Nobody should be afraid of loving someone.

Natalie was so frightened for others to learn who she was seeing because she thought they wouldn't approve. While my parents weren't supportive, I was grateful to never be fearful of them. They weren't as caring and considerate as Casper's mom and dad, but at least they didn't try to force me to be someone I wasn't. I didn't have to hide my relationship or be worried about getting kicked out of my house.

As we made our way down the hill, I wondered if Natalie's parents were the type who would inflict fear or send her away to be "fixed." It was a terrible thought, but I knew it could have been a possibility. What if she was even killed for who she loved?

There were no signs of life on the enclosed beach the condominium was built near. Untouched sand stretched out toward the osculating waves where sailboats were out in the distance. The sweet sea breeze brushed across my face as we reached the property.

It was a lovely home. I could imagine living in such a place someday. Every morning I'd wake up and be greeted by the blissful, scenic sea flooding in through the windows. I'd have Casper by my side when the sun rose and when it fell. We'd venture out onto the beach whenever we felt like it because all we'd have to do was walk outside to reach it.

"This place is amazing," Casper said. "I'd love to be able to live near the bay."

"I know right? My thoughts exactly."

Casper didn't even bother using the kickstand on his bike. He dropped it on the ground and made a b-line for the front door. I quickened my pace and followed after him. I let my eager boyfriend have the honor of ringing the doorbell. After three rings, a tall woman answered.

"Can I help you?" She eyed us suspiciously.

"Hi, I'm Casper and this is Silas." My boyfriend introduced us. "We've been investigating the disappearance of someone who was close to you. Does Natalie Sayers ring any familiar bells?"

She folded her arms across her chest. "You're private investigators then? Show me some ID."

"We're not private investigators. We're..." Casper stumbled for the right words. "Concerned citizens?"

"Seriously?" Rachel didn't seem convinced. "Are you reporters or weirdos with a crime fetish?"

"As his boyfriend, I can assure you there are no weird crime fetishes," I told her.

"Not helping, Silas." Casper nudged my side.

"But Casper is really good at figuring things out," I told her. "While he isn't an official investigator or detective yet, he does care about finding out what happened to Natalie."

"You're like a little Sherlock Holmes then?" Amusement crept upon the girl. "Alright. Since you're not a reporter or a rude cop, I'll let you ask your questions. We can talk out here on the porch swing. That okay?"

Casper nodded. "That's fine. Thank you."

Rachel perched herself down on the white wicker swing set and Casper took a seat beside her. I stood off to the side, reclined back against the banister. Three was crowd, after all.

"Tell us a little about your relationship with Natalie," Casper said.

"I loved her." Rachel murmured.

"Loved, as in past tense?"

"Well, she's dead, so it would have to be in the past tense," Rachel replied.

I hadn't anticipated her to have such a harsh response. It was like she was immune to the pain. It no longer bothered her. Or, maybe she didn't really care.

"How do you know she's dead?" I asked. "The police claimed she ran away."

"She was murdered, and it's all my fault."

Casper and I exchanged mutual looks of shock. I hadn't expected her to be that honest with us. How the heck was she involved? Could it have been an accident?

"Could you elaborate more on that?" Casper asked, struggling to conceal his eagerness.

"She was killed because we dated. I don't have evidence of it but I know that's what happened. Natalie's family didn't want her to be in a relationship with someone like me."

"I understand," I told her."My parents aren't pleased with me dating Casper. They assume it's just a phase I'll fade out of once I get into college and meet more girls."

"You better be careful." Rachel locked eyes with my boyfriend. "Families who don't approve usually don't change their ways. Your loverboy there could be the next victim out on Saltwater Bay."

Casper blinked, disbelief washing over his features. "You're saying Natalie's family was responsible for her death?"

Rachel nodded. "All of them. Mom, dad, sister, and probably even that awful old grandmother of hers. They didn't like me one bit and thought that I'd somehow influenced Natalie to be a lesbian."

"I wasn't expecting something so heinous... How could the entire family cover that up?" Casper asked. "How do you know that's what really happened? Could they have just sent her away and lied about the disappearance? Or maybe she really did run away to get away from them?"

"People do crazy things sometimes. That's all I can tell ya. I'm not sure what you can do with that information, but hopefully you can find more evidence to prove it," she said. "It's why I haven't tried searching for love again. Especially not someone with a crazy family like Natalie's was."

"We're going to do everything we can to get to the bottom of this," Casper said. "We spoke to Katherine already, so now it's time we have a chat with the rest of the family."

Our conversation was shattered by the blaring police sirens of the cop cars approaching Rachel's home. They must have been following a similar trail to us on the case. As I watched the first cruiser park, I recognized the pudgy balding detection who hobbled out.

"Shit," I muttered.

"What's wrong?" Rachel turned around.

It was none other than Detective Dale Archer. To the town, he was a legend, a hero even. To me and Casper, he was a pain in the ass who always tried to shut out investigations down. If he had it his way, he'd lock us up in the detention center for impeding justice.

"I should have known you boys would be a nuisance today." Detective Archer scoffed.

"We were just about to call you to inform you of our updates in the case so far." Casper put on his charming grin as he stood up.

I furrowed my brows. "We were?"

"Of course we were." He nudged my side, silently insisting I shut my trap. "Let us help you. We're very close to the case now. We can share the information we've each obtained."

"Whoa, whoa. You're jumping the gun, young man. I'm a detective. That means I've been doing my job for a long time, and I don't need any snot-nosed brats like you getting in my way."

"You said that last time and Casper almost ended up getting stabbed because you had the wrong suspect in custody," I pointed out.

"Your partner wouldn't have almost been stabbed if he hadn't been nosing around that thief in the first place," Detective Archer countered.

I didn't have a retort because there was some truth in it. But I wasn't going to tell Casper he couldn't do something he was passionate and excellent at.

I was never fond of Detective Asshat. He had a job to do, which I understood, but he always belittled my boyfriend. Even when he solved some of the detective's cases for him. I wondered if he felt intimidated by Casper, or maybe it had something to do with Casper's father being a notorious defense attorney for our town.

"Fine. We'll leave. The case is all yours." Casper relented.

"It was never yours to begin with," Detective Archer snapped. "If you're so hellbent on solving mysteries, go play that silly clue game and act like actual kids. Leave the investigating to real detectives from now on. An arrest record will make it to where you can never make it as a cop."

Casper grit his teeth and bit down on his tongue. Despite how he desired to tell the detective to fuck himself, he remained stoic and walked away. I was too immature for that. Not only did I flip him the bird before leaving, I flipped him two. Double fuck him.