The Calling Of Quinn Taylor

Chapter Ten

The next time I speak to Keller is on my way to investigate Carter Garcia at his work-- the pizza place in our city mall. 
           And he's with friends, Keller is. He's with people I never thought he'd be happy with. He's with Riley and Brandon. 
               Seeing him eating in the mall café and laughing in unison with his newly found friends makes my heart ache. He was once mine… he was my best friend. But now, I've been replaced.
              "You good?" Wesley says, placing his arm on my shoulder. 
              With the sudden sound of his voice, I jump back in fear, but realizing it's only him makes my heart fall back to a normal pace. 
             "Yeah," I say, not taking my eyes off the happy group of friends. "I just didn't… I miss him." 
             When I turn to see Wesley, there's something different about him. His face has narrowed even further and the bags under his eyes have somehow grown darker. 
             "Hey," he says, stroking a hand through my hair. "Forget about him… he's happy, right? That's all that matters." 
             Yeah. Yeah, he's right. 
              I want what's best for Keller… and him being happy is what's best. 
             "Lets go get some answers," he says, taking my arm and leading me to Carter. 
              The restaurant is dead and the only person in sight is Carter, scrolling through his phone. 
              "Carter," I say. "You're the one who does yearbook, right?" 
              Confused, he answers. "I don't just do yearbook, I'm yearbook president… who's asking?" He peers at Wesley, narrowing his eyebrows in on him. 
             "Why were you obsessed with my sister?" Wesley shoots, throwing the entire "casual" method out the window. "Everyone knows you went to every game and snagged pictures of her. Where are they? Hanging up in how your room? Did you hurt her, Garcia?" His voice raises, making my palms sweat as the mall guests begin to stare… and then Keller stares. 
            "Look, man," Carter says. "I-I had a crush on her, but that's it. I wasn't obsessed! I… I don't know where the rumor of me taking pictures of her came about, but I swear I-I didn't!"
            "What's going on?" a familiar voice from the room behind Carter echoes.
            I look back at Keller; he's darting back and forth between me and his fries. 
           Wesley scuffs. 
            "You weren't obsessed, my ass. Now tell me why the hell you were so infatuated with my sister!" 
            I turn around again, shying back.
            He's getting up-- Keller's getting up… and-and coming over here! He can't know; even if he doesn't trust me anymore, I still don't need him to worry about this. 
           "Wesley?" the familiar voice says. I shift back around, finding Skye Richards in the same uniform as Carter. "Woah," she says. "And Quinn… what's happening?" 
          "They're accusing me of taking pictures of… of Maeve!" he exclaims, just as Keller approaches from behind me. 
          "What do you mean 'accusing'?" she says. "God, if you're gonna lie, at least lie about something no one knows about." 
         She grabs something from Carter's pocket, making him jump in fear. 
         "Look," she says, opening the wallet. "He has her yearbook picture behind his license. 
         And when she pulls it out, Carter takes one last look at Wesley and I before bolting to the back room, making a run for it.
           "I got it," Keller says, sliding over the counter, leaving me astonished and Skye in utter confusion.
          "What the hell is going on?" she asks, bringing her hand to her heart as if it's stopped. 
          Wesley simply stares at the yearbook picture in his shaking hand, watching it like it's a video. 
          With Keller chasing Carter, Wesley falling into a feat of sadness from a picture of Maeve, and Brandon's eyes peering over from their table, my limbs begin to feel numb. 
      Keller's going to find out what I'm doing, Wesley's falling apart with every given second, and the man who may have taken something I've been saving is just feet away from me. 
         "I got him!" Keller yells, allowing me to find an opportunity to flee.
    So I slide over the table and follow Keller’s voice. 
    He’s run outside, leaving the door propped open, so I can see the scene laid out in front of me. 
    Carter desperately tries to escape Keller’s grip, but falls helpless. 
    “I didn’t do it!” he yells, trying to break free as tears run down his face. “That bitch did! She killed her!” he shouts. “Skye killed Maeve!”
    Skye.
    I flash around, finding her engaged in the episode of manic crying. Her eyebrows narrow in as she backs up, realizing her cover has been blown. 
    “I-I-” she stutters, stepping back until she hits Wesley and immediately, she spins around. “We weren’t on good terms,” she cries, changing her glance from Wesley to me. “But I didn’t kill her!” 
    My eyes fall to Keller.
    He still grips onto Carter, holding his wrists behind his back like a prisoner. But now, there’s something different. He knows-- he knows I’m obsessing over finding Maeve’s killer. 
    He drags Carter closer until eventually, I can see the bruises forming around his wrists from Keller’s grip.
    “Then why’d you tell me you were gonna’ kill her next time you saw her?” Carter cries. “It scared me, man. I loved her, you know?” 
    “Why’d you tell her that on prom night?” I say, edging closer to her. 
    Wesley’s eyes drag to the floor as he stands silently behind her. 
    “I was mad!” she yells. “She wanted drugs,” she says, quieting her voice. Instantly, Wesley’s head perks up and his eyes grow wide. “And I-I was gonna’ give em’ to her, but someone stole them and-and she didn’t understand. I can only my temper for so long, so when she smacked me, I lost it… look, I’m sorry.” She turns around to face Wesley. “I shouldn’t have said that, but I promise you, I didn’t kill her.”
    “Then why’d you run?” Keller interrupts, letting Carter free. He jumps away, feeling around his wrists. 
    “You’re not the first people to question me,” Carter says. “That Mia girl? She’s terrifying… but when I saw Wesley, I didn’t want to get hurt.”
    My heart races, bouncing off every side of my ribcage. 
    They could be lying-- both of them, but my stomach burns at the thought of them not telling the truth. It wasn’t them, it couldn’t of been. 
    But the drugs-- what did Maeve need them for? She never struck me as the type of person to indulge in behaviors like that. Yeah, probably a few drinks here and there, but not the drugs Skye sells-- words got around... and they aren’t good.
    I need to get out of here; my brain is swarming with questions, with the need for answers.
    Are they lying? Why did Maeve need drugs? Is Wesley ever going to be okay again? Will Keller forgive me for keeping this a secret?
    And Brandon-- his eyes are glued on me, following my every move. Just the thought of speaking to him makes my insides spin. 
    What if he actually did hurt me? What if I’m not just paranoid?
    Before I know what I’m doing, I sprint to the bathroom and slam the stall door shut. 
    Quiet.
    Peaceful.
Here, I can let the thoughts fly away and simply… be worry free.
    Here, alone in a bathroom stall is the only way I feel at peace.
    Suddenly, girls’ high-pitched screams fill the bathroom, followed by a scattering of steps.
    What’s going on? Do I need to leave-- what if something dangerous is happening?
               “Quinn?” Keller’s voice sounds. “Why’d you run off-- are you okay?”
    I look under the stall door, finding his feet scampering across the tile floor. 
Oh, Keller. Finally. I’ve missed my best friend. 
“Yeah,” I say, wiping the tears I didn’t seem to notice I produced away. “I’m fine… just a little overwhelmed.” 
    I open the door and step out, finding him standing in front of me. 
               For a moment, we stand there, remembering the friendship we once had-- late night gossip, listening to each other's problems, watching crime shows every day after school… except Fridays. We had movie nights on Fridays.
               "Why didn't you tell me?" he says, looking me up and down. "You were avoiding me…" He looks towards the ceiling. "Why?"
               "I didn't want you worried," I say. "And they thought we killed her. I just… I didn't want you to be a part of something dangerous." My voice cracks.
               "Who?" he asks. "Who thought that?"  
               And now I've messed up-- again. I can't keep a friendship worth crap. I blurt things out, say things I'm not supposed to. 
              "Riley," I say. "And Brandon… all of them." I shudder at the mention of Brandon's name. 
             My heart crashes, making me freeze in position. What's he going to say? We're just going to go back to how it was. We'll stop talking and I'll be forever replaced. 
             "Quinn," he says, placing his hands against my neck, forcing me to look up at him. "It's okay. It's a lot… there's a lot happening right now." 
             He has no idea.
            With that, he pulls me into a hug, wrapping his arms around in a warm embrace.
            And this-- this is what I missed. 
            Brandon. 
            Brandon. 
            He's just outside this bathroom… sitting in the café as if nothing has happened. 
            My pulse quickens at the thought of him coming in here, maybe checking on Keller-- like he actually cares about him. 
           When I think of him, it's like walking into a haunted house-- I have no clue what holds inside and when I'm about to walk in, my gut tells me to turn away. My gut knows there's something bad awaiting inside, but I go anyway. 
           And now, it's all I think about. 
          "I need to tell you something," I whimper through tears. "And I'm sorry." 
          "Hey," he says, pulling away from the hug. "You can tell me, okay?" 
    My body shivers. Is this it? Is this when I’ll finally admit what has been happening to me-- all these paranoid thoughts.
    “Someone hurt…” I whimper. 
    Me. 
    Someone hurt me. 
    “Someone hurt Maeve.”