Secrets (20 page)

“Yeah, sure.
  Sounds like a plan.  Thanks for the invite,” I replied. 

When Terrell turned to leave, I shut
the door and went back to bed.  “What’d he say?”  She asked.

“
He and Maisha want us to go to the fair with them tonight.”

“Fair?  It’s the middle of winter!”  She
objected.

“It’
s inside, duh.”

She laughed softly. 
“Oh.” Relinquishing the pillow, Sam turned over to lie on my arm.  “That should be fun.  Don’t you think?”

I shru
gged and yawned at the same time.

“Y
our phone’s going off,” she announced while stretching.  Immediately, I wished that I’d left it in my room.  Last night, and the day so far, had been peaceful.  I jumped back up and retrieved it from my coat pocket, hesitating before checking the ID. It was my mother; Vick must’ve told her and my father that I bailed a day early.

“Hello?”

“Are you ok?  Where are you?”  She asked in a panic.

“
Charleston.  I got here yesterday.”

My mother breathed a sigh of relief and continued. 

“Mom, I’m fine.  Relax.”

No, e
verything is
not
fine!  You can’t just take off like that whenever you please without saying something first!” she hissed, leaving me confused by the anger and frustration I felt coming through the phone. 

Sam couldn’t hear my mother’s words, but she could hear her frightened tone through the phone. 
She was watching me rather intently, so I had to calm my mother down to keep suspicion low. “Stop worrying so much; I’m okay.”

My mother’s lack of a response, prompted me to ask, “Is there something else?”

She hesitated and I knew there was more.  “A threat came in the mail yesterday.  These people….. don’t you think for a second that they wouldn’t hurt you to get your father’s attention.  For now it’s just talk, but there’s a very clear limit to their patience.”

There wasn’t anything
I could say without giving away too many details to Sam, who was undoubtedly listening in on the conversation.  “What about the merger?  Any news on that yet?”  I asked just above a whisper as I walked toward Sam’s desk for privacy.

She cleared her throat.  “No.  Not yet.  Mr. Tanaka informed your father that he’s nearing the tail end of a legal matter that should be wrapping up later this month, or early February at the latest.  But, until then, his hands are tied.”

I dropped my gaze to the floor and did my best not to show signs of distress.  My mother was completely innocent, but her life was just as much in danger as my father’s was.  Anger rippled through me.  If anything happened to her because of him, I swear…..

“Is there somewhere else
you can go, just until things calm down?”  I asked.

“No.  I won’t leave your father,” she said sternly.  Even though he was to blame for this whole mess, she was standing by him.  And if that’s what she wanted, then there was n
othing I could do to change her mind.  Still I had to try.

“Mom, it’s just for a little…..”

“I’m not going anywhere!  I vowed to stand by his side no matter what and I intend to keep my word. “ 

With a heavy heart, I had no choice but to let her
do as she wished.  “Call me if there’s anything I can do,” I said.

“
Just stay inside; it’s safer that way for now.  Your father and I have decided to send Vick some help – just one or two more men for reinforcement since the circumstances have changed.” 

More watchmen meant a greater risk of Sam becoming
even more suspicious of what I was keeping from her than she already was; however, there wasn’t anything I could do about it. 

“
Son, I love you,” my mother said solemnly.

“You too.
”

When I
ended the call and turned around, Sam pretended that she wasn’t listening.  I forced a weak smile and sat on the edge of her bed.  “That was my mom.” 
As if she didn’t already know that.

“
Everything ok?”  She asked, yawning.

“Yeah, she was just surprised that I was here already.”

“Was she mad?”

“No.  Just worried,” I replied absentmindedly.

Sam’s forehead creased as she thought about what I said.  “Why would she be worried if she thought you were still at Westwood?  She didn’t know that you’d left until just now, right?”

One slip of the tongue made all the difference.
   There was no way that Sam was going to let this go unless I gave her a satisfactory answer, so….I lied….again.

“
She actually drove up to Westwood looking for me.  She and my father got into an argument.”

“Hmm…,” was all she
said.  My heart was racing because I didn’t know if she believed me or not.

“Yeah, I guess it was pretty bad.  She was crying and
everything when she just called,” I added.

Sam
stared at me blankly.  “That sucks.  I hope she’s ok.  Do you think you should go see her?”  She asked.

“No, s
he’s fine.  They do that all the time and then they work it out the next day.  Trust me.  There’s nothing to worry about.”

I watched her carefully and was relieved when she changed the subject.  “W
ell….then let’s figure out what we’re wearing tonight?  We should match.  Don’t you think that’ll be cute?”  She asked.

“Yeah, sure,” I said as I lay
back down on the edge of the bed, thinking about the threat my mother just informed me of.  “I’ll just find something to go with whatever you pick out.”

Sa
m got out of the bed, put on my t-shirt from the night before, and then walked over to the closet.  “You should let me keep this,” she said, looking at how the shirt fit her, already intent on stealing it from me.  “It’s not like you go to Westwood anymore,”.

“Keep it,” I replied
.

Her back was to me while she sifted through her clothes.  This gave me a second to think.  My mother asked me to stay inside, but we’d already committed to hanging out with Terrell and Maisha for the night. 
I could envision the look of disappointment on Sam’s face if we had to cancel.  That image alone made me more determined to keep things as normal for us as possible. I’d just gotten here and this was supposed to be the time of our lives.  I didn’t want to get in the habit of disappointing her and changing our plans because of the things I had going on.  I wouldn’t cancel at all; we’d go the fair and I’d act like nothing was wrong.  My mind was made up.

*****

Sam

             
“Is this the same shade of green?” I murmured. It was becoming a habit for me to have conversations aloud with myself because I’d gotten used to being alone.  Deanna was hardly around anymore because she spent most of her time with Karl.  If it hadn’t been for the presence of her bed and a few other personal possessions, it would be like I had my own room. 

AJ
being here made me extremely happy, though.  No more lonely nights and I’d have someone to hang out with all the time.  I was just about done getting ready for our evening out, but couldn’t decide which shoes to wear.  I was stuck between my all white tennis shoes and a pair that I couldn’t quite tell if they matched my shirt or not.  “Forget it,” I stated as I shoved my foot inside the all-white pair. 

             
Terrell and Maisha were already ready and waiting for us.  AJ called about thirty minutes prior to me finishing to say that he was leaving out, but I hadn’t seen him yet.  The walk across the courtyard shouldn’t have taken him more than five minutes, but I assumed he got held up, maybe talking to his mom again or something.  I grabbed my purse and coat and sat on the edge of my bed. 

             
Another ten minutes passed and I started getting irritated, glancing out the window every so often to see if he was on his way.  If he was going to be late, why didn’t he call and say something?  With an increasingly bad attitude, I dialed his number and he didn’t even have the decency to answer.  I hung up and dialed Terrell instead.  When I told him that I couldn’t get in touch with AJ, him and Maisha came down to my room to keep me company. While they sat with me, I called AJ’s phone again, but got his voicemail just like before.

             
“Why don’t we just walk over there and get him,” Maisha suggested.

             
“Yeah, I guess we can.  It just doesn’t make sense that he’d call and say he was walking out the door and then he still hasn’t shown up forty-five minutes later.”

             
“Maybe he had to take care of something first.  You never know,” Terrell interjected in AJ’s defense.  I glared at him and slumped into my coat.  Maisha and I took the long way around the courtyard while Terrell decided to wade through the ankle deep snow.

             
“He’s such an idiot,” I remarked, watching him, in awe of his blatant stupidity. 

Maisha laughed
and shook her head as she stared too.  “All that just to shave a few seconds off the walk.”

             
We reached the building and I led the way up to AJ’s room on the third floor, knocking softly.   Maisha leaned her ear against the door and listened for movement inside.  “Nothing,” she said.  “He might not even be here.”

             
Why would he leave and not say anything? 
“Do you have his key?”  Terrell asked.  I shook my head no and knocked harder.  “Let’s just go then, and if he calls you back, he can meet us there,” he added.

             
I didn’t really want to leave without knowing if AJ was ok, so I declined the offer.  “No, you and Maisha can go ahead.  If he shows up, I’ll call one of you to see where you are so we can meet up.”

             
“You sure, girl?” Maisha asked.

“Yeah, I’m sure.  Just go ahead.  I’ll be fine.”
  I was thoroughly disappointed, partly because I was about miss everything, but mostly because AJ was still acting out of character even though things had been better lately.  Antonio’s warning blared in my head like a siren that wouldn’t be ignored.  AJ would’ve never left me hanging like this, especially with no clue as to where he was. 

I stared at the ground
as we walked back down the hall. Because I wasn’t watching where I was going, when I got to the corner, I nearly knocked AJ over.  He seemed shocked that we’d come looking for him, but he quickly fixed his expression.  Behind him, I caught a fleeting glimpse of a figure rounding the corner toward the stairs, but I couldn’t make out any details. 
Was he standing here talking to someone before we ran into him?
 

My confused expression seemed to make him uncomfortable and he racked his brain for something to say that would get my attention.  “What’re you guys doing here?”  He asked.

“Umm…..we were looking for you.  We’re supposed to be going out, remember?

“Yeah, I remembered.  I even have on what you asked me to wear,” he replied.  His jeans were
crisp and like new, just like his shoes.  He wore a long sleeved green shirt like mine and of course he looked as good as ever, but that wasn’t going to make me falter.

“I can see that, but you called like an hour ago and said you were com
ing over and then you didn’t show.  And
then
when I call to see what’s going on, you don’t answer the phone.  Where’re you coming from?”  Terrell and Maisha both took a step back and didn’t say a word. 

“I had to run to the store for a second.  Didn’t realize you’d get this mad,” he replied.

“All this could’ve been avoided if you would’ve just called and said something.  Do you
not
wanna go?  Is that it?”  I hissed.

“Would y
ou just relax?”  He said, wanting to keep me from making a scene.

I hated when he tried to make me f
eel like I was overreacting knowing I had every reason to feel the way I did.  “You know what, AJ?  You can go ahead with
them
.  I’m staying home.  Have yourself a good ol’ time.”  I stormed off and hurried back down the stairs.  He chased behind me and caught me around my waist.

“Let me go.  I don’t
wanna talk to you right now.  I’m sick of you making me feel like I’m crazy or something.  There
is
something going on and I’m getting tired of pretending like there isn’t.  You would’ve
never
had me waiting on you and looking for you like this.  And now your only explanation is that you had to go to the store?  Do I have stupid written across my forehead or something?”

“Nobody thinks you
’re stupid,” he said in a hushed tone.  “But can’t we talk about this in my room?”

Terrell interjected. 
“Look, ya’ll work things out and just call us if you decide to come up there, ok?”  Maisha stroked my arm sympathetically as they passed by and left the building.  AJ continued to stare at me, waiting for my response. 

“Why should I give you another chance to lie to me,
AJ?  That’s all you’re gonna do anyway.  Whenever I ask you for answers, you lie to me.” 

He lowered his head and didn’t speak for a few seconds.
  The passersby stared at us and slowed their pace to be nosy. 

“I already explained that there are some things going on right now that I can’t really get into,” he said, jaw tense, eyes trained on me.  “Now, I’m not saying we can’t discuss this, but I just want to talk about it in private. 
My room.  Yours.  Anywhere but here.”

I looked around at the small audience of onlookers and then
motioned toward the stairs for him to go before I changed my mind.

“
Sam, just bear with me.  I –“

“Are you cheating on me?  Are there other girls?”  The words flew from my mouth so quickly that I couldn’t stop
them, the stunned looked on AJ’s face giving me pause.

“What?  N-
no!  
What’re you talking about?”

I paced a small path between his bed and the door.  “The secret phone calls. 
The changes in your attitude.  The lying.”  I stopped moving my feet and looked in his eyes when I threw that one out there.  His face went blank when he realized that I was on to him.  I may not have known
why
he felt like he couldn’t be honest about everything, but I sure as hell knew that he’d told me a few tales lately.  “Did you honestly think I didn’t realize that you lie to me?”  I asked.

“Sam…I’ve never cheated on you,” he said flatly.

“But you don’t deny that you’ve lied?”

Silence.
  I nodded and started pacing again.

“I should’ve known there was more to all this than just family drama,” I said mostly to myself.

AJ lifted his head.  “Where is all this even coming from?  What the hell would make you think I’m seeing someone else?”  He asked.  “And when exactly would I have had time to find a girl here to be sneaking off with?”

“Maybe you weren’t with her
just now, but I know you haven’t been at the store all this time.  At least admit
that
,” I demanded, trying to keep my cool, but my hands were shaking as a result of the oncoming rage.  “Maybe you were off somewhere talking to her,” I suggested.

AJ stared at me like I’d lost my mind.  “Talking to
who?  There
is
no one!”

“That’s not what I heard.”

That one statement hit him like a ton of bricks.  “What you
heard
?  From who?”

I wasn’t
about to give up my source.  “Doesn’t matter.  All you need to know is that someone told me that you were with some girl while we were home for Thanksgiving.”

AJ looked away, deep in thought.  At first he seemed confused, but then the tension left his brow and he seemed to have a revelation.  That was the moment I knew that there was some truth to my accusation.  My stomach sank.

“It’s true?”  I asked.

He sighed heavily and sat on the edge of his bed.  “
Not like you’re thinking.”

I should’ve known. 
Karma.

AJ sat there silently for a long time, gathering his thoughts and his words, probably thinking of another lie.

“We had houseguests over the holiday.”

I scoffed. 
“Mmm hmm.  Houseguests that I’m just now hearing about?”

He took a breath and looked down at the ground.  “I didn’t say anything because I’ve been
really
trying to keep my home life separate from our relationship. 
Really
trying.”

“Two things,” I interjected.  “Number one: when’re you
gonna stop thinking that you have to protect me from everything?  I’m not a baby!  I’ve asked you from day one of…of…
whatever’s
been up with you, to be honest with me!  The lies?  The secrets?  It makes me feel like you don’t trust me.”  He tried to interrupt me, but I talked over him to finish what I had to say.  “TWO: stop trying to mix the two issues.  You and this girl have nothing to do with whatever is going on with you and your dad.”

“That’s what you’
re not getting!  The two issues are one in the same!”  AJ yelled back.  He fought to wrangle in his frustration, lowering his head to his hands while I watched him, unsure of what to believe and what
not
to believe.

“
Sam…you’ve been my only constant for a while now, my escape from the hell that I’ve been living with all these months.  The only reason I haven’t been straight up with you is because…I don’t want things to change.  I don’t want you feeling sorry for me, or worried about me, or…scared to be around me.”

Scared?
  When I frowned, he explained.

The pained look on his face softened me up a little, but I folded my arms over my chest to keep him from seeing it.  “You and I both know the type of man my father is – greedy,
selfish, manipulative.”  AJ paused to shake his head.  “He got himself, and the business, into some trouble.  He made some moves with the wrong people, apparently didn’t hold up his end of the bargain, now they want what they’re owed
plus
some.  And seeing as how my father thought he could get over on
them
like he does everyone else…he doesn’t even have the means to pay.”

I blinked a few times, gauging his expression. 
“How much?”

“More than we’d have if we sold our house, everything else that we own, and probably a few organs,” was his answer.  “It’s just…bad.”

I didn’t say anything.  Couldn’t. 

With a sigh, AJ admitted to something that I already knew.  “The man in the hallway outside our hotel room in New York, I
do
know him.  His name’s Vick.  My parents pay him to keep tabs on me and to intervene if…if the need should ever arise,” was all he said, but I knew what he meant.  My heart sped up.

“Has anyone tried to-“

“No, but there’ve been threats.”

I stared at him.

“And that look…the one on your face right now…that’s the reason I didn’t want you to know any of this.”

Clearing my throat, I tried to fix my expression.

“And the girl someone saw me with is the daughter of the man my dad’s relying on to bail him out of this mess.  They’re old friends and he invited his whole family up over break to discuss business.  There’s a merger in the works that could change everything.”

“Is it
gonna work?”  I asked as calmly as possible.