Cannonball

Twenty Eight

Lauren's PoV

March 25th 2013.

Monday 9:40pm

Miami, Florida.

"Fuck! Fuck!" I scramble with my phone, my hands shaking as I hit the redial button and press my phone against my ear and again it goes straight to voicemail. "Damn it Will! Pick up!" I slam my fist against the wall beside me as I fumble around looking for the keys to my apartment before I realize that I left them in my suit jacket which is still in Zach's car.

"Fuck!" I shout in frustration as I run a shaking hand through my hair. I don't know what to do.

What if he's dead?

What if the fire killed him?

My stomach clenches painfully and soon I'm bending over and throwing up, I gag once, twice, three times before leaning back up straight and wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

Will has to be alive, because there is no way in hell that I just witnessed a murder, that I'm now an accessory to murder...

That my Uncle Zach just killed someone.

I knew he wasn't exactly an honorable man, I knew he did bad things and I knew he even did them to good people. I'm not proud to admit that knowing these qualities about this man never bothered me– hell - for the majority of my life I actually looked up to him and I wanted to be like him.

Assault, drugs, theft, vandalism...I could let all of that slide without even batting an eyelid.

But murder?

He didn't even flinch.

I shake my head and fumble to find my phone again before finding Will's number and press call, I wait an anxious moment while it connects. I groan loudly as yet again it goes straight to voicemail.

"Just fucking pick up!" I grip onto my phone tightly, slamming my arm back against my side in frustration.

I freeze and turn around and take a step towards the railing of the balcony of my apartment block. It takes me a second to realize that I can hear the sound of sirens and they are getting closer.

Fuck.

I turn on my heel and run, quickly down the steps and into the parking lot, I fall on the gravel and sit back against a big black range rover breathlessly as I hear the sirens come closer and closer, I squeeze my eyes shut, begging, and pleading that they'll disappear.

My heart is pounding painfully hard and fast against my chest and I look down at my hands which are scraped and now grazed with blood from my rough landing. I take deep short breaths and close my eyes as I hear the sirens come closer and closer and my heart stops for a moment when I can hear the sound of an engine.

It's the longest ten seconds of my life.

But eventually the sirens start to fade again and I let out a breath of relief, slumping against the random car behind me and opening my eyes, a fallen tear sliding down my cheek.

I slowly pull myself to my feet and look around the parking lot to find my Camaro is not in its usual spot. It takes me a few moments to work out in my fried brain that I left it at the Jauregui Boarding House.

I clear my throat and look back down at my phone, willing myself to calm down but I can't get the image of Will's house burning up in flames and him possibly being inside of it out of my head.

I press my phone against my ear and wait anxiously until eventually she picks up.

"Camz!" I speak quickly before she even gets the chance to say anything. "Camz, I...I..." I can't even get the words out, I frantically start to pace up and down as a sickening feeling starts to grow again in my stomach.