The whole way home, I waited for his response to come, but it didn’t. When I got home, I saw that his truck wasn’t in front of my building. I was bummed that he hadn’t responded. I sent him another message, before getting out of the car.
Me: I came home, but please call me. I love you!
I got out of the car and headed up to my apartment. When I reached my apartment, I spotted a note taped to my door. I looked around to see if anyone was around, then grabbed it from the door and opened it up.
Meet me at Collier Park. I have a surprise for you.
Love,
Channing
I smiled at his note. Without going inside, I turned around and ran back to my car. I couldn’t wait to get to him and wondered what the surprise could be.
Collier Park was just fifteen minutes from my apartment and I sped there, so it shaved off another five. When I reached the parking lot, I pulled into it. I parked and looked around. There were a couple cars, but I didn’t see Channing’s truck. I frowned, unsure what that meant, but I didn’t stop to think. I got out of the car, excited to see Channing.
I looked around as I stepped into the park, then called out his name. “Channing?”
I didn’t see when they crept up behind me, but felt hands on me and a cover over my nose and mouth. I went down, as darkness overwhelmed me.
Chapter Eighteen
Channing
The meeting lasted longer than I expected. The conversation about construction sites was never truly exciting. That time, it seemed to even be duller than usual. All I could do was think about Kemara, as I sat in there listening to efficient ways to build a structure.
I got out to my truck, ready to call her. I grabbed my phone and discovered the battery was dead. “Shit!” I mumbled.
I looked around my truck to see if I could find my charger and reached in the backseat and grabbed it from the middle console. I plugged it into the lighter and tried to power on my phone. It didn’t power up right away, so I started the truck and pulled out of the parking lot.
After several minutes of getting juice to the phone, I finally got it to turn on. That’s when I saw three texts and a voicemail on my phone. I pulled off to the side of the road, so I could read the messages. The first two were from Kemara. I smiled as I read her messages. I wanted to see her too, and I was headed her way after a quick shower.
The final message was from my mom.
Mom: CALL ME!
I frowned at the message. It seemed a little frantic. Instead of listening to the voicemail, I dialed up Mom’s number. She answered right away.
“You need to get to Kemara right away,” she frantically said.
“What are you talking about?” I pulled the car onto the road and did an illegal U-turn to head to her place.
“I found out that your father and brother are going after her. They intend on hurting her, and you have to get to her before they do something bad.”
My heart started pounding. I picked up the speed to ten more MPH. “Are you serious, Mom? Where are they now?”
“I don’t know. I don’t have the details, but I heard him talking to someone on the phone. I called you w
hen you didn’t answer my text to you. I’m just so worried about her…”
“I had a meeting for work,” I mumbled. I couldn’t focus on the words. I didn’t know where they would be, but I had to go to her house and see if I could find her there. “Are you sure you didn’t mishear them, Mom?” I asked.
“I wish, but they left the house about five minutes later and that was over an hour ago. I tried to call them, but they aren’t answering their phone.” She started to sob and I could hear the anxiousness in her voice. Something was definitely wrong. “It’s serious Channing. They’re going to hurt her. Oh, please be careful!”
“I will Mom! Call you later!” I dialed up Kemara’s number. She didn’t answer. “Babe, call me ASAP. Don’t go outside and, if you see my father or brother, don’t go near them. Trust me. Call me!”
I tossed the phone down in the passenger seat and hurried towards her place. Fury pulsed through my veins as I thought about what my father and brother were capable of doing if they got to Kemara first. When I got to the parking lot of her apartment building, I was disappointed to see that her car wasn’t there. I jumped out of the truck and hurried up to her apartment door. I beat on the door, calling out her name, but she didn’t respond. I was about to leave, then I noticed a piece of paper on the floor. I picked it up and read it.
My jaw dropped when I saw what the note said. My blood boiled to the surface, as I slipped it into my pocket and left the apartment. I had to get to Collier Park. I put the information into my GPS, as I had never been there before, but found I could make it in fifteen minutes. I drove 80 MPH the whole way there, barely stopping at yellow lights or stop signs.