The Good One (The Ones)

She looks at me skeptically.

“Do you trust me?” I ask her.

“Of course I do. I’m just completely freaked out right now. None of this makes sense. Why does it look like someone wants to hurt her and why does she have all these pictures of Jackson? I’m scared, Donovan.”

“I know, baby, I know.” I take her in my arms and hold her tight. “Where’s her roommate?”

“Still with the neighbor across the hall. I think she’s going to go back to her parents, though. I don’t blame her. I would want to be as far away from this as possible too.”

I look at Aiden as he takes the box and walks out of the bedroom. We follow, having seen everything there is to see. If Aiden needs anything else, he can come back. I’m glad her roommate is going back to Vermont. The fewer people involved, the better. We head back to the car and I call my brother. It’s early, but he picks up.

“Hi, brother, are you calling to plan another dinner date? Maybe bring one of Kasey’s hot friends this time, yeah?”

“You need to get to my apartment. Now.” I hang up.

It’s obvious that Jackson is somehow involved in whatever is going on. Another disaster involving my brother. Great. I open the door for Kasey to get in the car and then walk around to the driver’s side and get in. She’s looking out the window at nothing. We’re both lost in our own thoughts. Why does her sister have all those pictures of my brother? Kasey said she was working on a story about a family with power and money. Mine certainly has both, and I’ve had to use it on more than one occasion to get Jackson out of trouble.

I hate where these thoughts are leading me, but so many things are running through my mind right now. Is it just a coincidence that I met Kasey when I did? Her sister was at Club Noir that first night with her. Did she see me with my brother? What if Kasey knew the whole time that I was there that night and she was helping her sister get close to me? I don’t even want to think that, but I’ve spent my whole life being warned about skeletons in the closet and how people will exploit your secrets for their gain. No, that can’t be what this has been about. Kasey was clear at every turn that this wasn’t like her, but what if that was an act to gain my trust? What if Sean had been right, and this had to do with a story, just not the one I thought?