Anonymous (adjective): not identified by name; of unknown name

Now 

Montana

You need to be sitting across from the love of your life in a jail cell, pissed but still admiring his face for two hours to realize that oh, yes, you would really husband this man one day. Because he's here, sharing a damn jail cell with you at the police station when he has done absolutely nothing wrong. 

"What?" Calum asks, his arms folded in front of his chest and his long legs stretched out, taking up half of the space. 

These circumstances should have me crying, but there's a smile that spreads on my face like it can't help itself. "I just really love you. You know? Like...a fucking lot." I lean my head back against the wall when his tight-lipped expression changes into an amused one. 

"They should arrest you more often." 

The policeman guarding the cell door looks back at us when I laugh out loud. "Don't get all kinky on me now." 

Calum watches me, his gaze telling me that there are a million things he would like to tell me right now. He looks at the guard who most likely has his ear strained to catch everything we're saying to each other. "I love you." He says instead. 

He stands and walks over to sit next to me. I take his hand in mine and he lifts my left leg and places it over his so that I'm facing his side. "This will all be clear soon. Just promise me you won't lose it." It's almost a whisper and I have to read his lips to understand some of the words he is saying. 

"If you kiss me, I won't. Promise." I couldn't really promise the losing my mind thing because I have already lost it. It was just contained until we could get out of here. He kisses me, light at first before his fingers disappear into my hair to bring me closer. 

"No kissing!" The guard starts banging at the bars with his baton and we pull away quickly. Calum's chest rises and falls quickly and I rest my palm on it. 

"How are you feeling?" My bag with his medication is back at Sierra's house. Oh god, Sierra. She is going to be furious. 

"Like I wanna beat up a policeman or two," Calum answers loudly, glaring at the back of the guard who remains standing there like he didn't hear anything. 

Just as I'm about to say something, Luke comes barging in through the doors, his eyes dragging over the three jail cells furiously until he finds us. "Get them the fuck out of there!" He stalks over and the doors open behind him again. Sierra walks in followed by two other officers and Michael. 

The guard standing at our cell looks like he is about to argue with Luke but he stops when the other officer puts his hand up and tells him to unlock the cell. 

Calum and I stand up, "I want you to apologize for throwing them in a jail cell without a proper investigation or I'm going to sue this entire department!" 

"I suggest you calm down before I throw you in here too." The guard says menacingly to Luke and I think he's going to claw the man's eyeballs out before Calum takes his arm as a warning. 

"We're okay. It was just a misunderstanding." Calum tugs at Luke's arm to pull him away and Sierra embraces me. 

"Are you all right?" Michael asks me and his voice calms my nerves. I haven't seen him in a long time because he frequently flies back to see his girlfriend in the UK when he's not tied down by the band. 

"I'm okay." I smile at him and hug him tight. 

The male officer that came in with them turn to us, "Ms. Cases, Mr.Hood, we are extremely sorry for this misunderstanding. You can understand why when you left the sight it looked like you were fleeing the crime scene. We seem to have received footage of the person setting up the explosions." 

"Who is it?" I ask and Calum's hand finds mine. He squeezes it. 

The officers hesitate. "If you can all follow me to my office, I will be able to better explain this situation better." 

We all follow him through the station and Luke mumbles angrily. "I told you to stay put." He glares at me and Sierra must squeeze his hand because he looks down at her. 

"Now is not the time for this." His anger visibly deflates at her voice. Another man joins our group and I recognize the man as the band's lawyer. 

"Please take a seat." The officer says politely leading us into a conference room. We settle around the large oak table while he turns on a projector and someone asks us if we want any refreshments from a tray.  

I grab a water bottle and gulp it down like my life depends on it. I don't remember the last time I ate and I have a feeling I'm about to lose my appetite. "We were sent footage that was stolen from the security office of the apartment building by an anonymous email." 

He types away on his computer and a video starts up on the projector screen. "This video was recorded two minutes after you two were seen leaving the apartment. Are you certain you want to see this?"

"Yes." The officer presses a key and a hooded figure appears on the screen. You can't see any part of the person and my stomach drops as he...is it a man? or a woman? Whoever it is, I can't tell because the clothes he or she is wearing don't give away a body figure. 

I watch, speechless as explosives are set up at my front door and lit up before the person steps back. It goes off and the video has no sound so we can't hear it. 

The figure steps back into the cameras view through the smoke. My front door is in pieces and it makes my mouth run dry. All this while, the fact that someone was trying to hurt me hadn't hit me. But now, watching the person disappear into my house has my heart beating a mile a minute with fear. 

Everyone is dead silent, watching the screen. Nothing happens for a few minutes until the figure runs back out. I strain to see their face but it's hooded, a faceless criminal. This couldn't be dismissed for a harmless prank anymore. 

The figure stands outside for a moment, probably watching and listening. More smoke starts to puff out of my apartment signaling that the explosives have gone off. I squeeze my eyes shut. 

"I understand this is hard for you," The man offers to me. "Who sent it?" Calum asks, his hand gripping his jaw like he has been punched in the face. 

"We tracked the email to the only IP address we could find. Unfortunately, it was laying on the street in front of the apartment building with no traceable owner." 

Calum grits his teeth and my stomach flips again. Whoever this is, is out there and we have no idea of who they are. "What can be done on your side?" Luke asks. I've known him a long time to know that he doesn't really care about what the officer has to say. Because they already know who has done this. 

I want to scream at them to fess up. To give the police the details of whoever decided to do this to me. But then I fear they wouldn't know that much either and this hopeless feeling is already sinking me into the ground. 

"All we can do right now is wait until we discover further evidence to track this person down." 

"Yeah, good luck. Let's go guys." Luke pushes his chair back and stands. The screeching of the chair against the linoleum gets everyone moving and we head towards the door. My insides are in knots and my head is spinning. All I want to do is lay on the floor and maybe stare at the roof for an hour. 

"Ms. Cases," The officer calls, "If you have any ideas...or suspicions about who this might be, please don't hesitate to tell us." I nod my head and take the card he hands me. 

"We will be in touch." I nod because there's not much else I can say without betraying Calum and everyone else. 

---

It feels like the longest ride all the way back to Sierra and Luke's house. When we finally make it through their gates and see the whole house lit up like a lantern, I'm crushed with sadness. I don't have a house anymore. None of my things like clothes had been salvageable because one of the crackers had been inside my closet. 

I try to chastise myself for being sad over things that could be bought again in one shopping spree, but I had spent so long decorating that apartment and making it mine. Memories were embedded in those walls. And now I couldn't go back. 

Everyone makes their way inside and Calum tells them we will be right behind. I'm surprised when he does that and turns to face me, placing his hands on my shoulders and pulling me into a hug. "I'm so sorry about your apartment." He sighs tiredly. 

"I'm sorry too. Are you going to tell me what all this is?" I pull away slightly so that I can see his face. "You told me you would explain all of this. I don't think I can wait any longer." 

Calum's expression contorts into a painful one. "It's been a long day babe." I almost feel sorry for him. Until I remember again that my apartment is the place in ashes. 

I move away from him and his arms drop to his sides. "Someone set off explosives in my home. I am...in all meanings of the word, homeless, right now! Not you, me!" I point at myself and he flinches. 

"Montana—" He begins. 

"No, you don't get to Montana me. Not now. I need answers, and you have them. So unless you want to give them to me, don't open your mouth." I turn around and stalk back into the house. 

I almost wish I stayed back there with my boyfriend who probably despises me right now instead of here. Where five faces stop their conversations to look at me. There's the pity, so much of it in their expressions that I want to throw up right there on the foyer. 

"Monti." It's Addy who says my name. Who I haven't seen since forever, who is one of my best friends and also pregnant with Ashton's child. 

"Adelaide." I walk up to her until we have our arms around each other and I'm not sure if it's because she's heavily pregnant and looks so much like a mother right now that I start sobbing into her shoulder almost immediately. 

"I missed you so much," I mumble. 

She sniffles and runs a hand down the back of my head. "We're here now. And everything is going to be just fine." 

A/N:

If you haven't read my first book Never Enough, you might not know about Addy and Ashton but don't worry you will know more in the next chapter or you should totally go read Never Enough ahaha. And for my readers who have read Never Enough, SURPRISE! lol. Hope everyone's holidays are wonderful!