Enough Time Page 7

  'I did it,' she said. 'I finally told them. The recording you sent really helped me make up my mind. They were really nice at the station and got a full statement and listened to his confession. They want a DNA test from Olivia. They said they'd get a search warrant right away and the police up there will go to his house, today.'

  'Oh my God, that's great.' Jenny said, energy surging through her.

  'I really hope they get him.' Mia said. 'It's gotta stop. We can't let him hurt anyone else.'

  'They will. He'll have the videos on his computer. He's too stupid not to. I am so proud of you Mia. It took a lot of guts to do what you did.'

  'It's like a weight's been lifted off my shoulders.' Mia said. 'I should've done it much sooner. I could've stopped him from hurting Zoe. I've been so stupid.'

  'You're not. You were a victim of a terrible crime and having a baby. Give yourself a break Mia. You had a lot to deal with last year.'

  'I guess.'

  'Well you're making up for it now, girlfriend. You're amazing for doing this. Now everyone will know what a lowlife scumbag he really is. I wish I could be there to see them arrest him.'

  'Yeah, that would be good.'

  'I can't believe he was stupid enough to brag about this to me! He deserves everything he gets.'

  'I agree.'

  Jenny can hear a baby crying in the background and Mia rings off, with a promise to keep in touch.

  Jenny holds her phone and thinks about Mia and her baby. Even though Ethan will be behind bars, Mia will be reminded of him every time she looks into Olivia's face. Life can be so cruel sometimes.

  Jenny's phone buzzes again. It's her mum. She knows straight away by her tone there's something wrong.

  'What is it, Mum?' she asks.

  'I just got a call from Charli's mum. Something has happened. I'm on my way home.'

  Chapter Fourteen

  Charli clutches a note in her hand as she climbs the steps of the school. She's late, but her mother's note will save her from detention. She's going so fast that she almost runs into someone heading in the same direction. Ethan Walsh smiles at her, showing perfect white teeth. Her stomach clenches, and colour rises to her cheeks.

  'Hey. Is there a fire or something?' he asks.

  She stares at him, too angry to speak.

  'It's Charli, isn't it?' he continues.

  Charli recovers and smiles to hide her disgust. 'Yeah, sorry,' she says looking down. 'I'm running late; I slept in.'

  'Yeah, me too.' He smiles again and holds the door open for her.

  'Thanks,' she says, stepping through.

  Ethan lets her approach the counter first, and Charli's nerves tingle; acutely aware of him at her back. She lodges her late note with Miss Noakes, the middle-aged, cheerful school secretary; and races out the door eager to avoid walking to class with Ethan. All eyes are on her as she enters the classroom and hands Mr Aldridge, her maths teacher, the late slip. He nods. Zoe's seat is empty and she searches the sea of faces, heart sinking. She's not there. It brings a gnaw of worry, and she slides into her seat with reluctance, itching to check her phone. She fidgets her way through the longest thirty minutes of her life, and springs from her seat at the first ting of the bell, earning several curious looks. She's almost at the door when Aldridge calls her back.

  'Charli, do you have a few minutes?' he asks.

  She wants to scream no but manners slow her steps. She turns with a forced smile that she hopes looks genuine.

  Her aging teacher strides toward her with a warm smile.

  'I wanted to congratulate you on your maths quizz,' he said grey eyes surveying her over silver bifocals.

  'Thanks,' she said.

  'You got 100%. Have you thought about joining us on the maths team? We could sure use someone like you to play for us?'

  'Sure, I'll think about it,' Charli said eager to get out the door, her fingers gripping the phone in her pocket. 'Sorry, gotta go, don't want to be late for English.' She scoots out the door and whips her phone out, eyes devouring the screen. She has six messages, four from Zoe. She taps the message icon with a shaky finger and yellow bubbles fill the screen. She scrolls to the top.

  Sorry can't do it.

  What does that mean? Can't go to school? Can't have sex with Ethan? What? She reads the next message.

  It's too late. Sorry.

  The next bubble has two sad emoticons and the one after that is blank.

  Oh God what has she done?

  Dread fills her as she calls Zoe's number and holds her breath while it rings out. She hangs up and tries twice more. No answer. She calls Ella and sprints toward the student car park, adrenaline fuelling her legs,

  'Hey Charli...'

  Charli cuts her off, between sharp breaths. 'Are you at school?'

  'Yeah.'

  'Did you drive?'

  'Of course.'

  'Meet me at your car in five minutes '

  'But…I…'

  'This is an emergency. I need you there in five. Run.'

  She hangs up and leans on Ella's car to catch her breath. She calls Zoe over and over, without success, and starts to pace, panic bringing tears. Jake thuds into the car park with Ella on his heels, both puffing hard. He opens the car and slides behind the wheel, Ella taking the back seat and Charli in the front. The car is reversing before their seat belts are clipped.

  'Where to?' Jake asks.

  'Zoe's,' Charli yells. 'Go as fast as you can.'

  Jakes squeals the tyres as he throws the car into gear and surges forward.

  'What's going on,' asks Ella, leaning forward, between the front seats.

  'I can't reach Zoe. I think she's done something stupid,' Charli says, a shaky edge to her voice.

  'Like more stupid than hooking up with Ethan Walsh?'

  'I'm serious, Ella,' Charli snaps. 'I think she's trying to hurt herself.'

  'What? Like kill herself or something?'

  'I don't know. There's a lot going on, and she sent me these weird texts. I just have a bad feeling. We need to get there fast. She won't answer her phone.'

  'Why would she do that? What's going on?'

  'I promised not to tell.'

  'Charli!' It was Ella's turn to yell. 'What the hell is going on?'

  Charli explains what's happened in the few minutes it takes to get to Zoe's house. She's almost out of the car before it stops and starts hammering on the door. Before Ella has a chance to join her she flies around the side of the house and fishes the spare key from a ledge in the garden. She opens the back door, screaming Zoe's name. Silence spears through her before the security alarm starts to beep. Charli ignores it, and continues to call out to her friend. She speeds through the house to Zoe's room and bursts through her bedroom door.

  Zoe's sprawled across the bed, face down, not moving. The fingers of her left hand are curled around her phone.

  'Zoe,' Charli screams, diving across the room to shake her. Zoe is limp; eyes closed.

  'Oh My God, Zoe, wake up!' Charli has her by the shoulders and is trying to turn her over. 'Help me,' she screams at Jake.

  Together they roll Zoe on her back. There's a scatter of yellow pills where she once lay.

  'Shit, she's dead,' Jake cries, leaping back, his face ashen.

  'She' not dead,' Charli yells. 'Call an ambulance. She's taken pills. Tell them she's taken yellow pills.'

  Jake speeds from the room, clearly panicked and Charli feels for a pulse, all the while calling Zoe's name. Ella stands frozen, eyes wide. Sensing her panic, Charli instructs her to unlock the front door and wait for the ambulance on the footpath. Ella nods and disappears.

  The security alarm starts to wail as Charli turns back to her friend.

  'Come on Zoe, you can't die,' she says, her fingers finding a faint beat in Zoe's neck. She keeps talking to her.

  'Come on Zoe, wake up, please wake up. You can't leave me now. Just open your eyes.'

  Zoe remains still and Charli's eyes never leave her chest, w
atching for the faint rise, checking her lips are still pink. Where is the ambulance? Why isn't it here yet. Charli wishes someone would shut off the alarm; that she hadn't gone to class; that Aldridge hadn't kept her behind. She knows as the minutes tick by that the pills are working on slowing Zoe's heart until it stops. She wants to kill Ethan Walsh and vows no matter what he will pay for this.

  She lifts Zoe's shoulders and shakes her again.

  'Zoe, wake up. Come on, you've got to open your eyes. Please, Zoe, just open your eyes.'

  Two paramedics fill the room and relief floods through her. She stands and steps back.

  'She's taken pills,' she says pointing at the yellow pills on the bed. 'And vodka.' The almost full bottle is on Zoe's desk, the lid off. 'She won't wake up.'

  The paramedics set their equipment on the floor and get to work. They're fast and efficient, asking Charli questions and speaking to Zoe the whole time. Charli eases from the room when they hook her up to the heart monitor. Her heart beat is so slow, she knows its really bad. She feels the wall at her back and slides to the floor, the world disappearing into a blur of light and sound. At some time the stretcher left with Zoe's prostrate body on top, covered by a sheet. Charli has no memory of it. Neither does she know when the security alarm grew silent. She only recalls her mother's hand on her shoulder, and her arms around her telling her it's all right.

  But it wasn't all right. Zoe was dead and it was Ethan's fault.

  'Come on, let's get you home,' Clare says, keeping an arm around her.

  'I want to see her,' said Charli. 'I…'

  'It's family only tonight. She's in intensive care. You can see her tomorrow.'

  Charli springs from beneath Clare's arm and turns to face her. 'What? But I thought… I thought she was dead.'

  It was Clare's turn to look shocked.

  'No Charli, She's going to be fine. It was your quick thinking that saved her.'

  'But I saw the monitor, her heart was so slow…I thought...'

  'The paramedics gave her drugs to reverse the effects of the pills and speed up her heart. She's lucky. A few more minutes and she might not have made it. Lucky you came over. You can see her tomorrow. Thanks to you, Zoe has a second chance.'

  Charli sags with relief and then her phone rings, its Jenny.

  'Hey,' said Charli.

  'I've been calling and calling,' Jenny said. 'Are you all right? Is Zoe all right?'

  'Yep, we're fine,' Charli said.

  'They got him,' Jenny blurted. 'They got Ethan.'

  'What?'

  Jenny tells her about Ethan's confession and Mia's statement to the police.

  'They arrested him at school.'

  'Are you serious?'

  'And you won't believe it, but there's been other complaints about him, just no evidence. Apparently they found the videos on his phone and computer.'

  'I can't believe you recorded him. That's bad ass.'

  'I know, thank God it paid off. It could've been the stupidest thing I ever did.'

  They laugh and tears rolls from Charli's eyes.

  'Girl power,' Charli whispers.

  'You got that right,' Jenny agrees. 'No stopping us now.'

  Other Books

  Visit Sharon's web page www.sharonhaste.com to get a FREE book of short stories; The Carousel and Other Short Stories and find out more about her first novel in the Time Series.

  The Last Time

  Tragedy destroyed her family's future. A trip through time may be the only way to get it back…

  Charli Richter took her bright future for granted. But when the teen survived the car crash that killed her mother and brother, her life changed forever. After the police discover the tragedy was no accident, Charli becomes the only plausible suspect…

  She escapes the hospital and takes shelter with kids from the wrong side of town. Her new allies share an incredible secret: there's a pendant that can take her back in time to stop her family's murder. But changing the past is no one-time trip…

  Charli must relive her family's last hours over and over again to find the clues she needs. As time runs out and the police close in, Charli's quest for answers could turn both her past and future upside down…

  T

  The Last Time is an edge-of-your-seat young adult mystery. If you like time travel, authentic characters, and twists that will keep you guessing, then you'll love this gripping whodunnit.

  Buy The Last Time to fix the past today!

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0734PJWJZ

  The Carousel and other Short Stories

  These short stories capture the struggle of growing up, entwining fears and reality with the strengths and vulnerability of adolescence.

  Invisible Beauty

  A bullied teen, workaholic parents and a competition that could change her life.

  Amazing Grace

  A girl from the wrong side of town. An uncle who can't keep his hands to himself. And an ocean of promise and heartbreak.

  The Carousel

  A local showground. A new boyfriend. Memories that threaten to destroy it.

  Eleven Candles

  A little girl. A fatal accident. An predetermined destiny.

  If you like short stories with a twist; and young and believable characters, you will love this book.

  Download for free:

  https://dl.bookfunnel.com/tdk3vtogcl

  About the Author

  Sharon Haste is a Darwin-based writer from Australia, with a background in nursing and midwifery. She has Master degrees in both writing and midwifery. She has spent a lifetime surrounded by young people at work and home and thrives on their energy and ideas. She has three daughters and three stepchildren, loves animals and the environment. She also enjoys travelling, socialising, walking on the beach, reading, and chai tea. Sharon has previously published short stories and a novella. The Last Time is her first novel.

  Keep in touch by visiting her website: www.sharonhaste.com; contact her on email: author@sharonhaste.com; or join her on Facebook at: Sharon Haste - Writer in the Tropics

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you to the following people for their inspiration, awesome ideas and valued opinions: my home team; Mark Ramjan, Aliah Haste, Tiana Haste, Brittany Haste and Jade Ramjan; my beta readers; Colleen Reid, Louise Page and Zita Moran; and my young ideas team; Jarrod Van Sambeek, Rebecca Spain, Georgina Myerscough, Anna Bergs, Amrah and Rani Vuillermin, Sage Walle, Grace Walton and Felicity Williams.

  Thanks also to Sarah Fox at The Bookish Fox for her editing genius and getting the most out of every story; and my cover designer, Ana Grigoriu at Book-Design, for her fabulous designs.

  The biggest thanks to my readers. You are the reason I write!

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogue are drawn from the author's imagination and are not real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is coincidental or fictionalized.

  Cover design: Ana Grigoriu at Book-Design

  Editing: Sarah Fox at The Bookish Fox.

  Copyright © Sharon Haste 2017. All rights reserved.