CHAPTER Seven
Jimmy woke up the next morning completely exhausted and sore, and wished he could simply lie in bed for a few more hours, his mind focused on nothing but the TV and whatever programs they liked to spit out between six and ten. Of course knowing the consequences of such actions, Jimmy didn’t allow himself to get sucked in and forced himself to his feet, his body moaning with protests as his joints popped and his muscles flexed.
Oh god, he said to himself while putting his hands on his lower back and stretching his chest upward.
A smile followed.
Upstairs a pot of coffee was waiting along with Alan who was just finishing with a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios.
“You’re up later than usual,” Alan noted.
“Yeah, couldn’t sleep,” Jimmy said while pouring himself some coffee, one which he added plenty of cream and sugar to.
“I know, me either. I was too worked up about the fight with Brett.”
“What fight?” Kelly Hawthorn asked while stepping into the kitchen.
“Ah it wasn’t really a fight,” Jimmy said.
“Yeah, Brett Murphy snagged Jimmy’s bike while he was taking a break from riding and we went and got it back from him,” Alan said.
“Was anyone hurt?” she asked.
“No, well, maybe just Brett’s ego,” Jimmy said and then took a sip of coffee. “Ugh, god.”
“Your brother made it,” Kelly said.
“Hey, I’ve never made coffee before,” Alan protested. “It’s always ready when I get up.”
“Tell him how many scoops of coffee you added.”
“Ten.”
“What?” Jimmy looked down at his cup. “It’s only supposed to be five, and that’s when you make a full pot.”
“Yeah, well, I made us ten cups and thought that meant ten scoops.” Alan shrugged. “And I didn’t really think it tasted all that bad.”
“Not that bad, it’s terrible. And how in the world did you fit ten scoops in that thing?” While asking this Jimmy noticed coffee grounds floating in his cup, which meant it probably hadn’t all fit.
“I just kept pressing it down with my fingers.”
Frustrated because coffee was the cornerstone of a good day, Jimmy set his cup down and said, “You could have just woken me up, I would have made it.”
“I figured you wanted to sleep in after your bike ride last night.”
“Another bike ride,” Kelly said. “Wow, you’re becoming quite the little athlete.”
“Mom!”
“Actually I think he’s riding a lot because he’s nervous about the prom,” Alan said.
Jimmy watched as his mother’s eyes actually seemed to grow while also slightly popping forward. “Jimmy Hawthorn,” she said while crossing her arms, “you have been hiding a girl from us.”
Jimmy could feel himself blushing, one which turned into a glare when he looked at Alan.
“You should see them together, Mom, they make the perfect couple. They even sit together at lunch and walk home together and sometimes they bump into each other on the way to school too and get all shy.”
“How sweet,” Kelly said. “What’s her name?”
“Tina,” Alan said.
“Well Jimmy, I think you should invite Tina over for dinner one of these nights so we can meet her.”
“No!”
“Mom, remember how he used to always say he would never fall in love with anyone, or marry anyone or ever date anyone.”
“I do and now I really have to meet this girl.”
Thanks a lot Alan, Jimmy said to himself while dumping his coffee in the sink. “Mom, can I borrow the car for a moment so I can get some good coffee?”
“Oh, honey, I have to leave for work soon.”
“I’ll be really quick.”
“How about you guys get ready for school and I’ll swing you by McDonalds and then drop you off.”
“Oh man,” Alan said while looking down at his nearly empty bowl. “I just ate.”
“Oh, look at the tears rolling down my cheeks,” Jimmy said to his brother while pointing at his own face, and then to his mother, “That would be great.”
Ten minutes later the three were heading toward McDonalds. Eventually Jimmy would realize he hadn’t thought about Samantha once while in the car, nor what had happened the night before. In fact, it wasn’t until he was at school, quickly finishing his bacon, egg and cheese bagel, and drinking his large, five cream five sugar, coffee that he started to think about it, his mind wondering how many of the guys around him had to still fantasize about being with girls whereas he now knew what it was like. Even better, he didn’t have to wine and dine them in hopes of luring them into bed. Instead he just had to be in the mood.
* * *
Megan’s day did not start out well. First, her alarm clock didn’t go off for some reason or maybe in her sleep she had switched it off without knowing. Because of this, she didn’t get to spend much time in the bathroom and would look like shit for school. Worse, there had been nothing in the kitchen to eat for breakfast.
“I could make you some eggs,” her mother said as Megan franticly looked through the cabinets.
“Mom, I don’t have time for eggs.” She whipped open the cupboard again and looked at the cereal selection. Nothing. She slammed it shut. “There’s nothing to eat.”
“How about some grapes?”
“Grapes? That’s not enough food.” God, her mother’s help was only making things worse.
“Toast.”
“Not enough. I want Frosted Mini Wheats. Why does Tim always eat it all?” When her brother ate cereal he would fill the bowl to the brim and then top it off completely with milk. Five minutes later he would grow full and dump most of the cereal down the garbage disposal, wasting it. This pissed her off, especially since she would now have to go to school hungry and her stomach would be growling all day.
It began at ten.
She was sitting in Calculus, listening to the teacher droll on, when suddenly her stomach noisily cried out for food. Petrified, Megan slammed her fist down into her gut to stop the noise. The damage had been done, however, and everyone knew it was her.
A few moments later it happened again.
She looked around to see if anyone had noticed. No one was looking at her but she knew they had all heard. God, it was so embarrassing.
How far could the sound travel?
She wanted to shrivel up and disappear.
There were a few more roars from within before Calculus was finally over. Unfortunately she still had World Literature and knowing the bitch Mrs. Gliek she would get a detention for her stomach noises because they would be disrupting the class.
That didn’t happen, though her stomach was continuing to growl angrily. Thankfully this was the last class before lunch so she thought the worst of the day was almost over.
This wasn’t the case, but she wouldn’t realize that until later.
“Hey Megan,” a voice said.
Megan turned and saw Steven Charlton coming toward her in the hallway, his class - American Politics - having just gotten out as well. “Hey Steven, how you holding up?”
“Okay, I guess. I was just wondering if you’ve heard from Samantha at all or if your Dad has learned anything.”
“No, nothing really. My Dad says he can’t do anything until she’s been missing for a few days, and even then he thinks she left and went to Hollywood or something.”
Steven’s face twisted while he shook his head. “Samantha didn’t want to go to Hollywood. Why does everyone keep saying that?”
“Because of Misty all those years ago,” Megan said. In 2005 a girl named Misty had dropped out of high school on her eighteenth birthday and left for California to become an actress. Instead of being in blockbuster movies, however, she could be found moaning and groaning all across the Internet in a series of low budget porn videos. It had been quite a scandal, one which caused her parents to leave town, their shame too great. “Everyone thinks all girls want to be actresses and will throw their lives away to try and become one.”
“But that wasn’t - ”
“I know she wouldn’t do something like that,” Megan said.
“You know, if something happened to her and she was kidnapped or attacked, your Dad is losing time. I watch these crimes shows on TV when I can’t sleep and they say the first twenty four hours is the most important and your Dad hasn’t even started to look for clues.”
Megan thought about something for a second and asked, “You two would almost always talk to each other after school, right?”
“Yeah,” Steven said. “It usually took her like twenty minutes to get home, so I’d always give her a chance to get settled. Sometimes we would go out too. I would swing by and pick her up and we’d get ice cream or something, but this week she didn’t want to do that at all because she worried about not fitting in her prom dress.”
Megan saw emotion in his face when he said this and grew even angrier at her father for not doing any investigating, especially knowing Samantha would not want to miss the prom. “Did she answer when you called?”
“No. At first I thought maybe it was taking her longer to walk home, but then when she didn’t answer the second time I just figured she didn’t want to talk.” He shook his head. “I should have known something was wrong and headed over there, but - ”
“It’s not your fault,” Megan said. “And whatever happened I don’t think it happened to her at her house. I think something happened while she was walking home from school. You know, like someone grabbed her from the side of the road or something. There is that stretch by the old Hood place that is pretty much deserted. If someone saw her there walking alone they could have just - ” she saw Jimmy Hawthorn standing there listening to them and turned to him. “You walk by the old Hood place on your way home from school, don’t you?”
“Um, no,” Jimmy said. “I’m a few streets over and that road curves the wrong way.”
“Oh, for some reason I can picture you by that house.”
Jimmy shrugged. “I ride my bike sometimes, so maybe you saw me over there.”
“Hum, maybe that’s it,” Megan said. She then asked, “That area is pretty wooded, right, so do you think someone could have grabbed her from there without anyone seeing?”
Jimmy shrugged again. “Maybe, though why would someone do that?”
“Because there are some sick motherf*ckers out there who can’t get a girl on their own who - ”
The bell rang, cutting Steven off. Right before it rang, Megan thought she saw Jimmy glare at Steven, though maybe it wasn’t so much a glare as a moment of surprise by how quickly he had lashed out at his suggestion. Whatever the reason she didn’t think too much of it right then or there. Later she would, but by then everything would make perfect sense.
* * *
“I saved you a seat,” Tina said with a smile as Jimmy came toward their side of the table, one, which, as usual, they had to themselves. When he didn’t reply to the joke she asked, “What’s wrong?”
Jimmy shook his head. “Oh nothing, I just got caught up back there. It’s nothing though. How are you doing today?”
“I’m okay,” she said, her mind desperately wanting to tell him about what Rebecca was doing, but knowing he probably didn’t want to hear all about her problems. “I looked at dresses yesterday.”
“Oh,” Jimmy said. “That’s cool. I’m probably going to go get a tux later today. What does the dress look like, or is it supposed to be a surprise?”
“Hum, it doesn’t have to be a surprise, but maybe I should keep it one.”
“Very well, then I won’t tell you what my tux is going to look like.”
Tina laughed.
“I should ask though, what are your favorite tie-dye colors.”
“What?”
“For my tux,” Jimmy said. “I was thinking about tie-dying it, but need to know what colors you like.”
“Have you ever seen a rainbow?” Tina asked.
“Um, I believe so,” Jimmy said. “One of those colorful things after a thunderstorm, right? Pot of gold at the end if you can find it?
“Exactly. Well, I don’t like any of those colors. In fact, the only colors I like are white and black.”
“Ah, I see. Black was actually my first plan, but if that didn’t work I would go with the tie-dye. Unless you mean a black and white tie-dye? That would look pretty cool, though people might get dizzy if you spin me on the dance floor.”
Tina smiled. “It’s usually the other way around.”
“What is?”
“The guy spins the girl.”
“Oh.” He shrugged. “I’ve never danced before.”
“Me either.”
The two talked for the rest of lunch and then during gym class as well, the random spread of topics helping keep Tina’s mind off her mother and the frustrating situation she had found herself in.
* * *
“Hey, sorry about this morning,” Alan said to Jimmy once Tina had disappeared into her house. “I couldn’t resist.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it. Mom was bound to find out about her soon anyway.” Jimmy sighed. “I just wish they wouldn’t make such a big joke about it, you know. It’s like they think me dating someone is cute.”
“Like ‘ah, Jimmy has a girlfriend’ kind of thing,” Alan said.
“Yeah. It drives me crazy.”
“I know, but what can you do about it?”
“Nothing.” He took a sip of Coke while saying this.
“Hey let me have some of that,” Alan said.
Jimmy handed over the Coke and watched as his brother chugged a third of it before handing it back. “Thanks man, I was dying of thirst and couldn’t watch you drink that thing all the way home. I’ll spot you one tomorrow after school.”
Jimmy shrugged and then took another gulp.
“Sounds like you two are getting excited about prom?”
“Yeah, we are,” Jimmy said. “I’m a little nervous though.”
“How come?”
“Well, I’ve never been on a date before and I’m not really sure what is expected of me, especially with it happening at prom,” Jimmy said. He then took a sip of Coke.
“It’s no big deal really. All you do is dance, eat some cookies, and drink punch. You two could probably go to dinner too if you wanted before the dance. A lot of guys take their dates out beforehand.” Alan almost said he could also get laid afterward, but decided not to mention that. He doubted Jimmy would make a move on Tina, and even if he did, Alan didn’t really want to think about it.
“Still, this is like the biggest night of a girl’s life up until her wedding, you know, and what if I screw up.”
“There’s nothing to screw up,” Alan said.
“How do you know, you’ve never been to a dance before.”
“I know, but . . .” Alan didn’t really know what to say. “It’s not going to be as intense as you think.”
The two went quiet after that.
“Do you think a lot of people will make a big deal out of me being there?” Jimmy asked after nearly a minute. “I know no one really makes fun of me anymore, but I can’t help thinking they will think it’s strange that I’m there, especially since I’ve never gone to any of the dances or games before.”
Alan shook his head. “No one will care. Everyone will be so focused on their date and hoping they don’t make a fool out of themselves that they won’t even notice you, unless . . .”
“Unless what?” Jimmy demanded.
“Unless Tina is wearing something really hot, like so hot that other guys have to hide their boners. Then you’ll be in trouble because all the girls will get jealous and come after you two.”
“Shut up.”
“Really, it’s happened before. Girls go crazy when other girls out shine them and it gets messy. I’ve read about it in Newsweek.”
Jimmy shook his head and said, “What if I disappoint Tina and she doesn’t have any fun?”
“Jimmy, she likes you,” Alan said his voice once again serious. “You can see it in her eyes when she is looking up at you. Just act like yourself when around her and everything will be okay. Trust me. She’ll have the time of her life.”
The two stopped at an intersection and waited for a few cars to pass. While standing there Jimmy looked to his right and thought about the Hood place and how two days earlier he had been rushing that way through the woods to get a good spot ahead of Samantha who would have been crossing the same street down there at Lambert. Less than a mile from there was the Hood place.
Less than a mile from here Samantha is still hanging from her wrists.
Jimmy knew he had to let her down soon.
Without warning he watched as Megan Reed appeared on the side of the road over there and waited to cross.
Alan noticed him looking and said, “What is it?”
“Oh, I’m just wondering what she’s doing over there since the sheriff lives on the other side of town.”
“Probably retracing that girl’s steps, you know, the one that disappeared,” Alan said. “She lived down over there somewhere and that girl - that’s the sheriff’s daughter, right?”
“Yeah,” Jimmy said.
“Well she’s been talking like crazy at school and says she is certain something happened to her while walking home and was going to start looking around herself to see if there were any clues.”
“Okay, that just seems weird.”
“I know, but she may have a point.”
“What do you mean?” Jimmy asked.
The two started crossing the street.
“Well I think something had to happen to that girl, but I don’t think she was kidnapped. I think her and her boyfriend probably had a fight or something - maybe he even tried to screw her and she fought back or something and he accidentally hurt her - and now her body is lying out there in the woods. You read about things like that all the time.”
“In Newsweek?” Jimmy asked.
“Shit, I’m serious. You read about stuff like that all the time in the papers or hear about it on the news. It’s crazy. People don’t think when their sex drive starts up. In fact, I was watching something on the Discovery Channel a few weeks ago that said a man’s mind loses the ability for rational thought once their body gets really turned on, which is probably why so many guys say screw it when they don’t have a condom but still dive into a girl’s p-ssy and then get her pregnant.”
Jimmy thought about that and about all the times he had purchased subscriptions to bondage sites when getting turned on, something that he almost always regretted afterward once he was finished and thought about the money he had wasted. It made sense.
“You know, if something did happen to that girl no one will really care right now because of the oil spill,” Alan said. “No one outside of town, that is, because the news won’t care. A few years ago they would have because kidnappings were like a news fad, but now, not so much.”
Jimmy hadn’t really thought about this, but now realized his brother was probably right.
“Do you think she will find anything?” he asked.
“Who, the sheriff’s daughter, what’s her name again?”
“Megan.”
“Maybe, but only if there is something over there and only if it isn’t like buried ten feet beneath the surface of the forest. I mean, there still is the chance she just split town. I know some don’t think so because of the prom, but it’s still a possibility.”
“Yeah,” Jimmy said, not really hearing what Alan said and instead just focusing on Megan Reed and the chance that she might find the fallout shelter.
He couldn’t let that happen.
* * *
Megan wasn’t really sure if she was going to accomplish anything but thought it was better to go out and take a look around than just sit at home angry, which is what she would have done. Now at least she could feel somewhat productive.
She had made the decision to look around while talking with Steven, whom she felt sorry for because she knew he loved Samantha yet wasn’t being recognized for it due to the fact that it was just a high school relationship. What most didn’t realize is that their relationship was special, one of the ones that seemed almost like a fairytale, especially ten years later once they had kids and were enjoying a perfect life.
She started her little investigation by walking the route to Samantha’s house. Once there, she started walking back toward the school, slowly this time, her eyes trying to see if anything jumped out at her.
Something did, but it wasn’t what she was expecting.
“Jimmy, what are you doing out here?” Megan asked as he rode up to her on his bike.
“I saw you walking this way on my way home and remembered what you said in the hallway today and it made me remember something I found a few years ago that might help.”
“Oh, what is it?”
“Come on, I’ll show you.”
Megan followed Jimmy down the wooded road. He was now walking his bike so she wouldn’t have any trouble keeping up. The two did not talk.
Five minutes later they came upon the Hood place, Jimmy still in the lead, Megan behind him wondering why he wouldn’t just tell her what he thought was so important. She also wondered why, if it was important, he hadn’t mentioned it to anyone else, but didn’t really think too hard on that because she knew from the books she read that people sometimes didn’t realize how important something was until something else clicked. Like the odd bulge she saw beneath Jimmy’s sweatshirt while walking, one which he hadn’t been wearing at school given the warm day they were having. Though familiar, she never realized it was identical to the bulge she saw beneath her father’s sweatshirts when they would go out as a family and he was required to carry a gun. Of course, he could have carried the gun on the outside of his clothes and no one would have said anything knowing who he was, but he always preferred to tuck it away. Had she made this realization sooner the coming events might have been different.
* * *
Jimmy couldn’t believe she was still on the street walking around when he came by and had figured he would have to call everything off if he couldn’t find her, his mind knowing he could only grab her if she was near the house because anywhere else and it would be too difficult to get her to the fallout shelter, especially without a car.
He also couldn’t believe how uncomfortable carrying a gun could be, especially while riding a bike, and wondered why so many people across the country were pushing for open firearm carry laws? After all, who would want to carry something so heavy all over the place? Sure, it would be cool at first, but after a while it would become an annoying burden.
* * *
“It never even occurred to me that she could be down here,” Jimmy said. “I mean, I’ve known about this place for a long time.” He reached toward the ground while saying this, his fingers grabbing hold of something she couldn’t make out. “But kind of forgot about it until you mentioned this place and the possibility that she was attacked.” It was a ring he was holding, one that completely blended in with the dirt, and without warning a giant square of dirt lifted up.
“What the hell,” Megan said.
“It’s an old fallout shelter,” Jimmy said, one the Hoods built for something back in the eighties or nineties, maybe Y2K or just out of fear from watching Red Dawn too many times.”
“Is there anything down there?” Megan asked while peeking down the stairs.
“I don’t know, but you know what. You see that padlock right there, the one that someone forgot to close when leaving?” Jimmy pointed down with his free hand.
“Yeah?”
“That was never there the last time I looked down there and why would someone lock up that door from the outside?”
“Oh my God, did you look inside?”
“Not yet.”
“We have to look inside,” Megan said. “What if she’s in there and she’s hurt?” With that Megan started toward the door, but then froze, her mind suddenly realizing that Jimmy would have looked himself earlier if what he said was true, and quickly turned around, fear suddenly gripping her.
Jimmy was pointing a gun on her.
* * *
Jimmy’s heart was racing as he held the gun, which had actually snagged on his jeans while being pulled out and nearly fell to the floor while he fumbled with it. Thankfully her back had been turned to him during that and now that she was facing him he had nice firm grip.
“Go on, open the door,” he said. “Your friend is waiting.”
“You f*cking bastard!” Megan shouted, spittle flying from her lips. “I should have known you were a sick twisted freak.”
“Inside!” Jimmy snapped, his hand motioning with the gun.
Megan reluctantly did as he ordered, her face red with anger, yet also hinting at fear.
“The light is on the right,” Jimmy said. “Turn it on and walk into the middle of the room.”
Megan did, her hand fumbling for a moment before it found the light. Once it was on she gasped. A second later she ran into the room.
“Don’t touch her!” Jimmy shouted as he followed her inside, his left hand pushing shut the door behind him.
Megan ignored his command and tried to console Samantha, her hands caressing her bruised face and then reaching up to try and untie the knots from around her wrists, which, of course, was a hopeless endeavor.
Jimmy rushed forward and tried to pull her away.
Megan spun around and before he even realized what had happened the gun was knocked from his hand.
A second blow came toward his face, this one from the same forearm that had knocked the gun away.
Jimmy deflected it with his elbow, hurting both of them, and looked toward where the gun had landed.
Megan followed his gaze and dove for it.
Jimmy was a second behind her, panic starting to overwhelm his senses.
Megan grabbed the gun.
At the same time Jimmy stepped onto her hand, hard, and heard what had to be a bone crunching, though he couldn’t be sure. A second later he kicked her in the chest, his foot actually recognizing the feel of her boob compressing despite the fact that Samantha’s breasts had been the first ones he ever touched.
Megan grunted and tried to grab the gun again.
Jimmy kicked her hand away and took hold of it himself and pointed it down at her.
Megan still didn’t stop and grabbed his leg and tried digging her nails into it, but couldn’t get much of a grip thanks to the jean fabric.
Jimmy kicked her again and screamed at her to stop, his mind wondering how the hell he would get her hands tied with her fighting so much.
Megan didn’t listen.
Heart racing, Jimmy kicked her again, hard, and then grabbed hold a chunk of her hair, which he used to lift half her body into the air, her hands digging her nails into his own hands.
“Let go!” he demanded while pressing the gun into her temple. He didn’t want to pull the trigger, not when he knew he could have so much fun with her down here, but would if forced to. After all, it was better to shoot her in the head and kill her than to risk her escaping and bringing her dad here.
Megan dug deeper.
He hit her with the butt of the gun, not hard, but with enough force to hurt her.
Megan’s fingers relaxed, but still didn’t release, and then started to tighten again once she regained her senses.
He hit her again, harder and then pointed the gun at Samantha. “Let go or I’ll shoot your friend!”
This time he received the compliance he was looking for, but it only lasted a second, because the moment he lowered the gun and looked at the damage done to his hand, one which still held her hair, she grabbed his testicles and twisted, a cry of fury echoing from her lips as one of pain echoed from his.
Jimmy tried pulling away but couldn’t and had no choice but to hit her with some serious force.
The hand released him as her eyes rolled backward.
Hurt, but knowing he only had moments, Jimmy set the gun on the shelf, and began tying her wrists together, his hands making sure the rope was as tight as possible when he knotted it.