Chapter Twenty-Seven
Cade
December 27, Wednesday Evening
My blood boiled as I raced up the stairs two at a time to get to Alissa’s apartment, my brain buzzed with so much rage that I didn’t know what to think. What sort of person got themselves embroiled with such madness this close to the holidays when it was impossible to get any sort of real support? Banks were closed, the cops were busy as hell, phone lines were all tied up.
As soon as I got the phone call from Alissa with regards to this whole mess, I snapped into action and started to work out exactly what was going on. She didn’t know too much; there were a lot of holes in the story that I needed to fill in myself. It was safe to say that both girls were hysterical with fear so that I couldn’t get a lot from them. Mob, drugs, prison...and money. They needed money; that was the main thing. Cash that neither of them had – but of course I did. Not that Alissa knew that.
I tried not to hammer on the door too frantically because I didn’t want them to think that I was one of these mobsters coming for them, but the anxiety and rage coursing through me made that impossible. To negate that I yelled so they’d know that it was me.
“Hey, it’s Cade. Can I come in?”
The door swung open rapidly, and I found myself face-to-face with a very pale Alissa. Another girl that I could only assume was Elle curled up on the couch behind her. Her shoulders were shaking, which suggested that she was crying. I had to avert my eyes away just to stop myself from saying anything to her.
“Alissa, I brought the fifty thousand dollars. You don’t need to call my Dad.” I held up a briefcase to indicate the cash. It was a little movie-like, but then this whole mess had a feel of that to me.
“You did? How the hell did you manage that?”
“It doesn’t matter.” I dismissed her rapidly. I couldn’t get into the money side of things right now. Later, when the time was more appropriate, I’d explain something to her. Whether I’d tell her the truth, it was still unclear. Maybe now with this going on, it was time just to come clean. “I called in some favors. That’s irrelevant; my father doesn’t know, which is the main thing.”
The words “your mother also didn’t know” clung to the air, but I didn’t feel the need to say them aloud. I knew more than anyone that Alissa wouldn’t want her mother in the picture.
“Right, okay. Well, come in. Thank you so much for doing this, I really appreciate it, and Elle and I will find a way to pay you back.”
“Don’t worry about that for now,” I declared as I pushed my way inside. “Let’s just take this one step at a time so I can understand what’s happening here.” I took the seat opposite Elle and watched as she sat up. “Do you mind just explaining to me what happened again, so that I can cover any bases that we haven’t yet thought of.”
“Oh... right...” She looked exhausted as if the memories might be hazy in her mind, but I still needed to hear it come from her mouth. Maybe today she’d recall details she hadn’t before, and I could ensure safety. That was all I needed right now.
“Well, yesterday, I was driving along with Brad when the cops pulled us over. He tossed his stash...” She furrowed her eyebrows as if she was trying really hard to think. “But the guys that he’s involved with, the mob guys, they think I have it and want the money owed to them.”
“Could they not just go and collect the stash?”
Alissa put a hand gently on my shoulder to silence me. As I turned to face her, she gave me a pointed look. “Elle has thought this through from every angle; there isn’t any other way to get them away from her for now. I promise that we’ll pay you back.”
I tossed the briefcase to Elle without saying another word. I knew what Alissa was telling me; she’d obviously been up discussing things with her friend all night long. There was no need for me to go over it again, even if it was for my own benefit.
“You better count that,” I warned her. “The mob aren’t people you wish to short change.”
Elle gave me an innocent, wide-eyed look. “Have you not counted it yourself?”
“Of course, I have, but since you’re the one doing the transaction, don’t you think it’s better to do the counting yourself, to be certain? That’s just good business practice.”
“Right, of course.”
As Elle unclipped the briefcase, Alissa snuggled into my back trying to convey the message that I’d done the right thing. I didn’t respond; my body remained stiff and upright while I waited for everything to unravel.
“What’s this?” Elle gasped in utter shock. “There isn’t any money here?” As she pulled out a manila envelope Alissa’s arms fell away from me, and she took a step backward. “I thought that you were supposed to be helping me?”
“Oh, I am,” I insisted a little smarmily. “Why don’t you open up the envelope and take a look inside.”
She did, ever so slowly, and while we all waited, a tension so thick that it could be cut with a knife filled the air. My heart hammered loudly, but I kept my expression as stoic as possible. What happened next would determine a lot of things, and I wasn’t sure what the fallout would be.
“What’s this?” Elle demanded as pictures of her and Brad fell to the ground – pictures from CCTV, an image of them in a motel not so long ago, a photo of them laughing as they embrace. “What does all of this mean? And phone records? What the hell game are you playing?”
I didn’t acknowledge her anymore – she was making me too angry for words. If I stared at her for even another second, I feared I might explode.
“Alissa, what I don’t think ‘your friend’ is telling you is that there aren’t any mobsters, drug runs, or cops. Brad isn’t even in jail. If you look at the phone records, you’ll see that they’ve been in touch all night long. About you, actually.”
“What?” Her expression fell, and any color that she had left stripped from her face. She was as white as the wallpaper behind her. “What are you talking about, Cade?”
“I’m saying that none of this is real. The story Elle gave you is fake, and so is the threat to her life. She wants to con you out of fifty thousand dollars with her boyfriend; then they’re going to vanish, leaving you with nothing.”
“He’s lying,” Elle practically shouted. “He’s a part of it. Don’t believe him, Alissa.”
But unfortunately for her, one of the pieces of paper that she dropped in her temper was the phone records, and Alissa was already looking at it.
“Why?” she gasped as her eyes filled with tears. “I thought that we were friends, Elle. Why would you do this to me?”
“I didn’t...” She tried to deny it again, but Alissa wasn’t taking any of it.
“No, don’t bullshit me. At least have the decency to show me some respect and tell me the truth.”
At first, Elle bristled like she was going to continue down that horrible path, but then she must have realized that she did owe Alissa something...and that the evidence against her was so water tight that she couldn’t keep on going.
“I’m struggling, Alissa. I mean, really struggling. I keep trying to pretend everything is alright and I don’t mind waiting tables while I wait for my big break that isn’t coming. I can’t fake it anymore; I can’t stand it.”
“But I’m in the same boat. I’m struggling to make it, too.” Alissa really didn’t get it, which broke my heart. She was such a good person that she couldn’t understand why someone else wouldn’t be. “How is that my fault?”
“It isn’t.” I could tell the cogs in Elle’s brain were whirring as she tried to think of a nice way to explain this away. “But you have opportunities that I don’t – you have a stepfather who wants to throw cash at you and you don’t take it. I just think that someone should if you don’t want to.”
“So, because I have pride, you think that I’m weak?” Alissa’s voice shook; she was losing her freaking mind. I needed to take control of the situation before things spun out of control. “You think I’m here to walk all over? You’re willing to throw away years of friendship?”
“But Brad said-”
Nope, I wasn’t about to listen to what that asshole Brad had to say. “Elle, take this.” I took another envelope out of my pocket and tossed it to the ground in front of her. “There’s your fifty thousand dollars. You have what you want; now I expect you to get out of here and never to see you again.”
Elle didn’t bend down to pick up the money, but I could tell she was itching to. “No, I want to explain myself to Alissa first.”
I glanced over to where Alissa was sobbing in a heartbroken way. “I don’t think she wants to talk to you right now. Or ever again. In fact, if Alissa or I ever see you or Brad again, I’ll go straight to the cops, and you’ll both be arrested.”
Elle bent down then, like the snivelling rat that she was, and she grabbed the cash. Then she raced into her room to pick up an already packed suitcase, just further evidence of what she had planned. I knew growing up with money that there were always people willing to take advantage of the wealthy, but I would never have suspected someone would do this to such a kind-hearted woman.
Alissa really didn’t deserve any of it.
“I’m sorry,” Elle wept as she walked towards the door. “I’m sorry, Alissa, I never meant to hurt you. This was never anything against you. I just wanted money, and the only person I know with money is your family. I didn’t want to lose you; I never wanted to destroy what we have. I guess I just didn’t think...”
But Alissa didn’t answer. She twisted and buried her head deeper into my chest, making her feelings on the matter very clear. I held her tight against me, trying to let her know that I would be there for her no matter what. That was why I looked so deeply into the case to protect her from what I could tell was a fake story.
“Just leave,” I said coldly to Elle. “Leave and have a happy life with Brad. Remember what you have done here – and heed my warning because I mean it. As you have now seen, I can find out anything I want about anyone I want. So, leave, and never come back.”
She stared me down, but there was a lot less defiance in her eyes now. All I could really see was regret, but it was much too late for that. Everyone suffered setback; not everyone reacted like this.
Once the door clicked behind Elle, Alissa really let loose. She didn’t trust many people at all, and everyone she did let in betrayed her. Elle seemed to be the closest person to her, and now she’d done the same. I was all that Alissa had left...
I just hoped that everything I’d done right would negate the one crappy thing that I’d done. There was no way she could take any more heartaches.