His Secret [Completed]

Original: Chapter 40 - Investments

"Can a guy not come and see his dearest friend when she gets back from her vacation? So how was it?" He sat up, elbows resting on his knees looking at me intently. 

"It was amazing, the view was spectacular and the food was to die for. Have you ever been?" 

"Once, when I was younger. Too young to remember actually, for all I know my dad could have been lying to me. Maybe we never actually went." 

I stood in front of James, tilting my head sideways. 

He reached into his back pocket for his wallet, opened it and pulled out a small picture. He handed it to me. "This is me and my father at the Hawaiian beach, but the water doesn't look right does it?"

He was right, behind the man and the young boy I expected to see a crystal clear blue ocean and golden grains of sand just like I had seen hours before. Instead, the ocean seemed to be murky, and there were pebbles littering the sand. 

"You're over thinking it, it must have just been a bad time of year, why would your Dad lie to you about going to Hawaii anyway?" I questioned 

"I thought so too, but the strangest thing of all is that I don't remember my father looking like this. I know I was so young when he died but I'm sure that I remembered him with long hair about shoulder length, he always had it tied back and always wore a pair of glasses. I don't remember this version of my Dad." 

I studied the picture harder, I don't know what I was expecting to figure out but I did it anyway.

"You were just so young, maybe that's why" 

"You know what you're probably right, let's just forget it okay," He was now standing on the stairs with his hand out. I passed him the picture back. "See ya later" 

"Wait, I need to pay you back for the clothes you bought me. Noah finally paid me so I can pay you back," 

"No it's cool don't worry about it," He insisted

"Please James, I can't owe people anything. I'm already in enough debt as it is." 

"More the reason to let me pay then," I gave him a look of disgust. I am not some charity case.

"I didn't mean it like that Soph, I have all of this money I don't know what to do with it. When my parents died I obtained so much money I went crazy."

"Crazy?"

"Drugs..."

I kept quiet.

"I was put in prison for the possession of drugs. I got 7 years. That's why I was away in London for so long. After that I swore I wouldn't use drugs ever again, I've been clean ever since. If I don't put my money somewhere I'm afraid it'll go back on drugs." 

"Okay...thank you," 

He left down the stairs and left me thinking. He seemed like such a nice guy, definitely not one to buy and use drugs. 

How did we go from talking about the vacation to something so deep and emotional? It must be a horrible thing to know so little about your father and mother. I guess we're in the same position, he has no parents and neither do I. Maybe that's why we get along so well. 

It made me think, how much do I really know anyone. I thought I knew my Grandmother and she hid a huge secret from me. I thought I knew Noah but he is surely keeping something from me. Scratch that I know he is keeping something from me. 

Striding down the stairs I made my way to the house, we're back now from the vacation so I guess it's time to find a new job. It has been a couple of months since Noah had fired me. I can't believe working slipped my mind.