Chapter Thirty-One

Christian

"Uh - pass me the drill," I called down to Adrian.

Standing on the third rung of the ladder, I held the new light fixture up to my livingroom ceiling and used a pen to mark where the screws would go.

"Don't kill yourself," Adrian said and passed the drill up to me.

Rolling my eyes, I handed him the light fixture. "Unlike you, I know what I am doing."

Adrian shrugged. "Why would I need to know how to fix things when there are people I can hire to do that?"

"Spoken like a true trust fund baby," I said.

"Maybe, but atleast I'm not taking jobs away from the working class, Mr. Do It Yourself."

I laughed while drilling holes into the marks I made. Once I was done, I traded Adrian the drill back for the light fixture. Grabbing the wires hanging from the ceiling, I twisted them up with the correct wires from the new light. Then, lining it up with the holes, I pulled a couple screws and a screwdriver out of my pocket and began fastening them in. When everything was secure and in place, I climbed down the ladder to admire my work.

Nate walked into the living room with a couple beers in each hand. "Now, the real question - will it work?"

"Doubtful," Kale said with a grunt. He reached over and snatched a beer out of Nate's hand - Kale was surprisingly fast considering how robust he was. Taking a long swig, he continued walking over to the breaker box and flipped the livingroom switch.

"Moment of truth," Adrian said, leaning up against the wall. Casually, he reached over and turned the light switch on.

The powerful LED lights came to life and illuminated the livingroom in a blueish-white hue. Smirking, I crossed my arms together and said, "Look at that - and I didn't even electrocute myself."

Adrian rolled his eyes and said, "why do I even bother?" Groaning, he walked over to Nate and flung a ten dollar bill at him.

"Always good doing business with you," Nate took the money and shoved it in his back pocket.

"Really?" I asked in disbelief. "What the hell did I say about betting on me." I shook my head - it's not like I could expect any better from the fools.

Nate, laughing, walked over to me and tried to pass me a beer. I shook my head. After everything Charlie went through, I decided to stay away from alcohol and drugs. It was an unrewarding pass time anyways.

Nate shrugged and took the drink for himself before looking up and saying, "I like the medieval vibe I get from that light - I bet Charlie will love it."

I couldn't help but smile as I stared up at the light. The fixture had brass circles that framed LED lights in the shape of candles. It did have a bit of a medieval feel to it and it really brought the rest of my livingroom together.

"Yeah - I hope she does," I finally said.

"You going to see her again today?" Adrian asked while dropping down on the couch. He was playing some idle game on his phone.

"I think so..." I trailed off and pulled my phone out of my pocket. Still no new messages. "I was supposed to go see her today, but she hasn't answered any of my texts."

"Dude," Kale drawled. "What'd you do this time?"

"Nothing!" I said earnestly.

"Uh-huh," Kale said dubiously before taking a swig from his beer.

"Fuck off - we were fine. I kissed her and even told her I loved her-"

Nate burst out laughing. "You-" laugh, "probably-" more laughing, "scared her off!" At this point, he was pretty much rolling on the floor laughing.

"Aww," Adrian chimed in. "Look at our clingy little cousin scaring the girls away."

"Piss off."

The sound of a vehicle coming up the driveway brought our bickering to a halt. Nate, stopping mid-laugh, sat up eagerly and said, "That must be Karla with the Pizza!"

"Finally," groaned Kale. He walked to the door and opened it up. "Kare-" cutting himself off, his body stiffened. Looking closely, I noticed his fists clenching at his side.

Eyes narrowing, I walked up to him. "Who is it..." I trailed off when I saw him.

The guy walking up to us was wearing a black t-shirt and black jeans. Both his arms were covered in tattoos that started on the back of his hands and continued up into his shirt. He had dark brown, almost black hair, and a gruesome scar from the corner of his right eye all the way down to his jaw.

Rayden.

"Raider," Kale all but growled using his street racing name.

Even after all the boosting Charlie did, none of us could come to like the guy. The way he talked to Karla that day deemed him an instant enemy - I would love nothing more than to wipe that ghastly smirk off his face. Fortunately for Rayden, none of us would hurt the jack ass for Charlie's sake.

No fucking clue what she sees in him, though.

"What are you doing here?" Kale asked bluntly.

Rayden came to the bottom steps of the porch and crossed his arms. He met Kale's glowering eyes and didn't even flintched. Once again I found myself reluctantly admiring his courage.

"Is Charlie here?" He finally asked, a hint of concern lacing his voice.

The hairs on my neck stood up and Kale's eyes narrowed.

"No," I said hesitantly.

"Have you seen or heard from her today?"

A surge of panic shot through me before I answered, "No - she hasn't answered any of my texts."

"Fuck!" Rayden cursed. "She didn't come home lastnight. No body has seen her since she left with you yesterday. Are you sure you're not hiding her - I wouldn't care. I just want to know she is safe."

My heart slammed against my chest and my hands grew numb. With a dry throat, I said, "I dropped her off at Hillside lastnight before curfew."

"Fuck!" Rayden repeated. "It has to be her..."

"What are you saying?" Kale cut in. "Who?"

I was having troubles finding my voice. The realization of what Rayden was implying hit me like a bag of bricks. He was referring to the story Charlie told me about Mack and that other foster girl. There was no other explanation. I dropped her off right outside the house - what else could have happened to her between leaving my truck and getting to the front door.

I tried taking a breath to steady my spinning head and whispered, "Mack..."

Rayden nodded solemnly. "Mack and her boyfriend, Danny, didn't get home until late lastnight - way past curfew. She told Mrs. O they were out looking for Charlie but that's bullshit. They don't give a fuck about her. This morning, they were both gone before anyone woke up."

This time, it was my turn to say, "Fuck!" My heart was hammering inside my chest and my palms grew sweaty. I needed to do something - I needed to find her! I had no clue where to even start though. An irrational part of me just wanted to run outside and start screaming her name. I knew that wouldn't help anyone but I needed to do something!

I didn't even realize that Nate and Adrian came up behind us until Adrian asked, "Who is this Mack chick?"

"A complete sociopath," Rayden said. He was starting to look as panicked as I felt. "There is rumors at Hillside that Mack was behind the disappearance of a girl who used to live there. All I know is if Mack is involved, we need to find Charlie right now..."

"And hope it's not too late," Kale added, saying the one thing everyone else was thinking.

"But where do we even start?!" I asked, frustration leaking into my voice. "It's not like we can wait for Mack to get home and then follow her - it would definitely be too late by then! Charlie has already been through too much! I never should've left her." I didn't even realize the death grip I had on Kale's arm until Nate gently placed a hand on my shoulder.

"We will find her, Chris - don't worry. We will find her," he said earnestly.

I looked up at my three cousins, and they all nodded at me with pure, unadulterated certainty. Their confidence gave me strength, and I could feel my fear shifting into something else.

Anger. Determination. Resolve.

"So, will you guys help me try to find her?" Rayden asked, reminding me that he was still here.

"No," I said, voice hard and low. "We won't try - we will."

Just then Karla pulled up in my truck. Getting out of the driver side with two large pizza's in her arms, she froze when she saw us. Eyes darting from one person to the next before settling on Rayden with furrowed brows.

"Uh... What's going on?"

Note:

CRAZY crazyyyy! What do you think is going to happen?

Interesting to see Rayden team up with the Steeles. Let's just hope they can figure out a way to find Charlie... And hope its not too late.

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Love, Peace, and Banana Grease! ✌️

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