Chapter 75

STACEY'S POV
If I had felt uneasy around Daniel Fletcher, it was the opposite with Jay Harley. Since it wasn't her crush who had come to pick us up, Maddie had sat in the back with the boys while I sat in front with him. Unlike Daniel that had difficulty keeping quiet, Jay was comfortable with being silent and that was exactly what I needed.
Frankie had said something about our mums probably going through something that they didn't want us to know about and that was why they hadn't driven us to school or even bothered about coming to pick us up afterwards. It didn't sound plausible but I also didn't have another explanation for the happenings.
It wasn't straightforward enough for us to understand that Jay Harley had ended up picking us up after closing hours but the strange part about the whole thing was the relationship he claimed to had with the strange kid, Clarence. It wasn't very hard to believe the kid wasn't his because the kid acted like he didn't even know who he was.
'Why didn't you tell us you had a son, Jay?" I honestly couldn't figure out the exact place Maddie always got her courage from, it had been a mystery since I could remember. I envisioned things going sideways for her but it go as I had thought.
Jay chuckled slightly, 'Isn't that because I don't have a son?" He asked in return. Was it even right to answer a question with a question? I think there was this unspoken rule against it but adults usually did whatever they wanted to do. Annoying as hell.
Maddie wasn't going to back down, 'How am I supposed to know that exactly? You haven't told us if you do have a son or not" she responded and i thought it was a little rude and insensitive since the kid in question was sitting in the back with us. Maddie didn't seem to care though as she added,
'It is wrong to keep things from people you're close to, Mr Harley" It was funny how Maddie usually made simple things sound threatening. Was it a threat? It didn't seem like it but it sure sounded like she was restraining herself from giving him one of her infamous head smacks.
Apparently, Frankie had had enough of her interrogation and decided to cut in, 'Do you know you're being very rude right now, Maddie?" He asked the million dollar question but either Maddie was way into her scolding session to pay him much attention or she just didn't want to pay him much attention.
'Mr Harley" she completely ignored her brother's question and faced Jay, 'We are going to continue this conversation, in private when we get to the house" it was obvious the private part of the sentence was directed to her brother.
Jay was obviously amused by the entire conversation but all he did to acknowledge all Maddie was saying was to smile broadly as he kept on driving. The look on his face after the smile dissolved was one I had seen way too much to not recognize, it was worry and stress. The adults all had something going on for them but it would have been nice if they acknowledged that we also had our own stuff.
Danny and the extremely quiet kid were oddly getting along very well while Maddie kept on engaging Frankie in a conversation he didn't look like he wanted to have. Ken on the other hand, was busy with Danny's iPad and I was staring at Jay's face trying to decipher what could be going on in his head.
'Isn't it rude to stare?" I would have quickly apologized if I didn't hear the hint of amusement in his voice. It was actually rude to stare but there wasn't enough space in the car for me to stare comfortably so I had to improvise through the only window I saw.
Turning his attention from the traffic light he had been watching, he asked, 'Can you tell me what happened?" I must have looked confused cause he went on, 'I've been trying to reach Amber all day but I haven't been able to and Daniel's number isn't connecting also. I don't have your mum's number, I would have called her"
Reading my expression clearly than anyone ever had, he added, 'Yes, I am that desperate. Can you tell me what happened last night?" The fact that I had spent the whole day trying to push the thoughts into the back of my head hadn't help one bit cause i teleported over 12 hours back in time, back to the rain and the run.
'Are you okay?"
'Stacey, can you hear me?"
'Stace!"
I could hear someone calling out for me as I hid in the bushes next to the mansion's driveway. Was it mum? Who else would be out here this late at night? Was she okay? Why couldn't I see her? Over a thousand questions were spiralling in my head, I couldn't even pinpoint where the voice was coming from but I knew i could hear it. Should I call out?
'Stacey, can you hear me?" It was a different voice this time around, was mum with someone else? Why wasn't she coming out into the light where I could see her?
'What's wrong with her, Frankie?!" Someone was talking in the background, I couldn't distinguish who it was but it wasn't sounding like mum. Was I lost? I thought I had been standing at the back of the garage, had I moved?
'Just stop the car, Jay. Something is wrong with her" Whoever was yelling, was getting closer than I had expected. Was I the one they were talking about? Why couldn't I open my eyes? Or were they open and everywhere was just dark cause it was night? I could see before, why couldn't I do that anymore?
I felt something cool touch my lips, it felt soft and nice, with the kiss came a rush of air, had I been suffocating before?