“Hello, love of my life!”
April’s cheeks tinted at her best friend’s exuberant greeting as the people on the sidewalk around her glanced back curiously. A chilly fall breeze tickled the exposed skin on her hands, neck, and face, and she was glad she’d opted for jeans today instead of a thick skirt and tights. Her strawberry-blonde locks were tucked under her wool cap, and a part of her worried she’d have horrible hat hair when she took it off.
Not that it mattered: she’d always pale in comparison to June, the woman who’d steadily become her closest friend ever since her old college days. In true June fashion, she’d fled Bowmansville around the time April returned, explaining that she was off to visit some friends in Europe before the weather went sour. It had been the early days of September at the time, and now, a month later, the woman was finally back—and April could finally get everything off her chest.
Just as she’d planned, she left Cascade Falls as soon as James Palmer and her mom were officially married. Sure, she stayed for a few days after, enjoying the post-wedding festivities with as much fake enthusiasm as she could muster, while also overseeing the final sale of her mom’s apartment. A wealthy buyer from out of town had finally paid top dollar for the place, apparently planning to turn it into a hotel suite of sorts, eager to compete with the thriving bed-and-breakfast industry that Cascade Falls boasted. April didn’t really care who bought it. That apartment was her final tie to the town, and once her mom had moved all of her things into James’s huge estate, April was out of there.
If she could, she’d never look back. Everything about Cascade Falls made her heart ache after the turbulent summer she’d had there. Falling in love was scary, but being forced out of love—and only realizing when it was over that you were actually in love—was devastating. She’d had no contact with Van Palmer since she ended things in the county jail, though she knew through her mom that he’d been moved into a minimum security facility somewhere near home, and that he wasn’t sentenced for very long. Apparently, James could follow through. April had broken both her and Van’s hearts, just as that awful man wanted, and in return, James made sure Van wasn’t locked away for life.
And he probably used her mom’s money to do it. From what she understood after leaving Cascade Falls, the gossip mill following her all the way back to the metropolis of Bowmansville, was that the Palmer fortune had run increasingly dry over the years—and many assumed he was marrying for money. Why she hadn’t heard any of these whispers when she was in town astounded her, but the more she thought about it, the more April realized James’s vice-like grip on the community was stronger than she thought. People in Cascade Falls probably knew better than to gossip about James in town, but once they were out, the rumors ran rampant.
She couldn’t say anything to her mom—not after April had seen exactly what James was capable of. For now, she was stuck, constantly worrying that that awful man would do something to secure her mom’s money by any means necessary while also fearing that, despite his promises, James Palmer wasn’t exactly done with April quite yet.
“You look beautiful!” June said as they hurried toward one another, both of their arms extended and ready to wrap the other in a giant hug. “Have you lost weight?”
April wrapped her arms around June’s midsection, burying her face in the woman’s coat. She smelled like peaches and vanilla, looking tan and trim. Her olive skin tone always took to the sun well, and she’d never been one to dye her hair; it was the same glossy brown it had always been. June oozed easy confidence, and April couldn’t help but wonder if that came from the easy life she’d led up until this point.
Still, you’d never know she came from a ridiculously wealthy family just by looking at her or talking to her. She was sweet, down to earth, pleasant—kind, above all else.
“Maybe,” April said in regards to the woman’s question. “I mean, you haven’t seen me since, what, January? It’s possible.”
In fact, she’d shed quite a lot of weight since Van was arrested, her stress diminishing her appetite to almost alarming proportions. Luckily, she was slowly mellowing out—now that she had put a good distance between her and James, but she was still down at least fifteen pounds from where she’d been at the start of the summer. Her mom would have a fit if she saw April in a bikini now, and she was glad the cool fall weather allowed her to layer up.
“I’ve missed you so much,” June gushed, keeping an arm around April’s shoulders as people skirted by them on the sidewalk. It was barely midday, but the downtown core of Bowmansville was always busy. April had a day off from her position as an assistant manager at the same boutique she’d worked in before she left for Cascade Falls, but every shift was painful. Now that she was back, she almost couldn’t stand dragging herself into work the few times a week that she did, and she was constantly on the hunt for something more degree-appropriate in Manhattan or LA or Chicago. Anything to get her out and get her some respect.
Anything to take her far away from James and Van Palmer would do. Hell, she’d even pack up and leave the US if she needed to, but that was only if the offer was really, really good.
The two women strolled toward their favorite downtown coffee joint, arms still around one another, the conversation endless. By the time they were up at the register to place their order, neither knew what they were getting because they hadn’t shut up once since stepping into the store, and much to the annoyance of the people behind them, they hummed and hawed over their order for a minute or two before placing it. Red-faced again, April took their little table number sign and shuffled off after June, who seemed oblivious to the issues they’d caused by not being prepared at the register.
They chose a pair of cushy armchairs by the window, despite the fact April had ordered a salad alongside her coffee, and she prompted June to launch into her grand retelling of her escapades through France, Italy, Germany, and Austria—plus the one wild night in Amsterdam. It was nice to live through someone else for a change, someone who actually did something adventurous and crazy. Even if April wasn’t the adventurous and crazy type, she still enjoyed listening to someone who was.
“Enough about me,” June said as the pair enjoyed their lunch. Outside, the sky had started to cloud over, and by the looks of the people walking around, the wind had picked up too. Should be a wonderful walk back to my apartment—not, April thought.
“I could listen to your stories all day,” she admitted, almost dreading where the conversation was headed. June cocked her head to the side, as she ripped off a piece of her muffin and popped it in her mouth. “Why don’t you tell me again about the guy in Italy who—“
“You’ve heard the story twice, in detail,” her friend argued with a slight shake of her head. “We’re going to talk about you, and why you’re not back in Cascade Falls with that gorgeous stepbrother of yours. Did work call you back?”
April swallowed hard and shook her head. “No. Work was fine with me taking as long as I wanted off, surprisingly. They hired another assistant manager, and she’s a total workaholic, so I get like two shifts a week these days—“
“April.” June set her muffin aside and crossed her arms, fixing her with an even stare. “Why are you here? Did you guys break up or something?”
“Or something, I guess.” She nibbled her lower lip. Going into their lunch date, April had known June would want more information on what had happened with her and Van. After all, they hadn’t talked much since June surprised her with a phone call in the middle of the summer, and since then, everything had just been a chaotic whirlwind of metaphorical shit hitting the metaphorical fan. In that time, she’d sort of kept her best friend in the dark. Then, June was travelling again, and April was trying to rebuild her heart through trashy TV and copious amounts of ice cream…
“Spill it,” June ordered, poking April’s leg with her foot. “Now. In detail. I want to know everything that happened. Did he turn into an asshole? You said he was a player back in high school.”
Her lip wobbled when she thought about Van, a crushing tightness in her chest making it difficult to draw a full breath. No, Van hadn’t done anything. He’d been perfect—nothing that had happened was his fault. He’d built his own bar honestly. He’d spoiled April relentlessly. He’d confronted his dad for her.
And in return, because he wanted their relationship to continue, he’d ended up in jail. Prison. Minimum security facility. Whatever.
“It’s kind of a long story, I guess,” April started with a sigh. “We were doing okayish the last time you and I talked…”
She regaled June with almost everything that had happened with her and Van, including her concerns about becoming his stepsister and still continuing the relationship. When she mentioned that he’d been arrested, June was floored, but she kept her reaction toned down, probably for April’s sake. While she mentioned that James wasn’t a fan of the relationship, she couldn’t tell June, her best friend, the extent at which he’d interfered. Even here, miles and miles away, she worried what might happen if she told anyone the truth.
“He threatened to tell my mom about us,” was the best April could do. “Mom wouldn’t have taken it well, and she had enough stress going on with the wedding. It didn’t seem worth it to… to… You know. He was in the county jail anyway, and I didn’t know how long he’d be going away for. It seemed easier to just cool things off until our future was more certain.”
June stared at her for a long moment, as if absorbing all the new information, and then shook her head. “I get not wanting to do the whole… dating a guy in prison thing. I mean, I wouldn’t want to drive out there every weekend just to see him. Dating would be kind of tough.”
“Kind of very tough,” she agreed, jumping on the prison bandwagon and hoping June would ignore the rest. “I mean, we weren’t even allowed to touch when I saw him at the county jail. I don’t think I could do a whole… I don’t know, he was fifteen months or something.”
“But you seemed like you really liked him regardless,” June continued, sticking her with that same even look that April knew meant the woman was trying to worm the truth out of her. “If James told your mom about you guys, would it really be that big of a deal? He had that much power over you just because he was going to expose a little secret? Seems a bit… off, April.”
“It’d break my mom’s heart,” she said absently, as she reached for her coffee and brought it up for a sip. “She really wanted us to be a family. Brothers and sisters don’t date.”
“Or whatever else you guys did,” June added, wiggling her eyebrows. April offered a scandalized look, though she wasn’t exactly feeling it. Her friend must have noticed, and she cocked her head to the side, frowning. “Are you sure that’s everything? You just seem so… down.”
Clearing her throat, April nodded and forced a brilliant smile, the same kind that she forced at work. It hurt to use such a shameless tactic on June, but she didn’t see any way around it. She wasn’t happy without Van, and she couldn’t tell anyone the truth about what had happened. So, she thought that maybe she ought to get used to faking it.
“I’m just tired,” she lied, waving off her friend’s concerns. “I mean, it’s hard rehashing any breakup, but what’s done is done. I’m just trying to move on. Forget about my ex, now in prison.” June’s lip twitched, clearly finding her tone amusing. April grinned, rolling her eyes, as she saw a way out of this particular conversation. “Find a new job. Make use of the degree I spent all that money on. You know… be an adult finally.”
And forget that for a time, she’d been desperately in love with Van Palmer; she just hadn’t realized it until he was gone.
***
Despite what one might think, getting time to use the phones while locked away wasn’t especially difficult. If Van had been put in max security with a stricter routine, maybe he would have struggled more to make contact with the outside world. However, given his current position, it wasn’t hard to find time to use one of the eight payphones lined up by the administration offices. A guard always stood watch; it seemed some poor bastard had a whole day of phone duty to look forward to. Plus, the cell blocks each had a designated few hours during the day when they were allowed to make phone calls.
It was a pain now, however, to try and remember everyone’s phone number. When he was a kid, he used to know all the important numbers by heart. Hell, he’d even made little songs in his head to make remembering the nine digit codes easier. These days, all the necessary numbers were stored on a person’s phone, and if they couldn’t find them there, the internet was just a click away, and soon enough anything you wanted was within reach.
It wasn’t that easy where he was now, unfortunately. He’d had to write down all the key numbers on a slip of paper, which he tucked under his shower gear on the little bookshelf in his bunk. He’d wanted to carry it with him at first, but there were random pat-downs at any time by any number of the guards patrolling the facility, and he didn’t want any of them to take it away, thinking it might have been some bullshit code for something illegal.
April’s cell phone had been the first number on the list. He got it off her mom when she and his dad stopped by for a visit at the end of September. Both were incredibly tanned, having just come back from their extended honeymoon in the Caribbean, and they seemed oblivious to the fact that Van was sporting a few new bruises and a split lip.
“Just the hazards of being behind bars,” his dad had laughed, brushing off the incidents with a toss of his head. “Things will settle down. Boys just need to sort themselves out in the pecking order.”
That particular comment had stung him, considering Van thought someone had put a hit out on him. After the bunk incident, he’d been jumped a few times more: in the bathrooms, coming out of the cafeteria, on the track field, and in the library. Most of the time, fellow prisoners were the ones to break everything up. Nobody wanted to be punished because a couple of guys were caught fighting. Minimum security was cushy compared to what a lot of these men had been through in their life, and despite the tensions between certain groups, most wanted to keep things the way they were.
Van, meanwhile, just wanted to make it out alive. He had no interest in a trip to the hospital wearing handcuffs, and healing a broken bone in a place like this was not appealing in the slightest. He needed to get out—and he wasn’t above taking illegal measures to do it.
He’d been set up. Van knew that. Hell, the police probably knew it, too. He needed to find out who set him up to clear his name, and he didn’t trust anyone else to do that for him while he was locked away. He did trust someone to get him out of prison, however, and to get that particular person here, he’d need someone dedicated to his cause.
Someone who loved him—and who he loved, too. April hadn’t taken a single one of his calls since he was transferred to this facility, obviously rejecting the call after the operator explained who was calling. So, for now, Van knew he had to stop trying. April needed someone to look her in the eye and tell her that this hadn’t been his fault, that he was still a reformed bad boy who wanted to be with her.
Holding the payphone to his ear with his shoulder, Van tried not to think of how many other sweaty guys had done the same thing so far today. The standard guard was pacing in the doorway, both paying attention to the three prisoners using the phone and not at the same time. If he could carry his phone, he’d probably be texting. Clearing his throat, Van turned away and opened the folded slip of paper with all his important numbers on it, then dialed the last on the list.
As it rung, he tried not to listen to the guy behind him berate whoever was on the other end of the phone. After a few rings, the line went silent for a moment, and then a gruff voice answered.
“Hello?”
“Mike,” Van said quickly, smiling at the sound of a familiar voice that didn’t belong to his dad. “How’s it going, man?”
“Good, good,” Mike replied. “I heard you got locked up, kid. What’d you do that your dad didn’t?”
He grinned. Mike belonged to the faction of bikers who rode in parades, took pictures with kids, and rescued abused puppies. He was close to sixty, liked to drink wine and play golf, and had one of the prettiest bikes Van had ever seen. He’d been in the club ever since Van was a kid, and he’d taken on the position of friendly uncle who refused to spoil Van, even if the other old-timers did.
“Listen, I don’t have a lot of time on the phone,” Van said, knowing that they were usually kicked off after five minutes. “I need you to get a message to someone out there—“
“I’m not getting involved in your dad’s crap, kid.”
“No, no, nothing like that,” Van insisted. “It’s to a woman. April O’Hara. She… I need her help, but she’s not, uh, exactly in a receptive mood to talk.”
And that made him suspicious. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something—or someone—was keeping April away from him, but there were too many other issues for him to worry about.
“Right. What do you want me to tell her?”
Van bit his lower lip, thinking it over, and then said, “You know what? This would be easier if we talked in person. Can you come down this weekend? I’ll get you added to my visitor’s list.”
There was a brief pause on the other end of the line, followed by a heavy sigh. “Only for you, kid. If it was anyone else, I would’ve hung up by now.”
He grinned. As much as he wanted to tell Mike that he was being pummeled repeatedly by druggies and skinheads who seemed like they were set on killing him, he realized it probably wasn’t smart to do it over the phone. They listened to everything here, recorded everything. However, he had to get a message to April, soon, because he knew she’d fight for him.
She was the only chance he had to get out alive.