But whether it is fate or something else entirely, my phone is frozen and I can’t end the call.
“Sunday? Please talk to me.” The desperation is evident in his tone. “Please, it’s about Veronica.”
Shakily, I bring the phone to my ear. “I’m here,” I say. “Where is she? Is everything okay?”
“No it’s not. I need you to just listen please, just hear me out and then I’ll let you decide.” There’s arguing in the background. “I’m going to tell her! She gets to make the choice herself!” William shouts away from the phone, his voice breaking. “Sunday, it’s Maxwell he has–”
There’s a loud thud followed by a grunt of pain. My ear is filled with a whoosh, a crash, and then continuous static.
For a minute I think the call may have disconnected, but then the static is replaced with his words.
“Sunday School.”
Luna said they thought he was dead, and maybe for a single instant I believed her. Or maybe I just wished for it to be true. But in my heart I think I knew he made it out.
Knew that he would return.
Knew that we weren’t done with him yet.
Placing a hand over my erratically pounding heart, I inhale deeply before answering. “Maxwell.”
46
October 12th
The police station’s front door whips open, whooshing in a fair amount of humid air. Florida still manages to be hot in mid-October. Darius looks up from the bench he has been waiting on.
“Where have you been?” Axel pushes off from the wall he had taken post against.
Grayson’s attention flashes around the police station eyeing the spectators warily. The sheriff is noticeably absent for the foray.
Jane steps in behind Grayson. “Now that you’re all here, let’s get this over with. They just have to ask you some cursory questions.”
“But why?” Darius speaks up, getting uneasily to his feet. “Where’s Sunday?” he asks, looking around for her.
Grayson’s face changes colors, he tenses his shoulders.
“You fucked her,” Axel accuses, smirking at him. “Finally. Now where is she?”
“Safe,” Grayson states, but he doesn’t elaborate.
Darius doesn’t like the answer, but he knows better than to demand details in the middle of the police station.
A deputy that Darius recognizes walks up. The one who informed them of Tripp and Auggie’s death.
“Hey there boys, follow me back please. Drop your phones in the box on the way.” The Deputy gestures to a wooden crate next to a steel door.
Darius casts a glance to his other two brothers. They both seem just as uneasy as he does, and it does nothing to assuage his nerves.
Why does it feel as if this is a trap? As if following this man is going to end horribly?
Are they true feelings? Or just the anxiety of Sunday not being with us?
“Do as he asks,” Jane encourages with a reassuring smile. “You won’t be in there long and you aren’t under arrest. They just need to go through a procedural list of questions. There’s no doubt of the guilty party, there were witnesses.”
Axel snarls, “I will, but we can’t be gone long.”
The deputy doesn’t wait any longer, opening the steel door and gesturing again for them both to lead the way.
