Beyond Chance (16 page)

Lily was typing so frantically, her texts
were coming over in pieces and I had to laugh.

What

are you

doing still…

downstairs if she’s upstairs?

What

the heck is going

on over there?

I wondered the same thing and scratched my
chin before beginning a new text.

You’re right. I’ll go check on what she
wants. I just didn’t want to

I didn’t even have a chance to finish before
Lily’s words landed on my screen.

Get your butt up the stairs

like now

I shoved my phone in my pocket and grabbed
bottled water out of the fridge for Aaron just as laughter hit the
airwaves again. I squeezed the bottle and marched back into the
dining room and opened the door just as Tracy appeared at the
bottom of the steps.

“Oh, sorry. I was bringing Aaron a
water.”

Her look said
sure you were, doll,
and all I wanted to do was bop her on the head, but instead I took
a step back and placed the water on the table so I could gladly
lead her out of our apartment.

Tracy’s gaze fell onto some of the papers
I’d printed out regarding the case and I froze in place.

“You’ve got your hands full,” Tracy said. I
caught a trace of a smirk, and I was unsure what she was referring
to in particular. She brought her eyes to mine and I smiled.

“Was he able to help you with everything you
needed?”

“More than you know.”

“Well, that’s good.” I began walking to the
door, but she stayed anchored in place so I spun around to see what
else she had in store for me. Aaron already gave up a lucrative
position in China for me. I didn’t need to jeopardize his next
opportunity, and I felt like one wrong move on my end and that
would be precisely what would happen.

“I don’t know what Aaron has told you about
Elizabeth, but as her best friend, I can assure you that their bond
is unbreakable.”

I pushed down the lump in my throat and
continued to stare at Tracy. Amazed at how only minutes before I
felt alive and ready to take on the world, and now my existence
felt very fragile. One wrong move and I was certain I’d shatter the
world Aaron was trying so hard to create.

“I’ve not questioned their bond and pardon
my bluntness, I’m not sure how any of this is your business.”

Tracy’s smile widened. “Did I touch a
nerve?”

I looked around the room positive I’d
somehow managed to sink into the Twilight Zone. In fact, since I
set foot in Paris things had felt slightly off, like the earth was
skewed and reality distorted. Bringing my gaze back to Tracy, I
shook my head and folded my hands in front of me. “Not at all. I’m
very secure in the relationship I have with Aaron, not that it’s
anyone’s business.”

“So is Elizabeth.”

I shifted my weight and unclasped my hands.
“I’m not sure what you’re getting at. I apologize if I’ve given you
the wrong impression. I’m not in competition for Aaron’s
affections.”

“It’s got to feel awful to feel like you
need to be taken care of all the time.” She crossed her arms and
waited for a reaction that I refused to give.

“It probably would if I felt that way, but I
don’t.”

“At least you didn’t hold him back from
coming to Paris like you did China.”

I could feel the tension building in my
shoulders, and for the first time ever I wanted to hit someone.
I—an aspiring attorney—wanted to feel what it would be like for my
fist to connect with her chin. My brothers had obviously worn off
on me, but I resisted the temptation and just stood tall,
infuriated by her outburst but completely at her mercy.

“I’m sorry you and Elizabeth feel that way,
but I don’t care to go into things that are as personal as the
choices Aaron and I make together as a couple.”

“Don’t you find it odd I know all of this?
That Aaron would be willing to reveal so much to Elizabeth? It’s
always been this way, you know.”

Yes. I do, but you’ll never hear it from my
lips.

“Well, that’s what life is about. You learn
something new every day. I don’t mean to be rude, but I have a lot
of work to get back to.” I motioned toward the door, but Tracy
stayed put.

“Do you think Aaron’s pieces would be in my
father’s gallery if it weren’t for Elizabeth? An artist without any
branding or history behind him?”

My heart shattered at this wicked woman’s
revelation, and I prayed to God he didn’t hear this witch’s
accusations. His work was phenomenal, and if she didn’t recognize
that someone else would.

My veins burned with fury as I stared at
Tracy and waited for her to leave. It took everything I had not to
say something that would completely ruin Aaron’s chances. My fists
were balled so tightly, my nails etched into my palms.

“His work has appeared in several galleries
to critical acclaim.”

“I think you know what I’m talking about.
Well, I enjoyed our visit. I’ll show myself out. But please
remember as quickly as we put Aaron in the gallery, we can take him
out.”

“Thank you for coming over, Tracy, and
please give Elizabeth my best.”

Tracy grabbed her bag and walked out of our
apartment, quietly closing the door behind her.

My hands trembled as the anger finally
spilled out of me. I didn’t understand in the slightest what had
happened. I had two best friends who would do anything for me, but
never in a million years would they stoop to something so
grotesque. I took a step back and slowly slid down the wall as I
tried to comprehend what kind of evil person just swept through the
space. Between the accusations and very real threats, I didn’t even
know what she actually wanted from me.

What angered me most of all was the only
thing I knew to be definitive was that she was not a very nice
person. I couldn’t argue the fact that Aaron had obviously told
Elizabeth more than I imagined, and what I wanted to do with that
information I didn’t know, but I needed time to regroup.

I sat on the floor for well over an hour as
I went through all of the things I wished I could say or do. It was
a frivolous rehashing of another reality, but somehow it became
quite empowering. And I realized I might not be able to make any
headway with that kind of crazy, but maybe I could make a
difference in my world—a world that I created. I didn’t want to
interrupt Aaron with this nonsense because that really was how I
felt about it. It was like a flashback to high school except one of
us had already graduated.

Miraculously, the anger I bottled up about
Tracy manifested itself in the best possible way. I began combing
through the articles at a feverish pace. I was able to zero in on
how Derek wanted to be painted. He was the poor misunderstood
victim in all of this. After all, he was the one without his
mother. The press had fallen for it and that was going to
change.

My stomach knotted at the thought of my poor
mother and everything she’d worked toward. She was being picked
apart because Derek painted her as an incompetent attorney when it
came to defending his mother. My mom only wanted to help people,
and this criminal somehow threatened to undo all of her wonderful
work with a handful of lies. My mom’s philosophy had been not to
dignify his statements with a comment, but I couldn’t help but feel
this was my fault and I wanted to fix it. My cheeks warmed as the
anger continued to boil over.

The final straw was seeing a description of
myself in a headline. They referred to me as a Law School Dropout.
That was all it took. I was tired of having someone else give a
voice to my story. I left school because I was hospitalized and in
physical therapy so I could walk again. This was absolutely absurd.
My pulse was on a wild adrenaline ride as I continued to sort
through my research.

I quickly blasted off an email to the
prosecuting attorney’s office to ensure that I wasn’t overstepping
my bounds. I wanted to know exactly what I could and couldn’t say
to the press. I didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize the case
against Derek, but I could no longer sit idly by as something as
important as this churned on.

I found the names of the reporters who had
more than willingly written stories about Derek, and I sent emails
requesting to speak with them. While Aaron worked away upstairs, I
managed to compile all the online discussion boards and threads
that Derek contributed to while he was trying to garner more
support and create his following over the last couple years. The
more I uncovered, the more disgusted I was by the events that
unfolded, and I also understood how lucky I was to be alive.

Aaron treaded softly down the stairs, and I
looked up from the dining room table to see him open the door. My
heart warmed at the sight of him. Somehow our walk down memory lane
was exactly what I needed to put my life in perspective, and Tracy
was exactly the fuel I needed to stop the destruction of my life
before it began.

“You doing okay?” he asked, closing the door
behind him.

“It feels like a new day. I have you and
Tracy to thank for that,” I chuckled and stood up from the table. I
glanced outside. The sun had set and even though we’d only been at
the park the day before, it felt like a lifetime ago. Just this
morning I was wallowing in my own self-pity, and now I was riding a
high with a purpose and more determination than I knew what to do
with.

“Tracy?” he asked bewildered.

I waved my hands. “Long story for another
day.”

He tilted his head, but I continued on to
tell him about what I’d been working on. I didn’t want to give any
weight to her existence.

“I’ve managed to contact all the local
magazines and newspapers that seem to think Derek is an intriguing
individual. I plan on setting them straight.”

“Do you now?”

“I do. I’m waiting for the phone to start
ringing.”

He looked at his phone. “It’s what? About
three in the afternoon back home?”

I nodded. “Oh, my gosh. Is it really that
late here?”

He nodded.

“You don’t let grass grow under your
feet.”

“I can’t afford to. I have a lot of time to
make up for since I was feeling sorry for myself.”

Aaron laughed. “You don’t need to go to the
other extreme now.”

“It’s how I roll. One extreme or the
other.”

“Well, can I tempt you with a crepe? Neither
of us have had dinner yet.”

“Dinner at midnight?” My brow arched.

“Time is irrelevant when it comes to
crepes.”

“Downstairs?”

“It’s highly unlikely that the same staff is
on at this hour… if that’s what’s stopping you.”

I looked down at my shorts and shirt and
took my hair out of the pseudo bun. Shaking my hair out with my
fingers, I let out a breath and stared at him, wondering what in
the world he saw in me.

“You look beautiful,” Aaron said.

“You’d say anything to get your crepe. Do
they really serve crepes at this hour?”

“They do. You’ll see.”

The familiar twinkle in Aaron’s eyes made my
heart skip a beat as I nodded my head in agreement.

“Well, I think a crepe sounds like the
perfect midnight snack.”

“Then it’s a date. Let me go change.” Aaron
took off for the bedroom just as the first email from Vanessa
Torlin came over.

Vanessa was the first reporter I’d sent an
email to. I clicked on the message and as I suspected, she wanted
to talk with me immediately. She mentioned that she’d been trying
to get a hold of me, but my family hadn’t made that easy. My heart
raced at the thought of getting to speak with her, but I also
didn’t want to jeopardize the case against Derek. I wouldn’t
respond to Vanessa until I heard back from the prosecutor’s
office.

Aaron appeared in the dining room, and his
eyes connected with mine as he walked over and held out his
hands.

“Ready for our night out?” he asked.

“We really know how to whoop it up,” I
teased.

“Just wait until later,” he whispered, as we
walked out the door.

I was determined to enjoy my midnight stroll
with Aaron and not let Tracy contaminate my mind anymore than she
already had.

Our hands intertwined, he led me out of the
apartment and down the stairs. I expected the streets to be empty,
but they were packed. Every café was bustling and the outdoor
seating was filled to capacity even though it was past
midnight.

“Is it always like this?”

“From Wednesday to Saturday.”

“I could definitely get used to this.”

We wandered toward La Crêperies Parfaites
and found a seat for two outside. The server appeared immediately,
handing us the menus, as Aaron ordered us both a cappuccino. I sat
in amazement at how active the city was at this time of night, and
it wasn’t only couples and friends. The patio held as many families
with small children. For someone like me who was a night owl, I
felt right at home.