Chapter 22
Adeline
“You got a hot date or something?” Jake asks. We’re all sitting around our table on Tim’s back deck.
“What?” I ask in confusion. I watch as he passes a joint to Tim and my throat goes dry. Gideon once told me I was better than that, better than the rumors that follow me around so I’ve been trying the sober route, even though right now I’m dying for a high.
“You haven’t stopped looking at your phone since you got here Add’s.” He lets out a puff of smoke. I pry my eyes away from my phone and decide to tuck it back into my pocket. It’s been a few days now with no word at all. If he hasn’t said anything by now I doubt he’ll say anything at all.
“My mom was supposed to send me a list of shit to get from the store.” I shrug my shoulders. I see Tim’s eyes zero in on me as if he knows its bullshit. I hear him mumble something but decide to let it go. My eyes drift next-door. The lights are off and the curtains are closed, the house is eerily quiet. My heart hurts thinking about Max. He must be sad all by himself. For a little while we were buddies. He was like my little sidekick.
“Addy?” I turn my head back towards to the boys.
“What?”
“You want some?” Jake holds the joint in my direction and I’m tempted to take it.
“No I’m good; I’m not feeling too hot.” What I can’t say is that I’m dying from a broken heart. My stomach aches and the empty feeling in my chest seems to grow bigger and bigger by the day.
“You alright?” Tim asks. I make contact with his eyes and see the underlying meaning. I shake my head and I see his withdraw slightly.
“I’m good, just probably going to head home soon.” I wait around for as long as I can, hoping to catch a glimpse of the recluse next door. Only he wasn’t a recluse, he was my friend. In the end I thought we could be more. You read about summer romance and watch it on TV, and only if you’re lucky you get to experience it for yourself. Mine was short lived and was anything but a romance, but it was a whirlwind of emotions all mixed in one even if they were one sided.
“You want us to walk you?” Tim asks.
“Nah, I’ll be good.” I stand on tired legs and say my goodbyes. It feels weird leaving with a clear mind on steady feet.
When I get to my driveway I notice an all-black SUV sitting by the mail box. The windows are tinted, probably illegally and there’s not even a license plate. I continue to walk wearily by, but the hairs on the back of my neck stand up anyway.
“Ma?” I yell when I come through the door. I go to the kitchen in search of her and find the basement door open. “Ma?” I take a step down and listen. I hear my mom and Todd speaking in hushed whispers. I continue to take each step carrying me further and further into the basement. My heart beats like a drum. Todd’s warning to stay away runs through the back of my mind.
When I get onto the bottom step I gasp. It looks as if they made the entire basement into a kitchen. Glass beakers and bottles sit atop burners. Propane tanks with rubber tubes running into large clear jugs line the floor. The walls are stained yellow and the chemical odor is overwhelming.
“What the fuck are you doing down here?” Todd bellows from somewhere in the basement.
“What is this?” I yell when my mother’s small form stands before me. She’s in nothing but her underwear.
“Go back upstairs Adeline!” she yells. When I don’t follow her orders I feel Todd’s hand grip into my bicep and start to lug me up the stairs one by one.
“Let go of me!” I screech. I scratch and claw away at his hand but it’s no use. He throws me into the counter when we finally make it back into the kitchen. I hit my side so hard it knocks the wind out of me.
“She told you not to go down there!” he bellows into my face. Spittle fly’s against my skin like little pins.
“What the fuck is that?” I back up putting enough distance between me and the burly man. “What are you, fucking cookers?” my heart is pounding out of my chest as I realize I just saw something I shouldn’t have. Jesus fucking Christ I’m in deep shit.
“You ruined everything!” Todd yells. His face is red and smoke is practically pouring out of his ears. My mother suddenly appears at his side. She looks worried and panicked.
“Mom, is this what you’ve been doing?” I ask her in disbelief. “You’ve been using our fucking house as a goddamn lab?” I scream. My cheeks are so red they’re on fire. I’m so incredibly angry I could boil over. I know enough to know exactly what that was. I’ve lived on the shitty side of town all my life, everyone around here knows what a goddamn lab looks like. I can’t understand why I didn’t see it sooner, the smell, the trash, the open windows and no curtains. How did I not recognize all the signs?
“Calm down, Adeline!” she scolds me as if I’m a little child throwing a temper tantrum. How fucking dare she!
“Calm down? Did you seriously just fucking say that?” I need to get out of here before I have a full blown panic attack. I need Jaimie, no… I need Gideon. I make a run from the kitchen with my mom calling after me. As soon as I run through the front door I run into a massive wall. I fall backwards landing hard on my ass. As if it’s the straw that broke the camel’s back, the flood gates finally break loose.
“Gideon?” I ask astonished as I look up. He’s standing above me with a black uniform on, a small gun gripped tightly in his left hand. “What are you doing here?” I ask.
“Adeline, what are you doing here? You were supposed to be at Tim’s!” he practically bellows. He moves just and inch and the word Detective reads loud and clear across the front of his uniform. My eyebrows crunch together in confusion.
“What are you wearing?” my mind can’t seem to comprehend what’s directly in front of me.
“I’m sorry, but you weren’t supposed to be here.” He whispers for only me to hear. “I have one suspect over here!” he yells. As soon as the words leave his mouth a line of black uniforms swarm my house and yard. Gideon stands me up and turns me around. As he takes both of my wrists from behind I can hear him reciting words to me. I’m still too confused to understand anything. Am I being arrested?” What is this?
“Gideon, what’s going on?” I ask as he pushes me towards a blue and white cruiser.
“You have the right to remain silent, anything you say may be used against you in a court of law.” As if it’s all finally sinking in now I start to panic.
“I didn’t do anything!” I try to wriggle away. “Gideon I didn’t do anything!” my voice grows louder the closer we get to the cruiser. Somewhere in the background I can hear my mother and Todd yelling.
“Just cooperate, Adeline. Everything will be fine, I promise.” He whispers into my ear. My body goes into fight or flight mode and I do anything but cooperate. I struggle to break out of his hold and in the midst of the altercation about three other large guys come running over.
“Please!” I yell. “I didn’t do anything, please just let me go!” Two huge men come forward and grip each of my biceps. Gideon steps away, leaving me in the hands of these beasts. I watch as he makes his way towards the house. “Gideon! Tell them, tell them I didn’t do anything!” I plead with him to help me but he turns his head away. I swear to god my heart breaks on impact and I’m left a sobbing mess.
I’m lead to a small police cruiser with thing one and thing two holding onto me for dear life. The cab of the small car is dark and dingy, and smalls like stale air.
“Where are you taking me?” I ask for the millionth time in the past thirty seconds. “I didn’t do anything.” I swear the officer in front of me just smirks as he drives down the street, leaving all trace of commotion fast behind us. All the way to the police station I try to reason with the officer in the front seat but my pleas fall on deaf ears. My wrists sting and my eyes are red and swollen. Just a few hours ago I was enjoying the company of my two best friends, thinking the worst thing in life was Gideon ignoring me. How wrong was I!
When we finally get to the station, it’s not just any police station it’s the state police barracks. My heart sinks as I’m pulled from the back seat and forced to walk towards the building. People stare with disapproving eyes. Other officers I saw at my house line the steps with looks of approval as I’m brought inside. I make eye contact with the darkest pair of chocolate brown eyes I’ve ever seen and try to convey the amount of hatred I feel for him.
Gideon’s a detective. He must have used me to gain information on my mom and her husband. It all makes sense now. I was nothing put a pawn for him to manipulate and play with for the time being. All of our late night conversations, jokes, and kisses meant nothing to him. I meant nothing to him.
I’m placed in a cold room, and left all alone. I can’t help the traitorous tears that slip down my cheeks every now and again as I allow myself to feel sorry for myself. My throat is sore, my cheeks are puffy and my ears are red and burning. I sit on the cold metal bench and bring my knees up to my chest. My hands are still cuffed behind my back which makes any position uncomfortable. I lay my head on my knees and wait in agony for someone to come and get me out of here.