Where We Fell

Part Three. Chapter 17.

Hello! We are back to present time now!

Dallas

"And you know that he didn't come home that night. I was so stupid not to follow them. I want to die. I feel like it was my fault." Cash finished. His head was in his hands and his shoulders were shaking with sobs.

We were in the den, sitting on the couch. He had told me everything he knew. I was broken, crying, sobbing, and I could barely breathe. Chase and Tucker had showed up during his story. He must have called them while I was breaking down.

"Why didn't you tell anyone or investigate? He's out there somewhere, Cash! My boyfriend is somewhere!" I yelled through tears.

"Shh, Dallas," Chase pulled me to him and I gave in. I was too tired to fight him.

"He's a killer, isn't he? Has he killed anyone? God, was I dating a murderer?" I protested.

"We don't know," Cash said quietly with an edge.

"And all of you knew about this? Every. Single. Detail?" I said into Chase's chest. He held me tighter and tensed. I could practically see them exchanging looks.

"Yes," Tucker spoke up.

I pushed myself off of Chase and looked at all of them. I shook my head in disbelief and stalked upstairs. I couldn't believe it. I was having a hard time with all this information. It was too much. The stairs seemed so steep. The darkness was creeping up to me.

Black.

"Dallas, stay with me. Stay with me. There you are. Hey." Someone was comforting me. I tried to run and their arms were strong and I was trapped. I tried screaming but all that came out were more tears. I was drowning.

"She's trying. Shhh, it's alright. You're with me. Shh, no one's hurting you." Their voice soothed me. I lulled into a deep sleep.

I awoke in my own bed and I was covered in blankets and my comforter. I was warm and comfortable. I was dressed in comfortable gray sweatpants with little cowboy hats on them and an oversized shirt. I went into my bathroom to check out my appearance. It didn't look good.

I was pale and my blond hair was messy. My oversized black shirt was wet from crying and I felt sick, I ran a brush through my hair and put it in a messy bun. Somehow, I made it downstairs and into the kitchen. Mom, Dad, Cash and Chase were all surrounding the kitchen. Mom and Dad were on separate stools and Cash and Chase were sitting on the counter. They were deep in conversation and it seemed serious.

"Dallas! You're up," Dad greeted me. Everyone looked at me and smiled big smiles.

"Hey, guys," I returned the greeting. I sounded groggy and tired.

"Aw, come here," Chase made room beside him for me. He helped me up on the counter.

"We were just talking about our next moves. We understand if you need a few days to recover. This is a lot of information-" I interrupted Cash.

"I want to find him. I want to find my boyfriend. He's out there and we have enough information."

Chase and Cash shared a look that I couldn't decipher. Finally, they nodded.

"Where do we start?" I asked.

"Well, I think one more day for relaxing would do us all good. Your parents have called the principle and let her know that you were sick for today. But tomorrow we will all face school." Chase told me.

My response was a nod. I needed today to relax and think about what I was getting into. Austin Renam was violent and I didn't know what our relationship was going to be when we found him. Were we going to have a movie-style moment where I jump into his arms and we fall in love? Or is he going to be more hostile?

I threw my thoughts away and returned to the conversation. My family and Chase were talking about a football game that I wasn't interested in. They talked until I had enough and went to the den to watch something. I curled up on the couch with a blanket and grabbed the remote and turned the TV on. Immediately, my head started to throb. I turned it off and grabbed my book. I curled into a ball with the book and started to read.

Just when it was getting good, someone walked in. I pretended not to hear and continued to read. He sat on the other end of the couch and watched me. Finally, I looked up and saw Chase. I placed the bookmark in my book and uncurled myself to face him.

"Hey, how are you doing?" he asked softly.

I shrugged and stared at the cover of my book. I traced the letters and didn't meet his eyes.

"Dallas, please look at me. I need you to know I never meant to hurt you or offend you by not telling you all this. You mean ... a lot to me and I want to help you." Chase leaned forward and tilted my chin up with his hand. If this was any other situation, I would be blushing and giggling but right now I didn't want him anywhere near me.

"I'm sorry. You were involved as well as some people who were incredibly close to me." I confessed and held his gaze. "It's hard to believe anyone now. I've lost trust in everything."

"I know, it's hard. I really wanted to tell you-"

"The. why didn't you? Why didn't you, Chase? Tell me." I yelled, slapping his hand away.

He got up and clasped his hands on his head. "I don't know. I was scared. I was scared that if you knew, we would drift away and I didn't want that."

I couldn't believe this. "Really? Didn't want to drift away? Well, you clearly failed. And do you realize we're looking for my boyfriend. You're not him. Yeah, we had a thing but I've lost all my feelings now." I scoffed.

"I know. I'm sorry. I truly am sorry. I understand if you never want to talk to me again. I just want you to know I still care." With that, Chase kissed my cheek and stormed out of the den and out of the house. The kiss on my cheek had left me flustered, confused and angry.

I curled up and cried. My emotions were all over the place. We were looking for my boyfriend but Chase was confessing feelings. I was so confused and dizzy. I picked my book back up and read the rest of the day.