Finding Us

I narrow my eyes, “A clue?”

Henry shrugs, “It’s all I can do.”

I stick my hand out, “Deal.”

Henry shakes my hand and pulls me a little closer to him. “Who do you make your rent checks out to every month?”

I think about it for a second, “Mitchell Enterprises.”

Henry sits back and winks.

“Mitchell Enterprises,” I blink a few times “Knox owns this building?”

Henry simply shrugs his shoulders, “A deal is a deal.”

I pick up my pizza box and mumble, “Cupcakes, got it.”

I walk back towards the elevators in a fog but stop suddenly right in front of the coffee shop that I work at. Something dawns on me; Mitchell Enterprises pays me every week. My mind is spinning. How did I not put this together before? This explains how Knox knew where I worked, when I ran, how he was able to get into the building without being buzzed up and how he was able to park in front of the building like he owned the place. He f**king owns the building I live and work in!

I walk quickly to the elevators and when they take too long I head for the stairs. I take the stairs two at a time to my apartment. I open the door and find Summer in the kitchen, I place the pizza on the table and narrow my eyes at my best friend.

“How come you never told me Knox owns this building?”

Summer sets her wine glass on the counter with a little too much force and some spills out of the top. “Christ Jas, you scared the shit out of me.”

Summer wipes up her mess and turns to face me. She looks down to her feet, not meeting my eyes. “I just found out myself.” She looks up, “I’m kind of still pissed off at Rex for not saying anything.”

I put my hands on my hips, “So you didn’t know before? When did you find out?”

Summer huffs and turns around to grab her wine. “I’m gonna need a lot of this tonight.” She mumbles before going to take a seat in the living room.

“Sit Jas,” I oblige and take a seat on the other end of the couch from her. “Remember when we were heading to South Carolina and there was a  p**n o playing in Knox’s car?”

I grimace, “Yeah.”

Summer looks at me over her wine glass, “It wasn’t a  p**n o. It was a video feed of the office in the coffee shop.”

The world stops moving, I stop breathing. I close my eyes and try to get my bearings. “What do you mean it was a video feed?”

Summer looks past me towards the window, “He’s got cameras in the coffee shop. Actually he has cameras all over this building too.”

I rub my temples, “So you mean to tell me that he’s been watching me this whole time? He knew where I worked and he’s watched me so much he knows my running schedule? He watches me so much he does it from his car?”

My best friend doesn’t answer me; she knows I already know the answers to my questions. She has an apologetic look on her face.

I’m stunned into silence. What the hell is going on? I feel like my life is spinning out of control. Why is this happening to me? Is he really sitting in his car watching me?

A thought occurs to me, “Summer, are my parents involved? I know you said before that Knox isn’t the type of person to babysit someone but why else would he be watching me?”

Summer scoots closer to me and takes one of my hands in hers. “There’s a story behind all this Jasmine. I don’t know what it is but I know there is one. Rex and I have had our fights over this but all I can get out of him is that Knox knew who you were before we moved in.” A tear slips from her eye. “That’s actually the reason why I’m here. I told Rex that we can’t be together if he can’t tell me what the hell is going on. I can’t have a relationship with secrets. It doesn’t work.”

I squeeze Summer’s hand, “I’m sorry Summer, that whatever the hell is going on is involving you.”

I go into my bedroom to get my phone. I take a seat back on the couch next to Summer and dial the number I thought I would never dial again.

Summer whispers, “Who are you calling?”

I hold up a finger as Marie answers the phone. “Hello?”

“Marie? It’s Jasmine.”

“Jasmine?” Marie repeats with a shaky voice.

I manage a little smile, I didn’t realize how much I missed her until I heard her voice and apparently she’d missed me too. “Yeah it’s me.”

“Oh sweetheart,” Marie starts crying. “I didn’t think I’d ever hear from you again.”

I wipe the mist out of my eyes, “I didn’t think I’d ever call this number again.”

Marie sniffles a few times, “Your parents are out of town. Is there something I can do for you?”

I glance in Summer’s direction, “I need to talk to my father. I need some answers about some things.”

Summer’s eyes go wide in surprise that I would go that far to reach out to my father of all people, but I need answers and I’m clearly not going to get them from the Mitchell brothers.

Marie doesn’t answer anything. I take the phone away from my ear to make sure I didn’t lose the connections. “Marie, are you still there?”

“Yeah I’m still here. Your father will be home some time on Saturday. Why don’t you come by Saturday morning and I’ll cook you breakfast and we’ll catch up.”

I bite the corner of my lips, I don’t really want to go home but maybe I’ll be able to get straight answers from him. He can’t hang up or not answer my call if I’m there. “Okay. I’ll come by around ten?”

“Yes sweetheart, sounds good. I’ll talk to you then.”

“Marie?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t tell them I’m coming.”

“Your secret is safe with me.”

Summer’s mouth drops open, “You’re going home?”

I shrug my shoulders, not really sure if I just confirmed that I was really going home after declaring that I would never step foot in that house again. “I guess I am.”

Rex comes storming through my front door, “You have to stop this f**king shit and just tell her what the f**k happened Knox! Enough already!”

I finish typing up my email to a supplier on the West Coast and then close my laptop. “Nice to see you too Rex.”

Rex sits on the couch directly across from me, “Knox, seriously you have to tell her the truth, and all of it. Stop running from the f**king problem and fix it. I get that you wanted revenge for what happened but it’s not going to happen. Not now.”