Charlie
It’s been a few days since everything was revealed, and Jett left to give Jimmy some kind of update. I don’t know what he’s going to tell him, but I hope it’s good.
In the meantime, I’m researching.
I know Jett asked me to not do anything, but he didn’t say I couldn’t snoop. What if I find something that could help? He should know better than anyone else I can’t just sit back and wait.
I type in Baxter Cop into the search bar, because honestly, how do you start this kind of search and also because holy shit he’s a cop.
Results for a police department pop up and list down the page. Some are random articles about officers killed in the line of duty and others about people with the last name of Baxter who were arrested.
There’s an article about Drew. The small blurb you get before you click on the link lists his crimes. I click on it. Nothing useful. I go back to the page of links to choose from and finally, three articles later, I see one about Jimmy Kincaid and the cash he stole that hasn’t been found. I’m about to tap the red X and shut down my computer, exhausted from reading things I already knew, when one sentence in the article catches my attention.
The one that reads Baxter brings in drug dealer Drew Lane. I fumble my next breath before I click on it the highlighted words that take me to another article about Drew.
Officer Baxter has been on the force for only a short few months, but that was enough time for him to put Drew Lane behind bars. The girlfriend of the suspect, Kenzie …
I lean back quickly and close my eyes.
No.
I take a deep breath and let it out before closing the article. After that, I type “Kenzie Campbell death” into the search bar.
Multiple articles pop up about my sister’s death, but they all have one similarity.
Baxter.
Baxter.
Not a single article reveals his first name or shows his picture, but Jett mentioned working on a case close to Jimmy before.
This has to be it.
I scroll down and start reading more.
Officer Baxter had been researching the accused for three months. The girlfriend of the charged was the only victim in the case.
That’s as far as I make it when there is a knock at my door.
“Charlie,” Jett’s voice calls through the apartment.
I walk out of the bedroom, closing the door slightly.
Every part of me is shaking. I push the tears back as I meet him in the kitchen.
“Hey beau—” He pauses and rushes to me, but I step back.
“What’s wrong?” he asks.
“Did you know my sister?”
I can’t believe how steady my voice is considering my heart aches so much I think it might shut down.
“Charlie,” he says slowly, holding his hands in front of him. “Don’t freak out.”
“Oh my god.” I step back again, my hand covering my heart. “Oh my god.”
My eyes flash up to meet his, and that one look answers all my questions.
“Wh … wh …?” is all I choke out as I stumble to turn for the living room. I reach for anything to grab onto, but my hands are like jelly and I can’t find anything to grip. Jett catches me by my arms as my balance wavers, but I jerk back.
“Don’t.” I crumple to the floor in front of the couch, and the next thing I know, Jett is next me with his hand on my back.
“Put your head between your knees to catch your breath. Come on, Charlie. Can you even hear me?”
He turns my face to look at him, and I can hear just fine, but everything feels fuzzy on the inside. Everything that is happening is all one big blur. He knew her. He knows more than he said he did.
I finally do as he says, finding the words I need. “Were you there that night?”
I’m pretty sure I know the answer. But I need him to say it.
“Before I answer that, I think we need to get your breathing back to normal.”
I ignore him.
“I want to know, Jett.”
“Charlie, slow down, and when I know you’re better, I’ll explain everything.”
“Answer me, Jett!” I shout and push off the floor to get away from him, across the room, the kitchen, I don’t care as long as it’s anywhere that he can’t reach out and touch me. “I thought you already told me everything!”
“I was the agent working with your sister and—”
“And you didn’t think, after all this, I should know that?” I ask.
I watch his throat bob as he stares at me, not saying a word.
“Answer me,” I say.
He just continues to look at me, and when he reaches for my hand once more, I lose it.
“Get out,” I say, looking away from him.
“Charlie, I didn’t know—”
“Out!” I scream. My voice reaching a level I didn’t know existed.
“Charlie, I can’t leave without telling you everything.”
“I don’t care. I don’t care what you want. Or what will make you feel better. You’re a lying asshole and I want you out of my apartment.”
“Charlie, I’m so sorry. Please, just let me explain.”
The tears are unavoidable now.
“Charlie—”
“Jett, please. If you really are sorry, you’ll leave.”
There is no missing his struggle before he finally leaves, and I hate that I hurt watching him hurt. He lied to me. He’s known about me, about my past, about everything, and he kept it from me. He’s fooled me. And I still love him.
Do.
Did.
I have no idea anymore.
I stumble to the couch, curling up into a ball as the sobs shake through my body.
The only thing I do know is that these tears aren’t going anywhere and my heart—I’m not sure it can be mended again.
Jett
Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit.
Fuuuuck.
I stare at her door. I can’t just leave. Not now. I need to explain myself. The situation. Us. My job. If she would just let me, I know everything will be fine.
“Charlie!” I knock on her door.
She doesn’t answer, but it’s not like I thought she would. Still, I rest my forehead against the door and tap.
“Please, Charlie. Let me in.”
I wish silence followed my pleading, but it doesn’t. I can hear the piercing sound of her cries.
I sink to the floor outside her door, and as much as it kills me inside that I did this—that not just once, but twice I have caused her so much pain—I sit and I listen. If she comes out of this door, I don’t want her to be alone. I want her to know I will be here for her, no matter how much hate she has for me.
“Jett, what are you doing?”
I glance up; my sister is standing in front of me.
I take a deep breath, shrug and hang my head.
“Oh no,” Whit says. “Did you finally tell her?”
I nod.
Her eyes go wide and her hand covers her heart quickly when she hears the sound from inside Charlie’s apartment.
“Shit.”
“Yep. And now, I’m out here, helpless for her.”
“Jett, I know you won’t want to hear what I have to say, but you should probably go home. Or anywhere else until she is ready to talk to you.”
“What if she’s never ready?”
“You just told her. Give her time.”
“That’s just it.” I stand and pace. “I didn’t even get to explain everything. I got out the words that I worked with her sister and she freaked and I don’t blame her.”
Another sob comes from inside.
“I’ll check on her, okay?” Whit says.
“No, I’m coming with you.”
“Jett, no.”
“Whit.” I barely choke out her name as my eyes well with tears. “I did this to her. I have to make it better. It’s not okay. Nothing about what I did was okay.”
“Calm down, and for Christ’s sake, stop pulling at your hair before you go bald and stop pacing before you put a hole in the floor.”
“I can’t leave.”
“You don’t have a choice,” she snaps. “What happens from here on out is not your decision to make.”
She’s right and not just about Charlie.
After Whit disappears into Charlie’s apartment, I head down the stairs and dial the number I’ve been dreading. I’m in deep now and there’s only one person I can depend on.
Captain.
Today’s the day I lose the girl and the job.