The Beginning (Book One in The Illusion of Certainty Series)

The Exchange

Luke walked me back to my parents’ apartment. I ignored my mother’s attempts at comforting and locked myself in my room. Someone had cleaned it up after the break in. I crawled into bed and stared at the wall. When my brother got in and my mother told him what happened, he knocked on my door. I ignored him too and when he opened the door, I faked being asleep.

He kissed me on the forehead before leaving. I almost opened my eyes but I resisted at the last second. My phone buzzed a few times but I just turned it off. 

Around midnight Michael knocked on my window. I blinked at him in the darkness. I hadn’t put the normal lock on the window so his hand wrapped around the bottom and pulled it up. He climbed inside and closed it.

“Leave it open,” I said, sitting up.

He looked over at me for a few seconds before nodding. He locked the window in place and I laid back down. He sat down next to me and took my hand.

The conversation we’d had the other night came to mind.

He’d been laying down on one side of the bed and I was sitting up on the other. Pickles had jumped up on the bed and proceeded to rub all over Michael.

“Stop that,” I’d said to her, batting her away. Michael just chuckled and rubbed her head. “Don’t encourage her,” I teased.

“When did you get her?” he asked.

Pickles plopped down next to him and started cleaning herself. She was so unladylike sometimes.

“Let’s just say she looks young for her age. Daddy brought her home one day when I was ten…I think. Said he found her sitting on the doorstep of his office. She was just a kitten then.”

She looked up at me and licked her lips.

“He said she must have just finished going through the dumpster because there was a pickle on her head.”

He laughed and Pickles huffed at me. I smiled at her and she rolled over exposing her tummy. I reached forward and scratched her.

“See that?” I pointed out the white dot. He nodded. “That’s how you know she’s prissy. She has her own pearl necklace.”

Michael smiled down at her and then up at me. “You have her pampered don’t you?”

I smiled. “She’s the best cat a girl could have.”

Michael squeezing my hand bringing me back to the present. I looked up at him, the tears returning.

“Who did it, Michael?”

He brushed away a stray tear. “I don’t know. I couldn’t get a lock on their scent. The only thing I can tell you is she didn’t feel any pain.”

“How do you know?”

“They made quick work of her. Broke her neck before they…well…you know.”

I shook my head. “Luke told me not to look.”

“Then I won’t tell you the details. Your Dad had the room cleaned up and the mattress changed out. Tomorrow you’re going to be packing up what you need and moving back here until this is all sorted out.”

“He’s not making me move completely back home?”

Michael shook his head. “He didn’t think it was fair. You’re here until they find who did this and is punished for it. “

I nodded. “Good. What did the note say?”

He studied me for a moment before answering. “You don’t need to know.”