Catfished - COMPLETED

CHAPTER SEVEN

       The GPS predicted it would take half an hour to reach their destination. A slight drizzle- very appropriate for Seattle- hit the streets and the windshield. Generic pop music filled the car, despite the low volume. Nev had turned on the radio to break up the silence in the tense car. Lucy, normally not a nail biter, chomped away on her thumb nail. Max stared out of the window, not actually looking at any of the sights they were passing.
       Lucy took her thumb out of her mouth. She heaved a deep breath and exhaled it loudly. "Thank you, guys. Again. You've both been so much help." She made sure to look both Nev and Max in their eyes. She wanted to make sure they knew she was sincere.
        Max's face made a dramatic change from lost-in-thought to complete relief. "Lucy, I'm so sorry about earlier!" he exclaimed. He felt so much better now that she had broken her silence between them. His shoulders fell into a relaxed posture after what felt like days. He started spouting what he had kept bottled up for hours. "I overstepped. I was trying to make up for what I had lost with this show the past couple of days. And I'm sorry. I'll stop making excuses and just ask for your forgiveness."
        Lucy gave him a faint smile, but it was genuine. "I forgive you."
       "Well now that that has been taken care of, can we please get a plan for what we're about to freaking do?!" Nev said from the driver's seat.
       "Yeah. Lucy, what do you want us to do? We have a few different ways this might play out. We're not 100% sure of what we're walking into," Max reminded her. He scooted forward in his seat, making the conversation more intimate.
      "What are our options?" Lucy asked, her face marked with concern.
      "Scenario 1," Nev began. "It turns out to be Tyler, the guy in the photos."
       "If it's him, I just want to know why he's lied about his name. Find out what else he's lied about. Have a calm conversation."
      "Scenario 2," Max listed. "It's Tyler's mom, Debbie. The woman that the number is listed as."
      "Ugh," Lucy wrinkled her face in disgust. "I think I could calmly talk with her about what she was getting out of the relationship. Why she did it. I would want to know that for sure."
      "And scenario 3," Nev moved on. "It's Tyler's brother Jeff. The 34-year-old half brother."
      Lucy closed her eyes for a moment.
       "You really need to decide what you want us to do with this one. It seems to be the most plausible," Max prodded gently.
     "I honestly don't know... It kind of depends on what impression I get from him. What if he's a regular guy who made a bad choice? Or what if he's scummy? I would react completely different," Lucy thought out loud.
      "Okay. If he's a sweet, nice guy. What should we do?" Nev inquired.
      Off the top of her head, Lucy responded with, "Just let him talk. Let him explain what happened. What led him to this."
      "And if he's scum?" Max asked in a soft voice.
       Lucy thought for a moment. "Let him have it," she finally decided. "I may not be able to talk for a minute, so just go for it."
      Max and Nev looked at each other in the rear view mirror. "We can do that," Nev said.
      "Always a good time to let a Catfish know what's up," Max added with a smirk. "But hopefully it doesn't come to that." He sat back in his seat and let Lucy contemplate the possibilities of the next couple of hours.
      "God, I hope it's not 3," Lucy whispered.
       Max and Nev shared another look in he mirror. Both knowing that was the most likely end result. They would have to be brave for Lucy. They were her guides and protectors through this experience. And they had come to really care about her. Nev and Max began to mentally formulate the best thing to say to Lucy's supposed Catfish.

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       "You have arrived at your destination," the GPS announced. Nev pulled the car into the driveway. They were no longer in the city. A thick wall of dark green evergreens surrounded them. A small house sat in the middle of the claustrophobic clearing. It would have been endearing under different circumstances. In this situation though, the surroundings were eery.
     Lucy had goosebumps up and down her arms and on the back of her neck. She gave a slight shudder. Max took out his hand held. He panned around the car, getting shots of Lucy and Nev and the views from the windows.
    "We're all thinking it. I'll just say it- this is totally and completely a creepy Catfish setup," Nev said to Max's camera. Max and Lucy nodded.
     The camera and sound crew set up around the front door of the house. Max, Nev, and Lucy had already been mic-ed. So they waited in the car for the okay to get out.
    Lucy's eyes were closed. Her foot was bouncing so fast, it looked like it was vibrating with nerves. She was biting her thumb nail again.
    "Hey," Max said. He put his hand on her arm, taking her out of her mind full of worries. She stopped shaking and biting her thumb. "We've got your back. We have a plan for every scenario." She bit her bottom lip, but nodded. "And remember. You don't need anything from this guy. You're only doing this to avoid the big What If. You don't need him."
    Brad, the producer, knocked on Nev's window. He nodded at the car group, signaling they were ready. Nev added his hand onto Lucy's arm to reassure her. "We're both here. You've got this," he told her.
    With that, the trio exited the car. Nev walked ahead of Lucy and Max. They crossed the driveway and made their up the gravel path to the door. Max and Lucy stopped halfway up. Max wrapped his arm around Lucy's waist and held her hand. Nev continued up the path, gravel crunched loudly with each step. He made it to a paint-chipped front door. All the windows' blinds were closed. Nev couldn't peek through anywhere.
       With a deep breath, Nev knocked loudly on the door. After a moment of silence, he knocked again even louder. "Hello," he called. He looked back at the camera with a shrug. Lucy bounced up and down, unable to control how nervous she was anymore. Max rubbed her arm to calm her. Suddenly they heard a sound from the door. Their eyes shot toward the sound, as the front door cracked.
    "Hey," Nev addressed black abyss of the crack in the door. He couldn't see anything or anyone.
    "Is she here?" asked the faceless person.
    "Yeah. She's down the walkway a little bit. Do you want to open the door and come meet her?"
    Slowly the door opened and revealed......

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Cliffhanger!!!! Sorry but I couldn't help it. 😄😄😄 Who do you think it is? And how is everyone going to react? Let me know your guesses. Is it Tyler, Debbie, or Jeff? And don't forget to vote if you're loving the story!