Thanks for the reviews and PMs guys! Loving the feedback. I am writing as fast as I can so here is today's. A few folks been asking about how much is still to come. I would guess there'll be another 10-15 chapters absolute max - and that depends on how much detail people are wanting with the aftermath. There are about 4-5 more of these action chapters then it will be the reflection ones. Unsure how detailed I will make the aftermath as I don't want it to drag. If people want I may try and squeeze some fluff on the end but I don't want people to think it goes on longer than it should. Already at a ridiculous length. Anyhow - happy to take any opinions! The twins are pretty frustrating here but Stef will sort 'em out eventually. Ah to be 18 and reckless again! Enjoy!
A little while earlier Kasey had gathered her books. Her mind was buzzing as she tried to go back and forth over whether she had done the right thing. It was fair enough that Brandon should make this call - but only if he made it right.
She took a deep breath and made her way to the door. Outside she saw Brandon getting into the car.
She looked around and ran over to him, a new wave of frustration swooping over. This was not part of the deal.
"Where are you going? You're grounded aren't you?"
"Moms aren't home..." he said bluntly. His tone had become very passive - that was never a good sign.
"Brandon...I said call her. What? Are you going to go looking for her?"
He leaned on the car door and bit his lip.
"It's not a conversation I can have over the phone Kase. I need to be able to see her. You said you'd let me talk." He looked at her sternly but she could see the pleading in his eyes. She looked back at the house and at the road. He was right in a way - and Michelle would probably hang up causing Brandon to try and chase her anyway. It was maybe better to not give her the head start. She couldn't let him go alone though. She looked at her watch. She could take the SATs again - it was only extra marks anyway - there would be another chance when she'd be more prepared. This had screwed up her mind as it was - she was hardly going to do well. She'd probably be forced to replace her social life with full time math study as a punishment but right now this was all that mattered.
"Fine." She said stubbornly before storming into the passenger side.
He rolled his head.
"Kasey...you can't..."
"Well I'm not getting out the car. I'm not letting you go there alone - not now. You have two choices - we can sit here till your couple hours is up and I call Mom or you can take me with you."
Brandon rolled his eyes and resigned. She wasn't budging. He took his seat and set the car up to go as she clipped in her belt in.
Her Mom was going to kill her - but this was much more important.
"I'm going to track Kasey's phone."
Evan was still mulling over her previous statement about Brandon having gone too.
"She wouldn't..." Evan couldn't help but let out. Stef looked at him sternly.
"Evan?" her voice raised slightly at the end of his name.
"Well - look. It's probably nothing - just...if Brandon is gone too...it's nothing. I'll go find her. Look I don't want to worry you." Evan began to flitter around and grabbed his jacket. Stef grabbed his arm harshly.
"Well it's a bit late now! Spit it out - Evan if you know something and something happens to them do you really think you'll be able to live with yourself tomorrow? Living being the operative word if I find out you're not telling me the full story..."
He raised his palms.
"OK - look. It's just...I have been doing a little research on that druggy guy. I know quite a few people in this town..." he glazed over, not wanting to focus too much on his contacts. Stef urged him on with her eyes.
"I don't know anything for sure but he's bad news. More and more I think Michelle is quite closely tied to him. It's why I was at Broncos and why I was following him at that party. I know they had something to do with all this - too much of it has just been convenient and after the first time I saw him with Michelle back at the fair..."
Stef's face flared up again. "Wait, wait - you saw Michelle with him at the fair?"
Evan raised his hands again in defense. "It seemed mostly innocent...it's just - I mean that's what I was asking her about that time you caught us - after he'd threatened me that day...then next day..."
"Michelle is spiking your drinks and tricking you into making out with her?"
"Yes and...wait? You knew about that?"
"Well I think I just about pieced it together. Another thing you could have done with telling me by the way..." she added sternly.
"Oh come on - " Evan replied, his frustration showing for the first time. "Like you would have believed me..." Stef looked down guiltily with a nod.
"Fair enough. And for what it's worth - I am sorry about that. We all should have had more faith in you." Evan turned away.
"It's OK Mrs F - you had no reason to."
She looked at him wistfully. "You know that's not true." Her look lingered for a moment as she snapped back to reality looking down at the app. "Anyway - there'll be time for that later." She scrolled down, a look of confusion spreading. "That's weird - she's not in my list..."
A slightly guilty look flooded Evan's face as Stef said it.
She looked up at him noting the expression.
"What is it...?" She sighed and raised an eyebrow waiting for him to explain.
"We sorta, maybe uninstalled that app a few weeks ago so you couldn't find us at a concert a tiny bit out of town...I re-installed mine but I guess she didn't do so with hers..."
Stef glared at him unimpressed. "And whose bright idea was that, dare I ask?"
Evan squinted guiltily as she slapped him over the head once again.
She tapped away at her phone again and raised it to her ear. "At least make yourself useful and call Kasey!"
His face flooded with horror as he reverted to his inner 13 year old as he often did when Kasey was involved. "But...she won't talk to me..."
"So not the time...do it!" She instructed forcefully before pacing off.
"Callie? Ugh! I take it Brandon is not with his phone then." She sighed. "Did you speak to Jesus? OK - thanks sweets. I'll be in touch." She hung up and looked at Evan. "I am going to strangle them both - after I bang their heads together." She commented.
"No answer." He replied putting the phone down. "I think she ignored the call."
"Right." Stef took her turn to dial Kasey as it rang through. "Kasey - will you pickup the damn phone? Where are you two? Call me as soon as you get this. You're not in trouble, I just want to know where you are and that you're safe."
"She's not in trouble?" Evan queried as she hang up the phone.
"Of course she is - she's in a world of trouble - but it's hardly going to encourage her to respond if there's still any doubt - I'll whip out the big guns later." Evan whimpered slightly on Kasey's behalf.
"Look I think we need to go to the station. I don't like this one bit." Stef added tapping the wall furiously.
"The station?" Evan responded slightly concerned. "What do you need?"
"I need you to tell me everything you know about these people and I need to get my vest and my gun. I went in after my kids half cocked once before and I'm not making that mistake again."
"You don't think they're in that much danger do you?"
Stef licked her bottom lip trying to suppress her fears. "Well if they're not now they will be when I find them! Running off like that."
She slapped him on the back. "Come on, move it." She shuffled him out the door giving him just time to grab his keys.
"Another message from Mom. She's either really scared or really pissed - I can't tell. She's pretending we're not in trouble."
Brandon looked at her nervously. "You don't have to do this Kasey. I can manage really."
"No way - I'm not leaving you."
Brandon was terrified how much Kasey sounded like Stef the older they got.
"I'm sure you've got better things to be doing..."
Kasey looked nervously out of the window as Brandon suddenly realised and his face dropped.
"Oh my God! Kasey! The SATs - you can't...I completely forgot! I've been so caught up in..."
Kasey shook her head and bit her lip to bat it away.
"This is more important. I can always take them again. They really don't matter to me. It's just Mom making me do it."
Brandon sighed.
"Kasey, why do you keep doing that?"
"Doing what?" she looked at him defensively.
"Pretending you don't care about them instead of just admitting you're nervous you'll do badly."
"I'm not! I don't care if I do do badly - I mean sure, I could get a slightly higher grade but I'm hardly going to be Stanford worthy anyway. I'd never fit in there. If I was scared of not getting a good grade I wouldn't be volunteering myself for a zero. "
Brandon sighed. He could tell when she was glossing over the truth.
"That's not the same thing - you can't fail if you don't turn up. Don't think I don't know what you're doing here..."
"I wouldn't fail...I just may not do as brilliantly as...I mean. Look can we get back to the more pressing issue of your crazy ex-girlfriend and her band of merry drug dealers please?"
Brandon shook his head. Kasey was the worst person to squeeze feelings out of. She was worse than either of their parents and both of those could put up a fight.
"There's no shame in aiming high and failing you know. It doesn't take away from what you get in the end."
"Like you aimed for a high one in Michelle?" Kasey regretted the words as soon as she said them, seeing Brandon's head dip. She didn't mean it like that. They had relaxed into quips and defensiveness. She forgot how much more real this was for her brother.
"I'm sorry Brandon - I didn't mean it like that. It was a bad joke and I..."
He looked across at her.
"It's OK Kase. I know. Besides - I'd rather you make fun of me than pity me."
Kasey let out a laugh.
"Oh you're getting no pity from me." She jibed folding her arms. He didn't have to know how much she did feel bad for him.
As a moment of silence filled the car Kasey looked over to him.
"What are you going to do if she is...you know."
Brandon looked down at the bottom of the steering wheel.
"I can't possibly imagine yet. That's why I just want to talk to her. I need to know before I drive myself insane."
Kasey put her hand on his leg and rubbed it gently. She had resigned to this situation but couldn't wait for it to be over.
"OK - we're at Porter's. I'll go see if she's in." Kasey had managed to calm him down significantly but the dread was still clogging up his throat.
"I'm coming too..."
"Come on Kasey - what? Are you going to make smalltalk with Porter while I ask his daughter if she's pregnant with my baby?"
"If I have to - she's potentially dangerous. I'm not going to risk leaving you alone - mostly so I don't have to face Mom alone if something happens to you! You're not leaving my sight. You know my terms, B." She stared at him sternly and unbuckled her belt, leaving the car. He briefly stretched out his eyes in surrender before following suit.
He banged on Porter's door several times before he eventually emerged.
"For God's sake - are you ever not banging down my door?" He grumbled putting a hand up to shield his eyes from the light.
"Are you ever not an asshole?" Kasey mumbled. Porter huffed a tut in her direction.
"I'm sorry to bother you again Porter, but is Michelle in? I need to speak with her."
"How the hell do I know? It's not my fault if you don't know where your own girlfriend is."
"You don't know where your own daughter is..." Kasey responded again as Brandon threw her a look. She couldn't help herself.
"Well have a look if you must but I want you out in five minutes. You - you're not coming in. You may steal something."
Brandon ran past him as Kasey scoffed. "Don't worry - we're looking for some coherent information and integrity and I don't think I'll find any of that from you."
Porter closed the door in her face as she nervously checked her watch. She didn't want to leave Brandon alone and yet that was exactly what just happened. She pulled her phone out. This time it was Evan again. She had been trying to ignore the fact that he had been calling, unable to even think of facing him, but it was becoming very obvious that he must be with Stef. They wouldn't both have been calling so persistently otherwise. She wanted to answer but had no clue what she would say. She ignored the call again and bit hard on her lip as if it would make it go away.
It buzzed again. This time another call from Stef. She waited and listened to the message.
"Kasey - really. I'm getting worried and I'm not playing around. Will you please just let me know where you are and that you're safe?"
She twitched her fingers up and down. She didn't want her to be panicking - but she had made her promise to Brandon. Stef would be over there in a shot.
She hit the call button.
"Kasey! Thank God - where the hell are you?"
"Mum I can't really talk. We're safe and I promise I'll explain later. Brandon and I are just doing some bonding." She said quickly before bracing herself for the torrent of abuse that would follow the acknowledgement. Stef barely took a breath as she broke into her tirade.
"Safe?! Bonding? I'm gonna bond you two with handcuffs to your bedrooms! For crying out loud Kasey! Do you have any idea how worried we were? I want an explanation now! Never mind later! You won't be safe for much longer if you don't start giving me some ans..."
"OK Mom, I really have to go. Will talk soon I promise. Love you."
She hung up before she had time to be interrogated - her heart thumped. She felt awful but they would know more soon. At least this may give Stef some comfort - even if she did just sign her own death warrant for hanging up on her already angry Mom mid-conversation. She tapped her foot anxiously as if to telepathically stir Brandon on.
Brandon re-emerged looking even more nervous.
"She's not in - and a fair bit of her stuff was gone. She must be at that bar. I just wish we knew how to find it..."
Kasey looked at him concerned. "Brandon I really think we need to tell Mom now..." she said as they got back into the car. "I just spoke to her and she's really worried and really mad."
His eyes flared, re-igniting his panicked tone.
"You spoke to her? Kasey - you said you'd wait..."
"I didn't tell her anything Brandon but we need to. Like now! We can't find Michelle OK - it's over."
Brandon completely ignored her trying hard to compensate with his brain work.
"Michelle used to work at a bar. Last year or something...she never told me the name. Those guys at the party. They all knew her...maybe that's where they were from...it must be that." Kasey sighed. Michelle had mentioned this but she was trying to ignore it not wanting to give Brandon any ideas. Unfortunately he knew it himself.
"Brandon we can't go chasing her to a bar..."
"It was over on the east side of town I think...Dammit - she never told me the name! Maybe I need to go and ask Porter..."
"Brandon will you listen to yourself? You're talking about hunting her down to a bar. This is too big for us - for one Jesus got absolutely crucified for running off to a bar chasing Ev..." Kasey's face froze. "Oh my God...it's Broncos."
Poor Stef. Who'd have kids?
Chapter 50 Preview: Kasey and Brandon continue their pursuit as Stef and Evan make a trip to the station.
"Evan, we just had a 15 minute journey - did you maybe think to mention these details?" she scowled.
"I didn't want to worry you more than I needed too..."
He stepped back as Stef lunged forward with a strangling motion as Roberts grabbed her arm.
"OK - you're off duty so I'm not going to discipline you for attempting to strangle the witnesses but I'd appreciate if you'd at least wait till you take him home."
