Three, Two, One (321)

Ark narrows his eyes at me. “Why would she assume you’d drop your life and go help her?”

“We were BFF’s, ya know? And I wasn’t working.”

“So you came to Denver last summer?”

I shake my head.

“Summer before last?”

I nod.

“Well, fuck, Blue. That’s a long time to be in town. What the hell have you been doing here?” JD is starting to put things together. Ark has always known. It’s like he took one look at me out in the rain that morning and he could read my mind. But JD was just along for the ride. “Blue?” he prods, poking me to keep it fun.

But the fun is gone. I have to make a decision and I have to make it right now. Trust them or not. And if I do, then yeah, that’s a big move. And if I lie, they will know. I won’t be able to stay here much longer. A day or two at the most.

And then where would I go? I can’t call my father. That would be a huge deal. I can’t just go back out on the streets. There’s no way they won’t still be looking for me. They know I have no ID, no clothes, no passport. I can’t leave the country. I can’t go to the local charities, they’d find me first thing. I can’t even go to the police. Who knows how many officers they have on the payroll? And who knows how high up they go?

“You gotta trust someone,” Ark says, calm as can be. He’s used to this. Something about his detached professionalism is very familiar to me. And he’s right, I do need to trust someone. But two guys who make porn for a living? Really? “Start with the brand.”

JD’s whole body stiffens behind me when Ark says the word brand. I shake my head automatically at that one. “That’s an ending, not a beginning.”

“Fair enough. What happened when you got here?”

“We had lunch at a place down on Colorado Boulevard.”

“What city did you come from?”

“Montreal. I was home for the summer when she called. That’s the only way she knew to get a hold of me.”

“And you just took off for Denver.”

I know what he’s implying. And fine. Whatever. Who cares if he figures out I come from privilege? “I told you, I wasn’t working. I couldn’t find a job. I had nothing preventing me from going.”

“What kind of job do you do, Blue?”

I don’t know why when JD asks that question it sounds so… genuine. But when Ark asks it, he makes me want to lie. JD makes me want to tell him all my secrets. I can hear the sympathy in his voice. “I’m a reporter.”

Ark’s eyes meet JD’s for several seconds like they are having some secret communication. His jaw clenches. “So you came to Denver to find a job? Or to help your friend?”

“Both.”

“Did you get a job, Blue?” JD this time.

“No. I got…” I have to take a deep breath, so I stop. And once I stop, I can’t find a way to continue.

“Just say it, baby.” JD leans into my neck and kisses me. “Just tell us what’s going on. We won’t judge you. I mean, look at us. We make porn.”

“I thought if I could just help her, I could maybe write about it. And then publish it online. And maybe that would get me a real job. I mean, they wanted me to be a blogger, you guys.”

“What?” Ark asks. “Who?”

“After school. I applied to hundreds of publications. And I got one offer to blog. Blog,” I repeat. “And I know some people have huge careers as bloggers, but that’s not what this was. It was blogging statistics. It wasn’t even writing. Just copying and pasting.”

“OK,” Ark says, a little bit annoyed. “I don’t get what that has to do with any of what’s going on. How is your friend connected? Where did you get that brand? Who the fuck are you hiding from?”

“When Janine came to me and asked for help, it was a huge favor, OK? She was pregnant and she told me that they were gonna take her baby and give it to another couple to adopt.”

“Who?” Ark demands, making me jump.

JD’s arms wrap round me, trying to calm me down.

“And I thought that was the perfect opportunity, you know? I could help her, right? I could stop those people from taking her baby. And I could write an expose on what they were doing and maybe get a job out of it.”

Ark leans his face into his palm. He takes a deep breath. “Please tell me you did not infiltrate this group to write a story.”

I swallow hard. “I did.”

He stands up, gets out of the tub, looks at the camera like he forgot it was there, then grabs it and walks out, trailing a puddle of water on the floor behind him.

“Damn, Blue,” JD says. “That was a pretty stupid idea.”

“I realize that now. I mean I realized that back then, too. It took me about five minutes to understand I fucked up in a major way.”

“So where did the brand come from?”

“I… I… I joined up.”

“You joined?” Ark peeks his head into the bathroom as he buttons up one of those white dress shirts. He’s already got jeans on. Like he’s going somewhere. “Now why the fuck would you do that?”

I shrug my shoulders and look up at him. He’s so angry. Why is he so angry? And then he disappears and then reappears pulling on his boots.

“I don’t know, you guys. It was like they brainwashed me or something. I became… Are you going somewhere?” I ask Ark. Because he’s got his boots on and there’s a leather jacket in his hand.