Tacoma Falls: Homeland

Something's not right

Morgan

Hank waited for me until I finished work and spoke to Garrett and Loretta about Rusty. Neither was happy about the situation. Without tangible proof, it's our word against Rusty's.

I left work with Hank. He followed me to his folks. Dalton called Hank and said he filed a missing person's report on Amber.

We arrived at Dalton and Harper's house and headed inside to wait. The kitchen was deathly quiet, with everyone exchanging glances.

Mary and I held hands, praying our fellow musketeer was okay.

Beau entered the house with Waylon and Shep. "Any word yet?"

"Nope." Hank shook his head. "What are you doing here?"

"We know how much Amber means to Morgan and Mary. She means a lot to us, too," Shep said.

The Shaw boys waited until we got word about Amber. I released Mary's hand and ran my hands through my hair before sitting down. Waiting to hear a word about whether your best friend was okay was nerve-wracking.

"Sheriff Tate said he would notify us one way or another about Amber," Payton said.

"This is a nightmare." Loretta leaned on the kitchen island and covered her face.

Garrett rubbed her back, offering comfort. I stared at Loretta and Garrett. Is this how Momma fretted about me when I left?

We never give thought to how parents feel when we're chasing after a promise. They worry about us while we're busy focusing on ourselves. While I was grieving Momma, Loretta and Garrett were fretting over Amber.

*****
Amber

I hid in a closet when I heard Dalton's voice and kept quiet. If I said anything, Rusty would beat me harder. I waited when the footsteps faded. I didn't dare open the door until it opened. Rusty stood before me with a gash across his forehead.

"I stayed quiet like you said," I told Rusty.

"I need you to fix my gash."

I nodded, headed to the bathroom, and grabbed a first aid kit. Rusty sat on the toilet seat while I tended to his wound. Once I placed a bandage over it, Rusty grabbed my neck and slammed me against the bathroom wall.

"Rusty," I gasped and grabbed at his hands.

Rusty leaned into me. "You're done with all of them. You hear me? If they step on my property, it won't end well for you." Rusty released me.

I fell to the floor, rubbed my neck, and coughed.

"Cover up those marks before anyone sees." Rusty left the bathroom.

I sat on the floor and gulped for breath before staggering to my feet and covering the bruises. While I worked on covering the evidence, I heard voices coming from downstairs.

"Amber!" Rusty yelled from the bottom of the steps.

I took a deep breath, composed myself, and headed downstairs. "Hey, Sheriff Tate."

"Amber," Sheriff Tate said. "We got a report of you gone missing."

"I can assure you I'm not missing." I forced a smile.

"Can you account for your whereabouts?"

"Oh, I was collecting corn from the neighbor since Rusty enjoys it."

Sheriff Tate glanced out the screen door while Rusty wrapped his arm around my waist and dug his fingers into me. I held back a yelp.

"What happened to your car?" Sheriff asked Rusty.