The Secrets That We Keep

by Lucero, Isabel

  I look at the clock and see that it’s ten o’clock. I still have a few hours to burn before I have to meet my clients. After eating, I clean up after myself and jump in the shower. I decide since I am going to be outside taking pictures to just pin my hair up in a bun and I throw on some comfortable black leggings with a long gray off the shoulder shirt. I usually end up kneeling or lying on the ground at some point while taking photos, so I don’t put anything too nice on. Comfort is the way to go.

  I text Jade to waste some time.

  Me: Hey you! What’s goin on? Whatcha up to?

  Jade: Oh not much, just you know… texting Jackson!!!!

  I laugh out loud at her obvious excitement with all the exclamation points.

  Me: Oh yeah! How did that go? You did call him first right? What did you say? What did he say?

  Jade: Yes I called him! We talked for a little while and made plans to go have a late lunch today. But my mom kept calling me so I got off the phone with him and now we are just texting trying to figure out where we want to meet.

  Me: Oooh, well you know I’m going to want details! So let’s plan on meeting up after you guys have lunch. I should be done with my shoot around three at the latest. I can come into the city for a little.

  Jade: That would be awesome! I’ll text you later.

  Me: Okie doke! Have fun!!

  When twelve thirty rolls around, I leave the house and walk towards my car. I’m walking along the pathway that runs from our front door to the driveway. It lines up right on the right side of the house, really close to Ms. Anderson’s yard. She’s standing outside again messing with her plants. Watching me. I don’t know why she always stares at me, she never has anything to say.

  “Hello Ms. Anderson!” I yell. “How are you today? Enjoying this beautiful weather?” I ask with a smile. I’m sure it just irritates her that I’m so friendly with her. She never says much. I’m not sure I’ve heard her say more than a sentence and it wasn’t directed towards me.

  She mumbles an, “mmhhmm” and puts her head back down and fiddles with the leaves of her plant. She’s strange.

  I slide into my car and take off down the road. I’m meeting the Johnson’s at Rosewood Park and Beach. It’s absolutely gorgeous out there. Rosewood Park consists of eleven acres that are divided into Upper and Lower Rosewood. Upper Rosewood is an oak savanna bluff with trails that lead down into a wooded ravine and to the shoreline. Lower Rosewood is a wooded ravine that leads to the Lake Michigan shoreline and has beach access. Absolutely stunning backdrop!

  As I’m driving, a large SUV starts riding my ass. Stupid bastard. I have serious road rage; I can’t stand for people to follow me so close. If he is in that much of a rush, he should just pass me; there are no cars on the other side of the road. It’s probably some old asshole. These old people around here don’t know how to drive. I speed up a bit to try to put some space between us but he keeps up with me.

  “What the hell?” I say while gesturing with my hand, hoping he can see me. He needs to back the fuck off. I decided to slow way down, I’m talking like ten below the speed limit. Hopefully that will irritate him enough and he’ll just pass me. It doesn’t work. I’m trying to look into his car through the rearview but with the sun and his tinted windows, I can’t see clearly. Looks like a guy for sure though, and I’m pretty sure he has a passenger. They are both wearing baseball caps. Maybe they’re some young punks, driving around pissing people off for fun. Oh well, I just try to ignore the vehicle and keep driving. As long as he doesn’t hit my car, I’m fine.

  I make the turn to head towards Rosewood and the car behind me slows down like he’s going to turn as well, but ends up speeding off. Good. Stupid, non-driving, asshole.

  I meet up with my clients and we find some nice spots and I start shooting. They are a beautiful couple, mid-thirties, and love to joke around. They put me at ease because some clients are more conservative and don’t really want to talk to you about much and don’t want to laugh or joke and I always feel uncomfortable around those types of people. I find it easier to be able to make people laugh; you get those nice candid shots that way.

  Half way through our shoot as I’m looking through the viewfinder, I think I see a couple people in the background. This bothers me for two reasons. One, I don’t want a dirty shot. I can’t have people standing around in the background of my photos. Clients don’t like that. Two, It’s two men and they are both wearing baseball caps. I instantly think of the large SUV that was tailing me. This does not sit well with me.

  I finish the shoot and try to act as normal and not worried as possible in front of them. I tell them I will be in touch soon and will get them their pictures as soon as I’m done editing them. We part ways and I walk towards my car. I’m looking around to see if I can spot either the two guys or the large SUV. I had seen them again a few times while I was finishing the shoot. They were just hanging around, not really doing too much.

  As soon as I’m inside of my car I lock the doors and start it. I remember to check my phone to see if Jade has texted me yet about where we’re going to meet up.

  Jade: Hey girl, wanna meet at The Coffee Studio?

  Me: Sounds good, it will take me about half an hour or so to get there though.

  Jade: That’s fine. I’ll busy myself with some window shopping or something.

  I start my journey into the city hoping to not see the large SUV again. The traffic is a bit heavier as I enter Chicago but I don’t see the SUV anywhere. Maybe I am just being paranoid.

  I drive around looking for a place to park near the coffee shop so I won’t have to walk too far. I find something that’s about a block away. I shut my car off and throw my phone into my purse, as I have my hand on the door handle, ready to open it, my eye catches something across the street, about half a block behind me. I see it in my side view mirror first, and then turn my head to look again. Sure enough, a large SUV is sitting there, the same color as the other one I had seen. Dark blue. I get out of the car and lock it, I walk towards the coffee shop and then I get an idea. I stop and pull out my iPhone, I click on the camera app and hit the button that reverses the camera so I’m looking at myself. What I’m really trying to look at is the SUV behind me. I snap a couple of pictures just in case, they may be blurry, but I don’t care. When I’m still looking at my phone, which to anyone else may look like I’m texting somebody or looking up directions or something, I notice one of them move their arms out of the window, something dark is in his hands, it’s a camera. A nice, large camera, similar to the one I use when I’m out on one of my shoots. I snap my head around to face them and he shifts and I can’t see him or the camera anymore. Interesting.

  Chapter Eight

  “You stupid fuck! What were you thinking? She could have seen you!” Gage, yelled.

  “What the fuck ever, you should have let me continue to drive then you could have been in charge of the camera,” Cyrus retorted.

  Gage, let out a sigh and took his hat off and ran his hand over his buzzed hair. “You clearly don’t know how to follow somebody. You were riding her ass like she was a goddamn horse. I needed to take over so we wouldn’t be seen. Now what did Michael say we needed to find out?” Gage asked

  Cyrus was eating some chips when he answered with his mouth full. “He just said he needed more information than what we provided for him. He wants us to be sure of this, which is bullshit because of course we’re fucking sure! We’ve known for a long time now. We just lost track of her. If it wasn’t for that shady ass bitch, we wouldn’t have found her now. He’s working for us; it shouldn’t fuckin’ matter how much information we have. He needs to do his job and that’s it!”

  “I know that,” Gage said while gazing out his window. “But this is his job and he’s probably good at it. You don’t want to be caught up in this shit. I sure as shit don’t either, so let’s just see what else we can find out.”

  Cyrus slammed his hand against the dashboard. “Fine! What was that
one bitch’s name? The one who told us all the information?” he asked.

  “Ah hell, I don’t fuckin’ remember her name. Plus, even if we find her, we’re gonna have to get her drunk again. That’s the only reason she started talking,” he answered.

  “Do you remember the names we went by then?” Cyrus asked.

  “Of course I do,” Gage responded.

  “Oh!” Cyrus yelled out. “I think she might have put her number in my phone. I didn’t think I’d need it, but now it may come in handy.”

  Chapter Nine

  I’m sitting in the coffee shop with Jade, telling her about the SUV, the two guys and how I was pretty sure they had been trying to take a picture of me.

  “What the hell, Anna? Shouldn’t you be more concerned? These dudes sound seriously creepy,” she says, sounding worried. “Tell Julian. He’s big bad, investigator guy, I’m sure he could find out who they are and what they want. Maybe you can see the license plate in the picture you took,” she says before taking a sip of her coffee.

  I nod in agreement and say I’ll mention it to him. I’m just not sure if I really will, at least not yet. Maybe I can do my own investigating first. I can’t tell Jade and I can’t tell Julian that I am afraid maybe my past is finally catching up to me. I have always been afraid of that happening, and I sincerely hope this has nothing to do with what happened all those years ago. If Julian ever found out, it would ruin us, I know it would. I wouldn’t have a chance of staying with him. I just couldn’t let that happen. Julian means too much to me. I just hope my secret can stay hidden.

  I push away my problems for now and start bombarding Jade with all kinds of questions about her lunch with Jackson. “So, how was your date?” I ask, waggling my eyebrows and grinning.

  “Oh my gosh, Anna. Amazing!” Jade exclaims. “Jackson is perfect. He is twenty seven, has the bluest eyes you’ve ever seen and the most adorable smile! He’s a cop, and has his own apartment, thank God,” she says with a roll of her eyes.

  I remember the last guy she thought she wanted to be serious with. He lived with his mom and Jade didn’t find out for a few weeks until he took her home and his mom was waiting in the kitchen. Jade couldn’t handle that and dumped him that night.

  “Anna, I really like him, he is so sweet, I think he may even be too good for me but I hope he never finds that out,” she says with a laugh.

  “Jade, please. You are a catch! He would be dumb to not want to be with you,” I say truthfully. “I’m so happy for you! I really hope this works out for you two. Let’s plan on a double date sometime.”

  Jade squeals and claps her hands. “Yes!! That sounds awesome. But let me get a few more dates in with him first. I gotta make sure he isn’t a creeper or anything.” We both laugh. “I’m actually seeing him again tomorrow for dinner” she says excitedly.

  “Awesome!” I reply, genuinely happy for her. I know she has wanted to find somebody serious to settle down with. “Well,” I say, putting some money on the table for my coffee. “I need to get going, gotta make that trek back home. Julian said he’d be home for dinner tonight.”

  “Alright, you drive safely, and be careful,” Jade says with her hands on my shoulders, looking me dead in the eye. I know she’s worried about me and my weirdo stalkers. Hell, I am too. “Text me when you get home, okay?” she says as she pulls me into a hug.

  “I definitely will. Thanks for meeting me. I’ll be talking to ya soon.”

  I step outside the café and start walking towards my car, scanning all the vehicles that are lining the streets, making sure I don’t see a dark blue SUV anywhere. Luckily, I don’t. I could hope that it was nothing and that I was making a big deal out of something I shouldn’t, but something in the back of my mind told me I should be worried.

  I hurry into my car, lock it and drive off towards my home. I have a good half hour drive so I find a good Pandora station and sing along to my favorites on the way back. I make sure to check my rearview often because I don’t want whoever might have been following me, to follow me home and know where I live.

  When I pull into my driveway, I am surprised to see Julian’s car there. He rarely comes home early. I grab my camera off the passenger seat so I can start editing the pictures tonight and make my way to the front door. I’m grateful that Ms. Anderson isn’t outside to stare me down again.

  I walk into the house and drop my keys and purse on the little table by the door and gently lay my camera down. Don’t want to be dropping that. As I take a few steps further into the house, I hear Julian upstairs talking to somebody. I hear the floor creaking as well so I figure he is on the phone and pacing. I decide to leave him alone for now and go to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water.

  I love my kitchen. It has hardwood floors, as does the rest of the main floor, and my nice, big French door refrigerator is one of my favorite things in the kitchen. Well, that and the little mini bar that’s built into the side of the island in the middle of the kitchen. All of the appliances are stainless steel, the dark grey, gorgeous, granite tabletops go perfectly with the white cabinets we have.

  I grab my phone and sit at the island in the kitchen and start browsing Facebook. I don’t really know why I do this so often, there’s never really anything too interesting to read about on there. Usually I get my entertainment from people posting vague updates about their “friends” or people talking about some sort of drama in their lives, and there’s even a few people who post their personal, marriage problems on there. I’m not sure why people do this, but it sure does keep me entertained. Facebook is my own personal soap opera. I scroll past several food pictures, some funny grumpy cat pictures, political pictures, and then I see a status by my friend Michelle. Her status reads, I’m tired of being the only who seems to give a shit, if you take me for granted, you’ll soon regret it. Hmm…another vague update but I’m guessing this is about her husband. Michelle has been married to Dylan for five years and they’ve been going through a rough patch lately. She doesn’t say a whole lot about what exactly is going on, but she has mentioned a few times how he gets on her nerves and doesn’t appreciate her and everything she does. I’ll make sure to give her a call later and see if she’s alright. As I’m continuing to scroll through and read about people’s lives, my phone dings and vibrates in my hand. It’s a text from Jade.

  Jade: You see Michelle’s status?

  Me: Yep, I just read it actually. I’m thinking husband problems again. Gonna call her soon.

  Jade: Yeah, figured. They seem to be getting worse. Remember, the last time we went out and you left early? She got all wasted and was flirting with those guys all night.

  Me: What?! You never told me this!! I’m calling you now!!!

  I quickly dial Jade’s number and she answers on the first ring.

  “Sorry! I thought I told you!” she starts out.

  “Uhh, no you didn’t. So what the hell? She was flirting with guys, as in plural?”

  “Yes! There were two guys that stayed near the bar and they looked kinda shady but she was over there with them, talking and trying to dance on them and stuff. It was weird.”

  “Yeah, that is weird. She probably got in a fight with Dylan that day or something.”

  “Oh she definitely did, that’s why I agreed to go out with her. She called me and was goin’ on and on about how she needed to get out of the house.”

  “I don’t remember seeing her talk to anybody when I was there.” I try to think back to that night, but I wasn’t there long. I know I had one drink with the girls then we danced for a few songs and I ended up leaving to go meet up with Julian.

  “Yeah, she didn’t notice them till you left I guess. Plus she kept drinking so I’m sure that’s what made her go over there. I was on the dance floor still when I saw her with them,” Jade says with disgust in her voice.

  “Damn.”

  “I know. I ended up having to drag her out of there and away from them. They kept asking where our other friend went and h
ow we could all have a good time. Creepy!”

  I laughed at Jade and how she said creepy, it was more like cuh-reepy.

  “I agree, they sound like creepers for sure, I’m glad I got out of there early.”

  “For real, you should be,” Jade agrees. “They were asking if you were coming back and trying to find out our names and whether we lived in the city or not. It was weird Anna, I don’t know how Michelle hung around them as long as she did.”

  With Jade telling me that the guys were asking about me, I couldn’t help the uneasy feeling that came over me. I know it may seem self-absorbed, and maybe a little ridiculous, but with the two weird-o stalker guys following me, and now hearing about two more creepy guys asking about me, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that these guys were actually there looking for me. And then when I left, tried to get information out of my friends. My heart starts beating erratically, I begin feeling shaky and I stop listening to whatever it is Jade continues to talk about.

  Could my worst fears be coming true? Has the one deep, dark secret from my past, the one thing I’ve wanted and needed desperately to keep hidden, come to find me? I already suffer enough with guilt and regret; do I really need to start watching my back? Who could these people be? And if they found me, what would they do?

  “Anna! What the hell? Helloooo?” Jade is practically yelling in my ear. I wonder how long I had zoned out.

  “Oh, uhh sorry, I… I’m here,” I stammer out.

  “What happened? I was talking to you for a while. You alright? You sound weird.”

  “I just started feeling dizzy, I’m sorry. I’m gonna go, but I’ll call you later okay?” I say, needing to just sit down and think for a while. I love Jade, but this isn’t something I can talk to her about. Not now, at least. I need to find out for sure if I have people looking for me and decide what I’m going to do first.

  “Okaaay,” she drags out like she doesn’t believe me, but she’s not going to question me right now. That’s one of the good things about Jade; she seems to know when to leave things alone. “I hope you feel better soon, I’ll check on ya later.”