Chapter Three
"So let me get this straight," Harrison said, as Harrison, Davis, and Tru gathered inside Davis's office. "This Caitlyn chick lives in my apartment complex?"
"Yes, Harry," Tru said. Her patience seemed to be waning. "We've already been through this. You mean to tell me you don't even know your own neighbors?"
"I think I've seen her around the neighborhood. But you know, Tru, staying home all day vegging in my apartment isn't exactly the most kosher use of my time."
Tru rolled her eyes. "And like spending all day at the races is?"
"Aww, c'mon Tru!" Harrison objected. "I've scored myself some quick cash playing the ponies!"
"Only to lose it all again, and then come running to me for money when you want to take your new girlfriend out to a fancy dinner," Tru returned.
"I thought chicks digged those fancy restaurants!"
"Not when they find out that their date's sister is the one who has a payday," Tru replied.
Tru was growing increasingly frustrated now. "Look, Harry, we'll talk about this later. I really don't have the time for this right now."
Tru turned her attention to Davis, who was doing an Internet search for Caitlyn on his computer.
"Davis, did you find anything else about Caitlyn?"
"Just give me a few more minutes."
A few minutes turned out to be another half an hour. Davis and Tru worked together, while Harrison paced up and down in Davis's office. Then, finally, he entered the room adjacent to Davis's office and lay down on the worn couch.
He really wanted to help them. He really did. But they didn't need his help… At least not now… Not anymore.
"Bingo," Davis finally said. "I think this is it."
Tru peered over his shoulder to look at his findings.
"Caitlyn Williamson is a high school counselor and academic advisor at Crestview High," Davis said. "So at least you have a home address and a job description. That's good, right?"
"It's not enough, Davis," Tru said, worry becoming more and more evident in her voice.
Davis looked up at Tru. He knew what she meant. It meant she had to find Caitlyn and save her, but that part was never easy. Especially now with Jack around to thwart her every move. One slight misstep on Tru's part could prove fatal and her rewind day could end in bitter tragedy.
She knew she couldn't let that happen. Not now. Not this time around.
"You're doing the best you can, Tru. That's all you can do. That's all—..."
"But it's not enough! It just never seems like enough! Look what happened to me last time. I try and save someone's life and I end up suffering from some pretty nasty repercussions. And I have a scar to prove it!"
Tru lifted up the sleeve of her shirt to reveal the shoulder which had been cruelly bitten by the savage bullet.
"It's healing, Tru," Davis gently reminded his co-worker, as he watched her flinch in pain from the temporary spasms that coursed through her shoulder. "Just give it some more time."
The pain. It was the pain. The pain had once again inadvertently triggered the memories as she watched the bullet dance mercilessly towards her in her mind's eye. And then, in a matter of seconds, it was gone…
"Time! That's just it. There isn't enough time! Davis, what I can do…." Tru began. "It's not a calling. It's more like a curse. Every day, Davis. Every day I'm forced to come to terms with this thing that I do. Rewind day or not, every day—I'm cursed."
After some encouragement and a morale boost from Davis, Tru set off to Crestview High. But not before waking her brother and practically begging him to stay out of trouble. Yeah, like that would ever happen…
It was about a half and hour past noon when Tru arrived at the high school. She parked her car, got out and inquired a young student about the location of the main office. The young student pointed Tru in the right direction and then hurriedly disappeared into the crowd of her fellow peers.
Tru entered the front office and walked up to the receptionist's desk, as the receptionist looked up at Tru with her dazzling blue eyes.
"Can I help you?"
"I hope so," Tru said. "I'm looking for Caitlyn Williamson. I'm an old friend of her sister's and I really need to talk to her."
"She's actually just leaving for lunch, but you still might be able to catch her on her way out," the receptionist replied, as she made a gesture to the hallway on her right. "Go through this hallway and her office is two doors down on your left."
Tru gave the receptionist a grateful smile. "Thank you."
Tru walked down the long hallway, promptly stopping at the entrance that was two doors down on her left.
There was a sign posted on the door that read:
CAITYLN WILLIAMSON
HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELOR/ACADEMIC ADVISOR
OFFICE HOURS: 8 AM TO 3 PM
The door with the sign was closed and Tru could hear voices coming from inside the room. She knew Caitlyn was finishing up with a student and would be taking her lunch break shortly.
"But Jenni, you have to tell him. He has to understand. This is serious." Caitlyn Williamson sat poised at her desk talking to the young student seated directly across from her.
The girl, Jenni, sobbed. "No, I—I don't think he'll understand. Maybe before. But not now. Not after what's happened."
"Then I'll talk to him. It's lunchtime now. You should go to lunch. I'll take care of it, okay?"
Jenni had stopped crying and regained her composure. She gathered her sweater and big brown backpack. "Okay," she said finally. With that, she left the office.
Tru watched as a young girl, who couldn't have been more than sixteen or seventeen, leave Caitlyn's office and walk down the hallway. She was a pretty girl: medium height and thin with short wavy black hair and dark brown eyes. Tru saw sadness in the girl's eyes and it was obvious that she had been crying only moments before.
Tru waited a moment before appearing in the doorway of Caitlyn's office.
"Can I help you?" Caitlyn asked.
Tru entered Caitlyn's office and looked down at the giant mass of papers neatly stacked on her desk. She saw a file open in front of Caitlyn and could barely make out the name that read: Jenni Parker. It looked like it was time to change her cover story. How much to change it, Tru didn't know. That part was always hard to gauge.
"Hi, my name is Tru Davies. I'm a friend of Jenni's and I was just really starting to worry about her."
"Oh, she just left. I can have the receptionist call her up to the front desk if you would like."
"Actually," Tru said. "I was hoping you would help me. We've always been pretty tight and now it seems like she's changed suddenly. I just moved back into town and she hasn't answered my phone calls. I've even seen her around town. She just doesn't seem like herself and I'm really concerned. It's like she's become a completely different person. And I think she may be trying to hurt herself."
Caitlyn gave Tru a sympathetic smile and sighed. "Well, Tru, you're not the only one who's noticed this."
She began to gather her belongings along with her jacket, which she draped over one arm whilst slinging a black purse over her shoulder. "I'm actually heading out to lunch right now. Why don't you join me and we can discuss this further?"
"Sure," Tru replied, relieved that her cover story seemed to have worked. "There's a diner a few blocks away that isn't too bad. I go there with my brother all the time."
"Sounds good to me."
The rain had died down for the moment, but the weather was still crappy. The frigid air coupled with a slight wind caused Tru to shudder from the coldness around her. She entered the diner, relieved to find it pleasingly warm and toasty inside.
A nice hot cup of coffee would definitely be on the top of her list of comforts right now.
She saw Caitlyn settling herself in a booth and rushed over to join her.
Caitlyn had her menu open and was looking at the vast array of lunch specials, eager to order some food. "So, what do you recommend?" she asked Tru.
"The tuna melt is pretty good," Tru replied, as the waitress poured some coffee into the two cups that were placed on their table.
Tru sipped the coffee gingerly, letting the heat of the drink warm her body.
Then, Tru and Caitlyn ordered their food.
"So, I'm right about Jenni," Tru said.
Caitlyn nodded in confirmation. "Yes, you are. She's definitely not herself."
"Has she told you why?" Tru asked, trying her hardest to sound merely concerned and not too pushy.
"Yes," Caitlyn said. She took a deep breath and paused for a moment.
"She's pregnant."
Author's Note: Wow, can't believe I finally updated! Sorry guys, the writer's block was horrible! School has still kept me busy as well. I'm in my final semester of my senior year of high school, therefore, being very busy with homework and life in general. I hope you liked this chapter. I felt that it was a little slow again, but I think now the pace of the story and suspense will start picking up. Thank you all for your patience. I greatly appreciate it! Anther thanks for the wonderful reviews. I always love receiving feedback on my work. A special thanks to Turtle2 for the advice and encouragement! I'm definitely thinking along those lines! PLEASE REVIEW THIS CHAPTER!
Hopefully, I will be able to update sooner:)