“He… hello?” I stammer, nerves zig zagging through my system. “Who is it?”
“Let me in!” Rae’s reply radiates warmth all the way through me. Thank God it’s her. “What the hell is happening, Tia? Your message was all garbled and nuts but I came over right away to check on you.”
I rush to the door and open it, inviting her inside. “I don’t know what happened. It was crazy.”
She waltzes into my kitchen, knowing my apartment well since she’s spent so much time here… or at least she did before things got a little strained, and I follow her. “Something to do with Shane?”
“Yeah, he just… he turned up out of nowhere. I wasn’t even expecting him. I just got home after a day of filming and here he was.” My eyes drift towards the front door where he was standing on the other side not so long ago. “He wanted to come inside but I didn’t let him in. This might be my fault.”
“But didn’t he get into some kind of trouble with other guys?” Rae’s eyebrows knot together. “That can’t be your fault. He has no one to blame but himself. If you had let him in, you could be hurt too.”
Hmm, that’s true. I hadn’t thought of it like that. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“So, what happened? That’s what I don’t understand.”
I lean on the counter and rub my head hard. I want to get all of these memories in order because soon I’ll have to tell the whole tale to the cops again and I want to get it right. To help out Shane. I owe it to him to get it right.
“He was just here when I got back, like I said, but it was like he wasn’t really here. He was acting all spacy and weird. Then his phone kept ringing and he eventually told me that it was his dad.”
“Ooh, do you think his father might be someone interesting?” Rae interrupts.
“I don’t know.” I shrug helplessly. “He didn’t really give much information, only that he didn’t want to talk to him for some reason. I don’t know why. We kinda argued from then.” I shake my head, still unsure how that happened as it did. “I guess I wanted him to tell me more and he didn’t want to.”
“Well, it’s only understandable that you need more. He’s so weird and secretive. Turning up like that obviously didn’t help. I wonder why he didn’t just keep away from you.”
“I know! I agree. Then I came inside and slammed the door in temper, but within seconds I heard banging outside. It was gun shots, I’m sure of it, but no one else around here seemed to see anything.”
“Unless they did but they were too scared to come out.” Rae taps her chin thoughtfully. “They might have looked through the window to see but didn’t want to get involved. I’m sure a lot of people are like that. They put themselves and their own safety first, especially when they don’t know the other person.”
“Right, but they would have called the cops too, right? The more people who did the better.”
“Maybe, I don’t know. I’m sure we’ll find out when the police arrive.”
I glance at the time on my phone screen. “That should be soon. It already feels like it’s been ages.”
“When they get here, I hope they know more about Shane, don’t you?” Rae shoots me a meaningful look. “I hope he’s some criminal or something so you can get some answers. I don’t know about you but the mystery is killing me. In fact, I’m pretty sure that’s the reason you have remained so hung up on him. I think that once you have answers, you won’t be so bothered about him anymore.”
I don’t think that’s it. I’m sure my reasons for being so hung up on Shane is something else. Something I can’t express into words. A chemistry that seemingly runs even deeper than just a sexual thing - although admittedly that’s a huge part of it - that has me hooked in. It’s easier to nod and stay silent than to get into that though.
“I’m going to do research on him,” Rae tells me decidedly. “I know that we scratched the surface before, but I’m sure there’s more and I bet I will be better than the police at finding it. If he isn’t a criminal that is.”
“I don’t know if I’m comfortable with that…” I try, anxiety dancing in my stomach.
“Oh, pish.” Rae waves her hand dismissively, completely ignoring my feelings on the topic. “It might not feel right to you at the moment but you’ll soon thank me.”
“Is it necessary.” I frown determinedly. “Shouldn’t we just wait?”
“Nah, I can’t wait anymore. I want to know who this mystery man is and I think you do too. You don’t seem like the kind of person who can hook up with someone that they don’t know anything about.”