Fragments of truth the c.., p.1
Fragments Of Truth (The Chasing Shadows Series Book 3), page 1
FRAGMENTS OF TRUTH
THE CHASING SHADOWS SERIES
BOOK 3
JAKE GRENIER
Copyright © 2024 by Jake Grenier
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.
The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred. The actions and opinions of characters in this book are not real-life reflections of those who live in Cape May, New Jersey.
Book Cover by @bring_design (Fiverr)
Illustrations by @schnei.derr (Instagram)
Photography by Emma Bauer @emmabauerphotography (Instagram)
First edition, 2024
Created with Vellum
For those who shape-shift themselves to fit in
For those who take things too personally
For those who weigh other’s opinions heavier than their own
May this book be a home for you to feel seen and understood in
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Epilogue
Afterword
Acknowledgments
About the Author
1
FINN
“Finn, can you confirm reports from an anonymous source that you stole my lifeguard hoodie?”
“No comment.”
“Finn! Is it true that you have an entire collection of my hoodies stashed away in your closet?”
“Theo.” Finn sighed exasperatedly, slamming his head onto his bed pillow as Theo held up his fist in Finn’s face like he was holding a microphone.
“There will be no. Further. Questions,” Finn said as he hit Theo with his pillow on the shoulder, grunting between each pillow slam.
“I was just making sure. I need complete and total honesty in this relationship if it’s gonna work,” Theo said, holding a hand out, trying to protect himself from Finn’s incessant pillow slamming.
Theo slung his legs over the bed and stood, walking over to his dresser and pulling a black t-shirt over his head, pulling it down over his bare torso. Finn skirted his eyes over Theo’s sliver of skin disappearing under his shirt.
Finn leaned on the backboard of their bed, pressing his hands on the memory-foam mattress. “When have I ever lied to you, Theo?”
Theo pulled his shirt down and quirked an eyebrow at Finn.
“I mean, I can count the amount of times on one hand. Not a lot, but it is a non-zero probability event.”
Finn sighed, shaking his head as he glanced outside at the morning sun peeking over the buildings. Leave it to Theo to mess with Finn’s head when he had barely woken up and was in dire need of caffeine.
“Theo. I did not steal your sweater. It must have gotten mixed in with Jada or Alison’s wash. Go check the laundry room,” Finn said, pointing to the door of their bedroom.
“If I don’t find it in there, I’m placing an official hoodie embargo,” Theo said, raising an eyebrow and pointing at Finn.
“Isn’t it too early to be such a nuisance?,” Finn said, running a hand through his mussed hair.
“You’re right, Shark Finn, I’m sorry. From now on, I will only stick to morning silliness after you’ve had your coffee.”
Finn scoffed, slinging his legs over the bed, and padded over to Theo, who gazed at Finn dreamily.
Finn pressed his hand on Theo’s firm chest and rested his face in front of Theo, holding his gaze like he was challenging him. Theo quirked his eyebrow expectantly, as if he was waiting for Finn to kiss him, but Finn waited. If Theo wanted to tease Finn this early, then Finn was going to get him back.
Theo brought his hand up over Finn’s bare shoulder and rubbed it softly. He placed a kiss on Finn’s bare collarbone, resting his lips there for a few seconds, before coming back up to look back at Finn with a sigh, smiling with his perfect, snow-white teeth. Finn moved his head closer to Theo’s, the distance between their lips now infinitesimal.
“Go check on Jada and make sure she’s not burning her toast. I can smell a little bit of smoke,” Finn said, pulling back.
Theo groaned and shook his head, his smile turning into a tight-lipped one.
Theo turned and opened the door, giving Finn one last heated look before closing the door. Finn dashed to put some sweatpants on.
He grabbed one of his Columbia t-shirts and pulled it over his head.
The sun scattered shadows across the burgundy brick wall and illuminated the fish tank sitting in the well-lit corner. Finn walked over to it and bent over to look inside.
His rescue angelfish, aptly named Gillbert by Theo, was darting around the aquarium quickly like he was bouncing with the energy of a three-year-old with a sugar rush.
Finn smiled and sprinkled some fish food on the surface of the water. He rested his elbows on the table supporting the aquarium and watched in wonder as Gillbert swiftly gobbled each flake.
Some days, Finn wished he could shrink to the size of a fish, grow gills and fins, jump right in next to him, and swim around in the enclosure, without a worry in the world except for when his next meal was. That was what he craved. Simplicity and routine.
He was close to getting there in the final stretch of the winter semester.
Wake up. Eat. Work out. Go to class. Study. Repeat.
It was simple yet effective. Manageable and easy to maneuver.
Finn sighed and waved at Gillbert before he spun around and left the room.
He made his way to the kitchen, where Jada and Alison were already dressed up in their school clothes. The girls sat in the dining room table next to the kitchen. Alison rested her head on her hand, flipping through a fashion magazine, and Jada scrolled on her phone lazily. Theo had his gym clothes on and was pouring himself a cup of coffee along with his oatmeal.
“Morning,” Finn mumbled as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
“Morning,” Jada and Alison said in unison. Theo quirked an eyebrow as he held up the pot of coffee to Finn. Finn nodded and Theo pulled Finn’s “Fin-tastic” mug out from the cupboard and poured more coffee in it, the steam billowing out of it and beckoning him to drink like a magic elixir created in a cauldron.
Finn shook the jug of oat milk sitting on the island and poured it into the cup that Theo placed on the counter. Finn smiled gratefully as Theo brushed a hand on his waist as he passed and sat down at the table with the girls.
Finn sighed and smiled as he cradled the warm mug. These were the kinds of mornings he dreamed of since he moved to the city.
Mundane mornings and slow starts.
Mornings spent laughing and gossiping with the girls and Theo was infinitely better than waking up from nightmares in a cold sweat in his room alone like he’d done all last year.
The nightmares still haunted his sleep.
Trauma doesn’t just disappear like morning fog at daybreak. Like the tide, it ebbs and flows. Nevertheless, the nightmares were less frequent. Instead of jolting awake alone, Theo’s hushed lullabies and tender embrace slowed his hammering heart to a hum until he fell back asleep.
“Finn, can you pass me my meds?” Jada asked Finn.
“Sure.” His hands moved to the cabinet beside the fridge and the pill bottle rattled as he removed it from its place. He chucked it toward her and she caught it with the reflexes of a hockey goalie.
Finn was glad that Jada was getting the help she needed after what they’d been through.
After countless bodies dropped last October, it was inevitable before Jada had her own emotional problems in the aftermath. Now, long after The New York Massacre, she had frequent panic attacks and trouble focusing because of her endless, whirring thoughts. Her psychiatrist had put her on anti-anxiety meds after she was constantly looking over her shoulder and trembling in her seat in the month following the rampage orchestrated by their old high school classmates, James Chang and Ellie Argento. Th
“So, what are your guys’ plans for the day?” Finn asked as he leaned on the counter and took another sip of his coffee.
“I have class in…” Alison checked her watch. “Twenty minutes. So, I guess I should leave now,” she said, pushing her chair out and putting her magazine into her tote bag.
“Nothing like having a magazine as a textbook,” Jada remarked, sighing dramatically as she continued scrolling through her phone.
“At least I’m studying. Some of us don’t have a phone addiction,” Alison said, pulling her bag over her shoulder as she put her dishes in the sink.
Jada scoffed. “Rude. Unwarranted. Uncalled for.”
“I’ll make it up to you by surprising you with a chai latte when I get back.”
Jada smirked. “All is forgiven. Off you go.” Jada waved her hands at the door.
Alison smirked and walked over to Jada, pecking her on the lips.
“All right bye guys, see you tonight.”
They all said their goodbyes in unison, and Alison closed the door behind her.
Alison was one of Jada’s supporting pillars in the aftermath of the murder spree last year. Alison brought her to therapy appointments and would do breathing exercises with Jada when her thoughts would get too loud for her to bear.
The past few months had proved that he and Jada were more alike than they realized. They both needed their partner as their primary support system. He used to think interdependence meant co-dependency, but it wasn’t.
A relationship was about using each other for support.
To Finn, Theo was his anchor, keeping him moored in a stormy harbor.
To Jada, Alison was her coffee with a splash of milk on a sunny Sunday morning.
“You guys didn’t answer my question, by the way,” Finn added as he walked over and sat down in Alison’s spot across from Theo and adjacent to Jada.
“Well, we have our Forensic Psych class in the afternoon, but that’s all I had planned on doing. I was thinking about going to Cool Beans before, though, if you wanted,” Jada said, still scrolling on her phone.
“Yeah, sure, it’ll be nice to see Erica if she’s there.”
It had been almost half a year since Finn left his job as a barista at the local café after his boss got caught in the massacre's crossfire. Going back there would mean bittersweet memories, guilt, and questions from the regulars that he didn’t want to answer.
The news coverage he got after James and Ellie’s rampage made him not want to go out unless he needed to. New York was an enormous city, and he was merely a whisper in a choir of endless noise; but he didn’t want to risk people ogling at him.
Attention never came easily to him.
Erica Winters, his old coworker, had moved into their apartment building not long after the killings ended.
Theo and Jada bonded with Erica further after what had happened, forming their own personal support group, dubbing it the “Final Girls and Boys Club”.
They didn’t have any space left in their apartment after Theo officially moved in, so the next best thing was for her to move into the same building as them, which her boyfriend, Sean, already lived in, unbeknownst to them.
Theo and Erica bonded over their love for literature, and Jada and Erica bonded over their love for knitting and crocheting. Every third Sunday of the month, they had a book club together. Erica and Theo seemed to love historical fiction the most. It made sense.
Erica was an English Literature graduate, and Theo was a history buff. Finn always knew Theo was a history nerd with his never-ending Cape May history knowledge, but what really surprised him was Theo being a closeted bookworm. Although, it shouldn’t have surprised him. Theo was in AP Literature throughout their senior year.
Finn would join their book club when he’d have time to read something other than his textbooks.
Jada, Alison, and Erica had a knitting night every Friday, where they sipped wine, talked about life, and knitted scarves. They liked to call it “girl time,” even though they let Finn and Theo join in if they didn’t have a shift to pick up or an exam to study for.
“And you?” Finn asked, turning to Theo.
“Well, we have therapy later today, but I was gonna hit the gym first, though. Maybe you want to join?”
“Can’t. I have class this morning. I’ll go after therapy, maybe. Always lift heavier after I bare my soul,” Finn said.
Theo nodded and smiled at Finn before going back to eating his oatmeal, opening To Kill a Mockingbird.
Theo only recently started going to therapy with Finn. It wasn’t couple’s therapy necessarily. At first, it was just to work through what they’d been through, but it quickly evolved to them working through their shared trauma together and making their relationship stronger because of it.
Therapy with Theo helped Finn untangle all of his ideas of who he thought Theo was and gave him a clear picture of the man he truly was. After years of having negative beliefs about the world and himself, it helped Theo understand him better. In all honesty, Finn didn’t want to succumb to his trauma and end up breaking up with Theo again.
He didn’t deserve it then, and he didn’t deserve it now.
“Gag. Get a room, you two. I can’t believe we all sound like this now. Going to therapy. Going on meds. Going to the gym. Healing and being healthy? Where’s the fun in that?” Jada asked, shaking her head.
“Life just isn’t as fun when the mystery you have to solve is what’s in your head, is it?” Theo teased.
“What’s going on in my mind is just too complex for you to handle, Moore.”
“Try me.”
Like a reflex, Finn learned to drown out whatever banter Theo and Jada would conjure almost daily. He pretended to not care about it, but it was something he could always rely on, and he needed whatever was steady and predictable.
Finn smiled as he took another sip of his coffee. He didn’t think he could ever feel mostly balanced in his life after everything. He woke up feeling grateful every day. Even on the days when he wanted to isolate himself from everyone. He was happy that those days were infrequent.
Wait! I’m sorry for killing your mom.
Please, Finn. I-I thought you l-loved me.
Finn tightened the grip on his mug, blinking quickly and licking his lips, quickly setting it down on the table.
He tried to focus his attention back on Theo and Jada’s banter, but the echoes in his head were getting louder.
Not now. He just wanted a few more minutes of silence.
He didn’t want to deal with it yet.
2
FINN
Click. Click. Click.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Rebecca’s pen clicking and the clock ticking set Finn’s teeth on edge. Each tick and each click grated his ears.
“Finn?” a voice called, taking him out of his head.
“Yeah?” Finn focused his eyes on Rebecca.
“I asked if you’re okay. Your hands and feet are telling me you might make a run for it,” Rebecca said. Theo turned to Finn, his eyes growing with worry.
I-I thought you l-loved me.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
“Yeah, I-I’m fine,” Finn stammered as he tried to put his hands back in his lap plainly, painfully aware of how his body was reacting to the memories plaguing his mind.
Rebecca looked unconvinced but seemed to ignore Finn’s statement. He usually brought it back up before the session ended.
“How is your semester going, Finn?” Rebecca asked.
Dad? What are you doing here?
Bang.
“I-It’s fine. Final exams start next week. I’m looking forward to the break, honestly. I feel like I need to get out of the city for a bit,” Finn said, his breath shuddering slightly.
“Me too. Maybe we’re due for a road trip,” Theo joked.
“That could be a fun adventure. Are you able to focus on your studies all right?” Rebecca asked to Finn.
Don’t let your feelings show, Finn. Just power through it. No man shows how he feels and succeeds in life.
“Yeah. Even when my PTSD symptoms were the worst last semester, I kept my grades up. Same thing this semester.” Finn chewed on the inside of his cheek, the metallic taste of blood running along his tongue. He swallowed hard, trying to keep his focus on the room he was in.
