HDA - Trust by Red Chapter 12

Callie looked at Frank, devastated. She had betrayed Frank’s trust, stolen from him, lied to him and tonight had put Vanessa’s life in danger for no reason at all.

“Oh, Frank. I’m so…”

“Not tonight.” Frank said, holding up his hand.

Frank knew that he and Callie were going to have to have a very painful discussion in the next few days about what had happened and why. But tonight, that was not important.

“Vanessa comes first. Once she’s home – safe – then we’ll talk. Right now, I want you to tell me everything you can remember from the minute you opened the envelope with the pictures until now.”

“Ok.” Callie replied meekly. She had been slightly hurt that Frank had seemed to brush their problem aside so easily, even though she knew he was right. Finding Vanessa was the number one priority. Everything else, including Callie’s feelings, could wait.

“Everything, Cal . Every single detail.” Frank knew she might be inclined to want to skip something that would hurt him, but he needed every scrap of information, no matter how painful or unimportant it might seem, if they were going to find Vanessa.

As he sat and listened, Frank took detailed notes, frequently stopping Callie to ask a question or clarify something. Frank had, thankfully, been “listening” as an investigator taking on a new case, rather than a husband who just found out, in front of his entire family, that his wife had betrayed his trust. That seemed to take a little bit of the sting out of Callie’s story, although it still hurt to hear it.

Sitting across the desk from Frank, Callie died a little more with each question Frank asked or comment he uttered. She felt like a criminal being subjected to an intense interrogation and was slightly indignant for a moment. Finally, she admitted to herself that was exactly what she was.

Callie had finished the story and Frank hadn’t spoken again for several moments before she finally broke the uneasy silence.

“If you want to get Joe and your Dad now, I’ll explain it to them.” Callie said, steeling herself. Facing Fenton Hardy’s disappointment in her would be hard enough, but Joe…

‘Joe.’ Callie didn’t know if she would ever be able to look him in the eye again. They had finally found a strong, solid friendship and Callie now feared she may have destroyed it beyond repair.

“Frank? Did you want me to go get them?” She asked when he didn’t reply.

“No.” Frank finally looked at her, hoping he could keep what he was truly feeling hidden deep inside. “I want you to go home.”

“Home? But what about Joe and your Dad? Aren’t they going to want to know what happened?” Callie asked, very confused.

“I’ll explain everything to them. I want you to leave now.” He replied, more as an order than a request.

“But…why?” Callie had a sudden thought that Frank was so ashamed of her and what she had done that he didn’t even want to be seen with her.

“When I tell Joe that the man in this picture is me and they just changed the color of the clothes and superimposed someone else’s face on it, he’ll realize there was no need for any of this. He’s going to be livid, Callie. He’ll turn that rage on someone and I don’t want it to be you.” Frank said. As badly as she had hurt him tonight, he still loved her and didn’t want her to be hurt. “I’ve seen what can happen when he loses all control. I don’t want you here.”

Callie sat, momentarily stunned. She had broken Frank’s heart tonight – shredded it – and his first thought was still to protect her. ‘How could I ever have doubted him?’

“Callie, please…go home. Now.” Frank said hoarsely. While he didn’t want her to be the target of Joe’s anger, he still couldn’t bring himself to comfort her, to tell her everything would work out. He honestly wasn’t sure if it would.

Getting to her feet, Callie turned and started towards the house.

“No, go out this way.” Frank indicated the office door that led directly outside. He did not want to take any chance that Callie might run into Joe, or Joe would see her leaving before he had a chance to talk to her, question her himself.

Frank knew Joe would be angry with him for sending Callie home, and hated doing that to Joe with everything else he was dealing with right now. But in his heart, Frank just wasn’t sure he could trust his brother to keep his emotions on a level that wouldn’t explode into violence.

“Will you be home soon?” Callie asked, hopefully.

“I…I don’t know. We may be working on this all night.” Frank replied. He honestly didn’t know what the night held in store. Even if they didn’t work through the night, Frank wasn’t sure he even wanted to go home. He was still in shock and had no idea what to say to Callie if he found himself alone with her.

“Oh. Ok.” Callie said, understanding the hidden meaning. “Tell your Dad to call me if he has any questions.”

“I will.” Frank walked Callie to the door and held it open for her. “Bye.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek.

“Bye. I love you.” Callie whispered, looking at him through a haze of guilt.

Frank merely nodded. “I know.” Somehow, even though he felt it, he couldn’t bring himself to say the three words he knew Callie desperately needed to hear. “Goodbye.”

Frank watched until Callie was in her car and pulling away before he shut the door and leaned back against it, willing himself to find the strength he would need to face the wrath of his younger brother.

*****

“I’ll give them anything to get you back, Baby. Whatever they want.”

Vanessa repeated Joe’s words in her head, over and over, clinging to the sound of his voice. He had been panicked; she could hear it and she tried to be strong for him. She told him she was fine, unhurt and that she loved him. She hoped that was enough to get him through the night. Now she was trying to be strong for herself, and found that strength was almost gone.

‘I used to be so strong.’ She thought, trying not to think about that horrifying night three months ago, yet unable to keep it away.

Vanessa always tried to keep it buried until she chose to think about it, which was usually restricted to her twice-weekly therapy sessions with Dr. Jennings. But whenever she felt stressed or scared, it would work it’s way forward, ignoring her best efforts to keep it at bay. The situation Vanessa now found herself in had her scared to death and stressed to her limits. She was perilously close to falling apart and for the past three months, Joe was the only one who could hold her together when she got too close to the edge. Hoping he could still do that for her even though he wasn’t there, she replayed his voice in her head and listened with her heart.

She could not let her mind wander, even for a second. If she did, Vanessa knew she would find herself in that deep, dark place in her soul where Chris Taylor was still very much alive and waiting for her. Waiting for Vanessa to come to him where the nightmare would repeat itself over and over, mercilessly, in an endless, terrifying cycle.

Vanessa lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, forcing herself to see the image she had created in her mind. Doing exactly as Dr. Jennings had advised in one of her very first therapy sessions, Vanessa painted a picture of the one place where she still felt completely safe. She clearly saw the apartment she and Joe had shared for the past two years. It was small, but it was home; her home, their home. She mentally walked through each and every room where they spent their days and nights. Most important of all, she saw herself and Joe in every single room – safe and happy. Concentrating, Vanessa convinced herself she was there, with Joe, where she always felt protected, and hoped she could remain there for the rest of the night.

Despite her best efforts, Vanessa felt herself slipping away and began to panic, knowing Joe was not there to pull her back this time. The more she tried to ignore it, the more she could feel the evil, the hatred. She could see Chris Taylor’s face, trying to push itself to the forefront of her mind. Gathering what little inner strength she had left, she refused to let him take control of her again.

“Not tonight.” She whispered. “You can’t have me tonight. Joe is still here. He’s with me. He won’t let you touch me.” It was an agonizingly long wait before Chris Taylor finally retreated back into his dark place. Vanessa could only pray he would stay there.