Authors: Shane Scollins
Out of Place (19 page)
Emily was still numb long after the police had left and the media circus rolled away. After she’d pulled that trigger, everything changed.
She leaned her head into the seat of the car and let a new feeling wash over her.
Zack
got into the driver seat and pulled the door shut. “I’m sorry.”
She looked at him. “No biggie, I wasn’t waiting that long.”
“No, I mean I’m sorry for putting you in that spot. I know what you did was hard.”
Emily rolled her head to the side lazily and looked at him. “You didn’t do anything. He did it. He left me no choice.”
“I know. But it should have been me. You didn’t need that burden.”
She shook her head slowly. “No, you’re wrong. I need
ed it, wanted it, and now I own it. This was my fight to start with, and it’s not a burden to end it. It’s empowering. I feel great about it.”
He firmed his lips and nodded. “Wow
.”
“Wow what?”
“You just never cease to impress me. You’re amazing.”
Emily was never bashful taking a compl
iment, but for some reason that one really hit her. It just seemed so spontaneous and genuine.
“Be careful, though, Emily.”
She frowned at him. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, revenge, even carried out, can be a nasty
little demon.”
She thought about that for a second. “I don’t feel like it was revenge.”
“That’s good. It wasn’t.”
“It was self-defense. He got off easy. I would much rather have let him rot in prison for the rest of his life. But I won’t feel bad about it
. He murdered my family, my friends, your friends, innocent people…he deserved to be put down like an animal.” She shook her head. “No, I don’t feel bad about it at all.”
“You did good. I was worried you didn’t see the gun.”
“I saw. I knew what you were doing. I knew what I had to do, I just had to get up the nerve, which was harder than I thought it would be, I gotta say.”
“That’s why I was stalling him.”
“That was very brave. He could have pulled that trigger.” She started to cry. “I would’ve never been able to forgive myself.”
He reached across the seat and gave her a little rub on the shoulder. “Hey, don’t even go there.”
Emily forced a smile and nodded. “I know—you’re right. We should be happy it’s finally over. But I don’t really feel happy.”
“
It’s probably going to take time to get there.”
She wanted to start getting there. “Just drive
—somewhere, anywhere.”
Zack
put the car in gear and got on the highway.
They sat in silence for a long time. Emily appreciated that he didn’t have to talk to her. He was so easy to be around
and just seemed to know how and when she needed some downtime. “When we were in the store and Harry was… Did you mean what you said?”
“Did you?”
She shrugged.
Zack
said, “We were in a tough spot. We said what we had to say.”
She nodded and looked out the window, watching the scenery blur by. For some reason
, sadness started to creep into her mind. She really wanted him to say that he did love her. Even though he’d already said he’d fallen for her, that didn’t necessarily mean he was in love with her. For some reason hearing him say the words while not under duress seemed like a fitting gesture. Maybe he didn’t feel the way she did, or maybe she didn’t really understand what love was. It’s not like she had a wealth of experience in that part of life. Her own feelings could be betraying her. At the same time, there are no rules, there’s no set amount of time on a clock that says you can’t fall in love with someone before other people might expect it. Love is a funny thing, the rules are broken and rewritten all the time. Some people claim to fall in love at first sight. Others fall in love with their best friends after twenty years of knowing that person. She liked him. Maybe she loved him. It felt like she did.
Just as she was about to sa
y something, he started pulling the car into a rest area. “What’re you doing?”
He pulled into a parking spot and got out of the car. She watched him walk around the hood and come to her door. When he pulled open the door
, she looked up at him.
“C’mon.” He held out his hand.
She followed him, a little confused but mostly curious. She took his hand and he led her over to a lone picnic table in the grass near a tall poplar tree. They sat on the table and looked out into a pasture bordered by thick pines.
It was a beautiful blue
-sky day. The hum of the highway behind them was more relaxing than annoying. Scores of birds laced in and out of the trees next to them. Zack didn’t say anything for a while. Emily was growing impatient and finally said, “What are we doing here?”
He turned to face her, took hold of her hand. “You asked me if I meant what I said.
I meant every word. I have fallen in love with you. I love you.”
Emily swallowed hard.
Zack continued. “Sometimes in life, lightning strikes. And in that bolt comes something so powerful and life changing that you can neither deny it, nor avoid it. No matter how much you tell yourself you’re going to feel a certain way, it’s impossible to stop the momentum. And I tried not to fall in love with you. I really did. I know that probably sounds bad, but trust me when I say you made it impossible.”
His eyes welled up with tears but he pressed on. “You blew into my life like a hurricane
, in the middle of the most horrific experience I could ever imagine and I was powerless to stop you. And I’m thankful, so very thankful, that I couldn’t stop you, because you are the most amazing thing that’s ever happened to me. When I said I’d do anything for you, I meant it. I would and I will.”
Emily couldn’t help but tear up. “Damn you. I’m so sick of crying, I’ve cried more since I’ve met you than I probably have in my entire life.”
“I’m sorry.”
She laughed. “Don’t be
. It’s not your fault. Well, part of it is your fault. I want you to know I mean what I say, always. Just like you. And I meant what I said. I have fallen in love with you, too. I know I’m young, but what you said was true for me, too: it was just a bolt of lightning. And I love you.”
Zack
took her hand. “And I want you to know, although what we’ve been though might have accelerated this process, it’s not what’s going to sustain it. I love you for you. Your strength, your intelligence, your maturity in spite of being a kid.” They both laughed, then he continued, “You’re just a beautiful person, and I’m lucky to’ve found you. And I’d take every bullet, and fall off every cliff, all over again.”
She threw her arms around his neck. “Please don’t.”
The hard hotel bed was the best night’s sleep Zack had in a while. He slid from under the covers and stood, looking down at Emily as she slept. She looked like an angel. It’d been a while since he’d slept in a bed with a girl, and just slept. But it was probably the best night he’d had with a girl in a long time, too. They stayed up late just talking and laughing. Then they watched a couple stupid movies and fell asleep.
He pulled back the curtain just enough, careful not to spill any light in and wake Emily, and looked out over the soft sands of
Ocean City. They weren’t going to let Harry ruin the plans they made to go to Florida, so they were cruising down the coast slowly, stopping at every cool beach area they could find. They both loved the beach, and just wanted to enjoy the ride for a while. If any two people on Earth ever needed a vacation, it was them, and it was now.
Zack
looked back to the bed for a second, and Emily’s soft hazel eyes looked up at him. “Hey, did I wake you?”
She just smiled. “No.”
“What do you want to do for breakfast?”
She rolled over and stretched. “I don’t know
, but I’m starving.” Pulling off the covers, she struggled to fix the twisted long T-shirt she was wearing. “I’m sweating in this thing. I need to buy some sleepwear.”
“Yeah, we didn’t really get to buy you any clothes.” He flopped on the bed next to her. “I say we get some food and go down to the shops on the strip. I’m sure we can find a few things.”
She turned on her side to face him, cutely hugging her pillow. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For not pressuring me into anything last night.”
“Not in a million years. No need to thank me.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I guess I’m used to high school guys. That’s all they do is pressure you.”
“That’s
only partly true. There are a lot of full grown men that act the same way. One thing girls don’t know is that boys turn into men, but they really don’t change that much when it comes to sex. But I wasn’t even like that in high school. My mother always taught me to have the utmost respect for women. And to me that means you wait until it’s offered. You never pressure for it, and certainly never take it.”
Emily rolled her lips inward. “That’s pretty cool. That’s the kind of attitude that might cause a guy to get lucky.”
He laughed. “Sometimes.” He rolled off the bed and got up. “Let’s go get some grub.”
***
Zack slid his phone into his pocket and headed out the door when the room phone rang. “Hold up.” Emily stopped at the threshold. He went over to the phone. “Hello? Yeah? Okay.”
“Who’s that?” Emily asked.
“Front desk, they said they had a message for you.”
She sighed. “Probably the press or something.” They headed down the hallway. “How’d they find us?”
Zack shook his head. “No clue.”
“I told my mom where we were going
, but she wouldn’t tell anyone.” Emily turned and headed down the long steps to the first floor.
“I didn’t tell anyone
,” Zack replied.
They got to the front desk, Emily walked up. “Someone said there’s a message for us? Room
315.”
The
portly balding clerk at the desk rummaged around through some files. “Emily Bon…uh.”
“Bontrager.”
“Yeah, sorry, didn’t know how to say that.”
“No one does.”
The young clerk handed her a large manila envelope and turned away.
Emily took a few steps towards the lounge area and opened the envelop
e, and pulled out a typed letter. Her eyes narrowed in confusion. “What the…”
“What is it?”
He watched her eyes scan the page line after line and when she was done, she looked over at him and shook her head. Disbelief was written on every part of her face. She handed Zack the letter.
He read aloud.
“You think this is over, but you’re wrong. You can’t hide from me just like you couldn’t hide from him. If you go to the police with this, I will kill your mother and take the last pawn on the board. I’m coming for you, watch your back.”
Emily crossed her arms and paced back and forth.
“This is a joke. Right?”
Zack
was stunned. “I have no idea what to make of this.” He looked in the envelope and there was a small piece of paper at the bottom. He reached in and retrieved it. “Oh.”
“What?”
He turned the small picture so she could see it. It was Emily’s mother, sitting at a small sidewalk café table along a busy street.
Emily snatched the picture. On the backside, it simply had the word,
CHECK
. “What’s check mean?”
Zack
raised his brow. “As in checkmate.”
Emily put her hands on top of her head and looked like she wanted to scream.
“What is this?” She dropped her hands to her side and turned her palms up to face the sky. “This is not happening!”
They both stared at each other in confusion.
Emily stared at the picture of her mother while Zack threw the bags in the back of the car. They’d checked out of the hotel, not really sure what to do or where to go. She wanted to call her mother, but the letter said not to contact her mother or the police. There was no move here. Her frustration was reaching a peak and she just wanted to explode.
Zack
came around to the front of the car. “Ready?”
“Ready for what? Huh? What in hell are we getting ready for?”
“Emily—”
“No, you know what? Don’t try and make me feel better. I’m sick of this. I can’t take it anymore, I can’t take it. I’m done, let them kill me.” She stepped away from the car into the grass near the parking area and screamed. “You hear me, you son
of a bitch? Come kill me, you chicken-shit, c’mon! What’re you waiting for? You think I’m afraid of you?” She stopped, cried, and dropped to the grass on her butt and fell to her back.
She laid there looking at the beautiful blue sky
and the puffy clouds. It was a picturesque view blurred by tears. In her peripheral vision, she could see Zack standing there, leaning on the car. Part of her wanted him to come over and comfort her, but another part of her didn’t.
He stepped
across the grass and stood over her. He didn’t say anything for the longest time. Then he said, “Don’t you hate it when you get a piece of orange pulp stuck in your teeth?”
She looked at him
, narrowed her eyes in confusion, but didn’t say anything.
He continued. “You know those stringy pieces of membrane? I’ve got one stuck in my teeth. It’s probably going to be there all day.”
She shook her head in annoyance. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about orange pulp being stuck in my teeth. What part didn’t you understand?”
Sitting up in the grass, she shielded her eyes from the sun that was over his shoulder. “You’re insane! Do you know that?”
Zack
turned his lips into a frown and slowly shook his head. “No, I don’t believe I am. I’m quite level-headed. I’d need to see some proof.”
She stood and brushed her new pink shorts off, looking at them for grass stains
, but they were clean. “No, you’re nuts. We’re in the crosshairs here and you’re worried about orange pulp?”
He shrugged and flashed a half-smirk.
“Something is always going to go wrong in life. That’s just the way it is. The difference between people who can weather it, and people who jump off a cliff, is the ones that weather it, know that no matter how dire the situation, they live in the moment and work for the future.”
She sighed in confusion. “
You’re like the Riddler. I don’t know what that means.”
“It means that we just keep pushing forward.
It means we’re not giving up. You’re frustrated, I get that. I am, too. But I don’t give up, and I know you don’t, either.”
Emily chewed on the inside of her cheek and met his eyes. “Okay, so what do we do?”
“We get aggressive. Because I don’t know about you, but I’m not running anymore. I’m sick of running.”
She nodded. “Okay
, I’m down with that. But how?”
“We find out who sent that letter, and we bring the fight to them. If it’s a fake, whoever sent it is going to wish they didn’t.”
“And if it’s real?”
“
Then we end it.”
***
The white sedan pulled up next to them in the parking lot and a pretty but slightly heavy brunette climbed out. Emily couldn’t help but notice she looked a little bit like her friend Tina Pissante.
They caught up to her in the middle of the hotel parking lot. Emily said, “Excuse me?”
The girl turned and looked at them with a smile. “Hi.” She was wearing her Best Western Hotels shirt and the gold pin on her chest said her name was Roxanne.
“
Were you working last night?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
Emily held up the envelope. “Do you remember who brought you this?”
Roxanne nodded. “
Yeah. Why?”
“What did they look like?”
Roxanne looked to Zack, then back to Emily. “Umm, they looked like the guy from Speedy Turtle Courier.”
“It was a courier service?” Emily confirmed.
“Steve. He delivers to us sometimes. They’re right up the street on Beach Bay. I know it was him because as usual, he asked me out.”
Emily smiled. “Thanks for your help.”
“Hey, wait.” Roxanne took a step towards them. “Can I ask what this is about?”
Zack
offered, “We’re just wondering who sent it. Thanks for your help.”
They
turned away and headed back to the car, leaving the girl wondering, but perhaps not too much.
Zack
closed the door. “I guess that was easy.”
“Too easy
.”
“Yeah, what’re the chances they’re going to tell us anything? We’re not cops.”
Emily stuck out her boobs and smiled. “I guess we have to hope Steve is working. And that he thinks I’m cute.”
They headed up the road and
pulled into the Speedy Turtle parking lot. The green and brown building had a disproportionately large turtle on the roof, with wheels on its feet indicating speeding forward motion.
“Do you think this is the place?”
Zack joked.
Emily eyed the oversized turtle. “Maybe. If only it had some sort of sign.”
“Yeah, maybe a small turtle on the door.”
They got out and went into the building. To the left of the room were
art and paper supplies, greeting cards, and other examples of marketing concepts. To the right were several green bicycles dressed in Speedy Turtle graphics, parked side-by-side. They walked up to the counter and Emily smiled when she saw the nametag for Steve.
“Hi, you
’re Steve,” she said.
His eyes lit up when he saw her. “Hi, yes
, I am Steve. And you are?”
“I’
m Amber.” She blinked her eyes wide and tilted her head.
“Well
, hi, Amber. Do I know you?”
She smacked her tongue, “Duh, you don’t remember me?” She touched his arm. “I’m friends with Roxanne.”
He scratched at his balding head and crossed his arms. “I have to say, you look really familiar, but I don’t remember you, which is hard to believe. Someone as pretty as you would be hard to forget.”
“Oh, you’re
going to make me blush, you stop.”
Steve touched his chin. “You do look really familiar
; it’s killing me. Where did we meet?”
“Over at the Best Western. I was there talking to Roxy and you were delivering something. It was a while ago. But I remember Roxy saying how cute you were.”
He smiled. “She said that?”
“Oh yeah, she loves it when you ask her out.”
He rolled his eyes. “Then why does she always say no?”
“C’mon
, Steve, you know us girls. We play hard to get. You have to wear us down sometimes.”
“What about you? Maybe we could go out sometime?”
This guy didn’t waste any time. “Oh, I’m flattered, really. But I couldn’t do that to Roxy.”
He nodded in understanding. “Yeah,
she’s a tough nut to crack. I was thinking, maybe it would make her jealous enough to give me a chance. I’m a nice guy, I just, you know…don’t have much luck with the ladies.”
She touched his arm again in passing. “C’mon
, Steve, you’re playing with me.”
“No, really. I think I come on too strong sometimes.”
Emily held her fingers up in a pinch. “Maybe a little. Let me give you a piece of advice. Girls like it when you play a little uninterested, in shows you’re confident. And trust me, Steve,” she looked at Zack with a smile, “confidence is very sexy. Just be sure of yourself and own it. And maybe I’ll talk to Roxy for you and drop a subtle hint about what a nice guy you are.”
His face lit up. “You’d do that for me?”
“Sure, no problem.”
“I’d
really appreciate that.”
“It’s nothing.”
“If there’s anything I can ever do for you, just name it.”
She shrugged. “Actually, there is something. You
delivered a letter last night to the Best Western, for an Emily Bontrager?”
He furled his brow.
“Emily is my sister,” she added. “She’s staying the weekend, but didn’t want to stay at our crappy apartment.”
“Oh, yeah
,” he said, but didn’t offer anything else.
“I was wondering if you could tell me who sent her that letter.”
Steve frowned. “Why?”
She looked around and then back to him with a long audible sigh. “Truth is, Steve, my sister’s ex is a bit of a psycho, and there was something in that letter that freaked her out. So we wanted to know if it was him.”
Steven shrugged. “Well, I didn’t receive the letter myself, but I can look up who sent it.”
“That would be great.”
He started clicking around on the computer on his desk. “Hmm…it says here it was sent by Rook-and-Knight Logistics. It was paid in cash though, so someone was physically here.”
Emily looked over at
Zack, then back to Steve. “That’s all is says?”
Steve nodded. “Sorry, that’s it.
We don’t generally ask for identification to send a letter.”
“Well, what if something criminal was in there?”
Steve pointed up to the cameras. “Well, the police could see who it was, but I can’t tell you that. The camera feeds aren’t accessible to employees. Sorry. They’re locked up and only the district manager can access them.”
Emily nodded. “I understand. But that’s okay. I appreciate your help.”
She turned to walk out when Steve stopped her. “Hey, are you really going to talk to Roxanne for me?”
Emily smiled. “You can count on it.” They went outside and got back into the car. She pulled the door shut. “Rook and
Knight Logistics?”
Zack
started the car. “That’s definitely our guy.”
“So he’s some sort of chess player?” She clicked her seatbelt.
“Evidently.”
Emily took out her phone to do some research.
She also had one more little thing to do. Dialing the Best Western, she asked for Roxanne and put down her best pitch for Roxanne to give Steve one date. After some convincing, she actually went for it and agreed to give him one date. She called Steve at Speedy Turtle and advised him to ask her out one more time, and if she said yes, to be himself and be cool. Maybe it would work out, maybe not.
“You’re impressive
,” Zack said.
She flipped her hair and joked, “I am an actress.”