Changed Time

Chapter Thirty

I spotted my friends through a glass door, waiting impatiently in the waiting area of the Sheriff station after I walked out of the interrogation room.

"Drew!" Sophie's voice caused me to turn around. She was being escorted by a female detective. She ran up to me, leaving the detective behind and threw her arms around me.

I hesitantly put my arms around her waist, but then ended up squeezing her tight. "It's okay," I whispered into her hair. "We're fine."

"Mr. Holdsman, Miss Craft," Randall frowned as he said our names. "If you could come this way, we need you to fill out some paperwork."

Sophie pulled away from me, but ended up entwining her fingers with mine.

I turned back to our friends who have now noticed us and are all standing up. I signaled for them to wait a little while longer.

Jessie made a gesture of annoyance, slamming herself back onto the chair. Wyatt crossed his arms and kept doing what looked like a pattern of pacing, stopping, tapping his foot and then starting over. Zach gave me an encouraging thumbs up, but his expression told me that he was worried. It was Paige who I was most worried and bothered by. She was staring at me, even though Mia was trying to get her attention. She and I held our stare until Sophie pulled my hand and I was forced to break the connection with those gray eyes.

The paperwork that we had to sign was basically just us stating that we would fully cooperate if we were to be called back into the station. "This is likely to happen once we have more evidence," the female detective, Jensen, told us. "You both are no longer suspects, but until the investigation is closed, we would advise you to stay in Thorp, in case we need to call you back in for further questioning."

I couldn't help but flicker my gaze quickly to and away from Randall.

He had told me to leave Thorp, but Jensen is telling me to stay. Did he just not think of further questioning or was there a different reason?

"Thank you," Sophie says nodding to Jensen who gave her a smile and a nod. Randall continues to frown. "Let's go, Drew." She grabs my hand again and starts pulling me away from the desk, back toward our friends.

"About time," Jessie grumbled just as we opened the glass door. "I mean, it isn't as if you killed anybody."

I clenched my jaw.

Sometimes Jessie could be really sweet, like with most of my visions, she seemed to understand how painful they are, but lately, she'd been cold.

"Ignore her," Wyatt said stopping in front of me. "Are you okay?"

I narrowed my eyes. "We need to find these guys, Wyatt."

He nodded. "I know."

I shook my head. "No, I mean now. They killed Walter and have killed who knows how many girls." Sophie squeezed my hand and it was a if it was a cue to remember her sister's death. "We need to find them. And now it's going to be even harder."

"What do you mean, harder?" Zach asked, obviously listening in.

"Randall. The detective. He's onto us. He knows we aren't going to that stupid park. He knows we're up to something, and he's going to be watching our every move," I told them quietly.

Jessie huffed again, apparently also eavesdropping. "Great. As if it wasn't hard enough."

"We shouldn't talk now," Sophie whispered. "Not here." She was staring ahead of us.

I followed her gaze and found Randall staring at me, his dark brown eyes glaring me down as if daring me to make a move he won't approve of.

"Yeah, let's go."

"But where?" Zach asked. "We obviously can't go back to the motel. Where are we supposed to go?"

"We need to get our stuff from the motel, but I guess we'll have to find a different place to crash," Wyatt said.

"Okay, let's go before Randall decides he wants to ask me more questions." I said to hurry everyone along.

We got to some doubled doors and everyone but Paige, Mia, Sophie and I went outside right away.

"Drew." Paige's voice was like a bucket of ice water being thrown onto my face. She sounded tired, worried and most of all, confused. "I need to talk with you."

I turned to Sophie who was still holding my hand. She gave me a small smile, gave my hand a squeeze and easily untangled our physical connection. "See you outside."

I nodded and she walked away, Mia following her.

I faced Paige who looked at me with a sad expression.

"What is it?" I asked, sensing something was bothering her.

"I can't have Mia around this, Drew," she said softly, barely audible. "She's thirteen and has already seen so much death."

I nodded. "I know. It sucks."

She shook her head. "Yeah, Drew. It sucks. But that isn't what I'm saying." I looked into her gray eyes and they're still full of confusion, sadness and tirey. "I'm all she has and she's all I have. Our parents are both dead, and well, I'm not willing to lose her over something as terrible as this. I'm not going to put her in the position in which she could be their next victim."

I inhaled deeply. "So you're saying you want out?"

She shook her head again. "I don't want out, I want Mia out and the only way that can happen is if I get her as far away from here as possible."

I searched her eyes deeper. "Paige. Don't you understand. The murderers are like us. They get visions. And Shaggy is much more advanced than us. We don't know how advanced either. Maybe that's how he's choosing his victims. As far as we can tell. Thorp is the safest place for Mia to be. With us."

A deputy walked through the first set of the doubled door and I had to stop talking until the passed through the rest of the doors.

"If you leave, it's just you and Mia. If you stay here. It's the entire group and you know that we'd never let anything happen to either of you."

Paige narrowed her eyes. "I don't know, Drew."

"Please, Paige. Stay here." I begged. "We need you." I lowered my voice. "And I need you." She raised her eyes to me, and I saw a speck of hope form. "They don't understand it, but you, you do. I need you, otherwise, I'm as lost I was before."

She gave a small smile then nodded. "Okay. I'll stay."

After those three words, I let go of the huge breath I wasn't aware I was holding. And it was filled with relief.