Life's a Game, but it's Not Fair
Fourteen
Brian’s heart pounded as the flight from Tucson was called. He stretched his neck up, keeping an eye on the passengers as they disembarked.
Suddenly, a flash of blue caught his attention. It was Reagan in her favorite blazer, Matt in tow behind her. Looking up Reagan caught her father’s eyes. He smiled as he watched his daughter toss her suitcase at her boyfriend and sprint towards him.
Nothing beat the feeling of having his daughter in his arms again after weeks of being apart.
Reagan ran into her father’s arms and he picked her up, squeezing her tight.
Relieved, she burst into tears. Brian shushed her gently
“It’s ok, you’re safe.” He assured her.
Brian ushered them into the car he had rented and drove the duo almost three hours to Ocean City to a beach house the group owned.
The door opened as soon as Brian pulled into the driveway, revealing Jimmy in his swim trunks.
“RAY RAY!” he cried, throwing both hands in the air and sprinting down the stairs.
Reagan was barely out of the car before Jimmy picked her up and spun her around
“I missed youuuuu!!”
Matt burst out laughing, “you sound like Blair when the two of them haven’t seen each other in two hours.”
At the mention of her best friend’s name, Reagan’s breath constricted.
“Everything ok with Blair?” she asked worriedly, looking from her uncle to her father.
“Nothing to report squirt,” Johnny said, coming out of the house. “I kept a eye on her for a few days myself. She was fine.”
Reagan grinned and wiggled down from Jimmy’s grasp to give Johnny a hug.
“let’s get your bags inside,” Brian said walking up the stair that led to the house. “Matt you’ll be sharing a room with me, and the girls will be staying in the room next to ours.”
At that moment, a black Dodge charger gunned into the driveway. Matt wrapped his arm around Reagan, unsure of who the driver was. Brian remained stock still.
The driver door opened and out popped Zacky. Running to the passenger side, he opened the door to reveal Kappie.
Brian dropped Reagan’s bag and sprinted down the stairs to her.
Reagan smiled as she watched her father and Kappie just stare at each other and smile.
“Dammit Daddy would you just kiss her already?” she cried after a few minutes.
The guys all cheered when Kappie stood on her tiptoes and pecked Brian on the lips. Reagan smiled and looked up at Matt, who kissed her on the forehead.
Her family was back together, and that was all that mattered to her.
After three days of clear sunny skies, the beach, mini golfing, rides on the boardwalk and everything else Ocean City had to offer, Reagan woke up to an overcast day.
She stepped outside onto the deck at the back of the house. The weather was still very warm and humid, so she decided to go for a run.
Kappie was still sound asleep when she walked back into the room the two of them shared, so she quietly threw on a pair of shorts, a sports bra and her running sneakers and grabbed the band to put her ipod into while she was running.
She wrote a small note to everyone on a bright pink post-it and left it on the counter in the kitchen before opening the door and heading out.
The last song on her running playlist ended as she started her way back to the house. Suddenly, the silence gave her an advantage.
She heard footsteps jogging behind her.
Calmly, she pulled her ipod out of it’s holder and held it up, acting like she was choosing another song. She held it to the side of her face, so she could see behind her.
Sure enough, there was a guy in a blue shirt and gray shorts running behind her.
“Why am I always the one being followed?” she thought.
Just like the last time, she remained calm. She had passed an area with a few runners in it, maybe he was jus going back to his beach house.
But after making a bunch of pointless turns, Reagan realized her gut was right.
He was following her.
Once again she pulled out her phone, still keeping her pace, and silently prayed Matt was up.
Out for a run and I think a guy is following me. I’m ok, but I’m going to run past the house so you guys can get him.
She made a left. Blue Shirt made one too.
She sped up a little bit. So did he.
She made the right turn onto the street the house was on. It didn’t surprise her that a few seconds later, so did he.
Glancing up as the house came into view, she saw Jimmy watching out of the upstairs window. She pulled on her ponytail, a sign to him that all was ok. She watched as the curtains closed and knew he had gotten her message.
She ran past their beach house. It wasn’t even a full two seconds later that she heard a thud and a cry of surprise.
Matt had jumped over the fence and onto Blue Shirt guy as soon as Reagan had passed. The other guys all stood around them while Kappie watched from the window.
“Why the fuck were you following my girlfriend bro?” he hissed through his teeth. “You want something from her?”
The guy following Reagan was a kid, probably in his early twenties. And when he saw the size of Matt and the other guys towering over him he began to shake.
“I’m sorry man!” he cried, “This dark truck pulled over next to me while I was running and told me to follow that girl-“ he pointed at Reagan, who was now behind Brian, “or they’d shoot me! They had a gun and everything.”
Reagan pushed her father out of the way and ordered Matt to get off of him.
“My name is Anthony Wallace,” the kid said standing and looking Reagan in the eyes, “I go to the University of Maryland. Look me up if you need to. All they said was to follow you, not to hurt you or anything and if you said anything to me all I was to tell you was that people are going to start to disappear.”
Reagan’s blood ran cold at his words, but Anthony obviously had no idea what they meant. Brian pulled Anthony aside to ask him about the people that had threatened him.
A few minutes Anthony headed back, after apologizing to Reagan profusely and politely refusing a ride.
“I’ll just say I lost her on the boardwalk if I see them,” he said before he ran out of sight.
“He described Benji Madden to a tee as the person driving,” Brian muttered once he was out of sight. “How the fuck did they know we were here? And why the fuck are they here?”
Jimmy’s head suddenly shot up and he dashed into the house.
“What are we going to do?” Reagan asked, looking up at her father.
Before Brian could answer, Jimmy interrupted.
“Syn!” He cried, “I know what happened when someone broke into the mansion.”
He held up his left hand, in it was a flat black box with a green light. In his right was Reagan’s suitcase.
“Jim what is that?” Brian asked as the group walked up the steps to join him, Kappie came onto the porch to watch as well.
Jimmy put the suitcase on the ground and dropped to his knees.
“Well, it was strange.” He said unzipping the bag, “Reagan’s room was the one we knew someone had broken into, but we didn’t know why. Now that we also know that Kappie’s was broken into both at her sister’s and at our house, I now understand why the guard for the development at the house in Oro Valley called me.” He opened the suitcase, but kept his focus on the underside of the top.
“He said that someone had come to the development with an entry pass for our house, but he knew Matt and Reagan had left. Which led me to believe that whoever is following Reagan and breaking into our mansion knew where Kappie, Matt and Reagan had gone, but how?”
Suddenly, Jimmy grasped hold on the fabric lining the suitcase and pulled, tearing the fabric. Reagan winced as he did, she loved that suitcase.
Once Jimmy had torn out all the lining, they all saw it. The same black box with a green light.
“Tracking device.” Jimmy said gravelly.
Reagan
Suddenly, a flash of blue caught his attention. It was Reagan in her favorite blazer, Matt in tow behind her. Looking up Reagan caught her father’s eyes. He smiled as he watched his daughter toss her suitcase at her boyfriend and sprint towards him.
Nothing beat the feeling of having his daughter in his arms again after weeks of being apart.
Reagan ran into her father’s arms and he picked her up, squeezing her tight.
Relieved, she burst into tears. Brian shushed her gently
“It’s ok, you’re safe.” He assured her.
Brian ushered them into the car he had rented and drove the duo almost three hours to Ocean City to a beach house the group owned.
The door opened as soon as Brian pulled into the driveway, revealing Jimmy in his swim trunks.
“RAY RAY!” he cried, throwing both hands in the air and sprinting down the stairs.
Reagan was barely out of the car before Jimmy picked her up and spun her around
“I missed youuuuu!!”
Matt burst out laughing, “you sound like Blair when the two of them haven’t seen each other in two hours.”
At the mention of her best friend’s name, Reagan’s breath constricted.
“Everything ok with Blair?” she asked worriedly, looking from her uncle to her father.
“Nothing to report squirt,” Johnny said, coming out of the house. “I kept a eye on her for a few days myself. She was fine.”
Reagan grinned and wiggled down from Jimmy’s grasp to give Johnny a hug.
“let’s get your bags inside,” Brian said walking up the stair that led to the house. “Matt you’ll be sharing a room with me, and the girls will be staying in the room next to ours.”
At that moment, a black Dodge charger gunned into the driveway. Matt wrapped his arm around Reagan, unsure of who the driver was. Brian remained stock still.
The driver door opened and out popped Zacky. Running to the passenger side, he opened the door to reveal Kappie.
Brian dropped Reagan’s bag and sprinted down the stairs to her.
Reagan smiled as she watched her father and Kappie just stare at each other and smile.
“Dammit Daddy would you just kiss her already?” she cried after a few minutes.
The guys all cheered when Kappie stood on her tiptoes and pecked Brian on the lips. Reagan smiled and looked up at Matt, who kissed her on the forehead.
Her family was back together, and that was all that mattered to her.
After three days of clear sunny skies, the beach, mini golfing, rides on the boardwalk and everything else Ocean City had to offer, Reagan woke up to an overcast day.
She stepped outside onto the deck at the back of the house. The weather was still very warm and humid, so she decided to go for a run.
Kappie was still sound asleep when she walked back into the room the two of them shared, so she quietly threw on a pair of shorts, a sports bra and her running sneakers and grabbed the band to put her ipod into while she was running.
She wrote a small note to everyone on a bright pink post-it and left it on the counter in the kitchen before opening the door and heading out.
The last song on her running playlist ended as she started her way back to the house. Suddenly, the silence gave her an advantage.
She heard footsteps jogging behind her.
Calmly, she pulled her ipod out of it’s holder and held it up, acting like she was choosing another song. She held it to the side of her face, so she could see behind her.
Sure enough, there was a guy in a blue shirt and gray shorts running behind her.
“Why am I always the one being followed?” she thought.
Just like the last time, she remained calm. She had passed an area with a few runners in it, maybe he was jus going back to his beach house.
But after making a bunch of pointless turns, Reagan realized her gut was right.
He was following her.
Once again she pulled out her phone, still keeping her pace, and silently prayed Matt was up.
Out for a run and I think a guy is following me. I’m ok, but I’m going to run past the house so you guys can get him.
She made a left. Blue Shirt made one too.
She sped up a little bit. So did he.
She made the right turn onto the street the house was on. It didn’t surprise her that a few seconds later, so did he.
Glancing up as the house came into view, she saw Jimmy watching out of the upstairs window. She pulled on her ponytail, a sign to him that all was ok. She watched as the curtains closed and knew he had gotten her message.
She ran past their beach house. It wasn’t even a full two seconds later that she heard a thud and a cry of surprise.
Matt had jumped over the fence and onto Blue Shirt guy as soon as Reagan had passed. The other guys all stood around them while Kappie watched from the window.
“Why the fuck were you following my girlfriend bro?” he hissed through his teeth. “You want something from her?”
The guy following Reagan was a kid, probably in his early twenties. And when he saw the size of Matt and the other guys towering over him he began to shake.
“I’m sorry man!” he cried, “This dark truck pulled over next to me while I was running and told me to follow that girl-“ he pointed at Reagan, who was now behind Brian, “or they’d shoot me! They had a gun and everything.”
Reagan pushed her father out of the way and ordered Matt to get off of him.
“My name is Anthony Wallace,” the kid said standing and looking Reagan in the eyes, “I go to the University of Maryland. Look me up if you need to. All they said was to follow you, not to hurt you or anything and if you said anything to me all I was to tell you was that people are going to start to disappear.”
Reagan’s blood ran cold at his words, but Anthony obviously had no idea what they meant. Brian pulled Anthony aside to ask him about the people that had threatened him.
A few minutes Anthony headed back, after apologizing to Reagan profusely and politely refusing a ride.
“I’ll just say I lost her on the boardwalk if I see them,” he said before he ran out of sight.
“He described Benji Madden to a tee as the person driving,” Brian muttered once he was out of sight. “How the fuck did they know we were here? And why the fuck are they here?”
Jimmy’s head suddenly shot up and he dashed into the house.
“What are we going to do?” Reagan asked, looking up at her father.
Before Brian could answer, Jimmy interrupted.
“Syn!” He cried, “I know what happened when someone broke into the mansion.”
He held up his left hand, in it was a flat black box with a green light. In his right was Reagan’s suitcase.
“Jim what is that?” Brian asked as the group walked up the steps to join him, Kappie came onto the porch to watch as well.
Jimmy put the suitcase on the ground and dropped to his knees.
“Well, it was strange.” He said unzipping the bag, “Reagan’s room was the one we knew someone had broken into, but we didn’t know why. Now that we also know that Kappie’s was broken into both at her sister’s and at our house, I now understand why the guard for the development at the house in Oro Valley called me.” He opened the suitcase, but kept his focus on the underside of the top.
“He said that someone had come to the development with an entry pass for our house, but he knew Matt and Reagan had left. Which led me to believe that whoever is following Reagan and breaking into our mansion knew where Kappie, Matt and Reagan had gone, but how?”
Suddenly, Jimmy grasped hold on the fabric lining the suitcase and pulled, tearing the fabric. Reagan winced as he did, she loved that suitcase.
Once Jimmy had torn out all the lining, they all saw it. The same black box with a green light.
“Tracking device.” Jimmy said gravelly.
Reagan
Gah!! They need to be able to hear whatever it is that Kappie has to say....and they need to hurry up and get the girls!! My brain!!
7/6/17