Invade My Heart

Chapter 8

NOT EDITED

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“So, nothing went wrong with you and Weston?” Beau asked for the thousandth time. He sounded surprised, looking at me over his sunglasses with skepticism. “So how come the two of you disappeared after your grappling session?”

“Nothing,” I lied smoothly, feeling guilty for hiding things from Beau. Hey, they do say that ignorance is bliss. “He had a date with Hayley and I called my mom.”

I wasn’t completely lying. Weston did have a date with Hayley and I did call my mom to vent out everything that happened. My mom just sighed, telling me that we wouldn’t be able to fight this any longer.

That hard truth scared me.

“Right,” Beau said with disbelief, leaning back in the passenger seat. “Whenever you’re comfortable enough to stop lying to me, I’ll be here.”

I gulped, staring hard at the road in front of me. Good thing we decided to discuss this while I was driving. It gave me a distraction and he didn’t have to see the guilt in my eyes.

“So, what do you think this boss guy is like?” I asked, digressing from the previous topic.

I didn’t feel like talking about Weston today and I didn’t feel like dealing with him. I was lucky that we didn’t bump into each other in the kitchen as usual because I knew he wanted to talk about what happened yesterday. Weston was one to look for closure and to clear everything up.  

I was one to run away. Beau was right after all.

“He’s probably some bald headed man who wears Yankees caps and still lives with his mother,” Beau said with disgust. “What vile humans. They attack those who didn’t even do anything in the first place. Haven’t they heard of animal abuse?”

“You do realize you called us animals, right?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

“You know what I mean,” Beau muttered. “I just can’t wait to figure out this whole case, find out what to do, and bring down the people who hurt Aunt Ella.”

“Revenge is not the answer.”

“Aren’t you angry at the people who hurt your mother?”

“Yeah, I am angry,” I stated the obvious. “But I never see the point in revenge. All it does is prove who the biggest immature one is. I want to end this fight, not give them any other reason to get back at us.”

After a couple of seconds, Beau said, “I guess you’re right.”

When we pulled up in the familiar parking space, I stared at the small red and white building. It’s sign was worn out, peeling red paint. The glass windows and doors showed the interior of the store, empty guns lined up.

“Who the hell names their store ‘The Big Shot’?” Beau scoffed. “Show offs.”

“You’re just biased because these people are trying to kill us,” I laughed, slightly cringing at the thought. “Come on, drama queen. It’s show time.”

When we entered the small store, a skinny man with a faded blue cap looked up from his book on the counter. “Kids, I knew you’d show up,” Ron called out in his raspy voice.

“Of course,” Beau said, plastering a fake smile identical to the one on my face.

“How are you kids today?” Ron asked as if he knew us for a long time. “How are you liking Huntstown?”

“Huntstown is interesting,” I said, examining a picture of Ron near a dead elk.

“Sure is!” Ron noticed me scrutinizing his photo. He smiled at me, obviously proud at his accomplishment. “That was two weeks ago. I shot it with my rifle. It was huge! It was the biggest dear Huntstown men have ever hunted. I was proud of myself for taking down that monster.”