Eyes Wide Open

twenty

"Fuck! Fuckfuckfuckfuckfu–"

"What? What is it?"

I looked at Dash, at his concerned face, and suddenly I couldn't breathe. I tried to breathe in but it got caught in my throat. I couldn't breathe!

My vision started tunneling more than it already usually was, and I took a shaky step backwards on the porch of Vic's house.

Dash grabbed onto my waist to steady me. "Blake, breathe. It's okay. Just take a deep breath."

I was going to pass out. Caldwell knew. He fucking knew what we did, what I did. We were so fucked.

Dash pressed his forehead to mine as I hyperventilated. "Just take a deep breath. Whatever happened, I'll help you, okay? It's gonna be fine."

Finally, my body's instincts took over and I inhaled a shaky breath, letting it out slowly. "Nothing is fine, Dash. Look."

I shakily held out my phone to him, the email pulled up on the screen. "He knows."

Dash scanned the message, his expression unreadable. After he read it, he lifted his eyes to meet mine. "Don't respond."

"Dash!" I sucked in a breath, exhaling slowly. "He said he'd pursue it through more formal channels. He's going to call the cops if we do nothing!"

Dash shook his head, his jaw tight. "We don't have it anymore, Blake. I pawned the ring the day after we stole it. We don't exactly have the money to buy it back because I had to pay Jack. It's gone."

"Then we need to find a way to get it back!" I insisted, panic rising again.

"We don't have that kind of money anymore," Dash said in a calm voice that only made me more nervous. How could he be so blasé about this?

I could barely think straight, the consequences of what we'd done sinking in like lead. "So what the hell do we do?"

Dash was quiet for a moment, his hand still resting on my waist. "We wait. Maybe it'll blow over."

"Blow over? Are you kidding me? He said he'll go to the police! He'll—"

"Blake, listen to me." Dash's voice was firm. "He doesn't have proof. He's bluffing to scare you into giving it back. We just have to hold our ground, and maybe—"

"He's not bluffing," I cut him off, my voice shaking. "He's already reached out to me. He's going to go to my parents, Dash. I know he will."

Dash frowned, his hand tightening on my waist. "Okay. If he does, you deny everything. We stick to our story. Your parents don't need to know about any of this."

"They're not stupid. They'll know something's up. They've already been suspicious. I mean, I snuck out to come here. Plus, with my grades and skipping class and everything, I don't...I don't know if they'll believe me."

"Then we need to make sure they don't get any proof. We just stay out of trouble, and eventually it'll just blow over. Okay?"

I nodded, but I still felt horrible. Our only recourse was to ignore our problems until they went away? What if they didn't?

***

The following week was a nightmare. I avoided Caldwell's emails, hoping that if I ignored him long enough, he'd give up. But deep down, I knew it was only a matter of time before he made good on his threat.

And then it happened. When I came home from school about a week after the email, my parents were waiting for me with darkly serious expressions on their faces as they told me they had received a call from good ole Harry Caldwell.