talking about?”

“He’s not who you thought he was. He had us all fooled, Pumpkin. I’m sorry.”

“You guys are talking crazy. He’s not gone. He’s going to meet me in class in an hour.”

My parents looked at each other and then slowly back to me. “Honey,” my mom started.  “Shane…did some things…bad things, and um, your father found out.”

“What bad things? You mean, he found out about…” I stopped, not wanting to give up his secret.

“That’s not it, but yes, he did find out about that, too. But Honey, there’s more…a lot more.”

“What?”

“He’s been stealing from the tire store for months now.”
My mother was talking to me, but nothing she said was making any sense.

“No, he hasn’t. Shane wouldn’t do that.”

“There’s proof. They put up video camera’s…” my father said, looking angry.

“In the tire store?”

“Yeah, and um, in Shane’s…room,” my mom said. I saw my father look away, like he couldn’t face me now.

“In his room?” I asked, blushing.

“It’s not important right now. He tricked us all, Rebecca. I don’t blame…you,” my father said.

“Blame me for what?”

“I know you had nothing to do with it. And I know he…took advantage of you.”

“Dad! He didn’t…”

“I saw the tapes, Rebecca. You can’t deny it, now.”

“You saw…us? You…watched?” I asked, stunned.

“Only for a second; but I didn’t need to see much to know that he took advantage of my young, innocent daughter.”

“Dad, he didn’t take advantage of me. I love him. He loves me…”

“He used you!” he yelled, “He used all of us.”

“No, you’re lying. You’re just mad because we didn’t wait…”

“No Honey, he’s not. He’s telling the truth. He um, he took a bribe…from your father.”

“What?”

My father said, “I didn’t believe it, either. Not at first. So, I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. So, I um, I offered him $100,000.00 to leave and never come back.”

“I can’t believ
e you! Why would you do that?”

“He took it, Rebecca. He took it and ran. He’s gone.  I’m so sorry,” my mom said, hugging me tighter.

“NO! You’re lying!” I shouted, crying now. “I don’t believe you. Shane would never! NO! I’m going to go find him! He’ll be at class. He’ll be there and he’ll explain everything!”

I ran out the door. I heard my father say, “Let her go, Charlotte. She needs to find out for herself.”

I drove to the tire store. I was hysterical and I confused Vince with my blubbering. “Wh-where’s Sh-sh-shane,” I sobbed.

“Um, he’s um…he’s gone.”

“You mean he left…f-for class?” I stammered.

“No, I um, I don’t think so. He um, he’s gone…gone.” He looked down and then said, “I’m sorry.”

“NO!  I don’t be-be-lieve you! He, he wouldn’t leave…me!”

“See
for yourself,” he said, and led me back to Shane’s room. The only thing left were the pictures of…me. His clothes, his shoes…all of his personal things were all gone.

I ran out of the store and headed to his dad’s house. His dad was passed out on the couch. I couldn’t rouse him. I looked through Shane’s old room and noticed nothing had been touched. This, for some reason, gave me some comfort.  Nothing else made sense to me, but the fact that his dad was there and his room was untouched allowed me to take a breath and think.  “School…he has to go to school!”

I ran back to my car and headed to class. I stood outside the door…waiting and waiting. 

“Miss Brigham, are you planning on joining us?”

“What?” I asked, becoming hysterical once again.             

“Class is starting…”

“Have you heard from…Shane?” I asked, pleading with him to tell me something I suddenly realized he couldn’t. I walked away once he said no, wandering aimlessly through the streets. 

My parents pulled up alongside me a few hours or so later. I didn’t know how long I’d been walking. I didn’t know where I was. I didn’t know anything.

“Honey, get in the car,” my mom said.

I ignored her, and kept walking. Finally my dad pulled over in front of me and got out of the car. He put his arm around my shoulder and led me to the car. I let him lead me to the car because I didn’t know what else to do. I was lost without Shane. I kept thinking it was all a bad dream, but no amount of pinching my skin or trying to force my eyes open would wake me from the nightmare that was now my life.

I cried non-stop for hours. My mom was at my side, holding my hand and rubbing my back. I didn’t really even know she was there. I kept calling Shane’s number, but after the 20
th
time of hearing, “This number is no longer in service,” my mom took my phone from me and had me drink…something.

I woke up the next day and looked around my room groggily and realized it really was a dream. “Oh, thank God!” I reached for my phone to call Shane and tell him about it, but when I dialed, and got the same recording, I started to scream.

“NO! NO! NO!”

“Rebecca, Honey, it’s okay…it’s okay,” my mother crooned, holding me and rocking me in her arms.

“IT’S NOT OKAY. Where is he? I need him! We’re getting married in two months!”

“Honey, you have to face the fact. He’s gone.”

“I don’t believe you! He wouldn’t leave me! He loves me!”

My mom continued to hold me, rocking me back and forth and kept whispering, “It’ll be okay, It’ll be okay. I love you! I love you!”

I wanted Shane and no one could soothe me until I knew what happened to him. 

After a few hours of my sobbing, my mother pulled back from me and said, “Honey, I know you don’t want to accept this, but it’s true. He’s gone. He stole a lot of money from the tire store…his boss has it on tape.”

“I don’t believe it. He’s not a thief. There has to be some explanation.”

She sighed. “He um, he left a note…for you.” She looked down and pulled a piece of paper from her jeans pocket.

I grabbed the letter and ripped it open, certain it would explain everything. I was wrong.

Rebecca,

I never meant to hurt you. I’m sorry that it had to end like this.

I swear, if I could change things, I would. I’m asking that you

forget about me and move on with your life. It’s better that way. 

I know you don’t
understand any of this, and I’m sorry I can’t

explain it.
You’ll forget about me, I’m sure, but know that I’ll

always
remember you.

Take care of yourself,

Shane