Don’t Let Go

37. Tyler

37

Tyler

I didn’t see Rory’s car in the driveway when I got home after school, and when I called her, it went straight to voicemail. She was either forwarding my calls, or her phone was off.

“Rory, why are you doing this?” I muttered, squeezing the phone in my hand. After hanging up, I tapped the top of the phone against my forehead.

A car’s engine rumbled, and tires turned from asphalt to the cement driveway, making me do a one-eighty. Rory flew out of her Charger, and past me like I was nothing but a lawn ornament.

“Hey! Wait up!” I chased after her into the house. She unlocked the front door and almost shut it in my face if I hadn’t put my hand up to stop it. Before I knew it, she ran up the stairs two at a time.

“Rory!” I shouted, jumping every other step before she locked herself in her room.

I barely caught her by the arm before she hid away from me.

“Rory, what on earth is going on?” I asked, between breaths. You’d think the girl was on the track team with how quick she was.

She pulled her arm back and gave me a bewildered look as if I was the one running around with my head chopped off. “What is it, Tyler? I have something I need to do.”

There were no words. I was so focused on catching her that my brain couldn’t string together a sentence that made sense.

I ran a hand down my face, trying to figure out what I needed to say before she shut me out again. “What’s going on? Do the police have a lead?”

“Yes… umm… actually, no. Not really. I must go.” She drummed her fingernails on the doorframe. The scraping noise was distracting. I may have not known Rory long, but she’s completely different after Lizzy. She’s wild, angry, bitter, and always on the move. Any little thing annoyed her, and it usually had something to do with me.

“What do you mean? Didn’t you say they have security footage? What was on it?” I put my foot in the doorjamb so she couldn’t shut me out.

She closed her eyes and sighed. “Fine, come in.” Rory walked deeper into her room, leaving the door wide open.

I entered her room and closed the door, leaning against it. Rory dropped her backpack next to her bed and opened her closet door. She pulled out shirts, skirts, and dresses, giving them a second of her time before tossing them on her bed.

As she tore through her closet like a mini-tornado, she said, “There wasn’t much to the video. It was grainy footage of a car cruising by the house and murdering my baby sister.” Her tone was matter-of-fact as if she spoke about some other family's tragedy.

“What are you doing?” I dared to ask as her pile of clothes on the bed became a small leaning tower.

“I’m looking for something to wear to a party,” she snapped, not bothering to look at me.

My eyebrows pushed together in confusion. “What party? Is it a mafia thing?”

She froze with a blue shirt in her hand. She took three strides over to me, so we were face to face. The shirt had slipped off the hanger as she walked over, and she used the bare hanger to jab me in the gut as she stared into my soul with her jade-green eyes with a spark of darkness in them. “Forget about the mafia. My family is none of your concern.”

I scoffed. “Really? I was forced to live here and no one bothered to warn me I’d be right in the middle of a mafia family.”

“Your family isn’t clean from such ties,” she seethed, tossing the hanger on the ground. She moved to her closet which I could only imagine barely had anything left hanging inside. “You can go now.”

“Not so fast. What party? I haven’t heard any word on this.”

She flicked her hair over her left shoulder, hiding her face from me. “An exclusive party. Invite-only.”

“And you have an invite? Is Chloe going with you?” I knew my questions would set her off, but I couldn’t let Rory slip out without giving me a clue. She was desperate, she had a gun, and her sweetness was taken over by vengeance.

“What does Chloe have to do with anything?” I noticed she skirted my first question.

“She’s worried about you, and so am I.”

“I didn’t know my best friend, and you were so close. Plotting behind my back, that’s wonderful,” she spat, turning her attention to the heap of clothes on her bed.

“We’re not conspiring against you, Rory. I found a gun in your glovebox, and you haven’t been yourself since… you know…”

“Since Lizzy was shot like a dog in my front yard right in front of me?” She flared her nostrils. “I need you out of here. Now!” She stormed across the room and opened the door. “Get. Out.” She gave me a hard shove, making me stumble back a few steps.

Carmen was down the hall by the bathroom when she looked over and saw Rory kicking me out of her room.

Carmen shook her head. “Trouble in paradise?” she asked, giving me a twisted grin.

Rory slammed the door in my face. I wanted to pound on it and force her to talk to me, but I knew it was pointless.

I didn’t respond to Carmen. Her gaze pierced into my back as I locked myself in my room and grabbed my phone, texting Chloe.

Rory is getting ready to leave. She says she’s going to an exclusive party. Invite-only. She tried to bite my head off when I asked for more info. You know anything?

I placed my phone on the dresser and paced my room, waiting for a reply. I was also keeping an ear out for Rory. She was still rummaging around and muttering to herself. I needed a plan before she took off to an undisclosed location.

My phone buzzed. I grabbed it, Chloe replied.

The Goodman party?! You need to follow her!

I was afraid her response was going to be panic and wanting me to intervene. How do I stop her? She’s a hurricane on the warpath. Rory’s mind was set on revenge. Hell, she hid her ties with the mafia from me for weeks. What else could she be capable of?

I rubbed the back of my neck and thought of a reply.

She’ll know I’m following her. My car isn’t discreet.

There was a bang on the wall I shared with Rory as if she threw something at it, maybe a shoe. I looked at my phone, reading Chloe’s latest message.

Follow her! I don’t care how! I’ll meet you there. I got the invite too.

A door slammed shut, and footsteps stomped down the hall toward the stairs. I poked my head out of my room and caught a glimpse of Rory’s head before she disappeared down the stairway.

Shit!

I shoved my shoes on and grabbed my keys. I sent a quick reply.

She’s on the move!

I raced down the stairs and out the door. Rory had already pulled out of the carport and drove down the street. As I jumped into my Rolls-Royce, I had no idea how I'd tail her without her seeing me, but I had to try.

Whatever Rory was mixed up in, I had to somehow get her out of it. If I took a moment, I could still smell her apple shampoo and honeysuckle scent as she slept on my chest the other night. All I wanted to do was protect her and help ease her pain. It appeared I also had to save her from herself. If it was the last thing I did, I wasn’t going to allow Rory to shoot that gun and blow up her future. I loved Rory too much to let her slip into the darkness of her madness.