Just Breathe

Chapter Twenty-Seven Gavin

I was dying to get my ass back to Bailey's place and spending another night, just the four of us. Yes, four, as in Bailey, Logan, me, and Zeus. Our trip yesterday was exactly what we all needed. There was no talk about any of our shitty pasts, and we were able to enjoy ourselves, and in the end, I had Bailey in my arms for the entire night. Things were finally seeming to settle a bit and I wanted to ride this wave as long as I could, before we had to bring up the past again. Whether we wanted to or not, we had to get it out on the table at some point to be able to move forward.

"Yo! You wanna grab some food and beers before heading home?" Hunter popped his head in my room as I was cleaning up for the night.

"Nah, man. I'm going home to my girl tonight." Yeah, I know how that sounds but I do not give a fuck.

"I can't even say you're already pussy whipped, that look already tells me you don't give two fucks." Both of us laugh as there was no point in denying it.

"What about you? You gonna go see Ash?" This time I'm the one to wiggle my eyebrows at him. Let me tell you, it's fucking priceless getting Hunter riled up over a girl, and not just any girl, Ashton.

"It's not like that, and don't fuckin start." He throws back.

"Whatever you say, man. While you're going home to your cold bed cause of your stubborn ass, I'm crawling into a warm bed with my woman." I push him out of the way as he rolls his eyes at me. Yes, the fucker rolled his eyes. I lock the place up and make my way over to my truck as Hunter goes over to his Jeep. I'm about to hop in when a white piece of paper catches my eye. I lift the windshield wiper and pull out an envelope. What the fuck? I look around the now somewhat empty parking lot but don't see anyone out and about.

I get in my truck and first think of just tossing the thing, but something in me tells me to just open it and take a look. I open the flap and pull out a folded-up piece of paper, and thank fuck I'm already sitting in my truck because I can feel my entire body shaking with adrenaline. My hands are clammy, and I can hear the blood pounding in my ears. What the fuck is this? I re-read the piece of paper I have in my hands one more time before heading out onto the main road and to our apartment, those words on a constant repeat.

MISSING CHILD, AGE FIVE WAS KIDNAPPED TWO MONTHS AGO, SUSPECT IS ARMED AND DANGEROUS.

The moment I park my truck, I rush up the one flight of stairs and am about to go straight to Bailey but stop short when I hear Zeus let out a bark. I unlock my door and let him out. He can sense something is off with me, so he doesn't beg for attention. He follows close beside me while we make the short walk to Bailey's apartment.

I hear Logan's excited voice and then Bailey's soft one, it sounds off as if she's in a panic. The door opens and all I want to do is wrap her in my arms from the pale look on her face. She's trembling and also holding a piece of paper, which then reminds me of the one in my hand, and the fucked-up shit that's written on it. I have no words so I just hand over the paper and watch as her facial expression continues to worsen with what she is reading.

Any hope about that shit not being real just flew out the fuckin window. This can't be happening, there's just no way she's a suspect. I step into her place and close the door. Logan comes rushing to Zeus, but Zeus just stands next to me and doesn't move. Bailey still hasn't said a word and hasn't made a move to look at me.

"Logan..." She finally chocks out. She clears her throat and turns to him.

"Logan, I'm going to need you to go to your room with Zeus for a little while so Gavin and I can have a private conversation, okay?" She quickly makes eye contact with me when she mentions Zeus going with Logan. I give her a slight nod indicating I'm cool with that. Logan senses that something is seriously off with his mom, or whoever she is, because he waits a bit before quickly hugging her and then taking off to his room. Zeus hesitates first, but with a head nod towards Logan, he follows.

"I know what you must be thinking..."

"No, you have no idea what I'm thinking." I spit out and she flinches. I don't mean to be harsh, but I have no idea what the fuck I'm dealing with, and if this shit ain't true, then why the fuck didn't she tell me?

"Let me tell you my side of the story... please..." Her voice is barely a whisper.

"I want to know, did you kidnap Logan?" With that question her head jerks as if I just slapped her. Her face pales even more, if that were possible, and her green eyes are surrounded by red pools although the tears don't fall.

"You already believe what it says, don't you?" Her voice is sharp to my ears.

"All I know is that I get to my truck and I find that stuck under my windshield wiper, with Logan's face and yours on it!" My voice rises and I try my hardest to quiet it, for Logan's sake. I don't know what the fuck is going on, and Bailey doesn't seem to be forthcoming about sharing anything.

"Your past has always been a sensitive spot, to put it mildly, so what do you want me to think when I see that shit?!" I run my fingers through my hair as I try to calm down. What if someone else had seen that before I got to my truck? She could go to jail. Fuck!

"Bailey, if someone had seen that before I got to my truck, they could have gone to the police. The people in this town don't take that shit lightly. Do you know what that could mean for you?"

"It's not true!" She shouts. I take a step back as I've never heard her yell before. She's breathing rapidly, her cheeks are a flaming red and she's baled up her fists. This is definitely another side to her.

"Mom?" Logan pops his head in the doorway but doesn't come to us. Fuck!

"It's okay, bubba. We're just having a grown-up conversation. It's okay. I'll come and get you as soon as we're done, alright?" She gives him a fucking fake smile, and the kid knows it too. He lets out a huff and quietly closes his bedroom door.

"We won't be here for anyone to come looking for us. I'm packing our stuff and leaving once the sun sets."

"What the fuck!" She flinches again but doesn't waver her stare from mine.

"So, it's true then? You just said it's not, but now you're saying you're leaving in the middle of the fucking night!" I'm trying to control my anger, but this is just way too fucked up. I thought I knew this girl, or at least had an idea of who she was -- a sweet, single mom, not some kidnapper.

"It's not true, and if you can keep your damn voice down, I'll tell you the real story. I'll tell you everything that has to do with my past, and what led me to Watermount falls... I'll tell you, and I should have told you sooner, and maybe if I had, things wouldn't have turned out this way. But then I'm packing our things and leaving. For good." She's void of any emotion as she walks over to the couch and sits at the far end, making sure if I sit I'm nowhere near her. This is not how I had envisioned tonight's ending.