When To Put Trust On The Line

Part 16

Once the next afternoon rolled around, I stayed after school for a third time and walked to the lot I had agreed to meet Derrick at. I had to pass my house on the way there, but in case anyone was around to see me, I took a detour. The lot was empty, like usual, except for a big standing building that wasn't in use anymore. I checked my surroundings before quickly circling to the back of the building, where I found myself standing behind an old classic white Cadillac. It was a two-door convertible.

I walked up to the passengers' door and bent down to look through the window. Derrick was in the driver's seat with sunglasses on. He barely looked at me, just nodded. I opened the door and looked in, scanning around the small space. "Push the seat forward so you could get in the back."

I looked at Derrick, then threw my bag in the backseat and followed his instructions. Once I was crouched low in the back, the doors locked, the car began to move. I felt cramped in the small space I was lying in. "Don't drive fast," I said. "I don't have a seatbelt on."

"Yeah, whatever," Derrick called over his shoulder.

I glared at the back of his seat. "I'm serious."

"Okay." He turned the radio on. Pop music came on and he rolled down the windows. The car was now filled with cool air and the sound of vehicles rushing by. The car ride felt long and was super uncomfortable. Forty-five minutes later, I felt us slow down and the engine stopped seconds after. I poked my head up. "We're here," Derrick announced.

Grateful, I sat up and eagerly tried to get out of the car. Derrick helped me a little by holding my bag and the door open. Once on the pavement, I stretched my back and looked around. I was standing in a wide gravel driveway, facing a small but very nice house. It seemed like a warm, cozy family home and was surrounded by land with a nicely kept garden at the front. Off to the side, was a river running alongside the property, and a bunch of trees, providing shade. It was a beautiful view. "Wow," I couldn't help but whisper to myself.

Derrick didn't seem to be paying attention. "Let's go inside," he called over his shoulder, already walking up to the front door. I hoisted my bag over my shoulder and followed, seeing him reach behind a lamp attached to the brick wall by the entrance and unlock the door seconds later.

I stared. "That's where you keep the spare key?"

Derrick shrugged. "Yeah."

"You guys are not afraid of any burglars?" I looked around. I didn't see any nearby houses. Or where the gate entrance to the property was. Geez, how much territory did the Murphy's own? The area was very spacious and seemed... isolated.

Derrick pushed the front door open and went inside. I followed. "Nah. If something goes missing my dad could always just replace it." Wow, I said in my head this time. He locked the door and led me to a small, cozy area next to the entrance. "This is the main room. You can set your stuff down."

I could tell the house was taken care of by an interior decorator. Everything was just open, bright and perfect. Derrick went into another room as I set my bag down and took a seat on one of the light blue couches by a table – with a rug underneath - holding a vase full of beautiful flowers. Derrick came into the room shortly after with a plate holding green grapes, chips and a sandwich. That was when I realized that I was hungry. I watched him set his food down on the table between us as he sat on the identical couch placed opposite me. I tried to ignore the food. "What's this place again anyway?"

He chewed away. "Oh, just a place my dad likes to isolate himself in when he needs time to focus on work. He hasn't been here in a while though cause he found two other places." Derrick shrugged. "We might sell this one."