(62) All the Way to the Bank

They started drinking coffee instead of snacking on ice cream. A little over two hours later, the finished an entire pot so Makennah brewed more.

While they inhaled caffeine, they built a case.

Maisie logged into her Apple iCloud through Makennah's MacBook and located all of her files from her phone. She downloaded and printed off thousands of text messages and private messages from social media pertaining to or from Lucas. Maisie found every tiny piece of incriminating evidence about Lucas and flagged those items as important.

During her hunt, Makennah scrolled through her phone and wrote down every singe number she kept blocked because Lucas tried to contact her from those numbers. Maisie did the same. Maisie also found old deleted voicemails from Lucas apologizing for his inappropriate behavior and begging for Maisie to go back to him. In one voicemail, he even explicitly apologized for laying his hands on her. They flagged that voicemail as the most important.

Makennah went to work finding all of Lucas's old girlfriends. Putting their heads together as ex girlfriends they were able to locate three which led to three more. They found their Instagram and Facebook pages and added them as friends to try to contact them.

It was harder for Makennah to find any substantial evidence from her past relationship with Lucas because she tried to completely delete and erase him from her life once she moved on. However, she figured with technology, she would be able to find something. In fact, she logged into her Twitter account and found some old tweets from ages ago between the two of them that validated their relationship - or at least their interest in one another.

In the midst of the chaos of information, Makennah stupidly forgot her own unplanned rendezvous with Lucas when he nearly killed her for no apparent reason. Because she made the issue go away, she never asked if there was any video evidence of his actions. So she immediately texted Theo and asked if the restaurant had security cameras outside in the back parking lot.

They did.

Which led to a huge string of questions from Theo. Luckily, she had the best boyfriend alive and he drove to the restaurant in the middle of the night to try to locate the file.

And he did.

"He got it!" Makennah cheered.

Maisie high-fived her. "That's amazing! Did he say if you can clearly see anything?"

"No, but I've got four eye witnesses. My brothers."

"This is your family now?" She asked.

She supposed they had gotten to that level after bonding of cream and sugar in their coffee and haunting memories of the past. "Kinda. They're my legal guardians now."

Maisie smiled. "Good for you. Okay I found this girl that I think he talked to for awhile. One time he said her name. He still follows her on Instagram and likes her pics. Also, he's called me for like the thirtieth time now."

Makennah carried her new steaming coffee cup back to the kitchen island counter and sat down beside Maisie. "Any voicemails yet?"

She shook her head. "No."

"That's unfortunate." As if Lucas sensed that something was amiss, he started calling Maisie an hour ago. He hadn't yet texted her or left a message but if they waited long enough, they believed he might which would be current evidence of his resent offenses towards Maisie.

Makennah saw that it stressed her out to avoid him and ignore him, knowing he was growing more angry by the second. No doubt she was imaging all of the ways he might think to hurt her. Makennah didn't say anything. She believed her presence was enough strength to turn her phone over and ignore the calls.

To distract herself from her own memories, Makennah texted Matt, Josh, and Nick and asked them if they could point to Lucas in a police lineup and know it was him. Matt responded immediately and said "yes" without question. Neither Josh nor Nick responded which wasn't a huge surprise considering it was almost two in the morning.

The minutes ticked by into hours. The stack of papers of incriminating evidence piled up. Their blood morphed entirely into caffeine. Their hands shook from adrenaline. The case practically built itself. Lucas was stupid enough to believe he would never get caught.

At half past two, Makennah stepped into the other room and placed a call to a former girlfriend of Lucas's who sleepily agreed to drudge up any information she had from their relationship that might add to their pile of offenses. Makennah hated to wake up the monster that these girls laid to rest, but it was most necessary.

"Makennah!" Maisie happily called.

Makennah shushed her as she rounded the corner. "What's up?"

Maisie turned the computer towards her. "This girl just emailed me all this stuff about Lucas. It's so bad but so good! He was awful but it's pure evidence!"

Sitting down, they scrolled through the text messages and listened to the voicemails. "This is incredible," Makennah whispered.

She couldn't believe that so many girls agreed to step forward and give them exactly what they needed to build a case. With more than five girls willing to cooperate, their case was irrefutable. And Makennah knew Will would take this all the way to the bank.

Less than five minutes later while they still combed through the evidence, Theo texted Makennah that he was outside with the tape. She ran to the door instantly and let him in. He brought the DVD into the house and held it out to her.

"Do I wanna know what's going on?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

She licked her lips, stood on her tip toes, and kissed him square on the mouth because she was just so thankful. "I'll show you. Follow me."

In the kitchen, Theo stopped short in his tracks and surveyed the messy scene in front of him. "What is going on?"

Makennah carried the DVD to her laptop and inserted it without question. "This is Maisie. Lucas's most recent ex-girlfriend. Let's see this tape."

Maisie held out her hand to Theo. "Nice to meet you. Thanks for your help. It means a lot."

Theo shucked off his coat and yawned. "What did I help with?"

Makennah presses the space bar and the video started. Theo saved the approximate moment that Lucas pulled his car into the parking lot across the street and exited the vehicle. "We're going to take down Lucas," she announced, watching the video.

"What happened that night?" Maisie asked Makennah, watching with wide eyes.

"You'll see. Theo, do you want some coffee?"

Theo rounded the kitchen island and stood behind Makennah, placing his hand gently on her back. "No I'm okay. Are you guys being careful? Does he know what you're up to?"

"Makennah, look," Maisie said quietly, drawing her attention away.

L- wherever you are, I'll kill you

A text from Lucas on Maisie's phone.

Her face turned ashen white and she laid the phone down carefully. Makennah squeezed her shoulder sympathetically before she started to gather up thief huge file of paperwork. "It's time to take this to the next level. That's not okay. And you're not safe."

Theo replaced her in the seat beside Maisie. "You really think he would kill me?" She asked, tugging her shirt sleeves over her hands and holding herself.

"It's best we not try to find out," Makennah said. With no hesitation, Makennah crossed the house and knocked gently on the master suite's bedroom door. She left Maisie and Theo to whisper amongst themselves in the kitchen.

When she was about to knock again, the door swung open to Will pulling on a sweatshirt over his bare chest. Oddly, she noticed how different he looked without his glasses. Maybe the caffeine overdose was making her hyper aware. "Are you okay? What's wrong?" He asked quickly.

"Well nothing is wrong per say. But there is an issue that demands your attention," she explained, clutching the papers to her chest.

"What is it?" He asked with grave concern.

She handed him the papers like they were on fire. Will retreated into the dark bedroom where Carolynn slept and located his glasses. He returned with the glasses perched properly on his nose. He closed the bedroom door behind him. "What is all this?"

Makennah crossed her arm's over her chest. "Texts, messages, voicemails, and loads of incriminating evidence on Lucas and his abuse both past and present."

Will raised his gaze briefly to eye her over the rim of his glasses. He thumbed through the pages, scanning their content. "Who is in my kitchen?" He asked unexpectedly.

"Maisie Green. Lucas's current girlfriend. Or ex-girlfriend. He just...roughed her up for a bit before she came here."

Will listened and kept reading, page after page. "She okay?"

"As far as I can tell," she whispered. She didn't want Maisie to know they were talking about her.

"Does Lucas know she is here?" He asked.

"I don't think so."

"Are you girls safe?" He asked.

"He doesn't know I live here. At least I don't think so."

"Could he have followed Maisie here?" He asked.

She shook her head. "No. She's been here for hours. He would have knocked on the door by now if he knew she was here with me."

Will shuffled through the pages. "Is all of this from Maisie?"

"Some of its mine. But not a lot. We contacted a few of his ex girlfriends and they are sending us stuff as we speak. The case practically built itself," she explained.

Will raised his eyebrows. "Are you girls trying to press charges?" He inquired.

"Yes. We have reason to believe that Lucas is a danger to himself and others. He just texted Maisie saying he would kill her," she whispered, playing her hand over her heart which beat wildly in her chest. Lucas never told her that before. But somehow she felt all the effects of this with Maisie. "And..." she waited for Will to look at her. "I have the video of the night Lucas attacked me."

Holding eye contact for a second longer, Will glanced into his kitchen where Maisie and Theo hid away. Gathering evidence. Seeing and believing. Wrapping his brain around what was happening. "I've had that video for a long time. I wanted all the evidence of that night."

"I didn't know that," she responded, stunned by this information.

Will collected all of the papers together and pressed them into the file. "You're my kid. The second you said 'go,' I was ready to go to the police."

"What about Matt and Nick and Josh?" She asked.

Will tucked the file under his arm. "They'll be protected. Don't you worry."

"Well....I think now is the time," she said slowly, making sure this is what she wanted. The limelight. The questions. The scrutiny.

She couldn't back out now.

"Are you sure? Once I put this in action, there's no stopping it. The evidence speaks for itself."

Makennah nodded. "I'm sure. We are all sure."

Will held up the folder. "This is impressive. You did all of the hard work for me. You wanna be a lawyer, kiddo?"

"No. I just want justice."

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"Did you see his face?! He was pissed! And shocked! And so surprised! It was amazing!"

"I definitely saw, Kennah."

"I've never seen him so stunned! I think he would have literally exploded if the police didn't handcuff him!"

"I think he would have killed you."

"I can't believe we did it! I can't believe this actually happened! I never thought I'd see the day!"

"How long do you think he'll go to prison?"

Makennah shrugged. "I don't know like FOREVER!!" She declared enthusiastically. "Okay realistically like a couple years. Especially with Will representing Maisie and all the other girls."

At half past six in the morning, Theo opted to drive Makennah home so that Will could wrap things up at the precinct where Lucas was arrested and detained once Will rounded up a judge in the late night hour to sign a warrant for his arrest. Maisie, Makennah, Theo, and three other girls that Lucas betrayed and abused watched from the lounge area as the police escorted Lucas into the building, kicking and screaming, to a holding cell before they questioned him.

Maisie cried. Makennah cheered. Will chastised Makennah for her distasteful and inappropriate emotions. So the second she climbed into the car, she lost it and started relaying everything that happened as if Theo wasn't right there beside her witnessing the whole thing.

"I honestly never thought this day would come!!" She said again, practically bouncing up and down in her seat with excitement. She got to tell the good news to the boys and Carolynn who didn't know anything about the night's occurrences.

Theo reaches across the console and laid his hand gently yet possessively in her thigh. She hadn't gotten used to it for the most part, but the untamed physical boyfriend-girlfriend contact was something she was still growing accustomed too. But for the most part, she liked it.

"I can't believe you did all this. You're incredible," Theo congratulated her once he pulled into the driveway and parked.

She smiled but couldn't say thanks. She didn't feel like she did much of anything except gather evidence. "Wanna come inside for breakfast?"

Theo nodded his head and exited the car first to help her out on her side. He held her hand all the way to the front door. In the distant horizon, the sun creeped out of bed and shone brilliant early morning sun rays over the span of the earth and the Colorado mountains. Snow capped mountains sparkled bright white, illuminating the sky with their presence and power. She was in awe of everything around her and all of the many blessings life decided to throw her way.

On the stoop in front of the door, Theo stopped Makennah and tugged her closer to his chest. "Listen to me."

"I'm listening," she whispered as he lifted his hands and cupped her cheeks, lifting her chin slightly to look up at him. His gentleness with her always pleasantly surprised her.

"You were incredible, Kennah," he said, smiling down at her. "You were so devoted to helping Maisie that you were willing to put out there your own problems and history with Lucas for the greater good. You assured her the entire time and helped her feel like this was the right thing to do. You stayed focused and got it done and organized everything to make a clear case. You literally did all of the hard work for everyone. You built the case yourself. Will probably has everything he needs because of you. Not to mention, you made the arrest so much easier with all the information you gave them."

She smiled. "Thank you."

"No, you don't even get it. You were so good at what you just did. You're smart and intelligent. You have street smarts and wisdom. You need to grow these talents, Kennah. I know you don't see college in your future, but I do. Everyone does. You deserve to take an opportunity like college to build a career for yourself. With the papers signed, do you really think Carolynn and Will wouldn't help you out with college? You amazed me today. You amaze me every day, Kennah." His eyes gingerly washed over her features. She had no clue what she looked like, but he made her feel beautiful.

His words stunned her into silence and introspection. Outwardly, she knew that Theo thought those things of her. Inwardly, she had a hard time accepting it or believing it. She was just a kid from the hood presented with a stellar opportunity with a new perfectly family that learned to love her in all of her brokenness.

The sky opened up on them and snow trickled down in floating waves. The sun shone on the dazzling white snow and made the whole world sparkle. The flakes scattered on the ground and began to collect immediately, covering the earth in a pristine white blanket. Makennah broke eye contact to raise her face to sky, close her eyes and soak in the chilly wet snowflakes. Theo still held her close to him, protecting her from the winter cold.

"Makennah," he said, drawing her attention back to him.

When she opened her eyes, little snowflakes melted on her eyelashes. "Yes?"

"I love you."

And just like the snow melted on the warmth of her skin, his words warmed her insides and turned her to mush like melted ice cream. As much as she tried to feel that feeling back, she knew she didn't. She would though. She would love him. Sometime, someday, some lifetime. She would love him.

Just not yet.

"Kiss me," she whispered.

And he did. Slowly, at first like how Theo normally did. Getting a taste of her, soaking her in, taking his sweet time because he knew he could. And then more urgently, conveying his emotions through their lips. She truly felt it all the way down to her toes and into the deepest parts of her soul.

"I'll wait," he said when he lifted his head and disconnected their lips.

"I know," she said.

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Xoxo

W. Carolina