Chapter 21

“If today fails, try again tomorrow.”

Shannon

~~~

I sat in my father’s office, the voice recorder in my hand, my legs shaking, slapping against each other repeatedly. I’d been turned down countless times when delivering evidence but didn’t get deterred from hoping this would be an exception that would finally set me free.

The door pushed open to my dad leading the way, his boss trudging closely behind. His authoritative aura invaded my space as he sat on the office desk before me and stretched his hand towards the voice recorder. He listened in for a few minutes, nodding his head from time to time till it came to an end.

He dropped the recorder beside him before letting out a heavy breath and saying, “This won’t be of much help. If you get them to say something very incriminating that can’t be rephrased to mean something else, then we have a case.” I glanced from him to my dad and back, letdown sitting at the pit of my stomach yet again.

Police work was no joke, it took detectives months and in some cases years to crack such a case. The thought of how long it would take an inexperienced civilian like me weakened my knees. Time, I didn’t have time to waste. I craved to own a jewelry business and make something of my life while still young, employment sucked.

Biding farewell to my father, I sauntered off to the waiting room where Kayleigh was impatiently waiting for me. “You should have told me we were going to live here cause I would have brought my bed.” She threw her arms up when her eyes landed on me. Grabbing her hand, I yanked her off the bench and pulled her with me towards the exit.

“Guess what?” I grinned.

“What?” She jerked us to a halt, her eyes full of anticipation. I laughed, diverting her mind was always too easy.

“I met someone at work, he wants us to be friends.” I regained my steps, forcing her to match up to my pace.

I was frank with her about yearning for Lionel’s friendship. He was daring, positive-minded, and determined. His constant visits to the eatery left me feeling like no obstacle was too big for me; like I could conquer the world without a hassle. I withheld details of what I was facing from him but he understood and encouraged me.

“Do you like him?”

A scowl found its way to my lips, answering her question. The vow to keep away from like and love was still fresh in my mind. I didn’t think of him that way, he was nothing but a friend.

“Alright, but you should know that Matthew will kill either of you if he ever finds out,” she warned.

“Jeez! We’re not doing anything wrong.” I pocketed my hands once we stepped into the street, to coat them from freezing due to the icy weather.

“And you think he will buy that? You have to be careful. You can’t afford to drag him into danger.”

The thought of distancing myself from him stung but she was right, who knew what Matthew was capable of. Trading events that took place while on our separate ways during the week, we trudged to the parking lot around the block, her house our destination.

I eased into my favorite spot when we clicked the door shut behind us, her parents were on a business trip, as usual. Leaving us to drink ourselves to stupor, like every other Wednesday. My phone pinged beside me, it was Matthew, he needed me at his apartment immediately. Nah, not today. Rolling my eyes, I pressed the power button, smiling as the Huawei logo displayed on the screen before going black.

While Kay was busy preparing a worthy meal for the heavy drinking that was to come, I scrolled through Netflix’s new arrivals. The doorbell had my eyebrows rising in question, we weren’t expecting anyone. I strolled to the door at her request, peeping into the spyhole at the same time as the door opening and sending me to the floor on my bum. I was about to cuss when a familiar voice beat me to it.

“Damn! What are you doing here?”

I blinked at the figure standing above me in disbelief, swallowing hard before getting back on my feet. “You found me here, I should be asking you that,” I yelled, wiping imaginary dust from my behind, to keep my cheeks from getting any hotter.

“Who’s by the- Lionel? Oh my goodness! When did you get back to town?” Kay squealed, closing the distance between us. My jaw dropped to the floor.

“A month or so. I see you have new friends,” he said to Kay but his eyes were on me.

The door swung open before she could afford an answer and a photocopy of Lionel walked in all smiles, followed by what I made to be Kay’s lookalike. A family reunion, huh! My eyes danced to their every movement as Kay hugged them, exchanging pleasantries and whatnots.

She turned to me, pushing me forward before saying, “This is Luke, Lionel, and Calvin. Guys, meet Shannon, the best friend ever!”

“Ah, she’s the one you keep yapping about. Nice to meet ya.” Luke offered me his hand. She’d been talking to them about me? I groaned lowly, plastering a fake smile on my face as we shook hands.

I kept a good distance as they argued on whether to play football or binge-watch a thriller movie. Lionel was silent, his eyes scrutinizing me, a mix of awe and pity evident in them. He knew!

Grabbing Kayleigh’s arm for the umpteenth time, I dragged her with me to the kitchen. “Please tell me you did not speak a word about me to them.”

“Errr. . . “ She scratched the back of her ear and evaded my gaze.

“Kayleigh! What the fudge were you thinking?”

“I’m sorry. It’s just that Luke is my brother and they are my cousins so it felt okay to you know . . .” She shrugged, displaying her teeth in what seemed like an attempted smile.

“I don’t care, you shouldn’t have breathed a word to anyone!”

“They can help you to-“

“I don’t need you, them, or anyone’s help for that matter.” I poked my index finger in the air, pacing back and forth as I envisioned how I was going to walk out the door without their notice.

When I’d gathered enough courage, I zoomed past Kay to the living room, grabbed my phone and bag before waltzing out of the door amidst Kay’s protests. Just as I was about to yank the gate open, someone’s tight grip on my arm pulled me to a halt. I turned around, my mouth opening to hurl at Kayleigh but closed shut when my eyes met Lionel’s in a heated stare-down.

“We have to talk.” His commanding tone held no room for argument but I didn’t care. I wrenched his hand off me and regained my steps only for him to block my path. “Please, it’s urgent.”