Page 6 of Creed

I crossed my arms. “Meth?” I wasn’t sure what he meant.

“A lot of rural areas are fighting an epidemic with meth. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been called out to meth lab explosions. It seems to be the drug of choice here and in the surrounding counties.”

I let my hatred show in a growl. “I wouldn’t put it past Shane to be involved in that, not for a minute. He has always been a slime ball.”

Dad stood and kissed the top of my head. “I have to go to work, but do me a favor and stay away from that trailer park. I’ll stop by there on my way home from work tonight and check for her. I’ll also call my brother, but just stay out of it, okay?”

I didn’t answer and dad pecked mom on the cheek before he left. I felt a small ping of guilt knowing he had no idea I owned that trailer park. I sure as hell wouldn’t stay out of it. I owned that trailer park, and Callie was my best friend. I wouldn’t let it go until I found her, and I was absolutely against owning any property where the residents were making drugs. I needed to see it for myself. I tried Callie’s phone again and her voice-mail was full. I had been trying to call for several weeks and I wouldn’t have been surprised if it was me that filled it up with constant messages to call me back. After a shower, I blow dried my hair, put on light makeup, and threw on a pair of jeans along with a V-neck t-shirt. I wore my long hair in a ponytail and threw on a pair of sneakers. I was dressing down knowing there was nobody to impress in Cold Springs. Other than the thirty minutes or longer it took to blow dry my thick dark hair, it was the quickest I had been ready in what felt like years. I was not dressed as a Hollywood starlet, but as just Morgan. The girl from Cold Springs that liked riding horses, gardening, baking, and hanging out with my childhood friends. The girl Callie knew as her lifelong best friend. I had an ache in my gut, like I could feelthere was something wrong with my best friend. We had a deep connection, and I knew before I couldn’t reach her by phone that something was wrong. It came the night I had that nightmare and wouldn’t leave until I found her and knew she was okay.

I grabbed my purse and put my phone inside then went downstairs to tell my mom a lie. “Hey, I’m going to run out for a bit. I told Clair I’d meet her in Clarity for lunch.” I pecked her cheek, and she gave me a nod as she was washing dishes.

“Just please stay away from that trailer park, Morgan. Let your dad and Uncle handle it.” She warned me.

“I’ll be fine and see you in a few hours.” I walked to the front door feeling guilty over my lie. My mom was the sweetest woman alive, and I hated lying to her. I had the best parents in the world. Although they were both prideful and never accepted a dime from me, they were the best. Mom was a nurse at the nursing home in Clarity, and my dad was always a firefighter. They worked hard for everything they had, and they were proud of the strides they made. Being teen parents wasn’t easy, but my parents still managed to get their educations. It may have taken them longer to get there than others, but they overcame it and provided us with great lives. Mom was a registered nurse and they both had odd work hours, but somehow they made it work. Mom only quit working when I had opportunities in California, but went back to work when I went to college, which they paid for and refused to use a dime of my earnings. The small farm they owned was a purchase they made from my mother’s grandparents. They were both still living, but retired to Florida not long after I was born.

Anyone who says everyone knows everyone in a small town, was probably not from a small town in Indiana. It was a myth, especially in modern times. People from the neighboringcities would buy places in rural areas to escape the noise and find peace. Then would sell and new families would move into town. Not to mention the unsavory types I saw when I drove into the trailer park. That was when I promised to close the place down after I knew Callie and Addie were safe. I swore when I found them I wasn’t taking no for an answer again. She had to leave Shane and start a new life away from him and his nasty friends. Nobody would be making meth on property I owned.

As I drove by one trailer after another, that I owned unfortunately, I saw young children that weren’t even old enough for school playing in front of one trailer and they were unsupervised. I couldn’t understand why child protection services weren’t taking those children and placing them in better homes. I made another mental note to call them myself as soon as I was in Callie’s short driveway. When I arrived, I parked in front of a perfectly good trailer whose driveway was blocked by a piece of shit truck with parts of it scattered everywhere. There were beer cans all over the place and the grass hadn’t been mowed in weeks. Seeing it in daylight was far worse than seeing it in the dark the prior night. When I stopped the Suburban, I looked up CPS on my phone and made the call. I still had the phone to my ear as I exited my vehicle and made my way to the door. They had to have been home, the path to the small patio wasn’t littered with whiskey bottles the night prior. I made it up the three steps to the patio and had to move a child’s riding toy out of the way to reach the door. As I answered the questions the social worker asked, I knocked then peeked inside through the small window. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It looked like an episode of Hoarders I saw on television. There were even car parts in the spot that was supposed to be a living room.

While I had them on the phone, I went ahead and reported Shane and Callie for having a dangerous environmentfor Addie. I knew it was the second report, and an asshole move, but if they got involved maybe, just maybe, they’d light a fire under Callie’s ass to leave Shane. I walked around the trailer and peeked in the back door, but only saw a doorway that must have led to Addie’s room, because there was a dollhouse within view. I didn’t even make my call anonymous. Shane deserved to know who was about to rain hell down on him. I didn’t even care at that point if Callie was arrested. She had plenty of chances to make a better life for my goddaughter.

I wasn’t surprised when nobody was home. When I ended the call, I took photos of everything and sent them to my uncle. Then I got back into the Suburban and made my way to the general store. As soon as I stepped inside, my eyes met a pair of caramel eyes that crinkled at the edges and the wide smile of Mrs. Hoffman.

“I heard you were in town!” She made her way around the counter and pulled me into a hug. “Welcome home, Morgan.”

I hugged her in return. “Thank you, Mrs. Hoffman. How is life treating you these days?”

She pulled back and looked me up and down. “Wonderful, and it looks as if life is treating you wonderfully as well. How long will you be home?”

Mrs. Hoffman was a kind woman who ran the same small general store her grandparents owned. She didn’t just sell toilet paper and cans of soup, she had a liquor store on one side and a deli counter with a few tables for dining on the other. As funny as it was, she still rented out movies on DVD’s and the last time I was in town she had me autograph her movie posters I sent her, that adorned the walls inside the store. Her husband was a volunteer firefighter but worked in Clarity at the car plant.Her son, Chance, was in our class in high school and went on to play college football and then moved to New York.

“I’m not sure, I’ve decided to take a hiatus and haven’t really made any solid plans.” I answered as she walked back around her counter.

“You never were the Hollywood type.” She said, as if she knew actual Hollywood types. If I were anyone else I might have been offended, but to me it was a compliment.

“Thank you. How is Mr. Hoffman these days?” I gave her my best smile, although smiling was the last thing I felt like doing.

“He’s as ornery as always.” She shook her head with that warm smile still on her face.

“And Chance?”

Her smile only grew brighter. “He is doing well in the big city. He’s married now and she is expecting their first child.”

“That’s wonderful, congratulations. How very exciting. Will you be traveling to New York when the baby comes?” I pulled a pop from the fridge next to the counter.

“Oh no, the big city isn’t a place for us. They’ve promised to visit once the baby is a few months old. She’s due in just a few weeks. We’ll have to settle with photos for a short while.”

“That’s too bad.” I set the pop on the counter and reached inside my purse as she rang me up. “You haven’t happened to have seen Callie around lately, have you?”

I looked back up to hand her a five dollar bill and noticed she lost her smile. “No, and I’d like to keep it that way.” She took my money then made change for me.

I tilted my head. “Why’s that?” She placed the dollar bills and change in my hand, but I put it in a bucket that was meant to raise money for someone in the county with a terrible disease.

“Well, she bounced a few checks when she tried to pay off her tab. I’ve still not collected it to this day. She’s not permitted back in here until she pays up.”

I rolled my eyes. “Let me guess, beer and cigarettes for Shane?”

She nodded. “Of course, it was never for her or Addie. That poor girl works far too hard to be running up a tab for him.”

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