Chapter Fourteen: Found?

(The Case Of The Missing Lifeguard, Pt. 6)

***

Cami's legs were burning as she biked down the darkened road, rain lashing at her face as the storm roared overhead. Beside her were Max and El, as drenched as she was, as they biked like hell toward their destination—toward the house El had seen when she mind-walked, after she'd composed herself to tell them.

They'd left the second after she stopped talking.

Now, they were in a suburban street and Cami was panting, the exertion of biking in the storm catching up to her,  but she refused to let that slow her, not when Heather could be in danger, not when the three of them could still help her or make sure no one else could get hurt.

Cami looked over, wiping rainwater from her eyes, as she saw El grip Max's shoulders tighter, and the redhead slowed down. Cami did the same, allowing her to see it the same time as Max—a nice-looking house, with a red door.

Just like what El saw.

"Is this it?" Max asked, as El looked at it and nodded.

The three girls looked at each other before hopping off and leading their bikes up as far as they could. When they did, they walked up to the front door. Cami knocked, but when there was no response, she and Max looked at El. The telekinetic girl looked at the door, and with that look, it swung open, right on the crash of thunder.

Giving each other another look, Cami, Max and El stepped inside, walking down the hallway, where Cami saw a photo portrait of Heather with two other people—her parents. 

"This is her house," Max realised.

"What?" El asked.

"Heather's house."

And then they heard the laughing.

¿Qués diablos?

Cami looked at her friends before they went down the hallway, as now Cami could hear a woman say, "Isn't that cute, huh? He's so funny."

When the trio came to the end, they were meant with a jarring sight.

Warm light filled a dining room where the people who had to be Heather's parents were sitting at a dining table, laughing, smiling and eating as music played. And in the middle was Billy Hargrove, laughing and smiling like nothing was wrong. Like he hadn't abducted and hurt, maybe even killed, the daughter of the parents he was eating dinner with.

He noticed them first, saying, "Max."

That had Heather's parents look at them as Max told them, "We didn't mean to... barge in. We tried to knock, but maybe you didn't hear us over the storm."

"I'm sorry, who is this dripping all over my living room right now?" the man that had to be Heather's father asked in a way that sounded demanding, and a part of Cami recoiled even as she was trying to wrap her head around what was happening. Like, what was even going on?

"I'm sorry. Janet, Tom, this... is my sister, Maxine, and her friend, Camila," Billy introduced as he stood up, and Cami narrowed her eyes at how he mispronounced her name and called Max by a full name she hated.

"Oh!" Heather's mother, Janet, cried, smiling.

"What on earth are you doing here? Is something wrong?" Billy asked, standing in front of them.

"We just wanted to make sure everything was okay," Max said, looking at her stepbrother. Cami stood closer, remembering her fear before she'd been a badass like Rowan months ago, remembering how she pleaded with Billy to go away. She didn't trust this—didn't trust Billy—at all.

"Okay? Why wouldn't it be okay?" Bily questioned.

"Where is she?" El demanded, making Billy finally acknowledge her presence.

"I'm sorry. Where is who?" Billy asked.

"Don't play dumb. You know who," Cami snapped, glaring at Billy, every ounce of her optimism fading in the presence of Billy Hargrove, of the warnings and fears from her New York childhood staring right back at her. "So where is she, you sicko?"

"Well, they're a little burnt, I'm sorry..." a new voice sounded and Cami felt her jaw dropping as behind Billy, Heather entered, carrying a tray of cookies, smiling and looking okay.

What was seriously going on?

"Heather! This is my sister, Maxine, and her friend, Camila," Billy said to her, looking at El and saying, "And, I'm sorry, I did not quite catch your name."

El looked at him, and bit out, "El."

"El," Billy repeated, and the way he said it had Cami's skin crawl as she held El's arm to provide comfort, as Billy went on, "Now, what is it you were saying, El? You and Maxine's friend were looking for somebody?"

Cami couldn't say anything, faltering as she kept looking at Heather, who looked okay and smiling, as El stared at her too and fumbled, "I... I saw... I saw you—"

"Your manager. At the pool," Max interrupted, covering the real truth of what El was about to say. "He said you guys didn't come in to work today, so we got worried."

"Extremely," Cami muttered, eyes never leaving Heather as her mind screamed about what the hell was going on.

"Heather wasn't feeling so hot today, so we thought we'd take the day off to nurse her back to health," Billy explained. "But you're feeling just fine right now, aren't you, Heather?'

"I'm feeling so much better," Heather affirmed.

Cami frowned. Something wasn't right here.

Looking at Heather, she tried to communicate that if Heather needed help she should blink twice as her mother smiled and her father kept eating, oblivious because their daughter was fine and brought a nice man she must be seeing to dinner and meet them, as Heather held out the tray and asked, "Do you girls want a cookie? They're fresh out of the oven."

Cami bit her lip. Normally, she would, but that feeling of something not being right was in full-force. So she just smiled and shook her head, as Max and El did the same before Max said, "We should, uh, leave. Sorry to bother you."

And then they were walking away, back into the storm and biking away. Cami paused momentarily to look back, and see Billy staring at them. It made something shiver in Cami before she turned back and followed after Max and El.

Heather was fine. They all saw her. She was okay.

And yet...

Why had she been screaming? And what was with the blood and Billy hiding the whistle and the fanny pack?

There was something more to it. Maybe not what Cami had initially thought and feared, but everything was not okay.

But what?

***

Oh, Cami, you'll find out soon....

This scene was literally so jarring. Like, I was expecting everything to not be okay, only for it to seemingly be—especially with Heather appearing fine and grand—so I hope I conveyed that into Cami. And yeah, while it is not what she was thinking, Cami still has the feeling something is not right with Heather—and she'll find out she's right to feel that

And yeah, even around Billy, Cami can't be positive to him (not like she should, and especially with what she feared happening to Heather earlier)

Spanish translation:

¿Qués diablos?: What the hell?

Next chapter will be soon!

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GhostWriterGirl out!