Everyone but the Carter sisters seemed to hold their breath and share a silent consultation with each other. Emma had had just about enough. “Fine. I’ll call the police myself.” She pulled out her cell, Beth still cradled to her chest, and started dialling. She had one bar, which she hoped would be enough to get through to the police station. Ben put his hand over her phone to stop her and shook his head.
“We’ve got this Em.” Ben even slowly took the phone off her, a feat made possible by how stunned she was, and put it in his pack pocket. “Ah, good. Here he is now.” A massive red pickup truck pulled up on the curb just before their party and out hopped Caleb. He wore a brown plaid shirt open over a white t shirt, dark jeans and those same big working boots he wore yesterday. His black hair was tousled around his face, his shirt was hanging out from his jeans, and he looked like he’d just thrown clothes on five minutes ago. Even his boots weren’t laced up properly. He looked worried and made a beeline for Mrs Kelly.
“Everyone alright Claire?”
“Yes Caleb, we are.”
“Alright. Age and wisdom first. I’ll hear the story from you first.” Caleb put his hands on his hips and gave Mrs Kelly his full attention. Emma gawked at the pair of them and wondered if she was the only lucid one here.
“Oh it’s unfortunate, really. Tempers running hot and protective instincts in overdrive, is all.” She cleared her throat and looked up at her grandson with a raised silvery brow and a tut on her lips. “Jason thought his Gran was being harassed by a stranger and came to my rescue. I wasn’t, but he didn’t know that.”
“Right.” Caleb nodded for her to continue, and Emma couldn’t believe how everyone seemed okay with the way this crime was being handled. Making statements to the mayor was one thing, but taking turns and making them in front of each other?! Even Beth thought they had entered the twilight zone from the look she threw Emma. “Go on?”
“He made poor Bethany jump, and she was about to take my picture, so when she turned she took one of him suddenly and the flash went off. He reacted, flung a hand out defensively-” She mimed flamboyantly swatting a fly. “-and the dear’s camera broke on the floor. Granted, he was likely seeing white lights and still concerned for my safety, so he reached out to grab the girl. I thought I raised you better than that Jason?” She chided him.
“I was only trying to make her look at me and tell me what she was doing to you Gran.” Jason pleaded his case angrily at Caleb. “I didn’t think she’d weigh nothing and go and sprawl out on the damn floor. I didn’t even get a chance to help her up, which I was gonna!” He barked angrily over at Ben and Emma. “Before these two came over and challenged me. Down right threatened me.”
“Bullshit.” Emma had enough of this circus. “It’s never okay to manhandle a woman, an eighteen year old girl, who was on the floor, and in tears! Beth told us herself you attacked her.”
“Could it have appeared that way?” Caleb tried to suggest, silencing any argument from Jason with on raised finger. “Like Claire said? Hot tempers and all? I’ve known Jason all his life and he’s good people. Hot headed and protective, but not the manhandling kind.”
Emma couldn’t believe this! The mayor was hardly being impartial here. He’d known Jason all his life, was vouching for him and suggesting a defence for him? The last straw was noticing the way they were all looking at her like they’d all hope she’d let this go. Her mother and Ben included.
“Oh hell no.” Emma spooned her shellshocked sister to her left side and used her body to shield Beth from Jason. “I don’t know why we aren’t allowed to report this creep to the police, or why the Mayor seems to be involved and having free reign here, but no one assaults my sister.”
“Now there’s no need to lose your head darlin’.” Caleb held his hands up and tried to calm her. Unfortunately, he just came across as condescending and dismissive. A big mistake. “Sounds to me like Jason owes Beth there an apology for being heavy handed and scaring her, but nothing more. That should be enough to sweep this misunderstanding under the rug and be done with. Sounds fair?” Ben huffed and nodded, and Jason cleared his throat as if to begin apologising.
“You!” Emma pointed over and shouted at Jason, freezing whatever he was going to say on his tongue. “Keep your bull apology, and stay the hell away from my sister, or there will be an assault, and there’ll be no misunderstanding how it happened!” Jason scowled and took a step towards her, but Caleb turned and stared him down.
“No.” He sternly stopped whatever the younger man was going to do with that one word. “I’ll handle it.”
“Come on Beth.” Emma seethed with rage as she escorted her sister back to Ben’s pickup. She put her on the passenger side and shut the door for her. Poor Beth was so scared she was still sniffling and shutting off from it all. This stoked the fire in Emma’s belly, and she turned to direct said anger at her parents when they tried to follow the girls. “You two can back off too. You didn’t ring the cops, accepted that bullshit, let a crooked mayor get involved and let that creep assault my sister!”
“Emma it’s not that-”
“Ma, you’re the one I’m the most surprised at.” She cut her off, then rounded on Ben. “And if that’s how you provide for your family, then we’re not staying.” Ben held his chest like she’d wounded him. “Keep mum, she’s happy, fine. But my sister is coming back to Seattle with me where I can protect her.”
“Emma wait!” Jo tried again to console her first born, but Emma pushed her away. She didn’t care that Caleb, Jason and Mrs Kelly were still there. Watching and listening intently. She sent them a scowl like she dared them to judge her. Emma got into the diver’s side and slammed the door shut. The windows were down and Joanna held onto the door. “Please don’t leave. You’ve barely been here two days. You promised to give Glen Valley a chance. You promised!”
“Yeah, I did, and for a moment there I really thought this might be a nice place to live and be a family. The ‘Walker’ family.” In the distance Caleb looked to Jason and shared a look of pity at Ben. The man himself looked crestfallen. “But no. Ma, you’ve crossed a line. You want to be one of the village people, fine, but we’re going back to Seattle. Where random strangers don’t put their hands on my baby sister, and certainly not without consequence!”
“Em don’t go.” Ben found his voice and begged her. Emma was raging with more fuel being poured onto the flames every second she was in this town. “Please, just give me another chance. I’ll protect you both better I swear, I can explain I-”
“We shouldn’t need protecting!” Emma leaned out of the driver window, cheeks hot with anger. “You took my phone and stopped me calling the cops! You sided with the bent mayor over Beth, and why? Because he said so? No mayor has that much power and influence.”
“Glen Valley is just run a bit differently to what you’re
used to.” Ben put a hand on the bonnet to stop her leaving. “Our Mayor has more
powers, maybe, but really we’re all one big family here.”
“You’re one big ass cult of monsters, more like.” Emma raised her voice,
seething when she saw they still had an audience. “What kind of monster shoves
around a defenceless young woman?! Who’s worse? That asshole, or the one who
covers for him?” She directed right at Caleb and Jason, and then lowered her
molten hazel eyes at Ben and Joanna. “Screw this town. I’m taking Beth to
safety. You two can walk home!” Emma started the engine, reversed away from
Ben’s hand, and pulled away from the drive. As she drove away she put her
middle finger out of the window at them all to really get her anger
across, just in case there was any doubt about her feelings.
They drove home in silence and once outside the idyllic Walker house, Emma got straight to work. She coaxed Beth out of the car and up to her pink room. Beth sat on the bed as Emma buzzed around her packing her suitcase for her.
10 minutes of this and the teen finally came out of her shell enough to engage her in conversation.
“…wow Emma…you went nuclear on mum, Ben, the Mayor and all of Glen Valley…”
“Yes I did…not my finest moment…” Emma shrugged and ran her hands through her long ginger hair. she tousled it as she carded her fingers through it. The only sign of anxiety she showed. “-but I stand by my decision to get us out of here.” Emma nodded and hoisted the case onto the bed. “I have a friend, Cassy, who will put us up on her couch until I can get us somewhere on our own. We’ll go to college and study in Seattle as planned. We can both work over the summer and then you can drop your job in the fall. We’ll be fine.” Emma sounded like she was trying to convince herself as much as Beth.
They both froze at the sound of the front door opening and shutting downstairs. “We can’t stay here Beth. I’ve seen enough crime shows to know that this is the kind of place people go missing and bodies turn up in pieces. In the first five minutes the Mayor intimidated and practically threatened me as an outsider. Hell, we should have left then.” Emma knelt at Beth’s feet and put her hands on her sister’s knees. “One midwife for the entire town? Kids coming out of people’s ears like they’ve never heard of birth control and they need to repopulate the planet? A cell signal dead-zone to the outside world?”
“Well being odd isn’t always a bad thing.” Beth was naturally optimistic, though an introvert, whereas Emma was a practical pessimist and very extraverted.
“Beth, baby girl, there’s odd, and then there’s the creepy messiah worship they have for that backward mayor Caleb. He says jump and they all say how freaking high? Even Ma’s kissing his boots. Sweetheart, we are getting out of here before they drag us out of our beds in the middle of the night to throw on their bonfires.” Emma had hit her limit. Too many red flags. Too many to ignore any longer. “If something is too good to be true, it’s a damn trap. Glen Valley, is a pretty coated trap.” She seethed, hiding her own building fears as well. “I’m getting my bag, and we are walking out of that door.”
“…are we walking to Seattle?” Beth stood and shoved her hands into the pockets of her pink cardigan.
“No, we’re driving.” Emma dangled Ben’s keys from her middle finger. “We’re going to borrow dad’s car, and he can come and collect it from Seattle.” She smirked and headed across the hall to her room. Emma moved like a whirlwind as she shoved everything she owned back into her duffle bag. Five minutes later she had her bag on her shoulder, Beth held her suitcase handle in both hands, and Emma put her free hand on her sister’s shoulder. They would walk out of this house together, and put this whole mess behind them. Their mother would either come to their senses, or she could stay here with Ben in crazy land.
They got down the stairs, only to find Jason stood in front of the closed front door. “Get the hell out.” Emma shouted in alarm and prepared to defend herself and her sister. Jason put his hands up in surrender, but didn’t speak or move. A voice called out from the living room and interrupted any idea she had of escape.
“Jason is only waiting there because I’ve asked him to.” Emma’s left eyebrow twitched. That was Caleb’s voice coming from the living room. Why are these guys in Ben’s house? Where is Ben and Mum? “Emma? Beth? Can you both come in here please? I’d like to apologise to you in person. If you want to leave afterwards, that’s fine. You can even take my truck.” Emma hesitated and Beth waited to follow her lead. “I promise you are free to go. Just listen to my apology first? Please?”
“Damn it.” Emma huffed and dropped her duffle bag. It wasn’t like they’d be able to get past a big guy like Jason anyway. She doubted they’d make it to the kitchen door before being captured if they really wanted to stop the ladies from leaving. Beth put her case down and followed Emma to the living room. Caleb sat on one of the large brown leather sofas and wore his most reassuring smile.
“Thank you. Please take a seat.” Beth turned to sit, but Emma raised her hand.
“We’ll stand, thanks.”
“…alright.” Caleb cleared his throat and sat back on the sofa. Emma noticed he’d preened himself up as he waited. His boots were laced up neatly, his plaid shirt buttoned up and tucked in, and his hair tamed back in a hair bobble once more. Caleb reclined and tryied to give off the air of being relaxed and safe. His fingers interlocked on his lap and he smiled up at Emma’s beautiful scowl. “I heard what you said up there.” He pointed up at the ceiling, but clearly meant their bedrooms. “You feel I intimidated and threatened you the moment you stepped into town as an outsider?”
“…that’s some hearing you have.” Emma gripped her fists by her sides, and didn’t miss how her sister tried to cower behind her. “Up a flight of stairs and through a bedroom door.” Caleb cleared his throat and pressed on regardless.
“It wasn’t my intention to scare you Emma. I’m protective of my people and I just wanted to get a feel for who you are. A good person that can be trusted, or a bad egg.” He shrugged and sighed. “You and I butted heads immediately and I thought you were the latter.” He put a hand up before she could retort. “But it never occurred to me how my questions might have seemed. I’m an intense guy when ruffled, I know, and I’m sorry for worrying you. I really like Joanna and all year she and Ben have talked none stop about you two coming here.” He chuckled and put his hands up. “Before meeting you, I was looking forward to you coming here. Ben has waited a long time to finally have a family. What you said back there?” He half turned to indicate back outside the clinic. “Hurt him really deeply. Poor guy was inconsolable.”
“What can I say?” Emma scowled. “Before coming here, I liked the guy quite a lot. Here though, he let you decide it was okay for my sister to be attacked.” A frustrated grunt from the entrance hallway made it clear that Jason had heard them.
“It really was a misunderstanding. A bad one, and of course he shouldn’t have gotten hands on with Beth. I thought an apology would have been enough. But.” Caleb got straight in there with both hands up. “I can see it isn’t. Beth? Would you feel up to letting Jason apologise? He really wants to, and then if it’s not enough we can discuss a fair further punishment?” Caleb was smiling as he looked around Emma to see Beth’s anxious brown eyes. His smile was disarming however, and Beth turned slowly to look back towards Jason. She shuffled out of the living room, holding her elbows and openly wary of him.
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