Misguided Truths: Part Two (Misjudged #4)

by Sarah Elizabeth

  “Oh, I wouldn’t if I were you, pretty boy,” he says as I go to grab him by the shirt. I lift him up until his feet are no longer touching the ground, and slam him hard against the brick wall. “You assault me, then you go back inside, and I’m sure you wouldn’t want that. Right?”

  Motherfucker. Though nothing would please me more than to punch his lights out at this very moment, I’m not gonna do it. Not today, and definitely not in front of Alexis. Could I get thrown back inside? Of course I could. But, no. I don’t ever wanna have to step inside another cell again in my entire life. Debating on what I should do, I think I already know the answer. I need to walk away. He already knows too much, and he’s just said all of those things right in front of Alexis. Nice job, asshole. Nice fucking job.

  I take my hands off of him, and don’t stick around long enough to hear him say anything else. I’ve got enough going on without having to deal with some douchebag on a power trip. It’s not like Alexis is gonna wanna talk to me again after this either. Congratulations, fuckface. You just made this whole thing a hell of a lot easier for me while I’m in town.

  Did I come to Seattle to make friends? No. Did I wanna meet someone? No, not at all. I have one mission, and one mission alone. Speaking of which, it’s almost time to meet with them by the gates.

  The guy I spent time with while I was in jail messaged me at seven this morning. He said that he’s not completely sure whether what he has will help me in any way, but he asked me to meet him by the gates at ten o’clock, and I’m already running five minutes late.

  I glance over my shoulder, see there’s no one else around the grounds, and then start cursing myself when I think back to what happened in the alleyway just now. I couldn’t wait to get outta there, but now I’m wondering if she’s okay. That guy was being a total ass to her, and I really wanted to cause him some pain; do him some damage. It wasn’t what he said to me that bothered me. It was how he spoke to Alexis, and the way she didn’t even attempt to give that jackass some kinda comeback.

  No, I realize that I shouldn’t have left her in there with that guy, but now that she knows I was inside, there’s no way in hell she’s gonna wanna be friends with me now. At least, not without judging me. That guy has obviously heard shit, and it’s obvious that he likes to throw his weight around. Staying here without anyone knowing about my past might not be as easy as I thought it was gonna be.

  I stop pacing by the gates when I see Brad, the guy I was telling you about, and some other guy walking in with him. He told me he had access to some details that might help, “You suit those clothes better than the orange suit, Brandon.” He jokes, and reaches out to shake my hand when he’s standing just a couple of feet away.

  “What you got for me?” I nod at the guy standing beside him, and see him staring down at the ground.

  Brad shakes his head and is starting to look a little frustrated, “You’re not gonna like this.”

  “Don’t say shit like that, man.” I hate when people say stuff like that. I need this to help me. I wanna know who set me up, but most importantly, I need to know who the fuck killed my girlfriend. Yeah, there was definitely foul play involved. Why else would drugs from the same batch be found in my room? Exactly.

  “The guy I got to check some things out said some of the statements weren’t readily available,” he throws his arms in the air while the other guy glances around. “Look, we got what we could. I’ll keep trying, but someone’s definitely doing a great job at covering their ass.”

  “Yeah, well I guess I knew this was never gonna be easy.” I reach over, take the packet from his friend, and place it underneath my jacket before grabbing them the cash I owe them. What? You thought that they were helping me from the kindness of their hearts? No. In this world, everything comes at a price. I’m in no way complaining, though. It’ll be money well spent if it gets me any closer to finding out who did this to us.

  They walk away after Brad tells me he’ll be in touch, and I head straight back to my dorm to see if there’s anything new inside the envelope.

  ***

  “Nothing.” I sigh, pacing the length of my bedroom.

  “Are you serious? But you paid that guy more than a weeks’ worth of your earnings!” I move my cell phone to my other ear, and go to pick up my name tag from the desk.

  “I know, but it’s not about the cash, Rach.” I run my hand over my face. “There were two statements inside. Two of them. Yours and mine.”

  That’s right. Inside the package Brad gave me held nothing new. No new leads. To say I’m feeling disappointed right now would be an understatement. But, I’m not giving up. I’ll never give up. That cop told me one time that one of the witness statements didn’t seem to add up. Now, I could’ve just put this down to her getting some kinda kick out of raising my hopes, in fact, I was sure that’s what she was doing. But, seeing that there’s a few of them missing, well, maybe she was telling the truth after all.

  I know Rach was counting on this. Christ. I was relying on this. She sounds upset, so I think I’m gonna try and steer our conversation onto something else, “How’s your mom and dad?”

  “They send their love, and said to tell you that you’d better be taking good care of yourself. Mom said she wants you to come and visit soon.” Rach’s mom and dad? They’re good people with warm hearts, and hearing this makes me smile.

  “One day soon, Rach. One day soon, I promise.”

  Once I’ve ended the call with her, I grab a quick shower, and throw on my work clothes. I managed to pick up another shift down at the bar. Things seem to be going pretty well down there, and the extra cash will definitely be of some help. The small, brown package I got given earlier cost me five hundred dollars, and I know that that’s only a small price to pay if I wanna get any closer to finding out the truth. The more shifts I can pick now the better.

  ***

  “Hey, what’s that?” I ask when I see Layla hanging some kinda poster up in the window.

  “I’m looking to do theme nights, and maybe have a few local bands play over the weekends,” she answers when she turns back around to face me. “What do you think?” I finish drying off one of the glasses with a bar cloth, and place it back down on the counter.

  “Sounds good. Have you gotten anyone lined up yet?” I ask, and grab another glass up from the sink. “Only, I’ve got a couple of buddies that started a band not so long back, and they’re trying to get into a few places. Do you mind if I give them a call?”

  Layla narrows her eyes on me as she starts wiping a few of the tables, “That all depends. Are they any good at what they do, or is it just noise?”

  “Oh, they’re good. And, hey, you could do some kinda quiz maybe on Wednesday nights. That should bring more people in during the week. Have you thought about … Wait, are you laughing at me?”

  “No, it’s just that you sound more excited about the whole thing than I am.” She chuckles as she carries over a few more empty dishes.

  I shrug my shoulders and lean my elbows on the bar, “Just trying to help.” I see her eye me for a second before she heads toward the back.

  “I’ll be back in a little while,” she throws over her shoulder, and when she walks away, I grab my cell from off of the back shelf and message Neil and Rye. I figure they’ll be pretty excited to hear about this.

  Rye got straight back to me, and said that both he and Neil will stop by at some point tonight so they can speak with Layla and try to line something up.

  After hauling what feels like a gazillion crates around in the basement, I hear a tapping sound on the door by the steps, “Your friends have just arrived so I’m going to go and talk with them in my office before I head out,” Layla says when I look over. “Once you’re done in here can you take some beers through to the bar? We’ve almost run out.”

  “Sure thing,” I tell her, and wipe my brow with my forearm. “Just don’t mind Rye if he starts hitting on you. He has a thing for blondes.”

  “
I’ll tell him I’m gay.” She winks and laughs. Yeah, like that’s gonna work.

  “No, I wouldn’t. It’ll make him even more determined,” I laugh out while grabbing a soda from the refrigerator. “It’s always been one of his fantasies.” When I see her eyes widen, and her shoulders tense, I laugh harder.

  “You’re not selling your friends to me very well. I’ll let you know when I’ve decided.” She says before walking back down the hallway.

  Once I’ve finished up in the basement, I grab some of the beer Layla asked me to fetch for her, and make my way back through to the bar. It’s not very busy in here tonight, but when I glance around, I feel my stomach twist. Yep. She’s here. Alexis that is. When I see Alyssa narrow her eyes on me, it becomes pretty clear that Alexis has obviously told her about what happened this morning. Great. Just great.

  “Can I borrow you for a few minutes?” I hear Layla ask when she taps me on the shoulder. I turn around and see her wide smile. “The good news is that your friend didn’t try anything. The bad news is they’re going to be playing here in a few weeks’ time.”

  “That’s awesome,” I tell her, mirroring her smile. They’re gonna be so stoked about this.

  “Yes, but I do need to speak to you about something other than that. Can you come to my office for a second?” Her eyes are bright, and I nod my answer while throwing the bar cloth down before following her out the back.

  Rye and Neil are just walking out of her office as I’m about to step inside, and they’re both grinning at me, “Hey. Good news, right?” I ask when Rye goes to high five me.

  “Love you, man! I fucking love you!” My eyes widen when he grabs the side of my face with both hands, before planting his lips on my forehead. Tell me he didn’t just do that? Taken aback, I stand and stare at him while he ruffles my hair before heading out through the door.

  “He’s …” Layla tilts her head, and she’s looking a little puzzled.

  “A dead man if he ever does that again,” I shake my head and step inside. “So, what did you wanna talk with me about?” The phone rings just as I take a seat by her desk, and I watch her grab the phone, smiling apologetically at me before she walks back out the room.

  While I sit and wait for her to come back, my mind drifts back to Alexis, and I wonder what exactly she’s said to Alyssa to make her look at me the way she did. Don’t get me wrong, whatever Alyssa thinks about me is irrelevant, but I would like to know whether Alexis has told her about everything, or just what happened earlier today. I’m hoping the latter. I could really do without things getting even more complicated for me while I’m here. It’s bad enough that I haven’t gotten anything new to work with, but having Blondie shoot me daggers every time she sees me is really something I could do without.

  I need to talk with Alexis because we still have a few things we need to clear up. The last time I tried, we got interrupted, so it really needs to be just the two of us, and no interruptions.

  I decide to write her a note, and lean forward to grab a pen and some paper from off of the desk. At least this way I’ll know if she’s actually willing to hear me out. Yeah. I think this is a better way. And, now I’m pissed. Why do I care what she thinks when I don’t care what Alyssa thinks about me? This is fucked up. Big time. I can’t explain it, but I need her to know that I’m not the asshole she seems to think I am, and I wanna make sure she keeps what that guy said about me to herself.

  “Sorry about that,” I fold the paper, and slide it into my shirt pocket when I hear Layla stepping back inside the room. “I need to be out of here in like five minutes, but I just wanted to run something by you.” She places the handset back down on her desk, and then grabs a pen and her notebook.

  Sitting forward, I narrow my gaze on her as she takes a seat opposite to me, “This sounds interesting.”

  “How would you feel about becoming my event manager?” Okay, now that I wasn’t expecting. I’ve worked here for like, what? Three and a half weeks?

  “What? Me?” I point my index finger to my chest, and see her nodding at me a few times as a smile spreads over her face.

  “You seemed pretty excited when I mentioned about it earlier, and I’m not going to have a lot of time to do it myself anymore. That was my mom on the phone, and she told me that she needs me to help manage one of her other bars on the other side of the city as well as this one for a while,” she taps the pen on the notebook a couple of times, and then leans forward, resting her hands on the desk. “I’ll double your pay.”

  “Okay, well …” I start talking, but my voice trails when I notice her pleading eyes. “I’d love—”

  “Okay, well, phew! And, now I really need to get going. I’ll see you when you’re next on shift.” And with that, she grabs her bag from the drawer underneath her desk, and runs right out of the room.

  Right. Did that just happen? Of course I’ll say yes to the extra pay, and it’s not like it’s gonna be a hard thing to do. Yeah, this is exactly what I need. More pay, and less time on my own so I won’t be able to think so much.

  “Congrats, guys!” I say when I head back into the bar area and see the four of them heading out. This is likely the best time to hand Alexis the note. I try not to concentrate on her being here, and focus all of my attention over on Neil and Rye instead.

  “We owe you some beer the next time you have a night off,” Rye pats my shoulder. “We’re heading back to campus, but we’ll see you in class first thing.”

  “Oh, could you do me a favor?” I reach for my shirt pocket, and take out the note I wrote for Alexis. Seeing as though she’s already walked out of the bar, it looks like I’m gonna have to try some other way of getting it to her. Think. “James, um … He asked me to pass this onto Alexis the next time I saw her. Something about class or rehearsal time or something.” Rye takes it from out of my hand, and luckily for me, he doesn’t seem too interested in what’s written on the inside. Alyssa narrows her eyes again, and I find myself to be clenching my jaw. Now’s not the time, princess. “Alright, I’ll see you guys later.” I say, and watch the three of them head out onto the sidewalk.

  I asked Alexis to meet with me tomorrow night at seven o’clock by the lake. Yeah, an ironic place, huh? Well, it’s the only quiet place I know of around here, and I need to make sure she’ll keep what she heard to herself.

  Chapter Five

  “What can I get for ya?” The barista asks me once she’s finished serving the guy in the line ahead of me.

  I’ve been browsing the menu for the past fifteen minutes, but nothing seems to be jumping out at me. Luckily for me, though, the guy ahead ordered the exact thing I need, or at least, I hope he did. It looked the same, anyways, “Can I get the same as what that guy just ordered?” I ask, and point over to the paper cup he’s carrying as he walks by me. “And, um … what’s it called?” Yeah, I know what she must be thinking. I don’t even know the name of the drink I wanna order. I’m not an overly huge fan of coffee, but then again, it’s not for me. I don’t need to consume any caffeine to help keep me awake at night because my memories and thoughts do that alone. I gave up trying to sleep a long time ago.

  “It’s a Caramel Macchiato,” she eyes me warily as she answers, and I grab my wallet from my back pocket before placing five bucks down on the counter.

  It’s six forty five, and I’m meeting with Alexis real soon. I saw her carrying that same kinda drink yesterday morning when I grabbed her on her way to class. I guess I wanna give her some kinda peace offering for leaving her with that asshole. Maybe this’ll also help with my efforts to smooth things over with her.

  For the past couple of hours, I wasn’t sure if I was even gonna bother to show up myself. Not after what I witnessed outside the music building when my final class let out for the day. I arranged to shoot some hoops with Rye for an hour, and I waited by the steps for him while he went and dropped his music folder back up to his dorm. Now, though, I wish I hadn’t.

  Supposedly I’m the first guy who
’s ever touched her. Her friend said it. Hell, she even admitted that that’s the case. I should’ve stuck around and asked James if he and Alexis have something going on, I know I should’ve. While I waited for Rye to come back, I saw the two of them sitting on the grass together. So, what’s the problem with that you ask? I’ll tell you. They kissed. It wasn’t just a small kiss. It was full on, and she was the one who instigated the whole thing. She practically launched herself at him, gaining attention from everyone surrounding them.

  My problem? I dunno. I really don’t. Maybe I don’t like being made a fool of or something. To say that I was a little pissed would be putting it mildly, and I didn’t even stick around long enough for Rye to come back down to join me. Instead, I went back to my dorm, and talked myself into not meeting with her. But, how much more of an ass would I look if I stood her up? Shit. I don’t even know if she’s gonna bother to meet with me.

  “Excuse me?” I blink a couple of times, and see the barista push the coffee toward me, her eyebrows now furrowed. I take it from her, nod once, and then head out onto the sidewalk.

  It only takes me five minutes to reach the lake, and I fasten the zipper on my jacket when it starts to rain. Resting my arms on the wall, and my chin on top, I look out over the water and decide that I’ll wait until seven thirty for her to show. If she doesn’t? Well, I don’t wanna think about that. Another thing that’s been frustrating me about this whole thing is that I feel like I have something to prove to her. It’s as though I need to make her see that I’m not the asshole she thinks I am. Why? Why do I even give a—? She came.

  The sound of footsteps behind me have me turning my head to the side, and I close my eyes for a split second before fully turning around to see if it’s her. Please let it be her. Please let it be Alexis because then I’ll know she’s not still with him. It’s her.