Truth Comes Second (Revised)

Chapter 3: JIMMY

Tommy was shuffling across the ground as I dragged him to the truck. His arm was around my shoulders and he was pushing all of his weight down on me. He groaned in pain, but I refused to slow down. I opened the passenger side door to the truck and removed Tommy's arm.

"Get in," I said. "I have to get our bags."

Tommy leaned against the truck. The sweat was gleaming on his forehead and he was panting. I turned and headed back toward the house.

Jared was sitting on the porch. He was bundled up in a thick blue sweater to keep him warm from the morning air. He watched me as I went into the house.

Lindsay was in the kitchen bouncing Theo as she tried to get him to burp. She gave me a soft smile as I went back up the stairs to grab our bags. When I came back into the kitchen, Gabe was coming up from the basement with two sleeping bags under his arm.

"These are for you," he said, handing them over to me. "I don't know where you plan on sleeping, but these may come in handy."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Take them," he said. "We got them out of someone's car a few months ago and we'll have no reason to use them."

"Thank you."

"We will see you later. We know that you will find a way out of this."

"I hope so."

Gabe chuckled nervously under his breath.

"Try not to kill Tommy," he said.

"I make no promises," I said.

I turned around and left. I did not say goodbye. Our family did not do that. If I said goodbye, it was like I would never be seeing my family again.

I waved to Jared as I passed him on the porch and he waved back. I threw our bags and the sleeping bags into the back of the truck. Tommy had his head against the window with his eyes closed. He looked over at me when he heard me open the driver's side door.

"So where to?" he asked.

"I am not sure yet," I said, turning on the ignition.

"Well, you better figure that out."

"Just be grateful that I did not leave you in the house for when the cops came."

Tommy let out a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair. I pulled out of the driveway and onto the road.
I knew I had two options: stay in the middle of nowhere or go to town. Driving out in the country seemed like the safest option, but the suspense was killing me. I needed to know if Julie was alive.

I reached for the knobs on the radio and turned them until I could find a news station. The radio crackled as the signal went in and out.

"What are you doing?" Tommy asked.

"I need to know what they are saying about us," I said.

"They wouldn't be saying anything if you hadn't called the cops."

I glared at Tommy. He was not paying attention to me as he chewed on his fingernail and looked out the windshield.

"An update on the case of Juliet Miller and Carrie Bishop," the radio host said. I reached out and turned the volume up. "Carrie is stating that the two weeks she had been missing she was beaten and raped every night."

Tommy shrugged his shoulders.

"I was trying to make her love me," he said.

"Carrie also stated that the only reason that she survived was that Juliet took care of her," the man continued. "Miller went missing over two years ago. She is refusing to talk to the media."

My lips spread into a smile. The tension that had overtaken my body was finally starting to ease. Julie was alive. She was refusing to speak to the media because she is trying to protect us. It hurt me to leave her, but at least I knew that she still loved the family.

"The two brothers suspected in these brutal kidnappings are still on the loose," the man said. "They are in their early twenties and are thought to be traveling together. The one has been detailed to have a large scar on the side of his face. If the brothers are spotted police are saying not to approach them."

Tommy burst into laughter. I glared at him again, but he was too busy laughing to notice.

"What?" I snapped.

"That's too funny," he said. "That scar is going to get us caught and killed."

"I don't see how that is funny."

"It's ironic. I mean that chick that gave it to you was trying to kill you, and now ten years later it is going to get both of us killed."

My fingers brushed along the deep indentation of my skin. I told Julie it was from an accident on the farm. I did not want her worrying about me and thinking that I could get hurt.

I kept my grip tight on the steering wheel as Tommy's laughter died down. I switched the radio station until music played. Tommy and I rose in silence, and I was happy with that. Every word he said made me want to kick him out of the truck.

I drove until we were low on gas. I pulled over at the first gas station I saw. No one was there, except for a man sitting behind the counter inside. He was watching a small television and had a bag of potato chips in his hands. I lifted the hood of my sweater and arranged my hair to cover my scar. I looked in the mirror to see that it was barely covered.

"Maybe you should go in," I said.

"Me?" Tommy asked. "I'm injured. I can't walk! This would have been a lot easier if you had not shot me."

"Stop whining and just shut up."

I climbed out of the truck. I kept my head down as I filled the tank full of gas. The attendant howled with laughter and clapped his hands as he watched television. I pulled a couple of bills out of my pocket and walked into the station.

Two little bells clanged together as the door opened. The man put his bag of chips down, looked up, and wiped his hands on his T-shirt.

"Sorry about that," he said. "I don't get a lot of customers all the way out here."

"Not a problem," I said.

I dropped the bills on the counter. The man picked them up and counted them. He stopped halfway through counting to look at me. His beady eyes looked at my scar and he chewed on his bottom lip. My heart pounded as I realized he knew who I was.

"Have I.D. on you?" he asked.

"Why?" I snapped.

He smiled to reveal a mouthful of crooked yellow teeth. He shook his head and ran his fingers through his greasy hair.

"My, my, my," he said. "Who do we have here?"