Love Me | Series Book #1

FORTY FOUR

I tossed and turned in bed, waiting for the turn of the knob or the slam of a car door, to sound as a hopeful sign that Chase had returned. Without wanting to spend any more of this day, allowing Mason's last attempt at attention to claim my mind, I'd surrendered to bed, far too early.

But, then a determined knock sounded at the front door below.

I swung my feet off the bed, and they nearly took flight I leaped down the hall, descending the stairs to dislodge the deadbolt. I opened the door, ready to greet Chase, and ask what could have possibly led him away from me so abruptly. But, the sentence folded in my throat as my eyes connected with a woman, a few inches below my line of vision, clad in a tan uniform, and a belt strapped with weapons around her waist.

It took moments for my mind to catch up, and paint the full picture that stood before me. It wasn't Chase...nor the only other person bold enough to show up on my front stairs this late hour of the evening.

But rather,  the Austin-county sheriff,  designated by a gold star in the corner of her chest, reflecting the glare of the foyer light directly back into my eyes.

And she wasn't alone. She was joined by a stocky partner, who gave me the grace of staying one step below the patio stairs. Although, the distance did little to make me feel any less enclosed. 

"Miss Fischer?" The officer asked, although her tone indicated my name wasn't a question. "Sheriff Melissa Santiago," she said extending a hand.

My mind raced across the last hour, trying to construct a narrative of what could have possibly led the Austin County Sherrif to my front stairs at 8 P.M. on a school night. Someone was hurt...was my first inclination. The roar of Chase's engine raced past my mind, flooding my imagination with the worst possible outcomes...of his truck turned over in a ditch, or in a pile of a high-way collision.

No - I wouldn't allow myself to go there. Chase was okay. There wasn't any other option that I would even entertain.

"We're sorry to interrupt your evening. We just have a few questions, and we hope you can assist us with some answers." 

I nodded. "Yeah sure, okay." 

"About Mason."

His name would have sent me spiraling backward if the handle of my front door hadn't caught my fall. I clasped onto it, as I waited for the sentence to translate in my mind. But the pieces refused to connect. 

"Mason?" I repeated for clarity.

"That is your boyfriend, right? We just need to ask you a few questions. Would you be alright with that?"

I couldn't answer.

"We had an emergency call come through this evening from your school. Have you been in contact with Mason today?"

I shook my head.

"You didn't see him in class?"

"I-I wasn't there."

"Hmm," she wrote something down in her notepad. A wave of guilt crashed over me as if I were lying, although I knew for a fact that I wasn't. "Can you tell us the last time that you spoke to Mr. Riley?"

"I-"

Before I could even finish the sentence, the headlights of my mother's Sedan came beaming into the driveway. The breath I was holding felt safe to deflate as the door whipped open, and the click of her pumps made their way up the gravel.

"Kaya? What on earth.." she gestured to the blinding ambulance lights that illuminated our house, casting a spotlight on our yard, in front of the entire neighborhood. "Is everything all right?"She called, throwing her purse so haphazardly across her shoulder, the contents began to spill over.