Chapter 5 #2
“Protect me? I don’t need to be protected! I’m a grown man and I can take care of myself.”
“That’s not what I meant. I meant–”
“I heard you loud and clear, Rachel. I’ll see you later.” He looked pointedly at the door. She’d barely made it inside his apartment, and her pacing had stopped when he’d started yelling. A part of him felt awful for being a jerk to her, but he also felt justified.
But if she was right? Then he really was stupid and clueless. And naive.
And hurt. Most of all, hurt.
“Okay. Um. Bye. Sorry. Kell, I–okay.” Head dropping, she walked quickly out the door, closing it quietly, the click like the sound of his heart snapping in two.
Don’t kill the messenger, his brain said, the voice sounding a lot like his father.
If Rachel was right, she was being a good friend, coming here to warn him.
And if she was wrong, she was a slimy, manipulative little witch who was playing a game he didn’t want any part of.
His phone buzzed.
Hey! Murphy’s? Remember?
It was John.
Sure. Who’s coming? he replied, body flushed with too many complicated emotions. Chances were good Rachel would be there, too, and he didn’t want to see her. Not after what just happened.
Everyone except Alissa. And Rachel. She just texted. She’s feeling sick.
Sick. Yeah. Kell was feeling pretty sick, too.
Okay. Give me an hour.
In an hour, we’ll all be drunk.
Great. It’ll make me look like a much better pool player than I really am.
John texted back a thumbs up.
Grabbing the water pitcher from the fridge, Kell poured himself a cold glass and drank it until his throat spasmed. He replayed what had just happened, from texting a vague Alissa to Rachel’s bomb-dropping of news he didn’t want to hear.
What if it was true? What if Alissa had cozied up to him just because of his family connections?
The thought made him sick. Who used people like that? He’d developed feelings for her, real ones, unattached to what she could do for him. He just plain old liked her.
What if he’d just been a tool for her all along?
He pulled out his phone to re-read their texts. The group texts were mostly about going out for drinks or parties at each other’s apartments. When he scrolled back on his one-on-one texts with Alissa, they were friendly and flirty, but it had been their second week of dating when she’d asked:
What part of Maine are you from again?
Week two.
Under normal circumstances, that didn’t seem strange. But Rachel’s words haunted him now, making him suspicious.
“Damn it!” he shouted, tossing a pillow across the room, wishing he had an ax and a ton of rounds to chop. Something. Anything to get this energy out. City life was great, and gyms were fine, but there was nothing like scaling a tree or cutting wood to find his center again.
His phone rang.
“What now?” he snapped at no one, the air, himself.
Caller ID showed his Uncle Ted.
Oh, boy.
“Ted! What’s up?”
“Kell! How’s D.C. treating you?”
“Oh, you know…”
“You sound a lot less enthusiastic than the last time we spoke,” Ted said, but he laughed. “The shine wears off on politics real quick when you live in the thick of it.”
“Sure does,” Kell agreed.
“The world needs more people like you in the system, though. Making good decisions as a steward of the land. And speaking of that,” he said, voice changing. “I have something uncomfortable to talk about with you.”
Great. Two different people within ten minutes laying it all out in front of him.
“Okay,” Kell said. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s about your girlfriend.”
“Alissa? What about her?”
Ted cleared his throat, sounding… nervous? Uncle Ted wasn’t the type.
“She’s all set up for that meeting you helped arrange for next week, son. Talking about the Canada-Maine pipeline.”
“Yeah?”
“And when she first reached out to me, it was from an email address at EEC. But she emailed me today and cc’d someone at a new address.”
Oh, hell. Kell knew what was coming before his uncle said it.
“She seems to be working with MonDex now?”
“MonDex?”
“Ayuh. And Kell, I don’t like how this looks. If there’s anything I’ve learned in all my years in government work, it’s that people will scheme in ways you never saw coming. I think your girlfriend’s using you to get to me on behalf of MonDex, and we might need to put a stop to this.”
“Oh,” Kell said softly, feeling like a little kid again, being caught before falling out of a tree, his harness haphazardly attached, his uncle catching him with a chuckle and a warning.
But Kell wasn’t eight, and this wasn’t just about him. He’d approached Ted for a favor, and now his uncle was embroiled in a mess.
Of Kell’s making.
“Look, son, you’re new to the work world outside of Luview.
You’re from a small town where you already know who to avoid, and who likes to gossip just because they have nothing better to do.
There’s plenty of crappy behavior in our hometown, but it’s nothing compared to what you find when you work in government.
You went straight to the big leagues, kid. And someone targeted you early.”
Kell rubbed his scalp as a tension headache began, every word he wanted to say caught in his throat.
“I’m so sorry she’s doing this,” he finally replied.
“Me, too,” Ted said gently. “And if I know you, you’re more mad at yourself for being taken advantage of than you are at her.”
“No, sir. I’m about fifty-fifty on those two.”
A deep chuckle made Kell’s stomach unclench slightly. “Fair enough. I’m a tough old bird. She pinged my radar when you first set up the meeting, but the new email address confirmed it. You two serious?”
“Not anymore.”
“Good call.”
He didn’t mention that Alissa was basically ghosting on him. The shreds of his pride that dangled in the wind couldn’t take it. If Ted knew the truth about his relationship, he’d think Kell was even weaker.
Or worse, he’d express compassion, and right now, Kell couldn’t handle any more sympathy.
“Here’s the part I don’t get, Kell. It’s my job to meet with people.
If she’d just called and said she was from EEC and wanted a meeting, I’d have done it.
And if she’d registered her meeting as a representative of MonDex, I’d have done that, too.
She didn’t need to use you as a conduit to get to me. ”
“Right,” Kell said faintly.
“You knew that, son. Yes?”
“I guess so. Then why would she,” he said, pausing before spitting out the next word, “use me?”
“Never try to figure out someone else’s motives, Kell.
Maybe she’s smart at working a system but didn’t know she could just call and get on my calendar?
Maybe she wanted the ‘in’ with your family connection so she’d look better to her employer?
Sounds like the ambitious type who’ll step on your face when you offer a hand up. ”
The words were infused with sympathy and experience, but they didn’t remove any of the sting Kell felt.
“Thanks, Ted. And I’m truly sorry. But… can we keep this between us? No need to tell Mom and Dad.”
“Of course. Even if they ever found out, there’s nothing wrong–you’ve been aboveboard the whole time–but I understand. It stings, being played.”
“Right.”
“Kell, one thing about you that’s been true since you were a tiny kid, barely walking: You learn from your mistakes.
Always have, always will. Instead of nursing your hurt ego, try to get some emotional distance from this and view it objectively.
How can you protect yourself in the future?
What kind of radar tweaking do you need to do?
Think of it more as a lesson and less as being a victim. ”
The word victim made his mouth go to acid.
“Right.”
“Good luck, kiddo. See you at the Fourth of July festival in Luview?”
An image of the annual red and white fireworks shot through his mind. The finale was always a red heart.
“Yes, sir.”
The call ended.
Thud
That was the sound of Kell’s dignity untethering itself from his body and free falling ten stories to its death.
Rachel was right.
And he had some apologizing to do.