Chapter 13
Thomas
Chapter Thirteen
The door closed behind Kinsley, and I turned back to my brother. He was sitting at the kitchen island eating a cookie, which I had no idea how it got here. I walked up to him and slid the letter in front of him.
“What’s this?” Connor asked with his mouth still full of the cookie.
“Read it,” I replied, taking a seat across from him.
“But it’s addressed to Dad.” He frowned but reached for the envelope.
“Read it,” I repeated.
He didn’t need any more convincing. He opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. I didn’t take my eyes off him while he read. Instead, I studied every brow lift and grimace he made while he scanned through the few lines on the paper. My brother had very talkative features, which meant he showed almost every emotion on his face.
“What is this?” he asked again, this time with a more serious tone as he put the letter aside with a frown.
“This is why I came,” I said, sliding another paper in front of him.
“And this?” he asked, not touching the paper.
“We found it yesterday. Someone left it on the door.” His eyes widened at me.
“Kinsley and you?” he asked, and I slightly nodded. “Do you know who left it?” His gaze flickered between the note and the letter.
I shook my head. “But it was the same person who sent the letter,” I added, pointing at the similarities between the writings.
Connor leaned closer, following my fingertips, and shivered. “Did you go to the cops?” I shook my head again.
“You know they are no help. They didn’t even try to find Mom when she could have been alive.”
Connor leaned backward. “You think she’s?—”
“I don’t know, Con. It’s been almost twelve years.”
A sad smile formed on my brother’s lips and my chest tightened. “In eight days,” he said, and I nodded. In eight days. He shook, as if trying to get free of the bad feelings before he leaned closer. “So, you stole Dad’s letter?” he asked.
I grinned. “Maybe.”
Connor chuckled. “I really think you should talk with the police, though.” He cleared his throat. “Kevin’s dad?—”
“Kevin’s father is not going to reopen a cold case just because someone sent us a letter and a note. That’s not how it works,” I interjected. “Without any evidence, they will do nothing.”
Connor sighed. “Kevin could still help us.” I flinched. Us?
“You can’t help in this, Con.” I tapped on the surface of the kitchen island. “This is not a game. Look at that note. I don’t want you anywhere near this.”
“She’s my mother, too, Thomas. If she hadn’t run away?—”
I froze. I refocused my eyes on my brother, his green gaze darker than usual. I pressed my lips into a hard line. She hadn’t, I wanted to say, but I always knew Connor was skeptical about that. But he was right. It was easy to forget she was his mother too. We never really talked about her. “Fair enough.” I sighed, standing up.
“Where are you going?” He asked as I walked toward the stairs.
“To my room,” I replied. “To think.” I had a lot to think about, since now I had one more stowaway to look after.
???
I didn’t know how much time had passed, but the sun was disappearing behind the canopy of the trees when I put aside the book I was reading. My door opened with a crack, and Kinsley strolled inside, out of breath.
I opened my mouth to ask what was going on, but she just raised a finger at me to stay quiet while she collected herself. “We should search the house,” she finally said, letting out a long breath.
“Did you happen to run home just for this?”
“Funny.” She grimaced, and I sent her a smug smile. “But we really should.”
I let out a sigh, standing up and walking toward the door to step around her.
“Thomas?” Kinsley called after me, and when I didn’t answer, I heard her curse before following. “Where are you going?” she snapped, while we made our way down the stairs. I had only one place in my mind.
I turned left at the bottom of the stairs and walked across the living room into another hallway. I glanced to my right, where on the other side of the glass wall was the forest, already surrounded by shadows. I refocused my attention on the only door at the very end of the hall. I walked up to it and pushed it open.
“Really? A door with stairs leading down to another door?” Kinsley asked from behind me with a judgmental tone, and the corner of my mouth twitched upward.
I walked down the few stairs and opened the other door, stepping into my father’s old tool room with Kinsley following.
“You are such a prick,” she grumbled.
I gazed back at her, lifting a brow. “Remind me to add that to my resume.” I smirked, and she made a face at me.
I really fucking loved teasing her.
“Why are we here?” she asked, walking around the room.
My father designed this room to be his escape place. He wanted to come in here and work on his deck boat, which was obviously new, so there weren’t a lot of things to fix on it. The boat now stood in the middle of the room with a white sheet covering it. Kinsley walked around it, only sparing it one judge-y look before her eyes turned back toward the walls covered with shelves and tools. I, on the other hand, glanced at the leather armchair in the corner, which, when we were little, nobody was allowed to use besides my father.
“Why do you have this place?” Kinsley asked, and I frowned, turning my attention back to her.
“What kind of a question is that?”
She rolled her eyes at me. “Okay, then why are we here?” she changed her question, and I bit back a smile. I had a few ideas, but I kept that to myself.
“You wanted to search the house.” I turned away from her and grabbed the box lying next to the armchair. “I already did. This was all I found.”
Kinsley made a disbelieving face as she reached for the box. “That cannot be all.”
There were exactly four things in there: an empty notebook, an old video camera that probably didn’t work, some tissues, and a calendar from 2002.
“Have you checked the walls and stuff?” She asked, handing the box back to me.
“What?” An incredulous smile formed on my lips.
“Aaliyah gave me the idea. Or her sister, actually.”
“Who?”
Kinsley sighed. “The girl you met this morning,” she explained impatiently.
“Ahh her.” I tilted my head and bit the corner of my mouth to hide my smile.
“You are unbearable.” She crossed her arms over her chest and let out a sigh. “Yes, her.”
“Everyone has their thing,” I challenged, and she groaned.
“You are not being serious.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “Why? You’re always serious.”
She was right.
“So why should I have checked the walls?” I changed the subject.
“People love hiding places. Maybe your mom hid something that could be useful.” She shrugged. “And…I think you should tell Connor.”
I put down the box full of garbage and leaned back against the table, crossing my arms. “I should, shouldn’t I?” I asked, lifting a brow.
Kinsley nodded. “We can’t keep secrets when we want to solve them.”
She was right again, and if I hadn’t already talked with my brother, I would have definitely gone to do that now. Instead, I pushed myself away from the table, and with one big step, I stopped in front of Kinsley. She gasped in surprise, and the corner of my mouth turned upward. It always made me feel better when I could visibly see the effect I had on her.
“I will talk to him.” I leaned down until our eyes were at the same height. “In exchange for a kiss.” Her eyes widened.
“I could just go and tell him myself,” she answered, and I tilted my head.
“You wouldn’t.” I sucked in a dramatic breath, and she rolled her eyes at me. I took another step, closing the small gap between us, and Kinsley stepped away from me until her back hit the door. Her eyes were gleaming as she transfixed them on me, and I had to hold myself back not to crush her body with mine against the door.
“What if I don’t want to kiss you?” she breathed, searching my face.
“Then Connor will never know,” I replied, our noses almost brushing against each other’s.
“I could tell him,” she repeated.
“Mm-hmm,” was all I answered.
“I could.” She exhaled, her hand wandering over my chest and then up to my neck.
“Do you want to?” I asked, strictly keeping my hands to myself until she made her choice.
“It would be better if he heard it from you.” There was a change in her tone, and I searched her eyes.
“It would, wouldn’t it?” I asked, and she gulped, pushing her hand into my hair and pulling on it. A chuckle broke from my lips just when Kinsley pulled me closer by my hair.
“One kiss," she stated with a strict tone, but the way she said it, she didn't sound convinced that it would truly be all.