6

6

Lauren stretched her neck as best she could, but over the other booths all she managed to see was part of a muscular back and the back of a blonde head as the man quickly disappeared out the door.

Her heart thumped in her chest. That... head.

Okay, well, it wasn't usual to recognize people by their heads, but this was different. There was definitely something familiar about the back of that man’s head as he disappeared out the door.

Just as she tried to stretch over Samantha to see out the window, Sam pulled her back and eased her back into her seat.

"Don't you bother yourself, he's gone," she said with eyes full of compassion. Beside her, James nodded in agreement.

Lauren made a face. "Who? Was it a celebrity?" she questioned. She'd hardly seen the man.

The table grew quiet as they all looked away. Lauren felt her heart grow heavy. They didn't need to tell her.

She knew.

Slowly, the terror began to flow through her veins. Along with the rage.

"It was Aaron. Aaron Spencer," Grayson finally said, confirming Lauren's thoughts.

She stared at them, wide-eyed and a little pale.

"He was …h-he was here? " she asked. Grayson nodded. She stared at him.

Lauren blew out a breath.

He had been right there. Her mother's murderer had been right behind her.

"He's allowed to walk around?" she asked before she could stop herself.

Grayson frowned. "Yeah. I mean, we were nothin' but tots when... everythin' happened, but there was never any evidence. So he should be treated as a normal citizen," he said, not meeting Lauren's eyes.

Parker snorted next to him, giving Grayson a dark glare.

"Are you serious right now, Gray, the man is a monster! Nothing that happened all those years ago would have happened if it wasn't for him," he stated angrily.

"No evidence was found. Why won't you consider that?!" Grayson said hotly. Parker turned in his seat to face him.

"Everybody knows that Aaron Spencer was the weirdest kid around back then! And his mother! Ha! His mother practiced dark magic. Who knows? She probably still does!" he practically growled.

Lauren actually flinched. Grayson's face grew dark.

"What the hell gives you the right, Parker Grey, to insult somebody's mother that way?" Grayson's voice trembled with rage.

Lauren shared that rage. But for a different reason. The man killed half of her family, was allowed to roam the town and here was Grayson defending him like he were a saint.

"She's the mother of a murderer!! They saw Aaron Spencer running out of that house with a suitcase that night, blood all over his clothes. How do you explain that?!?" Parker hissed angrily.

"Guys, let's not-" James began but didn't get much further.

Natalie had shrunk in her seat, slurping loudly on the straw in her milkshake as the two guys argued over her head.

"You don't know the full story, Parker!!" Grayson yelled in annoyance.

"Oh, and you do?!" Parker shot back.

"Nobody does, okay! So as long as none of us know the full story, I think it's only fair that we keep our opinions to ourselves!" Grayson said finally.

Lauren saw Parker clench his jaw and quickly grabbed his arm across the table, her grip made stronger by the amount of anger there was coursing through her veins.

Parker looked at her and forced himself to back down. Everyone except Grayson watched Lauren. He felt bad for defending the man who'd destroyed her family in front of her, Lauren could see. But Grayson was clearly a man of strong character. He wouldn't allow the general opinion of the town or even her presence to influence his thinking. She wouldn't be angry at him. Not today.

Today she would direct her anger...her fury...she'd unleash it on the only one who deserved it.

"Has anyone ever asked?" Lauren asked in a voice of subdued fury.

'What?" asked Natalie, when the others remained silent.

Lauren drew a breath that did nothing to calm her rage. "Has anybody ever asked... him what the full story is?"

They looked at each other. Parker nodded.

"Yeah. Long ago during the trials. But he never spoke a word through the entire trial, apparently. Only he’s lawyer spoke. He's never spoken to anybody about it."

Lauren nodded. "Oh? Is that so? And yet he walks around here..." She trailed off, drawing short breaths to calm herself.

How could he? Lauren glanced away, shaking her head. She pulled her trembling fists down onto her lap. That bastard. He was such a coward. He couldn't even face her, he turned tail and ran! Well, tough. He was just going to face her today whether he liked it or not. He was the reason for her nightmares, her anxiety, her fucking arrhythmia!

He was going to face his sin and she hoped it ate him up inside till he could hardly stand, much less take a walk through town!

She pushed at the table and got up.

"Where does he live?" she questioned, throwing her hood back over her head.

Grayson's eyes widened. "You can't go over there," he said, shaking his head.

Lauren looked at him. "I'm not. I simply asked a question. I'm staying at the Mayor's and that's where I'm headed. Does he live in another town?"

Samantha sighed. "Unfortunately, he still lives in this town. In the exact same house on Blaine's Avenue that he's always lived in with his mother. For over thirty years!" she clapped her hands dramatically and shook her head.

Lauren chuckled dryly. "With his mother," she murmured. "Lucky him."

With a tight smile, she bid them goodbye and left the place. Her shoes hitting the tar as she stalked down the street.

She walked until she reached the road that led to the Mayor's. She marched right past it, knowing exactly where she’d spotted Blaine's.

Whether he liked it or not, Aaron Spencer was going to give her some goddamn answers.

Lauren walked, feeling her body heat inside the thick, pink hoodie as her anger rose. The more she walked the darker the area seemed to grow. Here no people cheerfully greeted, there was hardly a note sung from a single bird, Lauren could have sworn even the sky darkened a little.

She didn't care if it rained. She was carrying a bigger storm within her and hoped she could strike Aaron Spencer with a huge thunderbolt.

She reached Blaine's and began marching up the short avenue. Most houses here seemed dark and unoccupied. Bordered up windows and cracked walls could be seen in all of them. It was like the town brightened up only one end of Woodfair and left the other to rot.

Lauren walked until she reached the end of the avenue where there stood a house. It was one of the very few houses on the street that looked occupied. The windows were clean and curtained, green grass adorned the small lawn. There was a short driveway and a truck parked under the shed.

Lauren froze.

Her eyes went back to the truck. A large Ford truck. She swallowed. That truck looked familiar to her... and it was creating a sense of dread in the pit of her stomach.

Without further thought she pushed the gate open, forcing herself through when it resisted. She was crazy. Lauren knew that. She had to be crazy! This man was a killer, but she was walking right into his yard. She didn’t care. She wanted answers and she would get them. Nothing would stop her now.

She ran onto the porch, heading straight for the door. She reached it and stopped. Staring, breathlessly at the dark wood. There were hinges where a screen door had existed before. Now remained only the door itself.

With a clenched fist, Lauren raised her hand and rapped her knuckles loudly against the door. She needed to know. She needed him to look into her eyes so she could see if he even regretted what he did. That was if he had the balls to show his face.

With a burst of anger, Lauren raised her hand and began pounding on the door.

Suddenly, it was wrenched violently open.

She froze. The world stopped.

Lauren struggled to breathe as she stared up... stared into furious, golden-brown eyes.