Things Change

Chapter Seven

***Beau***

I sat in the Williams' living room listening to the sound of everyone talking at once. We had all searched every inch of Melbourne and we couldn't find a single sign of her anywhere. Mr. Jacob's, a former detective and Liam's dad, clapped his hands.We all turned and looked at him.

"Okay, so we've all done our best to try and find Kayleigh. Although, we weren't able to find her, I'm sure we've gathered some sort of information that can help." He said. "So, first off, who was the last person to see her?"

"I was." Nate said, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Okay," Liam's dad said. "Do you recall what she said when she left? Because we know that her car is missing and if she was upset, maybe..."

"Are you trying to imply that she ran away?" Mrs. Williams asked looking horrified.

"Our daughter would NOT run away." Mr. Williams added defensively. "She has no reason to run away. She does well in school, has lots of friends, and she knows we love her."

"I'm not implying anything. I'm simply trying to cover all of our bases here." Mr. Jacobs said looking offended.

"Everybody calm down." My mom said. "We're all here for the same purpose. Let's just all work together."

The Williams and Mr. Jacobs all nodded reluctantly.

"Gina's right." Mrs. Jacobs said.

"To answer your question, Mr. Jacobs,I think she said something about how she was going to take my advice." Nate answered.

"Your advice?" Mr. Jacobs questioned. "What did you tell her."

"That she should break-up with that douchebag." Nate stated.

"Nate!" Mrs. Jacobs scolded.

"Sorry," He muttered.

"Are you talking about Colby?" I asked.

"After you left, he showed up on our doorstep and cussed Kayleigh out." Nate answered. "He seemed almost...."

"Almost what?" I asked feeling my blood begin to boil.

Nate swallowed hard, "He seemed almost...abusive."

"What?" Mr. and Mrs. Williams exclaimed in unison.

"Are you sure?" Mr. Jacobs questioned.

I suddenly felt faint as I thought through all that had happened. Kayleigh's limp, the bruise on her face, her reluctance to get in the car with Seth, all of it made sense.

"I think he's right," I said.

Everyone in the room turned to look at me.

"If what you're saying is true, this could be extremely serious." Mr. Jacobs said. "Abusive relationships are a dangerous thing."

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***Kayleigh***

I clutched my arm and screamed out in agony.

"Now, now, Kay." He said in a sickeningly kind voice. "Looks like you're going to need me to take care of you. Especially now that you've hurt your ankle AND your shoulder." He tsked, "What a shame too."

I glared at the gun that sat in the holster on his belt. I wanted so badly to murder him—right here, right now—but, the pain was excruciating. As much as I didn't want to, I began to cry like a big baby.

"Let me see it." Colby said moving my fingers from around my shoulder.

My fingers were red with blood. I thought I'd pass out at any moment.