Exposed (Free Falling) (40 page)

I unfolded the sheet and
let my eyes drift down to the bottom of the page to see if there was a name signed there before reading…and there was.

Reina.

A sharp breath left my lungs just thinking her name to myself.  This one person had been at the root of so much of my anger years ago.  Next to my father, there wasn’t anyone I hated more back in the day.  Even
he
was starting to get on my good side, though.  But her…

My mind ran back to that day in my dorm room years ago.  While I take responsibility for setting the stage for Sam to lose trust in me, it was Reina’
s antics that broke us down the rest of the way, eventually ending up in a breakup that led to one tragic incident after another.  Yes, Reina was the one who poured the gas, lit the match, and then walked away while everything Sam and I built together burned to the ground.  I stared at Reina’s words on the paper, but wasn’t reading yet. 

What could she possibly have to say to me after all these years?

‘Let me start by saying that, Kira, if you find this letter before AJ does, I’m sorry for going behind your back, but you didn’t leave me much choice. Every time I bring up talking to him and coming clean, you shut me down, but enough is enough.  The WHOLE purpose of me coming there this week was to be morally supportive because you were SUPPOSED to be telling him the truth yourself, but like usual, you changed your mind.  However, I’m tired of being your scapegoat, and you should be tired of lying.

Okay, so, AJ, I’m going to make this short and sweet because there’s not a whole lot to say other than
I’m sorry.  I’m sorry for lying to you all this time, and I’m sorry for helping Kira keep up this charade, too.  I’m ashamed of the fact that I let this go on for so long, but it got to the point that I got so caught up that I didn’t know how to fix it.  I knew that telling you the truth would essentially hurt my sister, but I’ve come to the conclusion that she isn’t all that concerned about hurting me, so I don’t have much to lose, I guess. 

That day you walked into your dorm room, contrary to what you’ve believed for t
he past five years, that was NOT me who you found in your bed…it was Kira.  Apparently, when her plan to seduce you failed, you assumed that she was me, and Kira let you believe that to avoid embarrassment.  My first reaction when I found out was to tell you; however, despite the bad rep I’ve gotten, I care about my sister – so much so, that I put her feelings before mine.  She’s loved you since we were kids, AJ.  Knowing that you’d hate her if you were to find out what she’d done…I took the fall, not knowing how far this would go or that doing so would essentially tear my relationship with her apart.  Not being able to come to the wedding?  Knowing that she won’t be able to be active in my children’s lives?  That’s not sitting well with me.  Especially knowing that this all could’ve been avoided if I’d never gone along with this lie in the first place.  Would she have been mad at me for letting you know who she really was?  Yes, but I guarantee we would’ve moved past it by now and been okay.  I blame myself for not being strong enough back then to say what I’m saying to you now.

It’s unfortunate that it had to come to this, but I’m tired of being the bad guy – especially seeing as how this was never supposed to be my cross to bear.
Call me when she’s not around so we can hash things out.  Oh, and Kira, if you’re the one reading this…I’m sorry…but you should’ve fixed this a long time ago.

Reina’

I stared at her phone number on the bo
ttom of the page, dumbfounded.

“That’s impossible.”

Without even thinking about what I’d say when he answered, I dialed my father and started pacing back and forth between the closet and window, rerunning that night in my head, searching for loopholes that I’d possibly missed before.

“You knew it
was her and you weren’t gonna tell me?” I said calmly into the receiver when he finally picked up.

There was silence on the other end of the line and then I heard the door to my father’s office close in the background.  “
Knew what?  What’re you talking about?”

His calm disposition did nothing but frustrate me more.  “All t
his talk about being different, and wanting to be a better man – did you ever stop to think that a good place to start fixing things between us would’ve been to tell me that the woman I’ve been planning to marry has been lying to me for the past five years?”

I pushed my fingers through my hair and then loosened my tie when I
started feeling short of breath, thinking that I might not be able to stay as calm as I intended to.

“Anthony, son, I have no idea what you’re –“

“You set the whole scheme up!  How could you not know?”

“Scheme?
  What scheme?”

I took a deep breath but my heart continued to thunder against my ribs as rage filled every single part of me.
  I hadn’t forgotten a single word of Reina’s explanation that day…or
Kira’s
explanation, rather.  She said that my father and hers arranged for her to come up to Charleston to convince me to leave by any means necessary.  The thought of it, not knowing that I’d literally been sleeping with the enemy, made me feel sick to my stomach. 

“
You know what?  I should’ve known that calling you was a mistake.”

Before I could hang up, he called out to me. 
“Son, I – “ he stammered.  “That was years ago and you’re right, I should’ve apologized for my actions, but I still don’t understand what you marrying Kira has to do with this.“

“You were really just
gonna let me walk down the aisle with her?  Knowing that I had no idea what she’d done?”

My father sounded confused when he replied.  “Wait…I don’t understand.”

There was a tone to his voice that almost had me convinced that he really didn’t have a clue what was going on.  However, I was on the verge of a breakdown and couldn’t afford to be played with.

“I swear this better not be another one of your games…”

“Anthony…I have no idea what’s going on right now,” he interjected.  “I wish I did so I could clear up whatever this misunderstanding is between us, but I assure you that I haven’t the slightest clue what you’re accusing me of.”

I held the phone for a moment.  “You didn’t know that it was Kira in my room that night and not Reina?” I asked flatly, listening intently for any indication in his reply that might suggest that he’s still the same Kato Hahn he’s always been.

“Son, you have my word, when I spoke with Tanaka and set up that plan, he said he was sending Reina.  I didn’t’ question it because she always seemed like the shifty one of the two, so…as far as I knew he hadn’t deviated from what we’d discussed.”

I didn’t respond. 

“If I could take all of that back, you know I’d do it in a heartbeat –“

I shook my head when it dawned on me that I’d made a mistake accusing
him.  “I’ll explain everything later,” I replied quickly before ending the call.

Checking each digit first, I
hit ‘send’ and waited, silently praying that Reina picked up.

“Hello?” she answered skeptically, probably because she didn’t recognize the number.

“I just found your letter,“ I replied, knowing this was enough information to identify myself.

Reina was dead silent on the other end.

“Why the hell did she do it?” I asked flatly, trying as hard as I could to keep calm.

I heard her take a breath and waited for a response, although I knew that there was nothing she could say that would excuse what Kira had done.

Reina cleared her throat.  “Honestly, AJ?  It’s like I said; she’s had feelings for you since as far back as I can remember, and I truly believe that she just saw this as an opportunity to get close to you.”  Reina was thoughtful for a moment.  “The way I understand it, she overheard our fathers talking, and intercepted the offer before my dad could proposition
me
.  Which I never would’ve agreed to, by the way.”

I sat there holding the phone in a daze. 
This was really happening.  I was really finding out that the woman who I thought didn’t have a mean, vindictive bone in her body was responsible for the single most hurtful event in my life…and she was fully prepared to let me marry her without confessing what she’d done.

“
Sooo…what now?”  Reina asked solemnly.

I sighed and let it all sink
in.  My only response to her was, “It’s over.”

I ended the call and knew that, from there, it was just a matter of time before Kira heard the news that her cover had finally been blown. 

All this time. 

All these years.
 

I looked around the bedroom and felt the last traces of
guilt slipping away, cleansing me of the weight I’d been carrying.  Was I wrong for the things I’d done? Absolutely.  However, had Kira never intervened, Sam and I never would’ve missed a beat in the first place.  So, because of that, I couldn’t help but to feel like karma had come back full circle to give her what she had coming all along. 

*****

The sound of the garage door opening sent a surge of adrenaline through my veins, but I didn’t move a muscle.  Anger no longer had me in its clutches, so Kira lucked out there.  However, I couldn’t imagine this conversation concluding without there being some sort of explosion.

I listened as she
came in through the back door, removed her shoes at the rug, and then entered the kitchen where she dropped her keys on the counter.  While I sat there waiting for her to come into view, I wondered how I went all this time and didn’t know who she really was.  Thinking back over the years, she played her hand very well, and I made it easier for her than I cared to admit.

The second Kira crossed the
threshold into the living room she realized that I was sitting on the far end of the couch waiting for her.  She clutched her chest and continued to stare.  I could tell by that look on her face that Reina had already spoken to her and reiterated our conversation. 

Her eyes darted
to the left of me where four suitcases packed to capacity with more of my belongings than I’d arrived with sat waiting for my foreseeable exit.  Confused, her eyes flickered back and forth between me and the bags.

“Wait…I thought we agreed that you’d stay the weekend so we could talk things out,” she said in a panic, trying to mask the worry in her eyes.  “I know you’re upset at me right now, but AJ…clearly we’ve
both
made mistakes.  Now, let’s just talk about this.”

She took severa
l quick steps toward me, but I halted her dead in her tracks with one simple statement.  “Five years.”

She stared at me and desperation filled her expression.

“Kira…you wanna know how long I’ve been sleeping with Sam?” I asked, tilting my head so that our eyes were locked.

She cringed at
the question, as if she had the right to be offended.  Instead of answering, she folded her arms across her chest.

“One week today,
” I answered.

No response. 

My throat tightened when anger began to return.  “Now ask me how long you let me believe
your
lie.”

Like I expected, she didn’t respond, so I answer
ed for her.  “Hundreds of days compared to my seven.”

She lowered her head and couldn’t even look me in my face. 
“AJ…I swear I was planning to tell you before the wedding, I just…the time just never seemed to be right.  Why do you think I’ve really been trying to change your mind about Reina?  Trying to get you to see that she’s not what you thought she was?  I swear I wanted to tell you.”

“
Not according to your sister,” I shot back quickly.

Clearly, hearing my logic f
rustrated Kira.  “I only backed out because…because I was scared to lose you!”  She lowered her head and the tears that followed didn’t move me at all.  “I swear I was going to tell you.”

“Do
you have any idea what a huge mistake I just almost made trying to do right by you?” I asked.  “
Twice
I would’ve lost Sam because of you.”

When I stood and started gathering my luggage, she became frantic.  “Wait, wait, wait, AJ…we haven’t even had a chance to talk about this!”

I pulled away when she touched my arm, shooting her a warning glare.  “We’ve already said far too much to one another anyway.”

She stared into my eyes, sensing the
chill behind the gaze, the one that let her know that she may as well have been dead to me.  This was something that I could never forgive.  With each step that I took, with every foot of distance that I put between us, I replaced the newfound hatred with peace at the thought of finally, after all these years, no longer having anything holding me back from the only true love I’d ever known. 

“AJ, wait!” were the last words I heard Kira speak as
I closed the front door behind me and tossed my suitcases in the trunk of my father’s car.  Never once did I look back.  The few items that I couldn’t fit could be donated to charity as far as I was concerned.  Anything I hadn’t managed to shove into these bags would be lost forever because I vowed right then and there to never go back…for
anything
.