Page 33 of Glass
My eyes wander, taking in the mess on the passenger’s seat beside him—and I freeze up. A cold chill works its way up my spine as I stare at the open popcorn tin on the seat. The exact same as the one I left in my own passenger’s seat in my car in Bar Harbour.
I glance at the man’s feet. Converse.
My gaze lands on his face again, and I try to see past the blood. I can just barely make out the edge of a scar at the edge of his cheek. Despite all the signs, I still try to blink away the realization that Idorecognize this man.
“Do you know him?” Officer Rice asks with a hard edge to his voice.
I don’t look at him; I don’t want to look at him when I lie. “No.” The word feels hollow, but it’s the answer the officer wants. They want a nice, neat mess to clean up. Not the messy truth. And I’m not willing to open up more questions than answers about what happened. I want to get to Felix, get the kids, and get as far away from here as possible.
As if my thoughts have summoned him, Felix walks around the car and reaches for me instantly. I go into his arms as if I’ve done it a thousand times before, desperately needing the comfort he’s offering.
“Everything okay?” Felix asks as I cling to him.
I can’t tell him the truth with Officer Rice still hovering nearby. “I didn’t recognize anyone.” The lie tastes like ash in my mouth, but we’re too close to clawing ourselves free from this mess. I can tell Felix the truth as soon as they’re gone, and we can figure out what it means together.
I might not fully trust Felix, but I’m prepared to put far more faith in my mate than in a group of strangers clearly looking for a quick out.
Already, Officer Rice is moving around us, yelling out to the other officers that they’re ready to clear the scene.
“Rose has to go answer questions on the record since there was gunfire,” Felix explains quietly. “She said we can wait on her porch until we get a ride. The officers are going to tow Joss’ car. I’ve already called to tell him what happened.”
I nod wordlessly. I don’t know what I did to deserve Rose protecting us, but sometime soon, I’ll have to think of some way to repay even a fraction of her kindness. As soon as the officers clear out, we’ll be able to go inside and round up the kids. I’m sure Felix already has someone on the way to pick us up.
Luckily, the pack is close. We didn’t make it very far.
I pry myself out of Felix’s arms. “Let’s get away from… this.” I nod my head at the SUV that hit us. We’re too close to a dead body for me to feel comfortable. And even though I know better, I keep waiting for Georgie to pop up like a zombie and confront me like he did in the gas station in Portland before I reached Acadia.
"As far away as fucking possible,” Felix mutters. He keeps his arm around my shoulders and tucks me in close at his side as we head for Rose’s porch. In front of the house, an officer helps Rose into the passenger seat of the Sheriff’s car. I’m relieved to see they’re not putting her in the back.
Felix nudges me. “She’s like the honorary grandma of the town. No one wants to fuck around with her. And according to one of the cops, it’s not the first time she’s stepped in to help someone in trouble on this road. She apparently saved a kidnapping victim a couple years back. There’s a lot of goodwill for her here, no one wants to see her in jail.”
“Good.” I release the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. I would never be able to live with myself if Rose got herself in trouble protecting us. I need to believe the universe has a sense of balance—and that good people find good things.
Rose is good. The best. She probably saved my siblings’ lives as well as Felix’s and mine too.
My feet feel heavy as we trudge up the three stairs to Rose’s porch. The front door is firmly closed, safely untouched. As far as I know, no one even mentioned going into the house. The officers asked if anyone else was here and took our collectivenoat face-value.
Felix lets go of me to direct me into a wooden rocking chair. I sit, and he takes a spot on the edge of the bench next to me.
“What’s wrong?”
“Am I that transparent?” I snort a humorless laugh as I carefully watch the officers and the coroner work to move the bodies into the van.
“You’re my mate. It’s my job to know how you’re feeling, Poppy. A lot of fucked up shit just happened, but you look more upset now than you did immediately afterward. So what did the cop say to you?” There’s a harshness in his voice that I can tell isn’t directed at me. He really thinks Officer Rice did something to upset me, and I know I need to correct him before he does something stupid.
Though I can’t help but wonder how far my mate would go to protect me.
“It wasn’t the cop,” I clarify. “Right before the crash, I got a weird urge to tell you about a conversation I eavesdropped on in a gas station hours from here. It should have been completely random—there was no reason to tell you—but I think maybe my gut knew better. Because one of the men I heard talking… He was the man in the SUV that hit us.”
Felix lurches to his feet and stares down at me. “What?” He sounds like the wind has been knocked out of him. “Did you tell the cop that?” His wild-eyed gaze looks back at the scene on the street, but I grab his hand to force his attention back to me.
“No, I didn’t mention any of it to the officer. I’m not even sure I understand or remember what I heard, Felix.” I mostly eavesdropped because of the tone, nothing the men said really made any sense to me. And my head is still throbbing from the impact of the accident, which isn’t doing my foggy memory any favors.
“Try for me,” Felix coaxes. He kneels at my feet and clutches both of my hands. “Anything helps at this point or we’re starting at zero. You and I both know no one cleared this entire roadway just to rob a stranger.”
I take a deep breath andthink.
“The guys were Georgie and Frank. The one in the car is Georgie; the other guy was older and seemed in charge. Frank said something about having half of a park?” Which I realize now could mean Acadia. My mind stumbles trying to grasp for more details. It was only yesterday, I have to be able to remember more.