She listens intently as I explain how they ran off together once before, but this isn’t like the last time. She doesn’t show any doubt when I tell her why Megan not leaving a note is suspicious and that she would have definitely told Blue. I tell her about how her brothers’ search came up empty, that they may as well have fallen off the face of the Earth with how they didn’t even leave a paper trail. Not even a purchase at a store in the airport. In the end, I even tell her about the cameras just so she can understand the other heavy layer to all this that has me up all night.
“And there’s nothing I can do to help her,” I finish. “I’ve been staying in touch with her brothers, and they’re handling everything, and I have to just sit here, watch, and wait.”
“And you don’t think he’s dangerous, the fiance?” she inquires, concern knitting her eyebrows together.
“I don’t know,” I say. “Blue knows the dude, and he says he’s harmless, and I believe it. He’s a prick, but I can’t say he’s dangerous.”
“But Blue found cameras hidden around their condo, Ian,” she reminds me, shaking her head. “If he went that far, what’s stopping that from evolving into “if I can’t have you, nobody can”? That’s how a lot of young women get murdered. They mistake these characteristics for love and look over what’s really going on.”
I groan.
“That’s not what I need to hear. I’m already worried enough without thinking aboutthattoo.”
“I’m sorry, son.” She reaches over and rubs my shoulder. “I didn’t mean to give you something else to think about. But you’ve never been naive. You had to have thought about it.”
“Before, yeah, but Blue knows the dude pretty well; he went out with his sister for a while. He’s not violent. He’s just some rich prick that didn’t want anyone interfering with their relationship. That’s just a guess based on what I’ve learned.”
“What other reason could there be?” she wonders.
The fact that she could be carrying my kid and he doesn’t want me anywhere near Megan is a fucking huge one that I can’t tell her about.
“I have no idea. That’s the only major problem that I knew of.”
“So he doesn’t want her to spend time with friends, nor does he like how protective her family is of her. That sounds beyond the scope of healthy possessiveness.”
“Yeah, I got that when he offered me money to stay away from her,” I mumble.
“He did WHAT?” she exclaims, her eyes popping out. “How much did he offer you?”
“Five hundred thousand.”
I didn’t think her eyes could get any wider, but they do.
“How-how rich is this family of his?” she asks, astonished.
“They’re loaded according to Blue.”
“Are you sure that’s a friendship youneed?You can’t make other friends, Ian?”
“Ma!”
She throws her hands up. “I’m kidding. I’m kidding. I’m just trying to lighten the mood. You know I’d never be serious about that.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“If Blue knows he’s not dangerous and you know that he’s not, then it’s likely your friend will come back unharmed for the most part. What this will do to her mentally and emotionally is hard to determine.” If she knew Megan’s full story, she’d know how much more pressing this is because of those two factors. “He might come to his senses on his own and realize what he’s doing isn’t right. But that’s if they didn’t run away together again. They do have a history of it, after all.”
“I really don’t think that’s the case,” I reiterate, picking up my fork finally.
“Hopefully, it’s not as bad as what you’re thinking,” she says, reaching for my plate. “Let me heat this up. It’s probably cold now.”
“What else has been going on with you?” she asks, leaning on the counter next to the microwave.
“The only other thing I have going on is a showing in a few weeks.”
Her eyes slightly widen, then a hard frown takes over her face.
“When were you going to tell me about it?” she asks. “Last minute like the other one? Do you not want me to come see your art?”