Learning Me (Lightworker Trilogy #1) (14 page)

Sam mulled that over. He nodded to himself and said, “There’s only one thing for you to do. You’ve got to say whatever it was she said and see if it works.”

“I’m not even sure what exactly she said. All I know is, it was a language I’d never heard before.”

“You have to try. It’s the only way I can think of to get your stuff out of that apartment without anyone knowing. Then we can worry about what to tell your parents.”

“Okay, I’ll try.” She took a deep breath and concentrated on her memories of the evening, trying to focus on the words Lauren had spoken before they disappeared from the apartment. The whole thing seemed hopeless. She didn’t even know what language it was, but she kept focusing until two words came to mind. “I think I have it.”

“Well, what are we waiting for?” he asked. “Go for it.”

“’We’?” she asked. “Are you saying you want to go, too?”

“Yes,” he said without hesitation. “You need help and I’m going to be there. Besides, you’ll need someone to back up whatever story you tell, so I might as well go all the way.”

Courtney couldn’t believe how quickly he’d turned around, but it made her feel good to know he was on her side. “Okay, then.” She held his hand as she repeated the words she thought her cousin had said.

For a minute, nothing happened and she feared she’d either gotten the words wrong or she wasn’t capable of doing what her cousin could do. Just as she was about to give up, they were standing in the living room of Lauren’s apartment.

Her eyes widened as she took in the surroundings, not sure she believed what she saw.

I did it.

A slight thrill ran through her body at the knowledge, but she kept her focus. She had to get out of there fast with her stuff.

For his part, Sam wasn’t looking too well. He held on to the side of the couch with an expression on his face that looked to be a mixture of nausea and shock. “You really did it,” he managed to say.

“I know. I think if you weren’t here, I wouldn’t believe it myself.” Courtney checked the room, looking for anything that belonged to her. Her purse lay on a chair next to the couch and her cell phone was on the coffee table. Courtney hastily retrieved the items and took Sam’s hand again.

“Are you sure that’s everything?”

Courtney nodded. “Are you ready to do this again?”

“I think so.” He squeezed her hand, looking as though he were bracing himself for the shock.

Satisfied he was ready; Courtney concentrated on the drive-in as she repeated the words. Just like that, they were standing back on the dirt ground near his car.

“That was better than the last time,” Sam commented. “Okay, now we need a story to tell your parents about where you’ve been.”

“Are you sure you want to back me up on that? There’s a chance one of her neighbors saw us and knows I was there, so you could end up in a lot of trouble.”

Sam nodded firmly, gently rubbing her arm. “I’m positive, Courtney. I have to admit that this is really weird for me, but you’re right. This is a part of who you are and I’m going to have to learn to deal with it. If that means covering for something like this, then that’s what I’ll do.”

Courtney threw her arms around him, thrilled he was willing to accept her new reality. She still had no idea what she was going to do from here, but she knew that there was no pretending like nothing ever happened. “Thanks. You have no clue how happy I am to hear you say that.”

“So, what are we going to tell them?” He asked as he took a seat on the hood of his car.

“I really don’t know. Like I said, someone might have seen me arrive, so I can’t pretend I wasn’t there at all. Maybe I could say I left early to meet you. That won’t explain me being late though.”

Sam considered a minute and then answered, “You and I decided to go to some place out of town and my battery died. You couldn’t call because we were out of the cell signal area. Finally, some random person was driving by and gave me a jump.”

“I guess that could work,” she decided. “I guess I better get back now before it gets much later.”

“I’ll follow you,” he said.

Now that they’d settled on a plan, Courtney felt marginally better, but her stomach still twisted at the idea of having to lie. She wasn’t sure she could keep up the act for long once her parents learned of Lauren’s disappearance, but she was going to do her best since Sam was willing to put himself on the line for her.

The drive back to her house was nerve-wracking. She had no idea how she managed to keep control of the car with her shaking hands. Now that she had time to think, she had no idea what she’d thought running would do. It would only serve to make her look guilty, especially if she hadn’t been able to get her stuff out of Lauren’s place. She shook her head and willed herself to relax as she pulled into the driveway.

As she’d suspected, the lights were on downstairs. Courtney hadn’t even had a chance to cut the engine before her parents were outside, rushing to the car. Courtney opened her door, bracing for the interrogation.

“Where in the hell have you been?” Her father asked. “We’ve been sitting up all night waiting for you and you never answered your phone. We were about to call the police.”

“I’m sorry,” Courtney apologized. “Let’s go inside so I can explain.”

“You’d better hope you have a good one, missy,” her mother commented.

Chapter Nineteen

The door slammed behind them as Courtney and Sam took seats in the living room. Her parents sat across from them with angry expressions on their faces that made her fight the urge to squirm in discomfort.

“I’m sorry, Mister and Missus Thompson,” Sam said. “This is really my fault. Courtney and I met up tonight to go out and my battery died. It took forever for someone to come by and give us a jump. I’m sorry we had you worried.”

“You should be sorry.” Her father glared at them. “We’ve been trying to get in touch with you for hours. Courtney, what the hell were you even doing out with him anyway? You told us you were going to Lauren’s.”

“I did,” Courtney answered. “Sam called and Lauren was getting tired anyway, so I said we could go out for a little while.”

“Why didn’t you tell us that?” Her mother said with an exasperated look on her face. “You know you’re supposed to tell us if your plans change in case anything like that happens.”

“I’m really sorry,” Courtney said. “I don’t know what else to say…. I just forgot until the battery died and then I couldn’t call. I couldn’t get any cell signal.”

Her mother sighed. “I really hope you’ll remember this the next time you change your plans at the last minute like that. You have no idea the things that run through a parent’s mind when their child’s not where they’re supposed to be.”

Guilt tugged at Courtney so strongly she almost confessed to everything right then and there. Her mother’s words brought her aunt and uncle to mind. What would they think when Lauren turned up missing? They’d be devastated when she failed to come back. “Right. I promise that won’t happen again.”

“See that it doesn’t,” her father said. “Why don’t you say goodnight to Sam now? We should all be getting to bed.”

“Okay,” Courtney agreed. “I’ll just walk him out to the car.”

“We expect you back in this house in five minutes. Is that clear?” He watched her closely, as though he were trying to figure out if she was going to lie to him or not.

“I promise,” Courtney vowed. “Come on, Sam.” She stood and walked to the door with Sam close behind.

Once they were next to his car, Sam climbed inside and Courtney leaned into the window. “Thanks a lot,” she told him. “I really owe you for backing me up tonight. I know you aren’t too happy with this stuff, but it means a lot that you’re willing to help.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he assured her. “I’m just glad you’re okay. Just thinking about losing you…” his voice trailed off as he reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “You should probably get inside before they freak out more.”

“Yeah…” She didn’t bother mentioning his change of subject. Instead, she leaned closer and kissed him. “Good night.”

“Good night.”

Sam started his car as Courtney stepped back and turned to go back into the house. He didn’t back the car out of the driveway until she was inside. Courtney just hoped her parents wouldn’t interrogate her further tonight. She couldn’t handle the idea of having to lie more than she already had. The lies she already had to spew made her guilt much worse than earlier.

****

“Courtney, wake up!”

Two days later, the frantic voice of her mother pulled Courtney from a restless sleep. Courtney opened her eyes slowly, yawning. She glanced at the clock and frowned. It wasn’t even time for the alarm to go off yet. “Mom? What’s going on?”

“Courtney, your aunt and uncle called this morning. They said Lauren was supposed to meet them for breakfast and never showed. She’s not answering her phone either, and they want to know if you heard anything from her.”

“No,” Courtney answered as a knot formed in her stomach. “I haven’t talked to her since I left her place the other night.”

“Did she say anything about going out or having someone else over?”

Courtney shook her head. “She just told me she was probably going to watch some TV and crash for the night.”

“That was it? You’re sure?”

“Completely,” she affirmed. “I wish there was something more I could tell you.” The knot in her stomach grew more with each lie she told. She had to fight not to show any guilt, especially now that Lauren’s disappearance had been noticed. “Is there anything I can do?”

“Just let us know if you think of anywhere she could’ve gone.”

“I will,” she promised.

As soon as her mother left the room, Courtney grabbed her phone and called Sam. She paced about the room while she listened to the rings, willing him to pick up.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

“I’m freaking right now,” Courtney said quietly. “My mom just came in and started asking about Lauren. She said that her parents called to say she was supposed to meet them this morning and never showed up.”

“What’d you say?”

“She asked if Lauren said anything about going somewhere or meeting anyone and I said no. Sam, they’re going to start looking for her and I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if I can keep this up, especially if my aunt and uncle are around.”

“Court, relax,” he said in a soft, calm tone. “Stick to what you said and remember that she tried to kill you. She killed your real parents, so don’t let yourself get caught up in guilt here.”

“I know… You’re right. I’ve gotta get myself together before I see them again. They’ll probably be coming over soon.”

“Would it help if I came by?”

Courtney stopped pacing and took a seat at her desk. Knowing she’d have him there with her eased the tension in her body. “That would be great,” she agreed. “Thanks, Sam.”

“You don’t have to thank me. I probably owed you one anyway for the way I acted before.”

“Are you serious? I’ve thrown a lot at you lately and you were just worried I was moving too fast. What do you have to be sorry about?”

“If I hadn’t been such an ass about it, I might have been there with you is all.”

“Sam—”

“Don’t, okay? It’s the truth, but there’s nothing I can do about it now except try to help. I’ll see you later.”

“Later,” she said. She ended the call with a mix of conflicting emotions fighting for dominance within her. All she knew was she had to get herself in line before she had to face any of her family again, but she couldn’t get that night out of her mind. There were so many questions. How had Lauren been the same person who’d killed her real parents? If Lauren really was so concerned with her following in her family’s footsteps, why didn’t she attempt what she’d done the other night years ago?

Courtney thought about all the times she and Lauren had been alone over the years, especially the times when Courtney stayed at Lauren’s apartment. Her skin crawled just thinking of sleeping on the couch while Lauren was in the next room. It would’ve been so easy for her never to have woken up again.

Stop.

The thoughts were too disturbing; Courtney had no choice but to push them out of her mind to save her sanity. To take her mind off of the chilling possibilities, Courtney focused her attention on getting ready for the day. She dressed slowly, hoping to delay leaving her room as long as possible. At this point, she’d gladly welcome being grounded until college. At least then she wouldn’t have to see anyone.

She trudged out of her room and down the hallway. She pushed open the kitchen door and the smell of coffee percolating assaulted her nostrils. She cringed; she’d never liked the smell of the stuff. She considered it one of the foulest odors in the world. Her mood sank even more when she saw the extra people sitting at the kitchen table.

“Aunt Danielle, Uncle Luke… Hi!” Courtney forced a smile as she crossed the kitchen floor to give them each a hug. “Any word on Lauren?”

Her uncle shook his head. “I’m afraid not. We’ve called everywhere we can think of and no one has heard from her. We tried calling the police, but they won’t do anything yet.”

Courtney fought to keep her voice calm at the mention of police. “Why not?”

“They don’t start looking immediately after a report’s been filed. She’s an adult and she could’ve left on her own, according to them. We tried to explain that it wasn’t like her to not show up somewhere, but they wouldn’t listen,” he answered.

Hot tears stung at the corners of her eyes, threatening to burst free any moment. The pain in her uncle’s voice was almost too much to handle. Like her, they were going to have to live with an endless list of questions that would likely never be answered. “I’m sorry,” she said.

“Thanks, Sweetie,” her aunt said. “Your mom said she’d asked you if Lauren mentioned anywhere she might be going and you were going to think about it some more. Anything come to mind?”

Courtney shook her head. “I’m sorry, but no. She told me she was going to veg in front of the TV. You know her, unless there’s a game, she’s couch-bound or at the library.”

“True,” her aunt conceded with a sad smile. “She’s always got her head in a book.”

The sudden knock on the front door was like an angelic chorus to her ears. She’d never been more relieved at an interruption. “I’ll get that. It might be Sam. I told him what was going on and he wanted to come by to keep me company.”

Courtney made a hasty retreat to the front door. She peeked outside, a smile touching her features at the sight of her boyfriend on the front porch. For a brief moment, she’d been scared it could be some investigator coming to ask questions. She opened the door, whispering to Sam. “You have great timing. They’re here.”

“Glad to be of help,” he teased in a whisper.

The teasing helped to ease her nerves, which she suspected was his plan from the start. “They’re in the kitchen. Come on, we’ll make an excuse to get out of here.”

The two joined everyone in the kitchen. If Courtney didn’t know better, she’d swear Sam was an old hand at stuff like this, because he was smooth as could be. He didn’t show the slightest hint of deception the whole time he chatted with her family. In fact, he somehow managed to keep everyone’s mood light, and before she knew it, they were practically pushing her and Sam out the door.

As soon as Courtney and Sam were safely in his car, Courtney turned to him with wide eyes. “How on earth did you just do that? I mean, my parents should want to lock me in my room right now for my own safety, not be insisting I go out.”

He shrugged as he pulled out onto the road. “What can I say? When you’re good, you’re good. Besides, I didn’t want you stuck in there with them all day. You’ve had enough problems without driving yourself nuts with guilt.”

“Thanks,” she said. “So where are we going?”

“Let’s go to the creek,” he answered. “It’ll be quiet and you won’t have to worry about running into anyone.”

“Sounds perfect,” she answered. Courtney suspected this break wouldn’t be much of one, though. There was still a lot she didn’t understand and there had to be a way to get answers. Maybe Lauren had left some hints behind in her apartment.

“I just had a thought…”

“Why am I suddenly worried?”

“Hear me out,” Courtney said. “There’s a lot I still don’t understand and I want to try and figure it out.”

“Like what?” He made a left turn before glancing briefly at her with obvious concern in his eyes.

“Like what she really was. She claimed she killed my parents, but how is that possible?”

Sam shrugged. “I don’t know, but do you really think that’s going to help? Sneaking back into her apartment could cause a lot more trouble than it’s worth. What if you’re in there when someone comes by to search? Her roommate could be there.”

“I don’t care. What if she wasn’t working alone? There could be someone else out there for me to worry about and I wouldn’t know until it’s too late,” Courtney insisted.

Sam frowned as he considered her words. “I get what you’re saying, I do, but there’s a lot of risks to think about. You have no idea who is or isn’t in that apartment and you can’t find out until you’re in there yourself, not unless you want to get caught peeking in the windows. You’re talking about making yourself look guilty.”

“I am guilty, but that’s not the point. I need to find out what I can about her so I know whether or not I need to be looking over my shoulder.”

“Didn’t you say she only attacked you because she said you were starting to get too deep into things like your parents did? Maybe your parents were right to keep this hidden from you all this time and you’d be better off just dropping all of this.”

“No way. I’m not turning back now, not after what she did to my real parents and what she tried to do to me. I’m starting to understand them, Sam. I’m understanding who they were. There’s just one thing I need to know.”

Sam sighed, a resigned expression on his face. “What?”

“Can you?”

He pulled the car into the dirt lot in front of the creek and turned off the engine. “Are you saying you want to do the same things they did and you want me to just accept that without question? If you are, I don’t know if that’s possible right now.”

“I’m not saying that I’ve made up my mind on that; I’m just saying that it’s a possibility. I’m going in there to get some answers either way, but I want to know you’ll at least try to understand. Can you do that?” Courtney held her breath as she waited for his answer. Just thinking about him turning his back on her made her feel sick.