An Accidental Murder

Chapter 9

His eyes were so mesmerizing, I couldn't pull myself away.  He seemed to be pleading with me, begging for something.  He gestured for me to come toward him, but my body stiffened as I stood.  Was this real?  Was it even happening?

I glanced around and saw the faces of everyone laughing and talking and then back at the solemn face that beckoned me. It seemed so out of place.  Somewhere in the distance I could here Ryan calling my name, but I couldn't find my way back to the moment, I was entranced.  

"Amber?"

'Amber what are you doing?"

"What is she staring at?!"

Suddenly a sharp pull on my wrist snapped me out of it. "Amber! What the heck are you doing?" Ryan snapped angrily.

I turned to Ryan and then back at Michael who was still standing there.

"That guy..." I pointed.  "he's staring at us," I said.

Everyone began looking around, but no one saw what I saw.

"What guy?" Jessica asked, confused.  

"That guy," I pointed to Michael, who still stood there.

"What the heck has she been smoking?'" somebody laughed.

"Amber, sweets, there's nobody right there," Cassie said. "Are you okay?"

"Nothing a little lack of sleep won't do to ya," Ryan replied hastily, pulling me roughly out of the booth. "Going to get this girl a cappucino at Starbucks before she starts seeing all kinds of stuff.  I'll meet you guys back at school."

No sooner had we left the restaurant, Ryan began laying into me.  "What the fuck was that, Amber?! Are you nuts?"

"I don't know what you're so mad about, the guy was right there."

"What guy? I looked, everybody looked.  No one saw anything."

"Michael --"

"Amber stop it!  Dammit!  I don't know what I'm going to do with you.  You're going to get us both in trouble and I already told you, I'm not going down with you.  You have to stay in control!"

"I know what I saw, Ryan."

"Yeah, so do I.  You saw nothing, because NOTHING was there!"

"How did you not see him standing there? He was as real as you and me.  I'm not making it up!"

"So what?  Was he a ghost?  Did he come to drag you to his grave?  The guy wasn't even dead, Amb-----"

"What did you just say?" Did he really just say what I thought he had?  I didn't kill Michael Cates?! "He was alive?!" I shouted.

"Amber, shut up!" He yelled back rolling up the windows in the car.  It was a while before he spoke again.  I watched him, pondering what he'd say next. His face was red with fury. He'd lied to me and he'd been caught.

"We should call the police, he might still have a chance then, Ryan.  He could still be --"

"Amber!!  Shut the fuck up, already!  Don't you get it? Are you really that stupid? He could have seen either one of us; he could have seen the car.  If he is found alive, you better pray to God that he remembers nothing.  The best shot that we have, is him being found dead."

'And so what? We just take a man away from his family?  We just destroy the life of an innocent child by rendering it fatherless?  Who knew you could be such an asshole!"

"Who knew you could be such a stupid bitch!"

I glared at him in shock and disbelief.  Was it really coming to this? Twenty-four hours ago things were perfect.  It was completely unfathomable that our lives could change so drastically overnight. Ryan had become someone I no longer recognized and honestly, I wasn't sure I wanted to anymore.

"You knew he was alive when we rolled him into that ditch...you knew he was alive when I asked to call the police... Ha!!" I began laughing hysterically.  "You're in this just as deep as I am!"

"The most I'll get is party to a crime resulting in death or something like that.  You'll be the one charged with murder.  Imagine how pretty you'll be locked up and behind bars.  I bet you all kinds of people would want to get at you, they'd  have to put you in solitaire - you'd be alone."

"Ugh!  That's it, I'm done!"

"Done with what?  Done with this crap you're trying to pull?

"No, Ryan. I'm done with you!"

"You can't leave me! You'd be so screwed. I still have your car and I know everything about what happened last night.  In fact, let's just get this over with, I'll drive to the police station right now." He shifted his car into reverse and began driving backward down the road before shifting back into drive and peeling around the corner toward the police station.