Catching You (14 page)

“All right, so are you going to tell me or what?” she asked.
Bryn sounded more grouchy than usual.

“Yeah, she said that we needed each other more now that Ryan
was gone and that got me thinking. Could she be saying that so she will have
people to collaborate her story when she gets questioned about any involvement
in the accident? I think she knows something and isn’t telling me.”

“What do you think it is?” Bryn asked.

“I’m not sure, but let’s think of everyone that knows about
the prank,” I said starting to tick off names; you, Nick, of course, Elisabeth
and let’s not forget Derrick.”I stopped for a moment. “Am I the only one who
didn’t know about this?” I asked.

“Yeah. I’m sorry, but we didn’t want to tell you what we
were planning on doing for fear that you would tell Ryan and everything would
be ruined.”

“That must have been what Nick and Derrick were talking
about at the funeral. I saw them talking and he looked very nervous, like he
was doing something wrong. Then when I found him at Ryan’s house, he told me
that he needed to talk to me about something and when I finally got him alone,
Nick asked me to go get something.” I took a breath. And then when I came back
he and Derrick were fighting. I heard him tell Derrick that he had better not
tell me anything or else he’d be sorry. I didn’t know what that meant then, but
now since you told me Nick killed Ryan, it makes much more sense to me.”

“Wait, let me get this right. I told you that Nick had
something to do with the accident and now you think that he wasn’t alone? Is it
Elisabeth or Derrick? You can’t just go around accusing everyone of murder
because you feel like it.” She said I blew the horn at someone trying to move
into my lane. What was up with drivers right now? It’s not like it was rush
hour or anything. I glanced at my watch to make sure; yeah it was only 3’o
clock.

I turned my attention back to Bryn. “ It’s not Derrick, he
wouldn’t do that to me. And you keep saying that you lost a friend, but from
what I can tell, with friends like you, who needs enemies. I’d do anything for
any of you, but you guys don’t do the same for me. Heck, if Nick was really
Ryan’s best friend he wouldn’t even think to mess with the brakes of his car,”
I said angrily.

“I know that we haven’t been as good friends as you and
Elizabeth, but do you really want to throw away twelve years of friendship
because of this…” Her voice got soft.

“So, you’re telling me that I should forget that my friend
killed my boyfriend and just go on with my life? I don’t think so! I want to know
the truth and if that means believing anyone can be a suspect, so be it,” I
said getting angrier.

I made it through the light right before it turned red and
breathed a sigh of relief. I just wanted to get home. I tilted the phone closer
to my ear, to fiddle with the radio knob. If someone else was doing this while
driving, I’d be screaming at them, but at the moment I didn’t really care. I
knew that if a police car were behind me, I would definitely be getting a
ticket though. Driving without a hands-free device was now against the law. A
few more turns and I’d be home.

“I already told you that I talked to Derrick about the
accident and he told me everything.” I sighed. I began slowing my speed down as
I saw a police car driving around the street next to mine. That’s all that I
needed was to get pulled over a few miles from home. “I just don’t know if I’m
doing the right thing anymore. I want to know what happened, but when I finally
confront Nick, you know that things will change.”

Bryn paused. “Lauren, they changed the night of the accident
and that’s why you can’t give up now. You said yourself that you needed to know
what really happened that night, ” she asked gently. I pulled into my driveway
and shut off the engine.

“Hold on.” I struggled to take my seatbelt off without dropping
the phone on the floor.

“All right, I’m back now.” I slammed the door shut, happy to
be home.

I pushed open the door. “I’m home.” I yelled holding my cell
phone in my left ear. I could hear Bryn talking, but couldn’t make out what she
was saying. My mother came downstairs a frown on her face.

“Hey Bryn, I got to go. My mom wants to talk to me.” I
paused, “I’ll call you later.” I closed the phone shut and stood there waiting.

“Is something wrong?” I asked, setting my purse on the front
table.

“Yes, something is wrong. Spenser now has a cold thanks to
your little slip and slide adventure the other day.”

“I don’t get what the problem is, Mom. You know Spenser
usually gets sick more than Noah does. You know that it probably wasn’t the
slip n slide, but the fact that he went to bed with a wet head last night. I
don’t understand what the big deal is, anyway. You are used to this by now. He
has always been a sick little kid.”

She sat down on the last step, head in her hands. I’d never
seen my mother act like this over a cold and wondered if there was something
wrong that she wasn’t telling me about.

“Mom, is something else wrong?” I asked, suddenly worried.

She shook her head. “It’s just, it hit me today that I only
have a few more weeks with you and then you’re off to college and I won’t see
you until Thanksgiving. I guess I’m not used to that yet.”

I started to laugh. “Is that all that’s wrong?” I
questioned. “You had me worried.”

“I raised you better than to sit here and laugh at your
mother.” I kept on laughing, unable to catch my breath.

“I’m sorry, Mom. It’s just funny to hear you complain that
you’re not going to be able to see me for a few months. I thought that you
would be happy to have me gone.”

“Why would you even think that? I’m going to miss you while
you’re gone and probably count the days until you come back home.”

“You’re probably just going to miss the fact that I’ll
baby-sit for free,” I teased.

“No, it’s not that. Is that what you think?” she asked. I
shook my head. “If this summer had made me realize anything it would be the
fact that life is precious and any one of us could be gone in an instant and
that made me even more thankful for you, and your brothers.”

“I know what you mean. After the accident, I had a hard time
believing that God would be cruel enough to take Ryan away from me, but then I
began to realize that he must have done it for a reason. I still haven’t quite
figured the reason out, but I’m sure I will in time.”

“That’s rather mature of you. Maybe you should start going
to church again. I know that you enjoyed going to youth group with Bryn a few
years ago.” My mother brushed away a stray hair that was in my eyes.

“Right now I’m more concerned about making sure that I make
the rest of my life count for something,” I said, ignoring the mention of Bryn.
“Well, I’m going to go upstairs and lay down for a bit before dinner if that’s
alright with you?” I questioned.

She nodded, “Go ahead.”

I slipped upstairs and headed towards my room. I looked into
my brother’s room and saw them both glued to the television.

“Hey guys,” I said as I passed the door. They mumbled responses,
but didn’t move. I gave a little chuckle. I walked to my bedroom and closed the
door behind me. I needed another shower after working today. I still smelled
like burnt fries. I walked into the bathroom to turn on the water when my cell
phone rang. I wiped my now wet hand on my jeans and grabbed it off the floor
where it had fallen out of my purse.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Bryn. I hadn’t heard back from you yet, so I
figured I’d give you a call and make sure that you weren’t in big trouble with
your parents.”

“Nah, my mom just wanted to have the ‘I’m going to miss you’
chat. I guess she’s going through empty nest syndrome.”

“Oh, that’s good. For a second, I thought she was going to
tell you that you couldn’t go on the trip with us.”

“Nope, I’m still going. I can’t wait!” I said excitedly.
Truthfully, I couldn’t. I’d been looking forward to this trip since freshmen
year, but I have to admit I’m getting butterflies Bryn didn’t say anything.

“Are you still there?” I asked, glancing over at the
bathroom mirror, now covered in steam.

“I’m here. You don’t need to be nervous. It’s just the five
of us spending a week at Nick’s parent’s cabin,” she said. “I thought maybe you
had more to say, so I stayed quiet.”

“I know, I just can’t explain it. I hate to cut this
conversation short, but you caught me at a bad time, I was just about to take a
shower. Can I call you back?”

“Sure.” I thanked her, hung up the phone, and set it on the
bathroom counter. I got out of my clothes and jumped in the shower, the hot
water feeling nice against my chilled skin. It was almost 90° out, and here I
was cold. I didn’t’ quite understand it. I lathered myself up with soap and
closed my eyes. I hadn’t been able to remember much about the accident, but
suddenly I remembered something. The car was silver, like Bryn’s. And, Bryn had
come into the hospital with a black eye. I didn’t believe her story about a
headache at all. She must have smacked her head off of the steering wheel at
contact.

I remember Bryn waving goodbye and getting into a silver
Buick. I had not recognized the car, but didn’t think about it until now. I
rinsed myself off and grabbed the shampoo to wash my hair. It was beginning to
make more sense. I shut off the water, shivering as the cold air hit my skin. I
opened the shower door, reaching for a towel, but found nothing. I could have
sworn that there was one hanging there when I got in. I shook my head and
yelled.

“Mom, I need a towel in here.” I waited a few minutes until
I heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs, and my door opened.

 “Here you go.” I thanked her and grabbed the towel without
glancing up. I wrapped myself up, got out of the shower, and headed to the
bedroom to get dressed. Now, I knew what I needed to do, but the only hard part
was going to be keeping it from Bryn.

I slipped on my jeans from earlier and grabbed a new shirt
from my closet. It was a teal long sleeve scoop neck t-shirt. Long sleeve t-shirt.
I was chilled to the bone. How could I have not seen it all along? I had to
find out the truth. And I knew just the person who would be willing to help me.
I quickly dialed Derrick’s number, praying that he’d pick up. It went straight
to voicemail, damn! I left him a short message.

“Derrick, its Lauren I really need to talk to you.”I hung up
the phone and sat down on the bed. I couldn’t do anything else until I heard
from Derrick. I just hoped he’d get the message tonight.

I glanced around my room. It was an utter disaster.
Suitcases were tossed gingerly on the floor, piles of clothes all over my bed
and I hadn’t even started packing yet. I scratched my head, not knowing exactly
where I should start, when there was a knock at my bedroom door.

“Come in,” I yelled.

My mother walked in and stopped dead in her tracks. “Your
room is a complete mess. Are you sure you don’t need any help packing?” She
asked quickly, walking over to stand by the bed. I knew exactly what she was
going to do. If I let her, she’d have all of my things packed in the next hour
and by the time I got to college I would have no idea where anything was and
probably wouldn’t find it for a week.

“No, it’s okay, Mom. I’ve got it under control.” I shooed
her out of the room.

She still stood in the doorway. “I just wanted you to know
that I’m going to miss you. The house is going to be quieter without you
around.” I laughed.

“Are you serious? You have two five years old running
around. And we all know that they don’t know the definition of quiet yet, so
try again.”

“Fine, I know I’ve said it before, but I am going to miss
you a lot. I’ll probably be counting down the days to Thanksgiving break right
as you walk out that door.” She paused, “Are you sure you want to go? You can
always delay college a semester and start at Saddle Ridge in January. I promise
that I won’t be mad if you do.” I shook my head,

“Sorry Mom, I’m going to U.S.C. And there is nothing you can
say to change my mind.”

“I know I just had to try.” I heard a car horn, and glanced
out the window. “Well, that’s Nick, I’ve got to go. I’ll be back in a week.” I
stopped in the doorway. “And don’t worry about the mess. I’ll clean it when I
get back.” I smiled, knowing that as soon as I left she would be upstairs
cleaning up.

I grabbed my duffel bag, which had seen better days, and
leaned over to kiss my mom’s cheek. She just stood in my bedroom door,
squeezing an old T-shirt of mine. You would think that she was sending me off
to war, with how dramatic she was being. I was only going to be at the cabin a
week, it wasn’t the end of the world.

I ran down the stairs two at a time, landing at the bottom
with a bang. My mother gave me a stern look. “Bye Mom.” I grinned, closing the
door behind me. I had been waiting for this all summer and after the one that
I’d had, I definitely deserved a break. I’d heard a lot of good things about
Nick’s parents’ cabin, but this was going to be my first time there. I just
hoped it wasn’t going to be my last.

Nick stood by the car. His hair had grown a little longer in
the past few months, so now instead of the barely any hair, he was finally able
to spike up the ends and I secretly thought he looked a little like Spike from
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
. I wasn’t going to tell
him that because then he’d get an even bigger ego than he already had.

“You look good.” I smiled, pointing to the nice jeans and
polo shirt he was wearing.

“So do you.” I’d decided to wear a tan skirt that flared out
with a teal tank top. It was much cooler than wearing shorts.

He grinned, reached for my duffel bag, and threw it in the
trunk of the car, that until then I didn’t know it was open.