Got Your Six

Chapter 27

Kayla

My mind is riddled with worry. Calvin has been gone for nearly twenty-four hours now and no one else seems to know where he might have gone. I'm forced to just sit at home and wait for him to come back, or rather hope for him to come back. I have no idea what he might've gotten himself into by now. I just hope he comes back home in one piece.
The silence was killing me. I had to turn on the TV just so it wouldn't be so quiet in the house. However, that didn't slow down the worrisome thoughts that keep creeping into my head. I've tried to force myself to work but I can't focus on anything. I don't even have an appetite to eat anything. All I want is for my husband to come back home.
My eyes snap around to the window at the sound of someone locking their vehicle. Calvin's truck is sitting in the driveway. I jump up from the couch right as I hear a key slide into the door. By the time the door swings open, I'm standing two feet in front of it to confront my husband.
"Where have you been?" I ask with concern. Now that I can see he's in one piece and doesn't seem to be hurt at all, I can't decide if I should be angry with him or just be glad he's finally home. I suppose I should take the carful route to ensure he doesn't just turn around and leave again.
"I just needed some time to figure things out," Calvin replies while walking through the door.
I intercept him on his way to the couch and give him the biggest hug of his life. "Please don't ever leave like that again," I say into his chest. "You had me worried to death."
"Sorry," he says softly.
I squeeze him for a moment longer before finally letting go and following him to the couch. Part of me still wants to yell at him for walking out on me yesterday but I know he's going through a lot and I don't want to make him feel worse. I've got a million questions but I don't want to overwhelm him either. He's still wearing the same clothes from yesterday. He looks dirty and doesn't smell to good either. Then I remember what Captain Bennett told me about seeing someone down at the quarry last night. I'm almost a hundred percent sure it was Calvin, but I won't ask him about it. He'll tell me if he wants to.
"So," I say hesitantly. "Where did you go?" Someone has to get the conversation started, and if he's not going to say anything, then I guess it has to be me.
"I just went to stay at the Days Inn, off of one-sixty-nine," he says nonchalantly.
"Well, you had me worried sick. You turned off your location so I didn't know where you had gone off to. I called your mom to see if she knew where you were. Hell, I even went down to your work to see if you were there," I tell him. I can see he got slightly annoyed at the mention of me going down to his work. "Why didn't you tell me you got suspended?"
"Because that's embarrassing," Calvin says immediately. "I mean, it's bad enough that they thought I might've killed that Manny guy. But then to suspend me while they work on solving the case..." he trails off as he looks away, trying to avoid eye contact.
I lift my hand up to his cheek, slowly turning his face towards mine. "I don't think you killed that man," I assure him. "That's not you. That's not something you would ever do." I pause for a moment as I gaze into his eyes, watching them get watery. "It doesn't matter if you got suspended from work. I'm here for you no matter what happens. We're gonna get through this just fine. But I need you to talk to me more and be truthful with me."
"Okay, I'm sorry," Calvin mumbles as the first tear rolls down his cheek.
"It's fine," I tell him. I can't stop thinking about the quarry, and if it really was Calvin that was spotted down there last night. I need some answers. Calvin wipes his tears with his sleeve, trying to pull himself together as I try to figure out how to phrase my next question to him without making him upset. "So, did you just stay at the Days Inn the whole time you were gone?"
Calvin hesitates for a moment, avoiding eye contact again. "No," he says quietly.
At least he's starting to be honest with me. I keep quiet for a moment, waiting for him to continue until I realize he's not going to. "Can you tell me where else you went?" I ask him carefully.
He hesitates again, which drives me crazy. I wish I could just shake him around and force him to spit it all out but I know that wouldn't get me anywhere. "I went to see Christina," he tells me.
This shocks me, leaving me not knowing what to say next. I'm glad he's being honest with me but why on earth would he go visit his sister. They haven't talked to each other in I don't even know how long. They don't get along at all as far as I know. "Why?" Is all I can think to say.
"Because I know she's involved in drugs and all that shit. So, I wanted to know if she knew anything about Gavin or point me in the right direction," Calvin explains without any hesitation this time.
"And did she?" I ask.
Calvin doesn't say anything, he just looks down and shakes his head slowly from side to side.
"It's probably not a good idea for you to get involved in this anyway," I tell him, knowing exactly what his boss told me would happen if Calvin did get involved. 
"I know," he says calmly. "It's just hard to leave it alone. I want to see the man responsible for my brother's death get what he deserves."
"And what do you think he deserves?" I ask hesitantly.
Calvin stays silent, refusing to answer or even look me in the eye. Eventually, I'm forced to just abandon the question and move on to the next. "Captain Bennett told me what would happen if you didn't leave the case alone," I say, trying to hint to him that I know about the quarry.
Calvin sighs, continuing to remain silent. Again, I want to grab him and shake him around. I want to force him to say literally anything. Although, I know I won't get anywhere with this conversation if I try to force it on him. So, I just force myself to continue to be patient.
"He also said they spotted someone down at the quarry last night," I say, finally just putting it out there.
Calvin perks up at the mention of the quarry. "They don't know who it was?" He asks, finally looking at me again.
"They don't know for sure," I tell him, wanting so bad to ask if it was him. The last thing I need is for him to say I'm accusing him of something again.
Calvin lets out another sigh and looks back down to the floor. I wait for him to say something else but realize I'd probably be waiting forever. I can't keep putting it off, I need to know.
"Calvin," I say, grabbing his attention again. "Was it you at the quarry last night?" I ask with a soft voice.
He continues to look at the floor and lets out a soft, "Yes."
I close my eyes for a moment as he confirms what I was hoping wouldn't be true. He left me here yesterday and went off to go snooping around an active crime scene, just to risk getting arrested again, and for what? What was he looking for? A hundred more questions come pouring into my head but I put them all to the side. Now's not the time to bombard him with my curiosity. I need to just be here for him.
"You need to stop," I tell him. "Before you get yourself hurt."
"I know," he says quietly. His tears begin flowing again, dripping down to make a small puddle on the hardwood floor.
"You need to get help," I say, putting my hand on his back as he leans forward on the couch.
"Okay," he mumbles into his hands that are now covering his face.
His response stuns me. Just yesterday he was insulted by the suggestion of needing professional help, and now he's just giving in? What could've happened between then and now to make him change his mind? Because his sister couldn't help him? Maybe he didn't find what he was looking for at the quarry? Is he afraid to get fired? Or is he just giving in to get me to leave him alone about it? Whatever it is, it doesn't matter. I'm just going to take advantage of it and get him the help that he needs.
I lean over to the coffee table and grab my phone, ready to help him make his first appointment.