Chapter 257 - Better Late Than Never

"Now that we have heard about all that happened between Lucy and Jamie, and how it led to Jamie's death, Sonia do you mind telling us how the police were able to find them? Did you reveal everything to your parents? Or Lucy's parents?" Alicia asked curiously, wanting to know how Sonia had chosen Lucy over or family.

"I went to Lucy's home the day after prom to check on her, and that was when I found out that she wasn't at home, and her family assumed she was with me. We all panicked when we realized that she was missing. Lu's parents went to some of their neighbors' apartments to ask if they knew anything about her disappearance and only one neighbor who happened to be a doctor said that he had seen a young guy dressed in a hooded sweatshirt walking up to the door as he was driving to the hospital around 8 PM. I didn't know what to think so I ran back home, and the first place I checked was Jamie's bedroom. Lucy wasn't there, and neither was Jamie. I knew that now that Lucy's parents were aware that she was missing their next step would be to contact the police. Somehow I suspected that Jamie had something to do with Lucy's disappearance, so I went to my mother," Sonia said as she remembered what transpired that day.

Eighteen years old Sonia ran down the stairs in search of her mother, "Mom? Mom!" She called as she headed for the kitchen when she didn't find her mother in the bedroom.

"I'm in here. And can you please stop yelling?" her mother called to her in a scolding tone as she stirred the sauce she was preparing.

Once Sonia walked through the kitchen door she looked at her mother, "Where is Jamie? When last did you see him?" 

"Jamie? Last night. Why are you asking?" Her mother asked, turning to look at her curiously since she knew that both her children never got along.

"Last night? Around what time exactly? Do you know where he went to? Or where he is right now?" Sonia asked her heart beating really fast as she prayed that Jamie had nothing to do with Lucy's disappearance. There was no way Lucy could have run away from home. Absolutely no way. 

"Why are you asking so many questions? He said he would be at his best friend's place for some time. Is something wrong?" Her mother asked, beginning to feel anxious.

"What was he wearing?" Sonia asked once again without answering her mother's question.

"What is going on for christ's sake? You're scaring me. Did something happen to Jamie?" She asked, looking frightened. She had been apart from her son for over ten years, and now that he was part of her life once again, she couldn't bear to lose him. 

Sonia shook her head, "No. But I think he must have done something that would cause a lot of trouble. Just tell me, mom. What was he wearing?" Sonia asked in a pleading tone which sounded desperate. 

"The hooded sweatshirt I got the both of you last winter. Now tell me, what is wrong?" She asked again, but Sonia was already deathly pale.

"The hooded sweatshirt?" Sonia repeated with wide eyes. 

"What is going on?" 

"Is something wrong?" Sonia's stepfather asked from the doorway since he had been standing by the doorway long enough to hear Sonia's question.

"Lucy is missing. I think Jamie abducted her," Sonia said in a fearful voice. 

"What nonsense are you saying? Why would he do something like that? He doesn't even talk to the girl," her stepfather said defensively.

"Lucy is missing?" Sonia's mother asked with a concerned frown before the other part of Sonia's words sank in, "Why would you think Jamie has anything to do with Lucy's disappearance?" Her mother asked with displeasure.

"Have you seen his laptop?" Sonia asked looking from her mother to her stepfather, and her mother turned to look at her stepfather.

Without saying a word, her stepfather walked out of the kitchen, and her mother followed suit as they all went to Jamie's bedroom. Once they got there, Sonia opened the folder and showed them all the pictures and videos of Lucy in the laptop.

Her stepfather turned to her with a glare in his eyes, "This doesn't prove anything. You better not cause any problems for him with this nonsense," he warned as he picked up the laptop and walked out of the bedroom.

"Mom! You saw that, right? Lucy's neighbor said he saw someone dressed in a..."

"You heard your father. Jamie isn't involved in this. You better don't mention this to anyone," her mother warned.

"MOM! How can you say that? Lucy is my best friend, and we both know that Jamie might be responsible for this!" Sonia yelled as angry tears dropped from her eyes. 

"What proof do you have?" Her mother snapped at her, "Even if he did it, are you going to choose an outsider over your own brother?" Her mother asked in an equally angry tone. 

"MOM!"

"I don't want to talk about this anymore. I will call him, and prove to you that Jamie isn't responsible for your best friend's disappearance," Her mother threatened as she walked over to the living room where she picked up her phone from the table before dialing Jamie's line. 

She placed the phone on speaker the moment it connected so that Sonia would hear their conversation, "Jamie darling, where are you?" Her mother asked curiously while looking at Sonia.

"I told you I'll be at Abel's crib for some time."

"Is he there with you? I will love to say hello to him," her mother said. 

"Sorry, mom. He is in the bathroom right now. Maybe next time," Jamie said apologetically, and at that moment the doorbell rang, and Sonia's mom walked over to the door to get it. She paled when she saw Abel standing by the door.

"Hey! Is Jamie in? I need him to help me fix something," Abel asked with a hopeful smile. 

"He didn't spend the night at your place?" Sonia asked before her mother could stop her, and Abel blinked in confusion, as though he was wondering if he had busted his friend.

"You can cover for him all you want. I'm going to let them know that Jamie has her," Sonia threatened as she headed for the door while her mother tried to stop her. 

"Has who? Did something happen? Is something wrong?" Abel asked in confusion, but neither mother nor daughter said a word to him. 

"The moment you go through that door you cease to exist to me!" Her mother threatened, but Sonia didn't think twice about it as she ran out of the house. All she could think of at that moment was that her best friend was in danger because of her. 

She had gone straight to Lucy's home where Lucy's mother was distraught crying her eyes out, "I think I know who took her," she had informed them in a trembling voice. 

"You do? Who is he?" Lucy's father had asked, grabbing her shoulders so that she would look into his eyes. 

"I think it's Jamie, my half-brother." She went on to explain everything to them, and this made Lucy's mother cry even more, while her father returned to the police station with Sonia to report the new findings. The police had then gone to Sonia's home to interrogate her parents concerning Jamie's whereabouts and to see the laptop which Sonia had told them about.

Jamie's father presented a clean laptop to them which was devoid of all the pictures and videos of Lucy, and even when Sonia led them to her bedroom, there was nothing in there to prove that Jamie had set up cameras in her bedroom, thus they had to rely on Sonia's testimony and that of their other classmates who had been harassed by Jamie. 

"Although it took them a while, the police checked all the security footage around the apartment, and they were able to find the cab driver who gave them a lift that night. According to him, Jamie had said his girlfriend was drunk after a party and they needed to go home. Thanks to the prom gown Lucy was wearing he easily believed Jamie," Sonia said as she returned her attention to the present. 

"So how did you feel about Jamie's death?"

Sonia cleared her throat, "I only felt sorry for my mother who was hurt by his death. Other than that I didn't feel anything else. He was never really my brother, so I will be a hypocrite to say that I was devastated by his death. I wasn't. Especially not when my parents kept trying to put the blame on Lucy. It was just so annoying," Sonia said with a shrug. 

"Yeah. I would have been pretty annoyed too. Fuck it! I'm very annoyed," Alicia said with a shake of her head, "So did they really cut you off? Are both your parents dead?" Alicia asked, and Sonia nodded. 

"After they lost the case, they cut me off and left the country. Three years later I received a call that they both died in a car crash," Sonia said with a sigh. 

"You must have been hurt."

"Maybe. I don't know. I was still too angry to care. I didn't even attend their funeral. It took Lucy a long time to come out of her shell, and I wasn't going to leave her to attend their funeral."

"What about you, Lucy? How did you cope afterward?" Alicia asked, and Lucy in turn explained how she had struggled with nightmares and had been unable to sleep without pills or alcohol, and how it had made it difficult for her to be involved with the opposite sex.

"So are you trying to tell us that you still don't have a boyfriend yet?" Alicia cut in.

Lucy smiled, "Well, I only just recently started dating a super amazing guy. Better late than never, right?" Lucy asked with a smile and both Alicia and Sonia giggled as they nodded in agreement.

"I'm sure you're all dying to know who this super amazing man behind her smile is! I'm dying to reveal his identity to you too," Alicia said as she rubbed her hands together excitedly.