Waves

Part 48

Lots of big changes coming for our favorite couple....

"Why aren't you cooperating with the police? Do you know how much trouble you're creating for yourself Sam? I cannot believe you would be this foolish and risk so much," Eve lectured as the two friends walked back into his house. "If you came all the way over here to give me a lecture, you can save it. You shouldn't even be here. I'm sure you're well aware I'm being watched by the cops and that every device I have is being traced. Hell, you probably ordered it," Sam snapped.

"That's bullshit and you know it. First of all, that's not how this works. Second, your uncooperative ass is the only reason anyone from CPD is watching you. You and I have been friends forever. You know I only have your best interest at heart and this isn't fucking it," Eve hissed.

Shaking his head, Sam scowled and opened his fridge, pulling two beers out and sliding them aggressively over to Eve. "Open these. I've gotta go find some Advil. My head is killing me." She was about to tell him that more alcohol probably wasn't going to help his head when Sam disappeared upstairs, leaving her alone in the kitchen.

Eve stared at his phone plugged into an outlet on the marble island, bad ideas swirling in her head. Could I ascertain Amanda's location fast enough while he's upstairs? She thought about it for a few moments, even shifting slightly so she was closer to the phone before Sam's heavy footsteps coming down the stairs snapped her out of her delusions.

He grabbed one of the now opened bottles and downed half of it in one gulp, wiping his mouth with his shirt sleeve. "Go ahead. Let me hear your lecture about how terrible I am and how I set Joe up," Sam slurred.

"You've lost your fucking mind. I don't think that for a second Sam. You got played and that breaks my heart. But what's absolutely shattering it is you putting yourself at risk to help a criminal and her accomplice. Your present inaction is directly helping Lana. That means you are inadvertently hurting Joe. Is that what you want?"

"Of course not. He's my best friend and I can't even call him right now. Joe probably thinks I helped set this whole thing up. There's no way he'll ever forgive me," Sam muttered. "That just underlines how you're thinking with your ass. Joe has defended you at every turn. He sat there and looked at photos of you packing up Amanda's house and still thought the fix was in. There is no part of him that thinks you helped in any way," Eve insisted, "but the window to help him–and yourself for that matter–is going to close the longer you don't cooperate."

Sam looked out the window, his eyes glazed as they wandered over the sloping hills. "I bought her a ring. Did Joe tell you that? I was gonna propose. We had plans for our future, for what we wanted our life together to look like. Now I feel like I was making plans with a stranger. I'm not even sure that I ever really knew her."

"I can't pretend to know what you're feeling or understand how devastated you are. You've been lied to just like we were, maybe even worse, and I'm sure that this all feels like a nightmare. But I do know what it's like to have a vision for a life with your partner die, and how hard it is to mourn that. You've gotta go through the steps though. You've gotta let her go," Eve whispered, reaching for Sam's hand.

A lone tear rolled down Sam's face and he hastily wiped it away. "What do I do though? How do I make this better? I-I do know where she is. Where both of them are, actually. I lied to that detective already and said I didn't, but I do."

"I left my phone at home in case they're tracing me too," Eve said quietly, "you're going to call it. Once I'm home, I'm going to call you back. Make it look like you called me looking for advice and I referred you to Michael. He will go with you to meet with Detective Cline so you can tell them what you know and where Amanda is. That's the safest and easiest way out of this mess for you, okay?"