Page 47 of It's Not Home Without You

Like I had predicted, the precinct wasn’t busy. The building was old, but the city had added new editions with time. I tried to ignore the heebie-jeebies I got from being in a police station. Instead, I made my way to the counter, thanking my lucky stars I didn't spill any coffee. That would have been a shame, for both spilling the coffee and my outfit.

“Shit,” I groaned when I got a look at who was behind the counter. Cops and Freya was not a good combination. Ever.

“Freya Pratt, can’t say I’m surprised to see you here. You and Rusty made sure the boys never got too bored.” Clark wiggled his eyebrows at me. Well, this was a plus. At least he wasn’t yelling at me about his car anymore.

“You’rea cop?” Not to sound like a total bitch, but Clark was somewhat of a dipshit.

“Girl, you look good. You always were a pretty littlething, weren’t ya? Kinda bummed I didn’t go for the call yesterday. Heard you was all wet.”

I thought I puked a little in my mouth.

“You’re disgusting.”

“Yeah well, you’re still a stuck-up bitch.”

“What’s going on here?” Chief Timmy walked out of the back and stopped when he saw me. I was glad Dex had dragged Emma and me away before the chief could talk to me.

Immediately, I pointed at Clark. “He started it.” The chief looked at me, and his shoulders sagged in defeat.

“Clark, get to work. Pratt, did you lose something?”

“It was pretty empty at Emma’s, so I brought some coffee. Figured you wanted something tasty and good.”

The good chief looked at me and shook his head. “Come to my office.”

Glaring at Clark, I grabbed two coffees and followed Tim. My skin started tingling as I wondered what the hell I had done to warrant this little chat. Did Ashton…? No he wouldn’t. He owed me that much. When I walked in, I offered Tim one cup while I sat and sipped on mine.

He went to one of his filling cabinets, searching through the folders. Was he looking for an arrest warrant?Tim seemed to find what he was looking for, and my body eased when he took out of a small, thin rectangle. Not an arrest warrant. He set thegoldenrectangle in front of me. Suddenly the coffee was not enough. I needed water. I was parched, my throat dry like a desert. The plaque was lovingly engraved with my name.

“I think you’re mistaken,” the words were nothing but a whisper.

“Really, you’re going to give me that horse crap? Freya Pratt, you may have been a lot of things, but a liar was never one of them.”

“How?”

Chief Timmy grabbed the drink and sat back, sipping it without breaking eye contact with me. “Not too proud to admit I was hired to look for you, kid. No one in the town cared you left. Your grandfather never came and filed a report. Max, he pestered me day in and day out. Was going through some financial troubles, he found out, and he offered to pay me so I could find your whereabouts.”

My stomach dropped, a big knot forming in the middle. I felt like I had gotten sucker punched. Max looked for me? He tried to find me? I knew it didn’t change anything, but at the same time, it felt like everything changed. Not once did I let myself believe he would try and find me.

“The boy was desperate. Got to hand it to you, kid, you made sure to cover your tracks. After six months, he gave up and said to stop the search. Anyway, when Frankie had to replace the roof from the gas leak explosion, he said he got a check from California. I didn't think much of it. Then just three years ago when we were fundraising for the new squad car, we received an anonymous donation from California. I followed the leads. I asked around town, and I know you have given more to this community than they could possibly know.”

“It was nothing.” I was gripping the cup so tightly I was scared I was going to rip it.

“It wasn’t nothing. I did the math. Nearly five grand you’ve given to the town—a town where people looked down on you. I wanted you to see the plaque in your name before I put it outside for everyone to see. You make me proud, Freya. You’ve become the woman I always knew you would be. Rusty too, but I reckon Jana is to thank for that, but you, girl, you did it all on your own. I’m proud of you.”

Great, I was going to look like a raccoon. That was what I got for not wearing waterproof mascara. No one other than my grandpa had said they were proud of me. It meant so much more than Tim could know. I knew I was a headache when I was a teenager, so the compliment he just gave me was better than the swanky condo I once lived in.

“Thanks,” I managed to say, despite the knot on my throat. I still remembered the talk Tim had with me after he caught me spray painting the water tower. “Aren’t you tired of this, Freya? When is it going to be enough? Pretty soon you won't be a careless teenager. What happens when one of your pranks goes wrong and you get tried as an adult?”At the time, I was still riding the high from running and getting caught. Max told me he loved me for the first time, and so I didn’t care about his warning. But I did think about it afterward, when I was alone and scared on a bus out of town. I wondered if I wasn’t so reckless and I cared more about how I projected myself if it would have made a difference.

“Is Dex here?” I asked once I was calm enough.

“His office… Oh and, Freya, next time you want to go gallivanting through the woods, don’t.”

I busted out laughing.

I walked into Dex’s office, not letting myself think about what Tim said, but it was there in the back of my mind, taunting me. Max tried. He tried, but he stopped. Was the love that we shared not strong enough?

“Dude, what happened to your face,” I mocked Dex, who didn’t seem amused. His nose was swollen but not broken. That was a good thing; Emma wouldn’t feel too bad.

---