"I'm sorry you can't come with us, Faith," Sheena said, clutching her bulging handbag so tightly that her knuckles were white. She was smiling and putting on an act as Sky had instructed in case they were being watched, but she seemed to mean what she said with every ounce of seriousness in her.
"I know," Faith said, feigning a mildly disappointed halfhearted smile as they stood in the parking lot. "But you know how it is. Times have been a little hard, and I need to save money. Hope you have fun, though," she added, of course by that meaning "Get there safely."
"I'll text you when we get there," Sky reassured Faith.
"Sounds good to me." The relief she felt from the fact they were actually pulling this off made the smiling part a bit easier. And luckily, the neighbors didn't seem to have heard them earlier.
Everything felt so unreal as they waved to each other one last time, got into their respective vehicles, and Faith finally watched them drive away. As she began to make her own way out of the parking lot, she had to continuously remind herself not to rest her foot too heavily on the gas pedal.
The idea of getting safely inside her house and calling her parents suddenly sounded like such a comforting idea. She would tell them the truth: she and Sherm had had a serious talk, she was working to get her .38 special back and find Rowan, and things were finally looking up. Even if that was all she could tell them, it would need to be enough.
All that mattered tonight was that one more person would be safe from this ocean of monsters and broken pieces of make-believe, and hopefully, somehow, Faith would soon be too.
"...So, you've gotten in touch with the police about the gun?"
"Yeah. I guess you could say Sherm talked some sense into me."
"Good. I really wish I would've known about this sooner, but maybe there's still time for them to locate it. We'll see."
"I know. It's just you and Mom were so happy to see me the night Rowan left, and I just didn't want to ruin the one thing that went right that night. All I can say is, I'm sorry...for bringing all this chaos back into your lives. I know you both want it to be over, and believe me, I do too."
"It'll get better," Mark said gently. Either Faith had underestimated her dad's ability to stay calm in this situation, or he had just had plenty of time to go through his initial reaction before receiving Faith's call. "But are you sure there's nothing else you need to tell us? We've calmed down, if that's what you're worried about." Faith could now hear a hint of attempted humor in his voice.
"There's really not much more to tell. I feel like I've made a lot of progress today, but I can't exactly take full credit for it. And I promise I won't let something like this happen again, when either I get my original gun back or I manage to get another one. I understand it's hard to believe after how careless I was, but..." Faith sighed, letting her words trail off.
"Well, it seems like you've learned your lesson. I hope, anyway. And Holly says you wanted to borrow one of mine earlier for the meantime, but you know that's getting into some shady territory, legally speaking."
"Yeah, but I changed my mind on that anyway, since most of these things Rowan told me to be afraid of aren't even real. I'll be fine without one for now," Faith said, hoping that that part would end up being true.
"Well don't get me wrong, it would be great if they were able to locate the one I gave you, but...you're doing all you can do now, so the only thing left after that is just to wait. So hang in there, okay?" Faith appreciated how much he was trying to sound like a forgiving father, but the disappointment in his voice was still unmistakable at times.
"I'm trying. But anyway, I'll leave you and Mom alone now."
"Wait!" came her mom's voice suddenly on the other end. "Hey, Faith...I just wanted to say I'm sorry for scaring you away earlier. I know you were just trying to be honest with me, and I didn't handle it too well. It's just a lot of parts of this still don't make any sense, and you were--"
"What she means to say is that if there really is something we should know about or can help you with, please--let us know," her dad cut in, somewhat more tactfully.
Faith couldn't think of anything going on with her right now that matched up with what her dad was describing that she hadn't already told them, so she simply replied, "There's nothing you two should be worrying about. I was just really upset earlier, and made things sound worse than they are. So...let's just accept each other's apologies and move on from this, okay?"
"...Okay. I guess we'll get off our soap box, but I'm glad things are looking up in some ways," her mom said.
"Yeah," Faith agreed. "They are. But still, if any of our relatives ask, could you try not to make a big deal about any of this to them, at least not until I've gotten things sorted out? Just try to be as vague as possible for now."
"Okay," her dad said understandingly.
As they said their goodbyes and eventually hung up, Faith once again found herself wishing she could tell them everything. But even if she couldn't tell her family, she could still tell Sherm, as she'd promised earlier to keep him updated.
Before seeing what she could find in the kitchen to fix herself for dinner and giving Sherm the good news, she decided to check her phone for any updates from Sky, and what she found in her inbox was a welcome sight: "Sheena is safe. I saw her go inside her sister's house just now. I wouldn't recommend you two trying to contact each other for the time being, but if you really need to, make sure to delete the conversation afterwards. Just get some rest, and tomorrow afternoon I'll call you so we can solve that debt situation of yours."
Faith may have dreamed about Rowan again her first night back in her house, but at least she didn't end up remembering what happened in it this time. It probably wasn't much more pleasant than the one she'd had yesterday, given the fact she felt no urge to go back to sleep now that she was fully awake.
She would begin her day by finishing the paperwork for her stolen gun. However, finishing it all in a timely manner was proving to be easier said than done, so when her phone did finally ring that afternoon, she was more than eager for an excuse to shift her focus to something else for a while. It was a number she didn't recognize, which she still hurried to answer just in case. "Hello?"
"Well Faith, it looks like we're in the same boat now. Sheena's gone and I can't get in contact with her."
Don't panic. You knew this was probably going to happen. "Wait--what do you mean 'gone'?"
"Just what I said," Aaron replied curtly. "She ain't at her apartment, but her car is. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would ya'?"
"Oh... So she's doing it to you too, then? Because I tried to text Sheena after I left her apartment last night but I haven't gotten any responses. All I really know is that she mentioned going out of town with an old friend from high school, and I wanted to know how they were doing. I hope nothing happened to her. Maybe she just wants some time away from her phone and social media."
"Faith--this is Sheena we're talkin' about. She usually blows up my phone with these texts about stuff like what she ate for breakfast or what she bought at the mall, along with about ten pictures of it if I'm lucky," he said sarcastically. "Drives me nuts. Oh, but that ain't the craziest part--some neighbors of hers I talked to today say they thought they heard screaming coming from her apartment too, but they weren't sure."
"Screaming--? Oh, well a spider did get into the apartment at one point and scared her, but I didn't think she sounded that loud. But other than that, I thought it was a pleasant visit with her. If she's been going through anything, she's done a great job at hiding it. But you said the car is still in the parking lot, right? Then she'll probably be back soon."
Faith heard a long exhale on the other end. "Ugh, nothing about this adds up. I've got a couple of theories on what might've happened though. Somebody might've wised her up about some things, or maybe you're right and she just doesn't wanna answer her phone right now. But it is kinda strange that she's avoiding both of us with no sign of when or if she'll be back."
"Well, I really wish I knew something, about Sheena and Rowan both for that matter, but I'm sorry--I don't."
"Ya' know Faith, you seem awfully calm about all of this, considering this is your own friend that's disappeared."
Faith froze. "...Calm? I'm not sure I would call it that. I've felt every negative emotion in the book this past week, and honestly I'm sick of it--of feeling. If Sheena really is doing this on purpose, and wants to go off and disappear and make me worry the same way Rowan did, I can't help her. I don't know if that's what really happened since it's too soon to tell, but I guess it's like you said--wearing your heart on your sleeve only gets you hurt, one way or the other, and I have no interest in getting hurt anymore."
"Then why'd you sound like such a sentimental mess when you called her place last night? All this talk about pickin' outfits out and dating advice, it just didn't sound like the Faith I know. Are ya' sure you're not pullin' my leg here?"
"Tell me something, Aaron. Why would I go out of my way just to mess with your personal life, let alone your business? My own life is already enough to deal with, as you already know. Of course I still have a sentimental streak when it comes to people I at least think are my friends, but I can't help but be offended that you would think I did this. Like I say, I've been trying to reach her too."
"Hm. I'll give it a day or so and see what happens, but I do need you to appreciate the situation for what it is--I might not have lost much of a girlfriend if she really has disappeared on me, but she's still been a prospective business partner. In that sense I'd be losin' a lot more."
"Well, regardless of what she is to you, it doesn't change the fact I had nothing to do with it," Faith said stiffly, refusing to let her voice waver.
"For your sake, Faith, I'm just gonna hope you're not lying to me. I'll see ya' Friday. Don't be late."
When she heard the repetitive beeping of the person on the other end hanging up, Faith felt her shoulders relax a bit; she wasn't sure she could have pulled that off face-to-face. Despite his suspicions, she hoped there was still a chance that he would eventually just forget about Sheena. After all, per his usual logic, weren't things like business partners (and romantic partners for that matter) an expendable resource?
Faith tried to return to her paperwork, but after staring at the same line for fifteen minutes, unable to get her mind off of the conversation she and Aaron had just had, she finally decided it was time for a break. Even if there was anything much to eat in the fridge right now, her stomach was churning too much to even think about eating anything, and she was still too jumpy to go for a walk outside the house either. As for anything on daytime TV, the soap operas were too fake and the news was much too real. So, Faith decided it was time to catch up on her exercise routine, which she hadn't done in about a week. She wasn't sure how much good it would do in terms of making her any stronger in the short-term, but it was better late than never.
However, no sooner had she dusted off her dumbbells than had her phone started to ring once more. Fortunately though, this one was from a number she recognized (but would likely need to delete soon after the call). "Faith. You available right now?"
Faith hesitated. "...Yeah, I am."
"Let's meet at the mall parking lot. It's pretty far from both your house and Happy Scoops. The next priority here is getting Aaron to leave you alone for good, so we're gonna take care of that today. Wanna meet at three?"
"Alright. So how will we do this, exactly?"
"I'm gonna meet you in your car, if that's alright. I'll have on a different wig and eye contacts and everything, so I won't look like the same girl you and Sheena saw last night, but I'll have a similar-looking handbag from before."
"Well, first things first--do you guys charge interest with this kind of thing? And if so, how much?"
"Zero percent. And you can just pay us back on your own time, once you get back on your feet and all."
"Thanks...I'll pay it back as soon as I can. And also, we should probably be extra careful--Aaron suspects me, probably because I was the last person he knows was with her before she left."
Fortunately, Sky seemed to remain calm. "Okay, so what did you tell him in response?"
"I just told him how ridiculous the idea was, of me going out of my way to mess with his or Sheena's lives when I've got so many problems of my own, and he backed off for the most part and just said he hoped I was right."
"Oh," Sky replied, sounding impressed. "Well, it sounds like you got yourself in the clear for now at least. And if worst case scenario he is watching you, I doubt he'll recognize me. He's used to me looking and acting a certain way, and I try to switch things up, even the cars I drive, as much as I can in situations like this. We'll do like we did before, and act like we're just friends hanging out. I'll get there before three so I can watch for your car, since it won't be hard to miss with that sticker on it. And when I go over and greet you, I'll flash the peace sign before unfolding all my fingers into a full wave. That's how you'll know it's me. Got it?"
"Got it."
Faith spent most of her time waiting for Sky by staring straight ahead at the shopping mall in front of her, fantasizing about the things she might buy in there once Rowan was completely out of her life and she was no longer in debt. It was hard to believe, that her situation could be this close to being over. She would have been content even just to go and browse like an ordinary person might, but she knew she couldn't today. Not with the amount of money that would hopefully soon be in her hands.
Finally, she spotted someone walking towards her car wearing a pink hoodie and skinny jeans, and while she wasn't grinning and bouncy like the persona she'd used at Sheena's apartment, her smile still looked convincing enough as she flashed her the anticipated peace sign followed by a wave.
"Hey. How've you been?" Faith asked casually as she unlocked the doors for her.
"I'm makin' it."
Once they were both securely inside Faith's car, Faith watched intently as Sky showed her the inside of her bag, where Ben Franklin smiled at her from each band of grayish-green paper.
"You bring a case with you?"
"Right here." Faith reached behind her and pulled a briefcase from the back floorboard, setting it in her lap and being extra careful not to lean the top against the horn of the steering wheel.
"I'll keep watch, in case anybody around us gets too curious. Go ahead and empty the bag. Nothing's in there except the money you need."
"Thanks again," Faith said quietly as she loaded the money into the briefcase as discreetly as possible. "You know, for all of this. I'm not exactly sure when I can start doing payments, but I will let you know. I have to ask, though--where did you get all of this?"
"Some of our assignments are voluntary, like last night, but others are paid. We try to store up any money we make for situations like yours. And seriously, it's no rush. I'm not my--" Sky stopped abruptly and cleared her throat. "I'm not Galanos."
"Oh--actually, speaking of that...remember that thing I didn't want to tell you about at first?"
"Yeah?"
Faith then told her about the night Rowan left and the events that followed, and even about how she wondered if Aaron still had a hidden human side to him. "...Of course he's back to his usual self by now, but I guess with the way he talked about Spencer and how I should just focus on myself and not people like him or Rowan, I just found it interesting."
"You sound like Pops," Sky snorted. "'Cause he's always saying this similar spiel about how his son is still in there somewhere and isn't completely lost, while I just don't see it. Though I kinda agree it's odd, how he just casually told you all that stuff like y'all were friends or something. Normally he wouldn't just give out information like that, without charging something for it."
Faith shrugged. "We're not, but I'd also be lying if I said we were enemies. I'm not sure if it could be considered a weakness on his end, but it's an observation nonetheless. It might or might not be useful to us later."
Sky shook her head. "Are you sure you're just an ordinary girl that got down on her luck and mixed up with the wrong crowd? 'Cause sometimes you sound a little too calculating and experienced with these situations."
"Oh...well, you would be right about being experienced, thanks to a mixture of Rowan's alarmist ideas and my own impulsiveness in the past. As for me being ordinary, well, it depends on who you ask with that one. Also, speaking of Rowan...have you heard anything at all?"
Sky hesitated. "Well...yes and no. But we didn't wanna say anything until we had more information."
Faith's head shot up. "Tell me. Please."
"Well, at one point we thought we would find him at an abandoned apartment building belonging to some rivals of Galanos, but it turned out he wasn't there. If he is associated with them, it seems like he's just a small-timer to them in the hopes they'll accept him for real eventually. We think he wants to break into the city prison and go after Spencer, but we couldn't find anything out other than that, like where he's staying or anything about your gun that he stole."
Faith nodded. "...That matches up with some things Aaron said, so you're probably right. He really is crazy." What scared Faith the most was that she might have actually reached the point of condoning an idea like that, had she stayed with Rowan any longer and not gotten a much needed dose of reality.
"We'll continue to look into it," Sky reassured.
Quickly changing the subject, Faith asked, "Well, going back to the money--what if Aaron is suspicious of how I got this all of a sudden?"
Sky shook her head. "Trust me, he ain't gonna care how you got it, just as long as you've got it."
Faith was considering whether she should ask Sky more about her father and brother when she heard her phone suddenly go off for a third time, this time only vibrating to signify a new text. "Let me check what this is about, just in case," Faith muttered, reaching into her purse for her phone.
The message, from Sherm, read: "Okay, so something REALLY weird just happened. This red-haired girl ran up to me out of nowhere while I was walking to my car, claiming that Aaron--yeah, THAT Aaron--was after her, but wouldn't give me her name and begged me not to call the police, and kept asking me things like where I lived and if she could hide at my place. She even seemed to know I've been watching Aaron and his cronies from a distance lately. Eventually I had to call the cops, because she wouldn't leave me alone and was acting really strange. So either she was in actual danger, or I just avoided a set-up of some kind."
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