Mark takes a deep breath and perches up on the corner of his desk. “Blake, everybody thinks Nathan and Cathleen are dead. If people find out they’re not, it’s not going to end well.”
“Who are we?” I ask horrified. “Oh my God, are we related?”
Mark laughs shortly. “No, not at all.”
“Why did they want us, and why are we so important?” Cole asks.
“They wanted you as warnings and as bait. I can’t tell you why you’re so important,” Mark states. “Trust me, you don’t want that kind of information weighing on your shoulders.”
“Was Shelley your mom?” I ask quietly.
Mark snickers. “You’re quite the detective, Blake. Let me see those pictures. Our time’s almost up.”
I show Mark the pictures I brought and let him sort through them. I’m too preoccupied with his evasive answers to examine his face as he looks at them. He asks me to sign the deed of the land over to the buyers and tells me that my money will be wired by the end of the week.
Thinking about my parents, Cole’s parents, and our kidnapping is exhausting. Cole and I decide to put it behind us unless something else comes up. We say this—but I know we’ll both be silently brewing.
I put my focus on school, even though this year of law school seems much easier than the last two. Maybe it’s because my life is a little more hectic and it makes school work seem stupid. I see Russell every day, and now that he’s dating another student, we’ve become friends again. Cole doesn’t mind that he’s in my study groups as long as he “doesn’t try anything”—his words, of course.
Past
I had been in the University of Chicago for a month before I started to get used to the ever-present knife that gutted my heart every day. I had spoken to Cole a handful of times after our breakup, and he sounded like his normal self. I knew better than to think he was fine though, and Aubry reminded me of it often.
“He feels like shit, Blake,” Aubry said whenever he hung up the phone with Cole.
I knew Cole did—he had to if he felt half the pain that I was feeling.
“Aubry...” I said one particularly gloomy morning.
“Yeah, Cowboy?” he replied as he poured our coffee.
“Do you think...do you think if I were to...” I took a deep breath and buried my face in my hands.
“Spit it out!” he said exasperated.
“Okay, do you think if...AH! What do you think would happen if I were to visit him?” I asked cringing.
He stood there with a mug in one hand and the coffee pot in the other. He was totally frozen. “Do you mean if you asked him to get back with you?” he asked cautiously.
I looked down and started chipping my nails. “Yeah?”
He laughed once. “Fucking-A, Cowboy. What the fuck do you think would happen? He’d probably fucking propose to you on the spot!”
I looked up smiling. “You think so?” Not that I wanted Cole to propose to me or anything, but the fact that Aubry thought he’d want me back for sure spoke volumes.
“Do I think so?” he asked rolling his eyes. “Let’s go see him tonight.”
Aubry had been dying for an excuse to visit Duke University, so of course he’d jump at this opportunity.
I smiled widely. “Alright, let’s go!”
We booked our flight, but I begged Aubry to keep our trip a surprise. He somehow got Cole to tell him what party he’d be at that night, so we were going to go from the airport to the hotel and straight to the party. I was so excited—and nervous at the same time. I kept wringing my hands together and biting my lip as I paced the room while I waited for Aubry to get out of work so we could leave. I took a deep breath when I heard Aubry get home and off we went.
“Calm the fuck down, Cowboy! You’re making me nervous,” Aubry said as he stilled my bouncing leg when our cab was pulling up to the frat house where the party was taking place.
“Oh my God, I think I need a drink...or five,” I said as I clutched my stomach.
“I think if you drink now, you might puke,” he said, looking amused.
“You’re probably right. Let’s just go inside,” I said and plastered on my best smile.
My stomach was flip-flopping and my hands were shaking as we knocked on the door. A short guy with beautiful aqua-blue eyes opened the door for us and gave Aubry a confused look before he checked me out slowly.
“Who are you?” the guy asked Aubry a little rudely.
“I’m a friend of Cole’s...and Warren’s,” Aubry said confidently, and I smiled up at him. I’d heard of Cole’s friend Warren, but I knew for a fact that Aubry didn’t know who the hell he was.
“Oh, cool,” the short guy said as he stepped out of the way. “And what’s your name?” he asked me when I brushed past him.
“Blake,” I said with a smile.
He checked me out again. “Blake...I’m David. If you need anything, I’m your man.”
“Thanks,” I replied while grabbing on to the back of Aubry’s shirt, so I wouldn’t get lost in the crowd.
We walked around without spotting Cole, but we did see Sarah, a girl from our high school. She looked more than a little surprised to see us there. She was nervous as she greeted us, and I figured she probably felt bad for ganging up on me with Sasha-the-Slut one time after school. She looked like she wanted to tell me something—probably apologize—from the look in her eyes, but I smiled and waved at her as I walked away with Aubry.
“That was awkward,” Aubry said, leaning down to my ear.
I shrugged. “Whatever. Old news. I’m gonna go use the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”
He laughed. “First of all, hell no. I’m not letting you run off by yourself at a frat party in a frat house. Second of all, how the fuck do you know where it is?”
I laughed back. “Umm...there’s a huge cardboard sign that reads ‘bathroom’ over there,” I said, pointing. “But yeah, maybe you should stay close to it. Look, there’s a keg right by it. I’ll go to the bathroom, and you get us some beers.”
We walked to the keg, and I left Aubry there to go to the bathroom. I passed two doors before I saw where it was. As I stood behind a ridiculously drunk girl, I heard a guy scream Cole’s name causing my head to snap up, and my insides to warm at the sound. I immediately got out of line and walked in that direction. I rounded the corner and found a group of guys and girls standing around a pool table. Butterflies danced in my stomach when I spotted him. His back was facing me, but I could see he was in the middle of an animated conversation. He was wearing a fitted navy T-shirt, and his brown hair was cut short. I frowned because he never told me he had cut it. My feet started making their way toward him but stopped about three feet away—when I saw female hands with red fingernails stroking his lower back. My heart was pumping so hard I couldn’t even breathe. I wanted to turn away, but my feet were cemented to the floor. I couldn’t peel my eyes away from them and the worst part was that I could hear them from where I was standing.
“Let’s go to the back room,” she said, giggling as she squeezed his ass.