Fool Me Once

Blakely shoots me the most heartbreaking, pleading look. “Promise me… no more lies.”

“I promise you. No more lies. I never set out to make you feel like a fool. I swear.”

“Thank you.” She squeezes my hand. “Now, it’s your turn. I’m ready to listen.”

My heart soars at how easily Blakely can forgive. She has such a good heart, and I hate that it’s probably because of what she dealt with growing up.

“In order for you to understand everything, I have to start from the beginning,” I tell her. “I mentioned once that my brother Keith had died, but what I left out was that he was killed during a drug deal gone wrong.”

“What?” Blakely gasps and her hands come up to her mouth.

“The worst part was that the drug deal… it involved Kolton.”

Her eyes widen in shock then something clicks. “You told me in Cocoa Beach your brother overdosed…”

“I did, but that’s not how Keith died. Kolton was taking too many classes and he needed help staying awake to study and then falling asleep when he was done. He heard about a guy who was selling to students and approached him.

“Keith was a police officer and, at the time, he was investigating the man Kolton was buying from. Kolton didn’t know, though, because we’re not allowed to talk about our investigations.” I pause for a second, hoping Blakely will understand what I’m saying. It wasn’t personal. When we’re investigating, we can’t tell anyone, no matter how much we want to. I know it doesn’t change the fact we lied, but I’m hoping she’ll at least see this wasn’t the same as her father lying. “One day Keith was on campus and saw Kolton talking to the drug dealer he was investigating, so he approached. We don’t know if he knew what was going down, or suspected. But the guy got spooked and pulled out a gun and shot Keith. He was wearing a vest, but he shot him in the neck. He was dead before he ever made it to the hospital. The guy ran while Kolton was calling for help.”

Tears prick Blakely’s eyes and the next thing I know, she’s throwing her arms around my neck. “I’m so sorry, Keegan.” She sniffles. “I can’t imagine losing my sister.”

I give her a kiss on her forehead, inhaling her sweet scent. Fuck how I’ve missed her.

“It was hard,” I admit truthfully. “But the worst part was that Kolton blamed himself. One, for buying from the guy, and two, because while he was trying to save Keith’s life, Miguel disappeared.”

“So nobody got any closure,” she says, sitting back and wiping her tears. “Wait a second.” Her eyes widen. “Miguel… as in Brenton’s mom’s ex-boyfriend? The guy you guys arrested?”

I nod once. “The very same. He was hiding out the entire time in that house, while Brenton and Maxwell were selling for him.”

“I hate him,” Blakely seethes. “I can never forgive him for what he’s done. And I’m so mad at myself. I let my son around him.”

“You didn’t know, and in his defense, I really don’t think he knew Miguel had a warrant out for his arrest for murdering a cop.”

“I don’t care. He was selling drugs! What if my son got a hold of them? Brenton is dead to me.”

We sit in silence for a few seconds while Blakely calms down. I love that she cares so much about my family that she hates Brenton, but I also know her heart is broken over the fact it was her best friend who was selling.

“So, your brother died and Kolton blamed himself,” she prompts.

“Yeah,” I say, remembering just how bad Kolton took it. So bad that I found him lying on the ground of the bathroom half-dead. It was the scariest moment of my life finding him. “Kolton took it so hard he overdosed and almost died.”

Blakely shakes her head. “Thank God he didn’t.”

“I’m not even sure how my mom survived it all,” I tell her. “Losing her son, almost losing her other son—and then there was me. I was just finishing up getting my AA and about to graduate from the police academy when all of this went down. When Kolton and my mom found out I was still considering joining the force, they ganged up on me. My mom said she’d already lost one son and almost lost another. She couldn’t handle losing me too. My brother felt the same way. He was terrified I would end up like Keith.”

“You told me you had a big decision to make,” she says, and it warms my heart at how much she remembers from our short time together.

“I did. Kolton took off to Europe, saying he needed to get away. He spent a year over there. I had to decide whether to continue with my degree in criminal justice and do something safer like forensics, or become a police officer.”