“Don’t get your hopes up,” Ben snaps and once again we fall into silence. For four hours we follow as we vent. Nicholas has had to stay at the prison and Bridget and Abbie have gone to visit Joshua and pick him up. Joshua is low and Cameron just wants to get back to his brother’s side. We are all very worried about him and out in the countryside hours from anywhere, this could be stupidity. It’s eight at night and dark, the roads have gone to dirt and we are well off any highway.
“What the hell is she doing out here anyway?” Cameron frowns as he cranes his neck to look ahead.
“Hiding a body,” I murmur.
Cameron puts his hands up and drags them down his face. “You know what. Just stop talking. You’re stressing me the fuck out,” he snaps.
Ben smirks into the rear-view mirror as his eyes flick to us.
“What are we going to do when we get to her anyway?” Cameron holds his hands up in question.
“Just watch what she is doing?” Ben replies calmly.
“She’s probably here to see a sick horse. Did anyone think of that?” Cameron scoffs, disgusted. “She’s a fucking veterinarian you know. This is where horses live, you know, in the countryside.” He gestures to the paddocks surrounding the car with his hands.
“Pull the car over. I’m going to fucking bury you in a minute,” I snap, annoyed.
“The car has stopped,” Max replies as he looks at the screen.
Ben pulls over. “How far away are we?” he asks.
“Ten kilometres,” Max replies. “Get closer and we will ditch the car and go by foot.”
Cameron and I exchange horrified looks. “By foot?” Cameron frowns.
“Just shut up,” Ben replies.
We amble up the road slowly and Ben turns the car headlights off.
“Oh my god, this isn’t James Bond,” Cameron whispers.
I nod as I frown. It does seem very dramatic.
“Why are you whispering then?” Ben asks, amused.
“I don’t know,” Cameron whispers back. “But if you crash the car into a tree ’cause we can’t see I am taking your gun and shooting you in the head.”
Max smiles from his seat in the front.
We keep ambling up the road until we get to a little laneway and Ben pulls the car off the road. “Leave the car here and we will walk up,” Ben says to Max who nods.
Cameron and I exchange looks again. “What will we do?” I ask.
“You two can stay in the car,” Max replies.
My eyes dart out into the silent darkness. “I’m not waiting here. Anything could happen here-this doesn’t feel safe,” I whisper mortified.
Cameron shakes his head. “The only thing that is going to happen to you is that I am going to run you over you idiot!” Cameron snaps as he points at me.
I open the car door. “I’m coming,” I reply.
Cameron frowns. “Well, I’m not staying here by myself,” he replies as he gets out of the car.
“No, you two stay here in case we need you to pick us up,” Ben replies.
Cameron shakes his head as he looks out into the dark forest. “This is fucking sketchy man. I don’t like it. This place gives me the creeps,” he mutters.
I nod as I look around at our dark surroundings. “Me too,” I reply. “Shit, this is heavy.”
We get back into the car and Cameron sits in the front seat and I sit in the back. His phone rings.
He looks at the screen and screws up his face. “Oh, fuck it,” he whispers. “It’s Callie, I forgot to ring her. Shit.” He drags his hand over his face and answers the phone. “Hey babe,” he answers casually as he screws up his face.
He listens for a moment. “Um.” He pauses as he listens. “Yeah about that, I can’t come tonight.”
He holds the phone out from his ear as the girl on the other end explodes. “Look, I’m at the prison. Some shit has come up that I didn’t know about,” he replies.
I smile and sit back on the seat with my hands behind my head. This new girl Cameron is seeing has a lot of demands for someone who is supposed to be casual.
He listens and shakes his head as he rolls his eyes at me. “I will see you tomorrow night. It’s only a work party-just go alone.” He frowns. “Stop being a fucking drama queen,” he snaps.
She says something and he narrows his eyes.
“Fine, don’t see me tomorrow night then!” he snaps. She says something and he shakes his head.
“See you Cal,” he snaps. “Have a nice night now that you’ve ruined mine.” He hangs up and throws the phone onto the front seat as he shakes his head angrily. “Demanding little bitch,” he snaps. “I’m not taking her shit. Who does she think she is?”
“Funnily enough she sounded like she thinks she’s your girlfriend,” I reply sarcastically.
He fakes a smile. “Shut up,” he murmurs. “She knows the score.”
“Where were you supposed to be going?” I ask.
“A work party thing.” He sighs.