Chapter 4

Officer Amanda accompanied Ilem to the door of the interrogation room, Ilem was still confused with what she had told her a moment ago about Gabe, perhaps Amanda had confused her expression of surprise with suspicion, why would they take the Gabe's statements too? He had nothing to do with Grace's strange disappearance, Ilem clearly knew that Gabe would never hurt anyone, not even callous Grace.

Arriving in the waiting room, Gabe was accompanied by Ian who didn't look at her at all, his eyes went to Amanda Cramer as soon as they were both in front of them, Ian's smile was so bright and the green eyes seemed to flash in surprise.

"A.M! Geez, what a long time, I can't believe you're here!”

Ian exclaimed and approached her smiling.

Ilem saw that she had the intervention to give her a hug so the girl took a step back and the moment was lost. She returned a weak smile and looked at Gabe next to Ian standing next to Ian. Ian didn't bother to look at her, she cleared her throat and Gabe looked up.

“Yes I have… I had enough credits to graduate last year, so I didn't want to wait".

She answered Ian, but still looking at Ilem's brother as if he was going to disappear at any moment.

“Mr. Fuller, you will have to testify for the disappearance of Grace Miller at this time tomorrow".

I communicate, returning to a serious tone, she turned around and left without saying goodbye or clarifying anything else.

"Let's go".

Gabe ordered before anyone could say anything. Already in the car and with the silence breaking the barriers of normality, Ilem took the initiative to speak, Ian beat her to it, apparently they had had the same idea

"What's wrong Gabe? Tell me why I don't understand your infatuation with Grace. I know, she's pretty, pretty. And it's fun to hang out with her, but from there to think about more than that it's too much, is it because you somehow can't get her completely that you just got between eyebrows?

"What the hell do you mean Ian? You looked for her with me all these days, you know every one of the reasons why now you want to lecture me about her? It's just a clumsy statement I don't even know anything about it, it's not important".

"You didn't notice, did you? You are such a jerk Gabe.

Ian runs his hands through his hair in frustration.

»Amanda, the officer you ignored like a stone is Manda, our Manda, you almost girlfriend until Grace noticed and you only had eyes for her ass".

Ilem choked on saliva and had a coughing fit, in the car only her crazy cough was heard, and in her mind she repeated "Amanda went out with Gabe" That's why she told Ilem that he was a good boy too much in love with Grace to their own good.

"I said that you were unfaithful to Grace, that's what she told me in the library, so I tried to comfort her and convince her that you loved her and come back home with me".

She ranted Ilem as fast as she could, a rather desperate method to lighten the exchange between those two. Her brother stopped the car and tied her hair in desperation, she rested her head on the steering wheel and she felt very bad for everything she had said, but what else could she say, at that moment it was all that came to the mind of her

“Ilem, Amanda is going to bring me down, don't you see that just by saying that she wants me to give statements when I haven't seen Grace for over a week and who knows what else she's going to try.

He yelled angrily into Ilem's face, Ian flinched in annoyance before blurting out just as angrily.

"Amanda would never hurt you big idiot, she has been the only one who ever supported you in everything, even if she was crazy, Manda loved you"

“Even when you left him for Grace, she understood it she didn't do anything to get back with you barely and she talked to you after her and you weren't the man of the year when you left her at that party just to take Grace home".

"She was in trouble"

Gabe gripped the steering wheel hard, trying to hold back the urge to hit Ian.

"Isn't she always? Right now we are in one of her problems"

Gabe took a deep breath and stormed out of the car, thank God they had taken the drive up Highway Six home and all there was was forest, no one to witness the spectacle. Ian went after his brother, Ilem went out to try to prevent the confrontation but it was useless, she couldn't avoid the confrontation.

What about when she hit Grace on Halloween night? That was last year before her graduation, or all the times she humiliated her in debate class and in the cafeteria.

Ian lunged at Gabe and knocked him to the wet ground breaking twigs and dry leaves under his weight, he landed a punch to Gabe's jaw and then another until he hit back, Ilem yelled to stop but neither seemed to pay attention.

"Amanda never fought with Grace you big bastard, Hannah was making fun of a girl together with your beloved Grace and Amanda told them to stop, Grace started insulting her about you and a bunch of crazy bitch nonsense; when hannah lunged at amanda she hit back and the other girl lunged at grace out of revenge for your holy wife"

She spat at Ian's face, Gabe didn't move anymore just stared at Ian with anger welling up from every pore.

"Oh. It's just that your little girlfriend accused Amanda.

Ian wiped the blood from his lip"

“Of course, since she's so sure of herself, and in debate classes they both fumed there wasn't a victim there, but since Grace is the eternal victim. You believed him, right?

"Enough good!"

“It doesn't make sense anymore, Grace is gone and we won't hear from her unless Amanda and her boss find her, plus FYI Gabe"

Now I yell at the boy lying on the floor with a surprised expression, Amanda wasn't the one who wanted to question you, it was her boss, she's not in charge of the case, it's the dark-haired boy with the beard; she was as scared as I was when that man said he was going to question you.

“You have to stop seeing Grace as a defenseless gazelle, she is not.

Ian added, Gabe pushed him away and exhaled, kicking the stones and going to the car; Ian and Ilem looked at each other and he thanked her for making his best friend see reason for a moment. Ian tried to take Ilem's hand but she pushed it away.

"If you lay a finger on my brother again I'm going to tell the police that I showed up at your house with no memory on Saturday morning and that your car was in Jefferson.

"she threatened, Ian's face changed, how did Ilem know that the car was at the institute if he had only found out yesterday?

She realized that Ian was beginning to suspect her words so she decided to clarify.

"Look I saw it today after class, I wasn't the one who left it there, I'm not going to ask questions, you'll know what you're doing but I don't want you to bother Gabe, I don't care if you're after Amanda Cramer's skirts, that does not give you the right to behave like a Neanderthal.

Ilem got into the car in the passenger seat now and listened to Ian walk away down the forest road"

“I'm sorry Gabe, but that was all I thought when they asked me why I didn't go into the library at all if I was going to get a book"

"It's fine, I'm not angry about that nonsense, it just bothers me; I hadn't seen her for a few months, she was my best friend my everything when I needed her, I thought I loved her until Grace came along and everything just seemed to have taken on another meaning"

Ilem looked at her brother's contorted face and now she understood why he hadn't looked at Amanda or asked, he had just gotten out of there as fast as she and Ian allowed.

You didn't know, she reflected, you only had Grace's version of events.

He never bothered to talk to Amanda even though they were friends, even though they had broken up by mutual agreement.

"She never defended herself when I told her to get away from Grace and me, she never told me anything about what happened at that party or about the insults that I did not understand because they were thrown at each other, I thought she. ..I thought she was the one being jealous"

"Grace cheated on us all so many times, don't feel special, just that you're so kind and honest that you think everyone is. Grace was wrong, she was insecure, maybe she was just intimidated by Amanda"

She is very pretty, Ilem claimed, Gabe laughed holding the steering wheel tight and turning on the corner of his street, yes, they had left Ian behind but it was the least he deserved for attacking Gabe, he had stared at Amanda with that bright smile that he had never given anyone, that somehow broke his heart a little.

"I'm a little confused Ilem, I love Grace I do it with every beat of my heart with everything and this that just happened, but seeing Amanda there with that look so empty and full of affliction, I look only at myself, and something he folded inside me, I remembered his smile, his skin, those soft lips and I wanted him to hug me like before, it hurt me because Grace is not here and I shouldn't feel like this"

She took the handle to get out of the car but before opening it she turned to her brother.

"We all have the right to be selfish sometimes Gabe, Grace went and left you behind not caring how you felt or if you cared about her, nothing, so stop killing yourself because you remembered what it was like to be loved by someone, and not just love in one direction"

Ilem got out of the car and Gabe followed her with his eyes until she entered the house.

I look at the sunset in front of him, red and pink, Amanda Cramer. That redhead with eyes so brown that they could cause you insomnia, there was one that had made her heart beat faster, those pursed lips when she looked at him in that police station with so much nothing in her eyes, maybe that was what bothered her the most, that she was over him and he still gets that irritating tingle when he sees her.

He gripped the wheel hard and accelerated, he had to get out of there he had to keep looking, but now he needed to forget a little.