Love Behind Lies

Chapter 2:
When I knocked on the door to William’s room, no one answered, so I just walked in. William was laying on his bed, listening to his iPod. No wonder he couldn’t hear me. As soon as he saw me he took off his head phones.
“Hey, what do you need?” he asked.
“Well Margaret just came into my room and told me why she wasn’t acting herself,” I replied.
“Well, are you going to tell me?” William can be so impatient, sometimes.
“Yeah, but you have to promise not to tell anyone. Not even mom, okay?”
“Yeah, okay.” William was sitting up now, he was anxious to hear what I had to say.
So then I told him everything that Margaret told me. He sat their silently until the end. He didn’t really have any questions for me. I told him the names of the boys and he just shook his head, angry that Margaret had to deal with them.
“Those boys are bad news,” Will told me.
“I know. That was what I told Margaret, but she didn’t seem to take me seriously.”
Will said he wanted to think about it some more, although there was nothing we could do. I left the room after about fifteen minutes and the conversation was over.
William had been interested in the story. Margaret’s story and explained all of William’s questions. Why Margaret was on the other side of the street when William went to get her, and why Margaret wasn’t talking at all.
I decided that I should probably study for my test that I have tomorrow in History. I was a pretty good student. One of those that barely needed to study to get an A. I decided to study for about fifteen minutes. I had already looked over some of my notes earlier this week.
After I put everything away, and was all set for school tomorrow, I looked at the time. It was almost 8:30pm, and I really felt like going on a walk. I go on walks a lot. Usually it is to get out of the house, but tonight I wanted to sort out everything that had happened to Margaret and me.
I felt like a rebel as I grabbed a jacket out of my closet. It was my plan not to tell anyone that I was going on a walk. I didn’t want to answer any questions, and I wanted to be by myself.
I opened the door to my room and Thomas was standing right there. I jumped.
“Hey, sorry,” he said.
“That’s okay. What are you doing,” I asked; so much for no one knowing about my walk.
“I just had a question on our history test.”
“I can’t help you right now. Sorry. I have to go do something, but I should be home in thirty minutes. I might be able to help you then. Please ask questions later.” I put my hand up because I could see that Thomas was about to ask a question. I haven’t gone on a walk by myself in a long time. “And, please, don’t tell anyone that I’m leaving. Bye.” I started to walk down the hallway and all I had was my phone and a jacket.

I walked to the front door without saying anything to anyone else. It was a good thing that there was no one in the kitchen, otherwise I would have has some more explaining to do.
I reached for the handle of the door, but someone grabbed my wrist. I jumped, turned around, and then realized it was only Thomas.
“I can’t let you leave, Katie,” Thomas said, pulling me away from the door.
“Thomas, why not? I’m not going to get into any trouble, I promise.” I told him and Thomas gave me a questioning look. “I promise. I am just going on a walk to sort out my thoughts. Trust me. I have my cell phone too.”
“Fine, but if you aren’t back within thirty minutes, I’m going to tell mom.”
“Okay, whatever. But promise me that you won’t tell anyone I’m gone.”
“Promise,” Thomas mumbled and then let go of my wrist.
I guess the reason that I wanted to keep this whole thing a secret was because our mom never lets us out of the house alone, especially at night. I didn’t want her worrying about me, but after Thomas walked away, I took a deep breath, opened the front door, and left.

Whenever I go on a walk, I always go the same way. It’s just around the block I live on; pretty simple. I take Central Road most of the way. That road takes me right past the high school. Then I turn onto 5th street. I think 5th street is the scariest part of my walk, because there is only one light on the whole street, making it super dark and creepy. When I come to the corner I always turn onto Hegin Street. I take that sidewalk all the way to Maple Street, which leads me back to my house.

After walking a ways, I had already figured out my thoughts, about Margaret and the boys and also my own issues. Margaret just had to try to avoid those boys at all costs. I was almost to 5th street, when I started getting scared. I was getting closer to 5th street with every step. My palms were starting to sweat and my ears were pounding, listening to every step I took.
I rounded the corner and looked down the 5th street sidewalk. There was no one on the sidewalk, but it was still dark and scary. My first thought was to turn around, but I wanted to finish my walk. I had walked this sidewalk in the dark plenty of times before. I could do this.
I was almost to the light post, when I felt like there was someone following me. I turned around, but there was no one there, of course. My heart was pounding, matching my steps on the pavement. I stopped again when I finally reached the light post. I looked left and right. There were some bushes on my left and a road to my right. I couldn’t see anyone.
I took about ten more steps, before I stopped again. I knew for sure that I had heard footsteps. Even though I was positive there was someone following me, I kept walking. I grabbed my phone out of my pocket, slowing down, and finally stopping. I was going to call Thomas. Maybe he could talk me through how to get out of this situation.
“Please don’t call anyone,” A voice said, coming from nowhere. There was still no one in sight. I jumped and dropped my phone. The back flew off and the battery was laying a few feet away from me. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” the voice rang out again.
“Who are you?” I asked. I was almost scared of my own voice. I opened my mouth slightly. I felt like screaming, but my voice had disappeared. Then someone stepped out from the bushes. The person put his hand over my mouth, quickly, before I could scream.
“Promise me that you won’t scream.” The person said. I just nodded my head up and down, my eyes wide with fear. The person behind me slowly removed his hand from my mouth. I exhaled quickly, realizing I had been holding my breath. I was so scared.
“Brent and Jake, you can come out now,” the man said. I took a step away from the man that had out his hand over my mouth, and backed up right into someone else. I jumped and stepped forward again.
“I turned around to see who was behind me. There were two boys, probably Margaret’s age, standing behind me.
I picked up my phone and started putting it back together. I was going to call Thomas. I don’t care what these guys said.
“It’s okay. Don’t be scared.” One of the boys said, touching my hands and taking the pieces of my phone. I realized I had been struggling to put my phone back together because my hands were shaking so much. The guy put it back together quickly and handed it back to me. “Please don’t call anyone,” he repeated again, looking into my eyes. I nodded my head, too scared to disagree.
“We just want to talk to you about something,” the other boy said.
I was speechless. I was so scared; I had no idea what to do. I started to run into the middle of the street; that being the only way away from these guys. One of the boys grabbed my arm and pulled me back, holding me against him. It was the same guy that put my phone back together.
“Please don’t run. We aren’t going to hurt you. We just want to talk to you about something,” the first man said to me.
I just nodded my head. “Who are you?” I finally managed to get out.
“We work for the ASO, the American 33 Spy Organization,” the man said.
“Why do I need to know you guys?” I asked.
“Just please let us explain,” the boy behind me said.
“Okay, fine.” I said. I was mad now.
The man that had talked to me first, spoke. “First, let me introduce myself. I am Evan Coore, the director of the ASO. Brent Cloud is the one behind you, and Jake Johnson is the one next to you,” Evan explained. I looked to the boy next to me. He smiled, but I just looked away.
“You still haven’t answered my question,” I insisted, trying to wriggle free from Brent, who was holding me from behind.
“We can’t really explain that to you now,” Evan said.
“Well then I am leaving,” I said, trying to pry Brent’s hands off my arms, once again.
Evan stepped forward and put his hand out. “No, stay. I will explain everything. You just have to promise not to tell anyone. I mean it.”
“I promise,” I said, not knowing what I was getting into.
Evan took a deep breath before he began again. “What does your dad do for his job?” he asked.
I hesitated before answering. What did my dad have to do with anything? “I don’t know. He says he’s a salesperson, but he always comes back with bruises and cuts all over him.” I paused and no one said anything. “He works for you.” I realized, finally.
Evan looked at me. “Yes, he does. We think that he is in some trouble. What is your dad doing right now?” He asked me.
“He is in Italy, for work,” I said.
Evan shook his head. “He shouldn’t have done that.”
“Do what?” I asked, curious.
“Your dad is in trouble and it would have been better if he had stayed home.”
“What kind of trouble is he in?” I asked.
“Do you know who Nick Sayner is?” Brent asked me.
“Yeah, he goes to my school. Sells drugs. He’s always in trouble.”
“Well his dad has threatened to kill your dad.”
“What?” I asked, totally surprised. “Why?”
“Well, your dad and Nick’s dad were working together about a year ago. They were trying to track down this criminal in Italy, Jared Storm. One day, your dad caught Nick’s dad talking to someone on the phone. That person was working with Jared; trying to keep him safe. Your dad notified us about what Nick’s dad was doing and we fired him for communicating with the enemy. Nick’s dad argued with us for the longest time. He said that he was trying to figure out where Jared was located, and the guy Nick’s dad was talking to knew where they could find Jared. The whole thing was a big misunderstanding and we fired Nick’s dad for no reason. Obviously we didn’t know it at the time.”
Evan paused, letting me soak this information in. After a second, I looked up at him, ready to hear more. “After we fired Nick’s dad, we decided not to let him back into the business, no matter if it was a misunderstanding or not. We have had issues with him in the past. Nonetheless, he didn’t like that at all. His family had to sell a lot of their stuff and move into a small apartment on the other side of town.”
Evan took another breath. “So, a couple weeks ago, we received a phone call from Nick’s dad. He said that on your dad’s next mission, your dad was going to die. We told your dad not to go to Italy, but he insisted. So, now, your dad is in Rome, trying to finish the case that he was assigned to do with Nick’s dad last year,” Evan finished.
“Well we have to do something! I don’t want my dad to die!” I screamed, trying to rip myself from Brent.
“That is exactly why you are here,” Evan said. “Brent is planning on going to Italy to help your dad, but he needs a partner.”
“Why can’t he just bring Jake?” I asked Evan.
“Jake is leaving us, and can’t go in the trip.”
“Why can’t you just use someone else? Why me?”
“Because you know your dad. What he would do. Where he might be. You can communicate with him without him knowing you are with us,” Evan finished.
“Does this make sense?” Brent asked me. His voice surprised me and his breath was cool on my neck.
“Yeah, I guess so,” I said with a shiver.
“So, will you take the job?” Evan asked, eagerly.
“I don’t know. It seems sort of weird. Why all of a sudden? Can I think about it overnight, or can I tell my brother?” I asked.
“You can think about it overnight and call Brent in the morning. You can all tell your brother, but you have to make sure that he doesn’t tell anyone.”
I hesitated before saying anything else. This whole thing could be a huge joke and I would never know. “Okay, I’ll call you tomorrow, then,” I managed to get out. Brent’s hands them left my arms and I suddenly realized how cold it was. Brent had been keeping me warm.
“Good,” Evan said. “I will be anxious to hear your answer. Thank you for your time.” Evan offered his hand to me and I shook it. Jake followed Evan without saying another word to me. Brent stayed behind and watched them walk away.
“Shouldn’t you be going with them?” I asked, slowly backing away from Brent.
“I brought my own car,” Brent said, his voice sounding like silk. Why hadn’t I noticed how gorgeous he was before? “That way I can talk to you longer than them; and walk you home. I want to make sure a beautiful girl like you makes it home safe.”
I was blushing. I wasn’t used to this sort of attention from guys. What was I supposed to say to that? “Why are you talking to me?” I asked, ignoring his comment.
Brent smiled. “I want to get to know you better. You will be working with me, obviously. And it’s easier to work with a partner when you know them well.” Brent had been staring into my eyes the whole time and I couldn’t help but notice how bright his blue eyes were, especially in the moon light.
I blinked a few times, trying to focus on what Brent was saying to me. “I guess that makes sense.”
“Yeah, ready to go home now?” Brent asked.
“Yeah, my brother is probably worried about me.”
He laughed and gently brushed a stray piece of hair behind me ear. “I’ll get you home safe,” he said, leaning in, his breath washing over my face.
It took me a second to realize he was holding out his hand for me to take. I looked at it, trying to figure out if I should trust this complete stranger or not.
“I won’t bite. I promise. Trust me,” Brent said. His voice was captivating, making me want to trust him completely, but I still felt like there was something screwy about the whole situation.
I slowly raised my hand and placed it gently into Brent’s, instantly feeling warmer and safer.
“Shall we?” Brent asked, smiling and squeezing my hand. I nodded in response since my head was too shaken up to form any comprehensive sentences.
Brent’s hand was warm as it held mine. He felt strong too. I took the silence that surrounded us to look Brent over. Starting at his strong muscular jaw that reached his short but tossed hair and blue eyes, I then raked over his built chest that seemed to be trying to rip through his tight t-shirt. He was wearing a short sleeve shirt, but his arm muscles were still defined. Brent was wearing a pair of dark washed jeans, fitting his toned legs perfectly. How did I become so lucky to meet a guy as handsome and perfect as Brent?
The walk home was relatively short and we didn’t really talk much, but I was just glad he was there with me. It wasn’t as scared anymore. When we got to my street, we decided to stop so Brent could leave without anyone noticing there was someone with me.
“So, before I leave, I want to give you my number. You can call me tomorrow, when you have your final answer,” Brent said and wrote his number down on a sheet of paper and then handed it to me.
“Yeah, sounds great. I’ll call you tomorrow then.” I smiled up at him and took a step back. “Bye,” I said, with a quick wave, turning around.
“Bye,” he said, walking away.
Walking back to my house, I was a little confused. I had never seen Brent around, let alone talk to him. It was kind of creepy actually. But he was one of the first guys to tell me I was beautiful. My mind was racing and I didn’t know what to do. Brent was handsome. Better than my brother and most of the kids in my grade. Brent was tall too. Taller than my brother, who I thought was tall. His hands were soft as they held mine. It made me question if he really was a spy; he seemed too innocent.
I looked down at the sheet of paper in my hands. The number was scribbled on the paper. I could barely read the handwriting. I then realized the problem that I have on my hands. What was I supposed to do? The whole thing seemed like a joke to me. What if it was? What I get myself hurt?
I decided not to worry about it until I talked to William. He would be able to tell whether this was a trick or not. He would know what to do.