Silenced 2: The Overtaking (Silenced Series) (5 page)

“
Your boss let you take a week? How long have you been working there?”

“
Yeah, he did. Actually, I haven’t started yet.”

“
I’m surprised he didn’t fire you.”

Casey’s all right with the trip, until she finds out Patrick’s going. She hints that she wants to go too. I knew she’d want to come as soon as she heard. I don’t mind but this is hard on me. It’s not a vacation and I hope they aren’t thinking of it that way.

I finish double checking my bags and add in a few things I forgot. I can’t believe I forgot to pack
the razor I found in my bedroom closet under a shoe box. I honestly thought Landon would’ve gotten rid of it. If I knew it was there sooner, my foot wouldn’t be sore from stepping on glass.

Landon and Patrick
head to the store for snacks so we would spend less time stopping. The only reason to stop now would be for gas or a bathroom stop. While the guys are out, Casey asks me if she can go. I think it’s pretty obvious her true reason to go is not to help me. I think she wants to go because of Patrick.

This is wrong.
I don’t want to spoil anyone’s fun, but this isn’t the time to take a road trip to North Carolina for a romantic getaway. I don’t understand why they don’t talk this out and get the hell back together. I’m tired of their relationship drama, and being used so they can see each other.

I answer her.
“I really don’t know if it’s a good idea. I mean, I don’t want to be mean or anything. But, this isn’t the time for anyone to be playing matchmaker. I know the only reason you want to go is because of Patrick, and not for me.” I blurt without realizing having time to stop myself.

“
How could you think that?” She says with a distressing look on her face. “I know Pat and I have some issues to talk through, but I want to go for you. I know this doesn’t look good. I want to be there for you. I can get my love life in order later.”

S
he sounds so sincere. I hope she isn’t lying to me. The more support I have helping me through this, the better. It means more eyes, less time to let the darkness enfold and overtake me. With that thought, I decide she can go.

“
As long as it’s all right with Landon, I don’t see why you can’t go. I don’t want this to be vacation time for everyone. Remember my best friend died, and we’re attending her funeral.” I say, feeling uneasy.

Casey t
akes offense, but doesn’t comment. I can see it in her eyes that it’s difficult for her not to say something. Death is a hard part of life, besides all the financial problems and family problems life has to offer. She knows how it feels to lose someone close to her. Even though Casey’s mother died when she was young, her death still hurts her.

When the guys return
, I take Landon to our room to update him about Casey joining us.

“
Why?” Landon replies in an uneasy voice.

“
She says she wants to be there for me to comfort me when I need her. Landon, she’s my friend. The only best friend I have left. I made the mistake of letting distance come between me and Sarah. I’ll never be able to talk to her again. I couldn’t live with myself if I let things come in between me and Casey. I need her with me.” I explain in a shaky voice, as a tear falls from my eye.

“
Who am I?” Landon asks, not caring I’m crying. “Why did I just argue with my boss to get time off? I can understand Patrick. He’s always been there for us. Unlike Casey. She pops in whenever she wants and says she’s your friend. She’s only going to be with Patrick, but what she keeps forgetting is he has a girlfriend!”

“
Are you forgetting what Pat really wants?” I ask with disgust in my voice. He’s really arguing with me about this. What an ass!

“
Forget that Amber! Live in this moment. He’s with Stacey. Not Casey. He wants this time to decide what is best for him. But with Casey there, it will put a huge fog on him. He’s not going to be able to find what he really wants.”

“
I’m sorry, but Casey is my friend. I know she hasn’t been the best friend lately. But Landon, she’s all I have. Plus, this isn’t about what Patrick needs. This is about Sarah. NOT LOVE!” I yell at him.

“
I can’t believe you just said that!” he emphasized through clenched teeth.

“
I don’t mean it like that. I’m mean female-wise. I know I have you. But having a female friend makes everything better. There are things I’d rather talk to her about, and not you. Then, there are things I can only talk to you about, and no one else. Do you see what I’m saying?” I plead with him.

Landon is being
an ass. I can’t believe he’s acting like this. After a few moments, he finally agrees with me and says she can go. He just doesn’t believe she wants to go for me.

“
Let’s get out of here. We have a long drive ahead.” I say, walking out of the room.

The guys load up the bags
, and I think it’s a good idea to talk to Casey before we leave. Nothing will be said after we get on our way. I pull Casey to the side and explain to her why Landon’s acting the way he is. After we are done, we go over to the guys and watch them pack the rest of the car.

***

“
The car’s full of gas, I got the oil changed earlier, and all bags are in the car.” I point out, trying to make light conversation.

“
We’re ready to go.” Landon replies.

“
Actually, I have one more stop to make before we can leave. I want to see my Mom and make sure she’s all right.” I say as I get into the driver seat.

“
That’s fine. Let’s go.” Landon mumbles.

***

“
Mom, are you okay?” I ask, taking a seat beside her.

“
Yeah, I’m all right. Don’t worry about me. I’m here with Dave, and everything will be fine. I called Donna and told her you are going down.”

“
Oh, great! I have to call her to let her know when we’re on our way. She wants to keep tabs on us and where we are, in case anything happens. Landon and Patrick know how to change a flat. Therefore, if something does happen to the car, they’re with me.”

“
That makes me feel more at ease. Call me when you guys get there and if anything goes wrong. I want to know you guys are okay, so a few phone calls would be nice.” She says, looking over the top of her reading glasses. I really hate when she does that. It makes me feel uneasy.

“
Okay. Well, we better go. Love you and I’ll call you later.” I mention while giving her a hug.

The trip beg
ins and I come up with an idea. The guys sit in the back and us girls sit in front. This trip is for Sarah. I know it may be wrong, but I don’t want them to forget why we’re on our way back to my birth town.

This
isn’t what I was expecting to bring me back there. I badly want to walk into Donnas’ house, dash up to Sarah’s room, shouting about the exciting things that are going on in my life. Then, Sarah would tell me everything that’s going on with her.

Pulling myself away from th
ese thoughts, I double check the directions. Traffic isn’t too bad, and the music’s playing. Casey’s rambling about what happened to her relationship with Teddy, and the guys are in their own little world.

“
As I told you a while ago, he was dating this girl and I was his side girl. I can’t believe I didn’t notice. Teddy’s such an ass.” Casey babbled pulling me from my bubble of thoughts.

“
Casey, I told you to let him go. He used you. He wanted you in his life to make up for what he was lacking.” I was trying to make her feel better.

Patrick’s attention
turns to our conversation, and he jumps in, “I know this isn’t my place, but you need to forget him. Just like Amber said, he used you. He was filling in where his girlfriend lacked. I know you see it, so why not just forget about him?” Patrick asked.

I felt my face turn red.
Okay, call me an ass, but I
just
said that. Damn, Patrick… listen up buddy... if you’re going to jump into someone’s conversation, at least say something that hasn’t already been said. Ugh!

“
I think he gave me something to look forward to,” Casey replies. “He made my day less boring. All I did was work, and I’m getting ready to go to WVU. I need someone to rely on besides my dad...most of the time he doesn’t even listen.”

I can’t believe she’
s
still
wrapped around that loser. Jeez, she was talking to me the other day, and it sounded like she’s over him and missed Patrick. This girl definitely needs to get her guys in order and pick one.

“
How long is this ride?” Casey asks after no one comments on her last remark.

“
Shouldn’t you have asked me this before we left?” I laugh, “It takes about nine hours.” I estimate.

“
I thought it was going to take a day.” Landon jumps in. Well, I guess he’s off of his whining horse, and decided to join us in the real world.

“
It depends on how many times we stop. The more we stop, the longer it’ll take.” I say baffled that they’re acting like they’ve never been on a trip.

“
Why don’t you tell us about some memories you have down here?” Landon suggests.

“
That’s easy… Sarah and I have been friends for a long time. We have or had our own secrets. Our bond was strong. We never had a fight. We had disagreements but we never went to the point of not talking. We’re the type of friends that were inseparable. When you saw Sarah, you saw me too.”

I continue
talking as a knot forms in my throat. The words are getting harder to say because I realize there wouldn’t be any more memories made. It’s like I just realized my lifetime friend is gone. I feel lost as a tear runs down my face.

“
I’d rather not talk about this anymore.” I manage to say, holding back more tears.

I guess Landon didn’t realize just talking about good times would
upset me. I’m sure he’s only trying to help but his therapy isn’t going to work on me. I’m not the type of person that can be
shrinked
easily.

Casey jumps in.
“I have an idea, why doesn’t Pat start by telling us how his life is going, besides what we already know.” She’s trying to change the vibes I’m putting off.

Although I think it’s not
the proper thing to change to; I realize it doesn’t bother Patrick, because he begins answering her question.

“
I have a new job working for a drilling company that drills natural gas. I’m not sure if I like the hours, but the pay is great. I’m in the process of buying a new truck. Cars aren’t the best for my field of work. Oh, and I have my own place,” he rambles.

“
Um... Pat… we all know this.” I say sardonically.

“
I didn’t.” Casey chimes in. “I thought you were living with your mom and dad. What happened to make you want to move?”

“
I don’t want to be twenty-six years old, living at home with my parents. I want something to be proud of. He motions to Landon. “That is why I’m there all the time.”

“
Why don’t you tell them about Stacey?” Landon suggests. He knew what he’d say, but he wanted to prove his point to Casey.

“
She and I are doing okay,” Patrick answers. “We’ve been dating for three months. She stays with me on the weekends when she doesn’t have class. She’s going to WVU for nursing.” He looks at Casey.

I c
an tell this isn’t what Casey wants to hear. I don’t understand why Landon brought it up. Patrick’s phone ringing pulls me back to the present.

“
Hello.” Patrick says, answering his phone.

From the sounds of the conversation, I c
an tell that it’s Stacey, and she isn’t happy that Patrick didn’t tell her about his off-the-wall trip. Which, in my opinion, he should have, especially if things were going as great as he claims. His conversation started out calm and ends with him yelling into his phone.

I glance
at Casey. I can tell by the sound of Patrick’s voice, he isn’t happy. I want to see if she notices it too. By her returned look, I know she does.

After Patrick h
angs up, Landon quietly asks Patrick what’s going on.

“
She’s upset because I didn’t tell her I was leaving. I told her why we’re going down. She said she’s in disbelief about Amber not calling and telling her about what happened. By the time we got off the phone, she was crying because she feels left out. I think she needs to grow up because she’s acting immature.” Patrick says in a low whisper.

I guess they think
we can’t hear them talking. But I’m not the only one who heard the conversation.

“
We’ve been on the road for an hour and already someone’s upset. This is supposed to be
my
support. I can’t have anyone upset. I understand that you, Pat, are having a hard time with Stacey at the moment. I know we’ve had several talks about this.” I say looking in the rear view mirror at Pat.