The Outsider

Trevor eyed him; his curiosity piqued. In a town with the population under three hundred, outsiders were easily spotted. Every teenager at the party had grown up together, from kindergarten to high school; everyone knew each other and each other’s secrets. The stranger, who stood outside, a cigarette dangled out the side of his mouth, was full of undiscovered secrets. Of course, that made everyone uncomfortable. The teenagers believed themselves to be friendly, but within limits – and since his ex-girlfriend, Marie, had brought the mysterious man with her, he was more curious than some others. What was she doing with him? Why did she think it was a good idea to bring him with her?

The rumor mill was in overdrive. Everyone was suspicious of the guy who made himself relaxed enough to smoke a cigarette in front of them and not introduce himself to anyone in a town that didn’t belong to him. Some believed he was her out-of-state cousin and others thought he was from a few towns over. Whichever the case, no one liked it. New people weren’t common, not even relatives of the families, not even at high school parties. Something had to be done about him. He needed to be set straight. He upset the balance and he needed to go.

“I’ll take care of him,” he assured his friends and other partygoers. “I’ll let him know exactly where he belongs.” Everyone filled their cups with more alcohol and followed after him. Trevor had a reputation in town and everyone knew something was about to go down. He had gone on a tirade before that ended in blows. He hadn’t joined the wresting team for no reason. He had been in plenty of fights and he had won them all. The outsider didn’t have a chance next to him.

Outside his ex-girlfriend stood with him. She held a drink in one hand and he balanced a cigarette still in his mouth. Trevor stomped his feet toward them. Despite the darkness he saw the guy’s arm around her. The image set him into a rage. How this guy thought it was a good idea to come into their town and flaunt a relationship with one of their own in everyone’s faces, Trevor wasn’t sure. It was a brazen decision.

“You,” he hovered; his pointed his finger at him and stumbled closer. He had drunk himself silly as he watched the two all night long. It empowered him even more. “Who do you think you are?” He grabbed the guy by his denim jacket’s collar and pinned him against the tree. His cigarette fell out of his mouth and into the dirt. His ex-girlfriend hollered at him and shoved him. His grip remained. “You think you can come to our party uninvited, man? You know that’s my girlfriend you’re talking to.”

“Trevor, stop,” ordered Marie as she attempted to deescalate the situation, though she knew he wouldn’t. She had known she took a chance when she invited him, but went against her better judgment; after all, he promised her nothing scared her. She hated she lived in a town that played into the stereotype. It was an overused cliché that small towns disliked outsiders, but in their case it was true. Newcomers were rare and it had been years since one arrived. Not even passersby were welcomed. Oftentimes their cars were tailed; everyone’s eyes on it until it left, even people who stopped for gas on their travels. She never understood the reason. “Just let him be. Brian isn’t bothering you any.”

“He’s bothering me just being here,” Trevor replied and glared. He still had him pinned against the tree, exactly where he belonged. “Brian, huh? That’s your name?” The outsider kept his calm demeanor; he stared right into his eyes, almost dared him to do something. “Pretty boy has nothing to say, that it? You think you’re cool?” He freed one hand and used it to punch Brian in the stomach. His confidence still remained. He punched him again as everyone stood around and watched. Some cheered while others were silenced, terrified of the scene in front of them. Marie’s best friends ran over and grabbed hold of her, before Trevor turned his actions onto her.

“No, no,” she screamed and fought against it. “Get the hell off him.”

Brian titled his head and smirked. “I know what kind of guy you are. You think you’re the hot shot in town all because you can throw a punch or two, right?” His accent was different than theirs. Not only was he not from their town, it was clear he wasn’t from their state, either. He belonged in a whole other world than them. That angered Trevor and his minions more, and his friends pushed through the crowd to join him. “Go ahead. Give it your all,” he continued, to the distress of Marie, who continued to scream at Trevor to stop. “It’s okay, Mar. I can handle him.”

“That’s enough, Trevor,” Marie’s best friend, Juliet, told him. Her voice was stern and serious. She knew what he was capable of, too. Every person there did, except for Brian, who antagonized him. “Don’t do this.” Her grip loosened and Marie broke free. She grabbed hold of his arm and forced it behind his back. Brian dropped to the ground.

Marie took Brian’s hand and pulled him toward his car. “Let’s go.”

Behind them, Trevor caught up to them and shoved Brian forward; Marie stumbled and Brian fell on his face. The boys surrounded them and laughed at the outsider’s misfortune. “You really came to the wrong town, man.” After, it all went dark. The drunken teenagers struck first. It was unfair fight, one against an army of friends, and one that Brian and Marie knew he would never win.

“You can never talk about what happened here tonight, you got me?” One of Trevor’s buddies threatened her as she fell into a heap on the ground. She had strained her voice of the screams and worn out her limbs from kicks and hits. Only an hour had passed, but to her it felt longer. Conflict plagued her mind. On one hand, something criminal happened, and the perpetrators had to face the consequences, but on the other, Trevor belonged to a well-connected family – one that could easily make her and her family’s hell. The family was known for violent threats and none of them were empty. One person had gone missing years before. Everyone knew what had happened; there had been multiple witnesses to the crime. But had anyone ever paid for it? Had anyone ever cracked? The case had gone cold, with everyone terrified to speak about it. No one wanted to be the one to utter the words, to give the family a reason to come after them next. “Tell me you understand.”

  Why had she brought him there? She had known better. She knew how Trevor was, how his anger spilled out of him, especially when he was drunk. She knew he had backup, and that his intoxicated friends did whatever he wanted them to do. Why had she thought he was safe there? That she was safe with him there? How had she not seen this coming? What had happened was her fault she told herself; her face stained with mascara and tears. How did it all fall apart in seconds?

“I understand,” she whispered, unable to say or do much else.

Days became a week, and Brian’s photo was all over the news. Reporters encouraged witnesses to come forward and detectives pieced the puzzle together with little to no help. The timeline was wrong and there was no evidence he had been anywhere outside of his town that night. His friends appeared on the local news and cried on camera about what a good guy he was and that everyone hoped someone had information surrounding his disappearance. It was the headline news, on everyone’s television – in and out of the small town.

 Marie watched the news reports, of his friends and family, and cried herself to sleep. She was still conflicted. She had the information everyone sought, but was overwhelmed with fear someone would retaliate against her family if she did speak. It wasn’t just Trevor’s family that would be after her, but his friends, who had their own well-respected families. It was also the town’s reputation on the line. To have a scandal of that magnitude meant more out of town visitors. Reporters, detectives, his family and friends, people who demanded answers. Even ordinary people were sure to ascend. So, as much as she wanted to confess, the reality of the situation she put herself in, was far too dangerous. She had to put her memories of that night in a mental box and put it deep into the closet of her brain. She had to forget about it and move on.

Though, knowing what she knew, how could she be expected to move on? Seeing what she saw, he could she be expected to move on? How could she live with the pain, the regret, the knowledge she could have done more. She could have never given Trevor a reason. Had she brought him there to punish him, to make him jealous? Had she wanted Trevor to pay for his misbehavior against her, make him understand how his mistreatment during their relationship had done to her, show him there were other guys out there who liked her? That was all possible, and all warranted. But her petty games had led Brian into an unsafe situation and she lived with that. How could she have been so careless?

“Please, if you have any information on what happened to my son, please come forward. I’m begging you, please,” his mother cried one morning on the news as Trevor ate his breakfast. Regret hadn’t crossed his mind. He minimized the situation, made excuses for what happened. He hadn’t invited the outsider into their town. He had no business there. If he hadn’t done something, someone else would have, and who was to say it wouldn’t have been worse? If someone else had, a witness could have cracked by then, but because everyone feared his family, no one dared to come forward. He sat pretty with the knowledge he was untouchable. No one dared go after the most powerful family in town.

Weeks became a month and Brian’s mother and other family members remained a fixture on the news. Their tears had dried and their anger emerged. Two weeks in his mother announced the family had decided to offer a cash reward for anyone who came forward with information. It started at a thousand and was upped to five thousand by the third week. It was enough to make Trevor sweat. Money had an effect on people. Who wouldn’t jump at five thousand dollars when all you had to do was open your mouth and let the words spill out? You’d have to be stupid not to at least consider it. He had to confront the person most likely to break.

“Leave me alone,” she demanded. “What makes you think you can talk to me after what you did and then had your friends threaten me?” She glared at him with such contempt. Their relationship had been a train wreck, but he had never seen her look at him like that. Not even after she caught him with one of her friends under the bleachers on the football field. Though, even he knew that was nothing compared to this.

“I know you’re tempted to talk, but you better remember what could happen if you do.” He wasn’t sure what he or his family would do, but he was positive someone in his family would have an idea. His uncle was the chief of police and his father was a judge. She wouldn’t dare go up against them. Nothing good would come out of it for her and her family. “Are you willing to take the chance? Could you live with yourself if something happened to one of your family members?”

For the next week, he confronted her. He used the same tired threats and the same tired excuses. By the end of the fourth week, she had had enough. She had enough of the threats, enough of the news coverage, and enough of the regret and remorse she suffered. She decided to conjure all her strength and come clean to his family and the police what had happened that night. She owed it to his family and friends. She owed it to him, having brought him there when she understood the mechanics of her town. How she had been reckless and stupid with his safety.

She inhaled and exhaled, pushed the doors open, and stepped inside the police station. With a shaky voice, she announced herself. “I need to speak to the detective assigned to the Brian Keane disappearance case. I have information on what happened to him. But I don’t want any of the reward money. I’m not here for it. I just want the truth to come out.”

In an empty room with the detective, Marie spilled her guts.