Call it What You Want

12 - Like I'm Brand New

June 2017

Taylor's POV

The next morning, Joe and I sat quietly in the kitchen eating breakfast. We hadn't said a word to each other since we got up. We weren't ignoring each other. It's just that we stayed up late last night talking and were both still trying to process what had happened.

Two days ago, I thought I had to protect Joe from the truth. Turns out, I didn't even know the full truth. I had just taken another bite of my muffin when my phone began to vibrate on the counter. I didn't even need to look at the caller ID to know who it was.

I swiped on the screen to answer and walked into the living space.

"Morning," I answered still chewing my muffin.

"You don't sleep much do you?" James commented.

"Ha!" I almost spit out of a piece of muffin. "If touring wasn't enough, this job makes sure that I don't sleep."

Without seeing his face, I knew that James was rolling his eyes at me. I texted James at about three in the morning after Joe and I talked to tell him that he needed to get the package immediately.  "I'll be in Nashville in three hours. See you at the usual spot with the package," he said.

"Alright. Anything else?"

"Not immediately. Keep up your current sources." I nodded.

"Okay, see you soon."

"Bye."

I wondered if James would tell me  what is on the device when he finds out. I turned around to tell Joe, "they'll have the package by this afternoon."

"Are you sure you can trust this guy to get it to the right people?" He questioned.

I hesitated. I never really gave much thought about whether I could trust James. I had pretty much grown up with him. He trained me since the beginning. Although our relationship was more of a strained work relationship, sometimes it seemed like a father daughter relationship. James was hard on me, but I knew he secretly looked after me. I suppose I could trust him. I thought I could trust Joe. Now, I don't know who I can trust.

"Yes," I answered. "We can trust him to get the device to the right people."

I hoped that James was as trustworthy as I thought. If not, we would all be in  danger. If the wrong people gained access to this information, it would be like handing them a hit-list of two of the world's top intelligence agencies.

Joe snapped me out of my spiraling thoughts when he announced, "I have a meeting with Natalie today. I have an idea for dinner, so don't make any plans." He started to rinse his dishes out in the sink.

"Okay, I'm meeting with James in about three hours. I don't expect it to be long. I'll be available after that."

"Perfect!" Joe grabbed a set of car keys from the counter and took off. "See you tonight!"

Joe's POV

When I woke up this morning, I panicked a little bit when I remembered what I told Taylor last night. Now that she finally knew about me, I wasn't sure how to feel. Unfortunately, the secrets and lies weren't over yet.

Just as before, I continued to stretch the truth. I wasn't lying when I told Taylor that I had a meeting with Natalie. I was on my way to meet her now to explain more in depth about how I revealed our entire plan to Taylor. What Taylor didn't know was that I planned to head back to her Mom's house after my meeting. I had  a few questions to ask.

As I pulled the car into the coffee shop parking lot, I spotted Natalie standing outside holding a cup of coffee in each hand.

"Fancy seeing you again," she smiled. She walked toward my car with one of the cups extended for me.