Come Get Me Read online

  He shook himself from the past and back to the present where his mother was still watching him with a concerned look on her face. He was still thinking about Tommy’s death. He just couldn’t understand how a person who’d been in and out of trees for most of his life could so easily fall out of one and not only hurt himself, but kill himself in the process. It just didn’t make any kind of sense. Tommy was always careful whenever he and Jim had gone out. He had continuously told Jim things that would ensure his safety. That was just how Tommy was. Obviously this time something went wrong he hadn’t planned for. Or something had happened that Tommy couldn’t have planned for.

  “Jim? Are you alright?” his mother asked again, concern touching her voice. Judging by the look on her face he must’ve been ignoring her for some time. Instead of answering he buried his face in his hands and rubbed his eyes trying to make his mind accept the manner of his best friend’s death.

  “How could something like this have happened?” he asked.

  “Like I said,” his mother said as she slowly shook her head, “I only know what I’ve heard, if you want to know more I think you really should try to find Rob. He would know all the details. All I have is rumors. He a policeman plus he’s your friend, talk to him. Other than what I’ve already told you I don’t know anything else. I’m sorry sweetie, I wish I did. I wish there was some way I could make all this better but there isn’t. Rob is your best bet.” She looked at him for a moment then added, “I’m sorry I don’t know more.”

  “It’s not your fault Mom,” he quickly said (she already felt bad enough he didn’t need to add to it by making her feel guilty because she didn’t know anymore). “It’s just; well it’s kind of hard to believe. I guess I’m still trying to get used to everything.” He shook his head slightly and ran his hands through his hair, “Impaled! How does something like that happen?” He still couldn’t see how it could’ve happened. He would definitely have to find Rob and see if he could shed any more light on this.

  “I think I need some air,” he said getting to his feet. His mother watched him sympathetically as he walked to the door. “I think I’ll just go for a walk or something. Maybe look around a little bit. I just need some time to think about this a little. I might even try to find Rob while I’m out.” Waving goodbye, he walked out with thoughts of Tommy’s death running rampant through his head and how he was ever going to make himself accept that his friend was gone.

  3

  At first Jim walked aimlessly through the development not caring where his feet took him but he soon found himself seeking out all the old spots he played at as a kid. Upon arriving at each one he would stand still and let his mind reach back and replay scenes from his childhood. He was so caught up in his memories that he was surprised when he suddenly found himself at Main Street. Looking at his watch he saw that it was still early. Not wanting to go back to his mothers’ house and having nothing else better to do he decided to walk into town. Maybe if he was lucky he would be able to find Rob and get some real information from him. If nothing else it would be a good waste of time. He’d only gotten to see the changes in the town from his car before, now would be a good time to do the walking tour.

  He was still finding it hard to believe he was home for a funeral of all things. Especially that of one of his friends. If he’d ever thought of a reason for coming home it sure wasn’t for something like this. He just couldn’t believe that something like this could happen. This was the kind of thing you heard about happening to other people. It wasn’t supposed to happen to him. He’d grown up in this town and for the life of him couldn’t remember anyone ever dieing from anything other than old age or some other natural cause. Something like this happening was just unheard of. After all these years Jim figured the town had gotten off pretty good but as of a couple of days ago things must have decided to catch up with a vengeance.

  Being lost in his thoughts he smelled food cooking and looked up to find he was just coming abreast of one of the new fast food places that had settled in since he left. He wasn’t very hungry so decided to pass it by when he heard something.

  Someone had called his name. Thinking the person calling had obviously not meant him he ignored them and kept walking. Nobody in town could possibly recognize him after all these years. Surprisingly after only taking a few steps he heard someone call out again. This time he couldn’t resist. Maybe somebody had recognized him as far-fetched as that might be. He’d changed a lot since high school. He wasn’t a scrawny, little teenager carrying a superhero book bag anymore. He was a grown man now.

  Still thinking it was just some mother calling for her misbehaving child he stopped and turned around. Studying the parking lot didn’t reveal anything right off the bat except some guy sitting in his good ol’ boy pickup truck by the back of the building. Jim strained his eyes thinking he might know the guy but quickly gave up when he saw the stranger was returning his scrutiny. Quickly looking elsewhere Jim risked a glance and saw that the guy was still looking at him. This didn’t just seem to be mild interest either. He was really taking an interest. Jim almost wanted to walk over and tell the guy to take a picture but knew that would probably cause trouble. You never knew with some people and this guy looked like one of those you didn’t want to mess with.

  Besides, Jim wanted to find Rob not have Rob come find him because he was coming to arrest him for disturbing the peace or something. The guy didn’t seem concerned that Jim had noticed him so Jim decided to adopt the same attitude. Seeming bored with what he saw the guy eventually looked away and so did Jim but not before risking another quick look. This time Jim realized the face actually was familiar. He just didn’t know why. It must be someone he knew when he’d lived here before but he couldn’t remember who. Not wanting to walk up to somebody who quite probably was a stranger Jim gave up the idea of trying to find out who it was and turned to leave when suddenly something else caught his eye. A woman about his age, dressed in a restaurant uniform had just come out and was jogging towards him from the back entrance of the building. Watching her bounce her way to him he thought she was awfully bubbly. She was slightly tall, maybe a little on the thin side but not overtly so, with dirty blonde hair that trailed in the wind behind her and she bounced nicely in all the right places. She almost looked like a model he’d seen on TV but not quite. Being curious as to who it was he decided to wait and see. He didn’t recognize her but that didn’t necessarily mean anything plus she was a looker so he figured it might actually be a good idea to wait. He’d been gone a long time. Hell, for all he knew the guy sitting in the truck was Rob and this was his girlfriend. Worse comes to worse it would all be a mistake but then again maybe not. He thought she looked more and more familiar the closer she got. He still couldn’t place her but he thought the possibilities of knowing her were increasing. Just about the same time she reached him a long forgotten memory flashed through his head. It was from high school and a girl that looked a lot like the one smiling at him was trailing him through the halls. He looked over his shoulder every once in a while and there she was. Then he was back staring at her hoping she hadn’t said anything to him while he’d been daydreaming. The memory still lingered. Looking at her he remembered she’d had some kind of crush on him or something. He would tell her she should stop following him but she would never listen. She constantly bugged him and his friends. They teased him unmercifully. He really hoped this wasn’t the same girl but the more he looked at her the more he was sure it was. She changed a lot since then though. He remembered her being skinny with no shape whatsoever.

  That wasn’t the case now.

  He was having a hard time keeping his eyes above her neck especially since her chest was heaving up and down from her running to catch up with him. Her name was on the tip of his tongue when she finally got enough air to speak to him.

  “I’m glad you stopped,” she huffed, “I was calling you from the drive through. I didn’t think you heard me at first. You’re Jim Collins right?
”

  “Yup, fraid that’s me,” he answered. “I actually didn’t think you were talking to me. That’s why I didn’t stop. I haven’t been around here for a long time….” he finished still struggling to remember her name.

  “Maria,” she said supplying it for him, “Maria Derch.”

  “Oh yeah, that’s right Maria Derch. I remember now. We knew each other in high school right?” he said trying unsuccessfully to cover up that he hadn’t remembered her name. “I think we even had a few classes together.” He hopped he was right about that. It was bad enough he didn’t remember her name. That probably made her feel real good.

  If the smile that spread over her face was any indication he’d said the right thing. Jim was still a little vague on anything other than the fact that she used to pester him but he figured acting like he remember more wasn’t going to harm anyone. He didn’t really want to hurt her feelings either since she was the first person he’d seen from the old days. It didn’t hurt that she was good looking either. Who knows maybe she’s changed, he thought as she began speaking.

  “Right,” she said giggling like a teenager, “you do remember me! Although we had more than a few classes together if you know what I mean.” Unfortunately he had no idea what she meant. The way she said it made him think she thought he should know. Too bad he didn’t. For the life of him, all he could remember was being in math and maybe an art class or something with her back in the twelfth grade. Except her following him around but she couldn’t possibly mean that. If she was talking about anything else he was drawing a blank.

  “Oh yeah, that’s right,” he said cautiously not wanting to look like an idiot. Thinking it was a safer route to take, he quickly changed the subject to something he was a little more comfortable with. “So how have you been since graduation?”

  “Oh you know,” she began without too much enthusiasm, “not too much to do around here. We have a bake sale every now and then and we finally have some new restaurants and a Wal-Mart being put in but other than that it’s small town life as normal. Still as exciting as ever.” After that she launched in to how he was and what he’d been up to. He didn’t have much of a chance to say anything since almost as soon as he started speaking she took off on another topic. Something about the town and some of the people still living there. He didn’t pay much attention. His earlier idea about her having changed seemed to’ve been shot to hell, she was still as annoying as ever. She did still look pretty good he thought trying to distract himself from her voice. He could always use a gag if they hooked up. She was in the middle of saying something or other that he wasn’t really paying attention to when he caught a name he recognized.

  “Excuse me what did you just say?” he asked before she could start in on another topic and forget all about the name she’d said.

  “I said, you must’ve come home because of Tommy’s funeral. It is in a couple of day’s y’know,” she said rolling her eyes dramatically as if repeating herself were too troubling.

  “Yeah,” he muttered, “that’s about the only reason, other than my family, I have for coming back to this place.” He hoped she might say something else about Tommy. Maybe he’d left a message with her or something. She seemed like she’d at least known him so maybe she had more information. It was like he was expecting something from beyond the grave to explain everything and he was looking towards anyone he met to give it to him. Looking at Maria though he knew she definitely wouldn’t be the one. Tommy would never be that desperate.

  She looked slightly offended after hearing his words but quickly covered it up by talking again. “The rumor going around is that he was killed by some kind of bogeyman or something. They say he was out in the woods all alone and was killed but nobody knows how. I heard he was really messed up. Stuffed on a tree or something like that. Now, I don’t know if it’s true or not but I guess it could be considering all the other rumors going around. The sheriff is trying to keep it all quiet but I don’t think it’s working to well.” She looked around, then in a slightly lower voice said, “I also heard that it looked like someone pushed him but they don’t have any proof.”

  “What do you mean all the other rumors and what about someone pushing him? I hadn’t heard that before,” he asked. Maybe he would get some use out this conversation after all. If nothing else he would have a few more questions to ask Rob when he found him.

  “Well,” she began whispering as if there was anybody else in the general area that even cared, “everybody is saying how he was pushed out his tree stand. At least, that is, all the people I’ve talked to. I don’t see how that could’ve happened though. I mean a tree stand is pretty small isn’t it? I don’t know. Anyways, the rumor going around is that Tommy was doing something with one of the boys in towns’ wife and he kinda caught them at it. He got him back though by going out to Tommy’s stand and killing him. Yup, pushed him right out of it they say. Then to make it look like an accident he tossed him on a tree or something. I don’t know what the big deal is about falling on a tree is though. I mean falling on a tree isn’t that big a deal. I’ve seen a lot of people fall out of trees and on them too.” She said all of this as if it was an everyday occurrence. Jim almost pitied her for being so stupid. Not seeming to know any different she stepped even closer than she already was and told him it was all being kept quiet because the tree Tommy had landed on was way to far away for him to have made it there by himself. There was no way he could’ve reached it without help. Everything Jim was hearing, even considering the source, was making it harder and harder to believe Tommy’s death had been an accident.

  Maria paused for a breath before adding a little gruesomeness to her already macabre story. She smiled and told him that there was also a rumor going around about there being blood all over the place when they’d finally found Tommy. She said she had it on good authority that it had been everywhere. Even on the tree stand that he supposedly fell out of. That was one of the things that were supposed to be such a secret, because if he fell out of the stand onto a tree then how did the blood get up there? This supposed friend of hers said the police’s shoes were drenched in it when they got done walking around looking for clues. As Jim stood with a look of mounting horror creeping across his face she quickly added that everything she was telling him was just rumors and that none of it was probably true and that if anyone asked he didn’t hear them from her. She must’ve thought the look on his face was acceptance of everything she said because she looked pretty happy about everything after that.

  She was actually a lot happier about everything than he would’ve expected someone in this type of situation to be. She must've sensed something was wrong though because she suddenly let out an eep and a look of embarrassment sprang across her features. Jim had never heard anyone make an “eep” sound before now and if the situation were different he might’ve laughed but after what she’d just told and how much pleasure she’d taken in the telling he didn’t care.

  “Oh!” she squeaked. “Wait a minute! You were, like, best friends or something with Tommy weren’t you?” She hadn’t waited for an answer to any other of her questions so why start now. “Oh God! I totally forgot! Here I’ve been going on and on about it like it was just regular everyday gossip, not thinking for one minute I was talking to one of his best friends. I am so sorry.” She would have stood there apologizing for the rest of the day if he’d let her and he was half tempted to but it eventually got on his nerves, plus he didn’t really think she was for some reason so he cut her off.

  “Maria its ok, really,” he began, trying to keep his voice under control. “You made an honest mistake. Don’t worry about it. Really. I’m trying not to think too much about everything but I’m glad you told me what you did. It’ll give me something to ask Rob about if I ever find him. You made a mistake and now you’ve apologized. End of story. Let’s leave it at that.”

  She didn’t look like she believed him but he didn’t really care what she thought anymore. He had bi
gger things to worry about than whether or not she believed him.

  “It look it’s getting late,” he said looking at the darkening sky. “I think I should probably get back to my mom’s house before she sends out a search party. We’ve been talking for longer than I thought plus it is only my first night back so I guess I should at least go spend some of my time with her.” As he was talking he slowly began backing up hoping she would get the hint and let him escape before he said something that really would hurt her feelings. Not that it mattered. He definitely wouldn’t be hooking up with her while he was home, so it didn’t really matter what she thought of him, but he was trying to be nice.

  She must’ve understood because she quickly said “Oh yeah, I understand. I really need to get back to work anyways.” She turned to go and Jim thought hoped he was free but unfortunately he wasn’t that lucky. After taking only a few steps she stopped and looked back over her shoulder.

  “If you need to talk to someone or just want to, you know, go out or something, you can give me a call,” she offered sweetly. “I’m in the book or you can, you know, just come by here. I’m usually here if I’m not at home. Don’t be afraid to call me day or night. I’m here for you if you need me. Ok?”

  He hesitated before replying. “I don’t know Maria. I think I’ll be ok. I’m only going to be here for a few days and I’ll probably be pretty busy. But, uh, you know, if I get a chance you’ll be the first person I call… We’ll see what happens. But if we don’t get a chance to get together, it was really good seeing you again.” As he finished he turned and started walking away so she wouldn’t have a chance to say anything else.