by Imogen Wells
“Man, I need another cold shower. You two might just be the reason I die from hypothermia if you keep this up,” Jay states, dodging the punch Seb tries to lay on him as he passes.
“Fuck off, Jay,” Seb all but growls. Turning to me, he asks, “Are you ready to go?”
“Yeah, let’s do this.” I give him a superficial smile, and I know he sees it, but he doesn’t say anything.
We stopped at mine so I could change, and my mood has taken even more of a nosedive thanks to a letter from the hospital with a date for my hearing. Seb tried to reassure me everything will be okay, even explaining the pictures have been tampered with, but I’m not so sure. Whoever set me up did a stand-up fucking job and convincing the board otherwise is going to be difficult.
When we pull up to Mr and Mrs Simons’ house, I start to wonder if this was such a good idea. As I gaze at the ordinary, semi-detached council house, I’m transported back to my teen years, and all the good times we spent here. Tears well in my eyes, and I look away from the house.
“Hey, you okay?” Seb asks, reaching over to take my hand.
“Yeah, I’m good,” I tell him, my voice wobbly. I step out of the car and look up to the sky, willing the tears not to fall, but an errant one escapes, and I quickly swipe it away with the back of my hand.
Seb joins me, and we walk up the path to the front door. Taking a deep, steadying breath, I raise my hand and knock.
Footsteps echo from inside the house several seconds later, and my heart beats wildly at how this is going to go. I always got on well with Alex’s parents, Gloria and David, but the death of a child can destroy a person. And I don’t know what they’ve been told about what happened.
I hear the click of a lock as a key is turned, and it’s deafening like a bell tolling. The door opens in slow motion, and I hold my breath as David comes into view.
I haven’t seen him in a few years, and aside from his hair being almost fully grey now, he looks just as he did the last time I saw him. But as my eyes finally meet his, I see the despair in his eyes, ones the same colour as Alex’s, that are surrounded by deep lines with dark circles below them.
“Can I help you?” His voice is rough and tremulous as his eyes scan my face with a frown.
I clear my throat. “Hi, Mr Simons. I don’t know if you remember me, but I’m—”
“I know who you are, Miss Morgan,” he says cutting me off scornfully. “Why are you here?”
I swallow thickly, trying to find my voice and tell him how very sorry I am about Alex, but as I go to speak, Gloria appears at David’s side. She’s wearing a pair of plain black trousers and a mustard-coloured turtleneck jumper, and her face is clean of makeup making her red-rimmed eyes even more evident. Gloria has matching dark circles under her eyes, indicating the lack of sleep herself and David have had recently.
As soon as her eyes land on me, she starts crying, and David wraps an arm around her, trying to soothe her.
“Please, I didn’t want to upset you. I just wanted to come and tell you how sorry I am. Alex was my friend…” I break off as my breath catches and emotion clogs my throat, and I feel Seb’s hand on the small of my back.
Gloria’s crying stops at my words. “Friend?” she says questioningly. “What sort of friend leaves my son to die in a pool of his own blood?”
She continues, but I don’t hear anymore as her words hit me. She blames me. She thinks I chose to leave him there. I thought he was already dead. I can faintly hear shouting, and a hand on my back guiding me away from the house. I look across the road and see old man Morris, the Simons’ neighbour, there watching, taking it all in, and no doubt he’ll enjoy gossiping about it later.
“Oh my god, this is all my fault. If I’d stopped Jay from carrying me away, then Alex might still be alive. I could have saved him.”
“Jamie, it’s not your fault. They are just upset and grieving. I’m sure if you give them time, they’ll realise that they’re wrong.” I’m aware of Seb opening the car door and climbing in, but I can’t get Gloria’s words out of my head. They’ve infected my brain, burrowed deep under my skin where they continue to nibble away at me. It’s just like last time. History is repeating itself. All because of me.
When Josh and Amber died, I was devastated. I’d loved them both, and despite their betrayal, I found that was still true. Initially, Josh’s parents had been wonderfully supportive, even though they were suffering too. Then as details started to emerge about what happened that night, their attitude changed, and it didn’t take long for Amber’s parents to follow suit.
Suddenly, I was the one everyone was talking about. And not in the nice, feel sorry for her loss kind of way. No, it was whispers of how I was to blame for them leaving the way they did. How I should have left them alone and realised how much they loved each other. It didn’t seem to matter that they had been seeing each other behind my back just so long as they had someone to blame for the lives cut short too soon.
And now, it’s happening all over again.
I’m shaken from my thoughts as the car comes to a stop, even though I hadn’t even noticed we’d been moving. When I see where we are, I turn to Seb.
“What are we doing back here? I need to go to my mum’s.”
“Jamie, I think yo—”
“No, Seb. I’m fine,” I tell him, although everyone knows no woman that ever said that is actually fine. “It’s what I expected to happen, so can we just move on. If you don’t want to come, then I’ll just drive myself.” I bite my lip, trying to stop it from trembling and giving me away completely. I’m not stupid, and neither is Seb, so I know he knows I’m not okay, but I just want to forget this morning. Maybe if I can figure out what the hell my mum is hiding, we can catch the bastard who is to blame for Alex’s death.
Eventually, after what feels like the longest minute of my life, Seb sighs and starts the car up again before pulling back out into the street.
When we pull up to my mum’s, I have managed to push what happened with David and Gloria to the back of my mind, well, as much as possible anyway.
“I won’t be long. You can wait here if you like,” I tell Seb, secretly hoping he agrees. For one I don’t want him fussing over me right now, and secondly, I don’t want to have to explain why I’m searching the house.
He doesn’t answer, just gives me a look as if I’ve gone completely insane. Giving up on the idea I can get some space and do this alone, I climb from the car as Seb does the same.
Once inside, I take a look around and see how much of a mess the place is, which is surprising. There are dirty plates and glasses piled up in the sink, and the bin is overflowing and emitting a lovely pungent aroma around the kitchen.
“What the hell!” I exclaim.
“I don’t mean to judge, but shit, Jamie, this place is a mess.”
“Yeah, not like my mum at all,” I reply with a frown.
Seeing the house in this state has me concerned and makes me even more determined to discover what the fuck is going on because this is not my mum.
I begin rinsing the dishes and filling the dishwasher as Seb takes the rubbish out and puts a new bin bag in. Once the kitchen looks a little more normal, I check the lounge, but other than a layer of dust, it’s reasonably clean and tidy.
Leaving Seb downstairs, I head to Mum and Dad’s room. The bed is unmade, and there are clothes scattered over the chaise lounge. Ignoring the mess, I open the top drawer of Mum’s dresser knowing this is where she usually keeps important documents. It’s not there.
Next, I try the bedside table, but again, nothing.
I tap my finger against my lip as I scan the room, trying to think where else she may have put it. Office. My dad’s office.
Jogging back downstairs, I pass Seb, obviously on his way to find me, and he follows me to my dad’s office.
“Are you going to tell me what we’re doing here?”
“Nope,” is all I say, as I begin opening drawers and rooting around inside. F
inding nothing in the first two, I open the last one and lift out the stack of papers in there. It looks like a pile of old articles, but as I leaf through them something catches my eye. An article about a woman and child who died in a car accident in London. I recognise the names instantly, and I quickly scan the rest. What the hell is my dad doing with articles about the death of Cam’s mum and daughter? Unless…Holy shit!
“It was my dad,” I say out aloud.
Seb stands up straight from where he was leaning against the door frame and comes over to me, snatching the paper from my hand. He looks up at me with surprise in his eyes.
“Well, shit me. I wonder if Ryder knows about this?” I shrug before going back to the pile. This is just another reason for me to be pissed at my dad. I stack the pile of papers back up ready to put them back in the drawer, but as I do so, I notice a large envelope I must have missed before. I pull it free and place the other pile back in the drawer.
There’s no name or address on the front and it’s never been sealed. I up end it, tipping the contents onto the desk. A dozen or so pictures fall out along with several letters. I pick up a photo, it’s of me outside the hospital, and there are several more, all of me. The others in the pile are like mine but of my mum, just like Dad said.
I flick through the letters, copies of the ones my dad received from whoever is threatening us, and they are all the same until the last letter in the pile. It’s different and has a hospital stamp at the top and DNA Test Results written underneath.
It’s a sibling test, or half sibling to be exact. My dad’s name clearly stated on one side, but the name on the other has been redacted making it illegible. It confirms that whoever this other person is, they are my dad’s half-brother.
I literally have no words. I had no idea my dad even had a half-brother, and I’m guessing from this, neither did he until recently. I barely manage to get Seb’s name out as I offer him the paper.
“What is this?” he asks as his eyes scan it. “Well, fuck me.”
“Yeah. I knew he wasn’t telling us everything. Is there any way we can find out who this guy is?”
Seb frowns, and I can tell he’s pissed that my dad knew something this important and didn’t say anything. I really don’t understand why, though.
“Maybe. Do you think your dad already knows who it is?”
“Wouldn’t fucking put it past him.” Seb nods his agreement. I shove everything back in the envelope and make sure the desk looks just as it did before.
I didn’t find what I was looking for, but this will do. At least now Seb and Rick know what they are working with because it seems to me that the man who is my dad’s half-brother definitely has it out for us. The question now is why?
Seb tries to take me back to his place, but I just want to be alone. It’s what I’m used to after all. I eventually persuade him that I’ll be fine, and he agrees only after I agree he can come back later.
I order take-out and after a long soak in the bath, I eat while pouring over the letters from Dad’s brother. It is not a pleasant read, and in fact my dinner almost makes a reappearance on more than one occasion.
Thirty
Seb
My head is pounding as I pull up to mine and Jay’s apartment. What a fucking stressful day it’s been, and it’s not over yet. I called Rick to meet me here, and by the looks of it, he already is. He’s talking to a man, and I’m sure I’ve seen him before.
As I approach, the man thanks Rick and turns away, walking off down the adjoining road.
“Hey, man. Who was that?” I keep my eyes on him, and just before he rounds the corner, he turns and looks back at us.
“Just some guy asking for directions. He took a short cut and ended up here instead of the next road. Why, do you know him?”
Looking away from where the guy disappeared, I turn to Rick. “Not exactly. I thought he looked familiar that’s all.” Shaking the nagging feeling I know the guy, I say, “Let’s go. We have a lot to talk about.”
After filling Rick and Jay in about what happened with Alex’s parents we get onto Dom and his mysterious half-brother.
Jay and Rick talk around me, and I try to keep my head in what they are saying, but something about that guy from earlier is bugging the hell out of me.
“Did he tell you who his friend was or the address?” I ask Rick, cutting Jay off from whatever he was saying.
“What’s up with you? No name, just the address, why?”
“Just humour me. What was the address?” I ask.
Rick reels the address off and instantly I recognise it. “Shit! I knew there was something about him. That’s Noah’s address.”
Rick’s eyes widen with realisation. I’m not too surprised he didn’t recognise it, but it’s seared on the inside of my eyelids and labelled as the guy who filmed Jamie without her consent, and obviously where the pictures came from. There may or may not be a small side note that says something along the lines of ‘Needs his arse kicked.’
“Hold up. Noah is the guy who filmed Jamie, right?” I turn to Jay and practically snarl in his face. “Okay, chill your beans. I’m just checking facts. So, who is the guy you’re talking about now?” Jay asks.
“I don’t know, but I bet he’s connected in some way. I’m sure I’ve seen him before, but I just can’t place him. It’s bugging the shit out of me.”
“No kidding,” Jay mocks.
I go to snap back, but Rick stops me. “Enough. Fuck’s sake, it’s like being at fucking school sometimes. There’s nothing more we can do for now. It’s getting late, and I would like to see my son before he goes to bed, seeing as I’ve not seen him all week. And don’t you have somewhere else to be, Seb?” I nod. “Good. Now, I’m going to speak to Dom if I can get hold of him. Bastard has been avoiding my calls. What’s the plan for Friday?”
Me and Jay exchange glances and Rick doesn’t miss it. The fucker rarely misses anything.
“What? Actually, don’t tell me, I can guess. Jamie?” Neither of us speak, and it’s answer enough. “I warned you,” he tells me.
Yeah, he did. Now, not only is there some crazed Uncle after her, but she wants to plant herself right in the middle of my job where women end up dead.
“She won’t let it drop, and I know what you’re thinking, but she’ll be safer with you two than anyone else. Besides, she might be able to help.”
“You’re not fucking serious?” I shout, even though I know he is. I’m a little surprised, and I tell him so before asking why.
“Because Jamie is a loose cannon right now, and it is safer for her to be where we can keep an eye on her.”
I think about it for a minute, and he’s not wrong. She’ll just go off digging into things on her own, and I’m not entirely convinced there wasn’t an ulterior motive to today’s little visit to her mum’s yet.
Whilst I still don’t think this is a good idea, I agree to allow Jamie to come with us, which means I have to tell her why we are going there. I can’t fucking wait for that conversation.
Before I go, Jay asks me about the two female cops at the station yesterday, and I turn to Rick and ask if his man at the station turned up anything on Jasper.
“No more than we have already. Why?” I quickly pull out my phone and do a search on Jasper Williams. Once I find the article, I turn my phone to show Rick and Jay.
They both turn and look at me when they realise what they are looking at. Jasper’s dead wife is the spitting image of Jamie.
“That’s fucking creepy. They look like twins,” Jay says.
“Yeah, they do. Doesn’t that make you question Jasper’s interest in Jamie,” I say, raising an eyebrow.
Rick and Jay agree that Jasper’s interest in Jamie is more than a little creepy or coincidental, and we all agree we need to keep her away from him.
When I pull up to Jamie’s it almost ten, but there’s a dim light shining behind the curtains in the lounge telling me she’s still up. I shoot her a quick message that I’m
outside so I don’t scare her by knocking the door this late.
She opens the door as I’m walking up the path, and she looks so fucking beautiful, all sleepy and wrapped in a knitted blanket, leaning on the door as she waits for me to reach her.
I forget everything else that’s happened today as I grasp her face and kiss her. She melts against me, and I pick her up as she wraps those lush legs around me. I barely remember to close and lock the door behind me before I get lost in the feel of her, her taste, and the sweet honey smell of her cocoons me, pulling me under.
Like a horny teenager who can’t wait to get his dick wet, I don’t even make it more than two steps up the stairs before I lay her down, pulling the blanket open so I can take her in. She’s wearing my Nirvana t-shirt and nothing else, and my dick, already hard as fucking stone, strains against my jeans.
Jamie writhes under me as I lean down and nip her neck, over her jaw, then bite her bottom lip, sucking it into my mouth.
“What do you want, Firefly?” I ask as I run my hand up the outside of her thigh and grip her hip, pulling her to me so I can grind my groin against hers. I can feel the heat and wetness from her pussy through my jeans, and I do it again, just as she goes to speak, and her words are lost as she whimpers. It’s a beautiful sound that makes me ache for her, burn for her, want to possess her.
“Seb,” she hisses out as my fingers slip through her wetness, grazing over her clit.
“Tell me,” I demand, pushing a finger inside her and curling it just right.
“Ahh, fuck.” Her back arches as I slide another finger in, and she clenches around them.
Unable to wait another second, I drop down between her legs, licking up her slit, and she grips my hair, rubbing her pussy against my face. As soon as her taste hits my tongue, I don’t stop until she’s trembling on the brink, then coming in my mouth, and I lap up every last drop.