Collide: A Riverbend Novel (20 page)

"All right," I said as I
grabbed my bag and headed to class.

Three hours later I was
sitting in the principal's office with ice on my eye.

I groaned when my therapist
walked in with Mrs. Johanna, and the counselor. "I didn't hit
back," I said as I tried to figure out why I was in trouble. I
straightened when I saw two men come up behind them. Something
wasn't right. "What's going on?" I asked as I looked at Mrs.
Johanna. She looked upset. Very upset.
Was
it dad? Did they find him?
I wondered as
they motioned for me to stand up. Johanna started crying and
begging for the men not to take me.

The counselor knelt down in
front of me. "We heard and Mrs. Johanna admitted that you and
Havock are seeing each other. You understand why it's not okay to
live with them, right?"

"Please! I watch them. They
won't do anything wrong! I promise!" Johanna all but
screamed.

Tears filled my eyes. "No!
I don't want to leave! Please don't make me!" I yelled as I stood
up and moved away from them all.

"Mrs. Satterly, unless you
want this reported to your boss I suggest you calm
down."

Johanna covered her face as
she cried. The men grabbed my arms.

"At least let her say
goodbye!" Johanna begged. "Call Havock from class. He needs to
know. Please!"

The counselor tried to calm
Mrs. Johanna down as the men took me from her office.

"No!" I screamed as they
took me away. "Please! Let me at least say goodbye!" I yelled and
cried, but it did no good. I was pushed inside a black car. They
sat on either side of me to keep me from bolting. I rubbed my arms
as I cried. "Please!" They remained silent.

HAVOCK

Reese wasn't in the class
we have together, but I figured her meeting with the counselor just
lasted longer than usual. I headed out the back door and pulled my
cigarettes from my bag. I lit it and leaned against the wall while
I waited for her.

Five minutes passed.
Okay.

Ten minutes. Started
getting worried.

Ten and a half minutes I
was texting her.

Me: Where r u?

Reese: Tak

That's all I got
back.

Tak? Weird. Maybe her phone
died. She was bad about keeping it charged.

I went inside and started
walking to all the places I thought she might be. A teacher passing
by told me to go to lunch, but I ignored him. After giving up, I
went to the cafeteria. Maybe she was there waiting for
me.

I walked in and everyone
stopped what they were doing. Even the lunch ladies serving food
stopped. I looked around for Garrett. I didn't see him either.
Jude? No where. When I turned around to leave the cafeteria I saw
Garrett and Jude hurrying towards me.

“Wha-” Is all I got out
before they both grabbed my arms and pulled me out of the
cafeteria.

"Havock, they took her. Mom
just called and there's nothing she can do. She wants us to come
home."

“Who took her?”

"The state," Garrett said
as we walked to the office to sign out. I didn't remember telling
Jude bye. I just remembered giving him my keys for him to drive my
truck to work since his car was broke down.

I signed my name and walked
out with Garrett.

I stopped walking. "NO!" I
yelled when reality hit me.

"Get in the truck. We need
to go home!"

"But she's not there!" I
yelled as tears filled my eyes.

"I know, but mom needs us.
Let's go. Please, Havock. I know this hard but-"

"No you don't know! You
have no idea how hard this is! She can't..." I couldn't talk
anymore. I was hurting. Worse than I have ever hurt in my life.
Reese was the best thing for me. I wasn't changing who I was for
her, but I was becoming better. She's everything I ever needed. She
couldn't be gone.

“Havock...”

"NO!" I yelled again. My
hands shook and my feet started moving. I didn't know where they
were taking me and didn't really care. I needed her. Not anyone
else. Her and only her.

~~~

I woke up in her bed. I
remembered walking into the front yard and staring at the house but
not walking in. It took dad and Garrett both to make me walk
inside. They suggested that I go up to my room and rest, but I went
to her room instead to lay down. I gripped her sheets in my hands.
They smelled like her. My eyes watered as I sat up. I heard Scott
as he whined from the floor.

I picked him up and pet
him. I could tell he needed to go outside. "Alright, let's go." He
followed me into the entry way as I put on my jacket. When I opened
the door he bolted out and took off towards the street. I ran after
him yelling for him to stop.

There was no doubt he was
looking for Reese.

I heard my truck coming.
Jude was bringing it back. Scott ran out in front of him, and I did
too. He blared the horn and slammed the breaks just before he hit
us both.

He jumped out of the truck.
"WHAT THE HELL, MAN?!"

I picked up Scott.
"It...I...it's...he..." I couldn't get anything out that made
sense. I had risked my life for a dog. A damn dog. Her
dog.

I knew that it was stupid,
but I also knew I'd do it again if I had to.

"Get in the truck," Jude
said as he cursed. I scared the shit out of him.

Scott licked me then
whined. His little nose sniffed around the seat. He hopped into the
floor board and found a shirt that was Reese's. He laid on it and
whined. I laid my head back against the seat.

"What am I gonna do, Jude?
I feel like my insides are ripping apart."

"What happened to the
Havock that didn't give a shit about anything? I think I liked him
better. He wasn't so damn whiny."

I knew he was teasing. He
was trying to make me laugh, but it wasn't working.

“He met a
princess.”

Jude burst out laughing.
"Oh my gosh, who the hell are you?!"

"I'm being serious, Jude!"
I yelled as I punched the inside of the door.

He pulled up to his house.
"Are you gonna be able to drive yourself home or should I call
Garrett to come follow you home?"

"I can drive
myself."

"And you'll go straight
home?"

“I'm undecided.”

"Do you even know where she
is?" he asked as he grabbed his backpack.

I didn't say anything. He
was right. I could drive around forever looking but even if I did
find her, I wouldn't be able to see her. I heard mom explaining
this to Garrett and dad while I fell asleep in her bed. They
wouldn't tell mom where she was. They wouldn't even tell her if
they made sure to call the doctor to get her prescriptions sent
over to wherever they were using. They wouldn't even let her drop
off her things. We were to have no contact with her. And it was
because of me.

"I'll go straight home," I
said as I looked at Jude.

"Alright, text me when you
get there."

I nodded and scooted over
to the driver seat. I drove home with the music blaring.

I looked down at Scott who
was staring up at me.

When I got to the house, I
got out and held the door for Scott. He followed me in. Mom started
crying when she saw me and wrapped me in a hug.

"I DIDN'T KNOW WHERE YOU
WENT!!"

"Mom, calm down. I'm here.
I took Scott out then had to take Jude home."

"But I didn't know that! I
thought you were leaving me too!" she cried.

I held mom in my arms as
she cried. "Havock, I loved her like she was my own. I failed her.
I failed her mother. I just wanted to keep her safe in our
home."

"It's my fault. I shouldn't
have gotten involved with her."

Mom looked up at me. "We
can't change that. We can just hope and pray that they will take
care of her. I'm so scared for her, Havock. She's not stable and
now they've taken her from the only place she ever really felt any
love."

My mind drifted to making
love to her. It was like nothing I had ever experienced. It wasn't
just sex. It was so real, flawless, and unmatchable. I needed to
feel her against my body again. I needed to be able to whisper
things that only she would ever hear. I needed to hold her and tell
her I love her. Tears filled my eyes.

"I plan on packing her
things and taking them to the police station. They'll be able to
bring them to her. Maybe," mom said.

No. No! Her drawing book.
"I'll pack them up," I said quickly.

Mom nodded and wiped a tear
that fell down my cheek. "Are you crying, Havock?"

"I love her, mom." My voice
sounded so broken. So unfamiliar.

Mom smiled. "We'll get
through this."

She walked into the kitchen
where dad was. I walked to Reese's room and found her drawing book
in-between her mattresses. I wanted to flip through the pages to
relive the moments she documented so perfectly, but I couldn't yet.
It was too hard because I knew that I may never experience those
moments with her again.

I felt like if I did look
at it, I was giving up hope and saying goodbye. I didn't need
closure. I needed her. I had to hang onto the hope that when she
did get to leave that place one day, she'd come back to
me.

To be continued. .
.