Chicks, Man

Levi.

“Yeah. Yes! I was so hurt, I only pretended to like him because I wanted to make you…um…jealous. How immature of me.” I pray he eats the lies I’m feeding him. He starts rocking back and forth on his heel, tapping the knife against his thigh. A lackluster smile appears, and hope surges inside my belly. “Please untie me. If you say you really like me and I like you, we can talk this out. I never thought you would feel this way about me. I’ve dreamed…hoped…” The words burn my throat like acid. I push away my real thoughts, expelling a deep breath, and conjure up fake tears. “I can’t believe you did all this for me. Please, I need you to just hold me. Tell me we can have a future and see where this can go.”

The muscles in his face tighten, then transform into a toothy smile. He waves the knife in the air. “I knew you would see this the same way.” He points the knife in my direction. “You’re not gonna run or anything, right? If I untie you?”

“No! Of course not. I just want to be near you.” Please bite. Please bite. He contemplates my words, then nods eagerly and steps toward me. “Once everything settles down, we can get a place. I’ll have so much money, I can give you whatever you want. More than he could.” He bends forward, taking the knife and slicing through the ropes, releasing my hands. Pain radiates up my arms from being captive in that position for so long, and I groan. “There’s this great spot we can go eat. I’ve been wanting to take you there.” He moves down to cut my legs free. “You can meet my dad. He’s going to love you.” Once my legs are unbound, I sit up, but not too fast to alarm him. He’s showing no signs of hesitancy and helps me to stand. When our eyes meet, his are filled with optimism as he wraps his arms around me, bringing me in for a hug. I return the embrace, feeling him relax around me.

When he becomes too lax, I lift my knee and shove it as hard as I can into his balls. He howls, his arms twitching and releasing me. I turn on my heels and run, making it down the hallway before I hear his angry voice.

“Hannah!” Braydon yells, but I don’t stop. I race through the house until I make a quick right into the living room I visited sometime earlier. I’m halfway through the room, only mere feet away from the front door, when his hands latch around my neck and he barrels into me, throwing me to the ground. I scream in horror and pain. Both consume me when his knife slices into my side.

Levi

We pull up to Jake’s, and Kipley’s Tahoe is barely in park before we both jump out. The second I see her, I’m going to pull her into my arms and hold her until my uneasiness settles. Then I’m going to throttle her for giving everyone such a scare. On the quiet drive over here, I took the time to reflect on the last couple weeks, wishing I’d handled things differently, ashamed I ever suggested we keep our feelings for one another private. I should have been honest from the get-go with the case. I know better than anyone how resilient Hannah is. She would have stepped up and helped solve the problem with the strange occurrences. If anyone would have been able to, it would have been her.

Once I make sure she’s okay, I need to confess everything. How I feel. Where my intentions lie. I need her to know I fucking love her with every fiber of my being.

We enter through the front, and the smell of stale beer smacks me in the face, twisting my stomach. “Lunch doesn’t start ’til noon,” the bartender calls out as he wipes down the bar.

My eyes trail down the long bar in search of her. “Not here to eat. Looking for someone,” Kip says, his eyes skating around the freestanding pub tables.

“Unless it’s me, I can’t help you. I’m the only one here. Betty gets in at one.”

His words don’t register at first. They can’t because that means she’s not here. Time slows as my eyes scale the bar, refusing to believe she isn’t. Just look harder. She’s here. He just hasn’t noticed her yet. But who wouldn’t notice Hannah Matthews?

“Yeah, that can’t be. My sister’s phone was pinged here. She’s here.”

“No one’s been here since close of yesterday. Sorry, buddy. Maybe she left her phone here. Let me go check the lost and found.” He walks off into the backroom, and Kipley and I stand there frozen.

“Kip—”

“Don’t go there. There’s got to be an explanation for all this. Hannah’s not irresponsible like this.”