Yvaine closed her eyes, as her breathing suddenly became uneven.
It was past, just past.
The basement remained quiet for a few moments.
“I didn’t know Yvaine was coming too, so I brought only two cups.” Joey said while keeping the two cups in front of them.
Dean gently placed one of the two cups in front of Yvaine, “This might help you, I and Joey will share!”
Yvaine looked down at the cup before smiling softly, “…Thank you.”
Somehow, she felt herself relaxing.
Dean pulled a chair closer to the table, “So…” He looked at Joey, “Before telling the details, let’s get over everything from the very first night, when it started.”
Joey nodded.
Dean finally turned toward Yvaine, “There is one part that we don’t know. What happened after you saved me?”
“I was walking home, and then I saw someone standing in the middle of the road.”
Dean and Joey listened without interrupting.
“It was you, and you weren’t moving.
You were just standing there.
Then I shouted several times.” She closed her eyes for a brief moment, recalling the memory, “Move!
Get out of the road!
But you didn’t react.
The car was coming far too fast.
I didn’t even think, I just ran and grabbed your wrist.
I pulled you as hard as I could and we both fell onto the sidewalk.”
For a brief moment, nobody spoke.
“You had already lost consciousness. Then,” Yvaine looked at Joey.
“He came running, I handed you to him. My eyes went back to the road. The driver was trying to start the car. I ran before he drove away.”
Dean and Joey exchanged a glance.
“But I couldn’t catch him, as he drove away. So, I immediately called the police and reported the vehicle number. When I came back, you both were gone. That’s everything.”
Joey suddenly frowned, “Hold on, if the police already had the vehicle number that same night, how did he end up dying on the outskirts of the town.”
Both Dean and Yvaine looked at him.
After a decent pause, Dean continued, “I wanted to know more about this car accident, so I went to see Uncle Troy. And guess what, I found something very interesting.” Read the latest chapters at novelping(.)com.
Joey frowned, “What?”
“Firstly I thought of asking for some help from him, but when he went out, I wasn’t trying to snoop, not intentionally, but I did.”
Dean unlocked his phone, and opened the pictures he had secretly taken and placed the phone on the table between them.
Joey pulled his chair closer.
The three of them leaned over the screen.
Dean took a slow breath, “There are a few things that don’t add up. After I submitted it, the number 4044 appeared on the canvas. I looked over the CCTV footage with Professor Kote, but nothing could be found.”
Yvaine’s eyes widened, “4044 was the same car’s number. What’s the connection?”
“According to the postmortem, the crash wasn’t what killed him, it seems as if he was murdered,” Dean zoomed in on another page.
“They also recovered something from inside the taxi.”
He enlarged another picture.
A transparent evidence bag appeared on the screen.
Inside of the bag, was a note: I waited for you.
Yvaine and Joey repeated it in their mind, as if they were trying to understand who the message had been meant for and what it meant.
“And the strangest part is,” Dean opened the last picture.
The victim’s profile, containing his details.
“He is Miley’s ex stepfather.”
Joey’s eyes widened, “…This gotta be kidding.”
Dean slowly shook his head.
“And now, Miley has disappeared,” Yvaine said while looking at them.
None of them made sense on their own, but together it felt like they all belonged to the same story.
Joey remained staring at the phone, and then he rubbed his temples before looking at Dean.
“Okay, I completely understand the connection between Miley and the dead driver.”
Dean looked up.
“There can be a connection between them, and why Miley has disappeared now all of a sudden.” Joey pointed at the phone, “But what I don’t understand is, what does 4044 have to do with you?”
The basement fell silent.
Dean slowly leaned back in his chair, “I don’t know, dude!” He let out a tired breath.
“The way she cried for help, it didn’t feel fake.”
The two of them remained silent, while Dean continued, “It felt really like she genuinely had nothing to do with Miley’s disappearance. But she told me something.”
“What?”
“Miley’s locker, with passcode – 4589.”
The three of them instinctively looked at one another.
Yvaine was the first to break the silence, “Maybe we can get an answer from there.”
Dean looked at her, “If Miley managed to leave behind any clue, it would probably be there.”
Joey nodded slowly, “Tomorrow, we go and check the locker.” He looked between the two of them.
“I and Dean had been running around since mid afternoon. And I think with all of this information dump, we won’t be thinking straight anymore.”
“A tired brain makes stupid decisions,” Joey says with a forced smile.
Dean couldn’t argue with that, “…You both are right.”
“We should get some rest.”
The tension inside the room eased over so slightly.
The three of them stood up quietly and walked upstairs.
Outside, the night air felt much cooler than before.
Darkness had taken place over, alongside the streetlights.
Joey unlocked his car, while Dean turned toward Yvaine, as he smiled softly, “Thank you for today. You didn’t have to either stay or help, but you did it anyway.”
Yvaine returned the smile, “I’m glad I could.”
Dean nodded once before walking toward Joey’s car, “Text me when you reach home. See you tomorrow then.”
“Ohkay!”
Both the engines started almost at the same time.
Joey’s car slowly disappeared down the lonely road.
Yvaine remained where she was for another moment, then her hands rested lightly on the steering wheel.
She watched the red taillights grow smaller and smaller until they vanished into the darkness.
A gentle smile touched her lips and she whispered, “I’ll always help you.”