Best Friend's Sister

by R. R. Banks

  “T – this can’t be real. This has to be a joke,” I whisper then look up at Haley. “You put this here just to fuck with me, right?”

  She shakes her head. “I didn’t, Knox. I swear it.”

  “But you brought it up at the pub,” I stammer. “Just to give this prank some punch. Right?”

  “No, Knox. I didn’t,” she says, her voice soft. “I was trying to be funny at the bar. I had nothing to do with that.”

  I look down at the page and feel my heart drop into my stomach all over again. My head feels like it’s about to split open with all of the thoughts racing around inside of it. I see the words on the page but feel like I’ve suddenly lost my ability to properly comprehend them.

  But there they are, as clear as day. Printed on official letterhead from a doctor.

  “She’s pregnant, Knox,” Haley says quietly. “You’re going to be a father.”

  I lean forward, putting my hands on the top of the table to brace myself as my knees grow weak and threaten to give out under me. I have a million questions I want to ask her, the biggest one being what in the hell are we going to do?

  “Why didn’t she tell me?” I gasp.

  “Look at the date,” Haley points out. “It’s today. She just found out herself.”

  I look at the page again and note that she’s right – it’s dated today. My eyes drift down again and read the words on the page that have rocked me to my very core – Pregnancy Test: Positive. I feel lightheaded and absolutely blindsided by those three little words. I also know that those three little words have turned my world on its head and changed everything for me.

  Holy shit. I’m going to be a father.

  It’s the only thought that keeps banging around in my head. My entire body is numb, and my heart feels like it’s going to beat its way right out of my chest. I jump when my phone rings and pulls me back to the here and now. I glance down at the caller ID to see that it’s Tommy. Probably calling to check in. I connect the call and hold the phone to my ear.

  “Yeah,” I answer.

  As I listen to him speak, a sense of horror grows deep within me, spreading through every inch of my body. Haley looks at me. The look of concern on her face tells me what I must look like.

  “Find her. Find her now, Tommy. Fuck,” I growl and stab the button to disconnect the call.

  Haley looks at me, her look of concern morphing into one of absolute fear. This can’t be happening. This all has to be some bad fucking dream. Right? I’m going to wake up any minute now and discover this has all simply been some elaborate nightmare.

  But when Haley touches my arm, I know it’s all too real. She looks at me, her eyes wide, waiting for me to say something. To say anything.

  “She’s gone,” I tell her. “Felicity is gone.”

  Felicity

  I sit in the back of the SUV, hidden away behind the dark-tinted windows that shut the world out. Which is about perfect for me. This has been the worst day in my entire life and all I want is to be in Knox’s arms. All I want is to feel him stroking my hair as he tells me everything is going to be okay.

  But nothing is okay right now. I don’t know if everything will be okay ever again. My relationship with two people I love and cherish – Peter and Maura – is frayed and broken. Perhaps to the point it can’t be repaired.

  And I have no idea how the man I care about, the man I feel myself falling in love with, will react to finding out he’s going to be a father. My mind immediately goes to worst-case scenario and shows me a life spent alone, raising a child all by myself, struggling every step of the way.

  As the image plays over and over in my mind, I start to feel claustrophobic, so I roll down the window and breathe deeply, sucking in lungful after huge lungful of air. The warm-ish breeze blows my hair away from my face and soothes me.

  Up ahead, I see the apartment building I’m staying in. I’m hopeful Knox is already there but terrified he might be at the same time. If he’s there, we’re going to have to have the conversation. If he’s not, maybe I can kick that particular can down the road a day or two. Or maybe a few years.

  As we pass the building, I see Knox and some stunning blonde with long legs and a figure like a Victoria’s Secret model standing on the sidewalk out front. I’m about to tell my driver-slash-bodyguard, Tommy, to stop and let me out, but when I open my mouth to give the order, the blonde squeals loud enough that I can hear her over the surrounding traffic. I watch in horror as she throws her arms around his neck and squeezes him, giving Knox a long, lingering kiss on the cheek.

  The pieces of my heart that haven’t already been broken today shatter into a million little pieces. Tears stream down my face, and I feel like I can’t catch my breath. I can’t believe he’d cheat on me. I can’t believe he’d lie to me like that. I let him convince me he’s a good man and that he’s not the same man he was in his past – a past I’ve accepted as simply another facet of what made him the man he is today.

  But there he is, with some other woman right under my nose. The thought makes me physically ill.

  As Tommy pulls the SUV into the secure underground lot, I sit in silence, my tears flowing, my heart in a charred, shattered ruin, and all of my dreams for the future going up in flames. And the only thing I can really focus on is the memory of what my brother said about Knox that’s racing around the inside of my head...

  “You don’t really know Knox like I do, and I hate that you’re about to find out.”

  I’d told him I’m a big girl who could handle it if things with Knox went south. I’d told him I can deal with my baggage. I told him I don’t need anybody but Knox. Together, he and I can handle anything that comes our way.

  And now, as the image of seeing Knox in another woman’s arms plays in my mind like some horrible highlight reel, I feel like the world’s biggest fucking idiot. I let myself get played. I bought into everything he was selling, and I feel like a fool.

  I need to get out of here. I can’t see Knox. I won’t see him. I just need to go. But that means I’m going to have to find a way to ditch Tommy. I feel bad, because Tommy’s never been anything but kind to me, and this is going to get him into some trouble with Knox, but I have got to get away. Give myself some time to think.

  Tommy parks and shuts off the engine. I wait for him to open the door for me, still trying to formulate a plan. He’s bigger, faster, and stronger than me, so it’s not like I’m going to be able to outrun or outmuscle him. Which means I need to outsmart him.

  I climb out of the back and give him a shaky smile as we head for the elevators. I make a show of digging in my purse as if I’m searching for something.

  “Damn,” I mutter. “I left my phone in the car.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Tommy replies. “Just sit tight, I’ll go get it.”

  “Thanks, Tommy. I appreciate it.”

  “Happy to help.”

  He looks around the dimly lit garage for a moment, ostensibly looking for threats. Satisfied that nobody’s lurking in the shadows, he gives me a nod and heads back to the SUV. When his back is turned and I think he’s a safe distance away, I turn and flee as quietly as I can. It’s not very long at all before I hear him calling after me, the thunderous pounding of his boots echoing on the concrete.

  Just ahead is a side door to the garage. I’m hoping it only locks from the outside, otherwise I’m absolutely screwed. I hit the bar on the door, and it flies open, nearly sending me sprawling. I manage to keep my feet and dash up the steps, turning and sprinting down the sidewalk. I hear the door crash open behind me and Tommy’s voice calling out for me as I try to blend in with the crowd.

  Foot traffic is somewhat sparse, but there’s enough that I can slip into the crowd, hopefully losing myself among them. I risk a glance back and see Tommy’s massive frame moving through the crowd, his head turning this way and that as he searches for me. I take the next right and sprint down the sidewalk, ignoring the annoyed and surprised faces of the people I
pass by.

  I keep running as hard and fast as I can, weaving my way around everybody, and bumping into more than a few in my flight. I run until I can’t run anymore. When I look back, I don’t see Tommy anywhere. And he’s the kind of guy who stands out in a crowd, so I lean against the wall to catch my breath.

  I don’t know where I’m going to go or what I’m going to do. I know I can’t go home. Not just because of the stalker, but also because that’s the first place Knox is going to look for me. I’m sure he knows I ran by now and has his guys combing the city for me. I could go to Dani’s, but I don’t want to bring that kind of drama into her life. Besides, it’s not like she can protect me.

  In truth, nobody can protect me. I’m out here on my own. But there is one person who’s better-equipped to handle the storm that’s coming than most. I’m loath to do it, but I pull my phone out of my bag and punch the button to make the call, then hold it to my ear.

  She answers on the first ring. “Felicity, are you alright? I just got a call from Knox and –”

  “I’m fine, Maura,” I assure her.

  She lets out a long breath. “Thank God.”

  “I need someplace to hide out and lay low for a bit,” I explain.

  “Where are you?” she asks. “I’ll come get you.”

  I look around and find some street signs and landmarks, giving her all of the information I can.

  “I’ll be there soon,” she tells me. “Just hide out until then.”

  “Thank you, Maura. Thank you.”

  “Of course,” she replies graciously. “This is what I’m here for.”

  She disconnects the call and I drop my phone back into my bag. I lean against the wall and close my eyes for a minute. My legs are burning. My heart is still beating harder than normal. All I want right now is to lay down and sleep it all away. To wake up and find out this whole experience – the stalker, my whole relationship with Knox, finding out I’m pregnant – had been nothing more than a bad dream.

  I know it’s not, but a girl can dream, right?

  I do my best to keep myself in check and hold back the tears that are threatening to spill down my face. The last thing I want is to draw any more attention to myself than I already have. Despite trying as hard as I can, I can’t stop the one tear that rolls down my cheek.

  I can’t believe any of this is happening to me. Of all the different ways I thought my life was going to come crashing down around me, this never crossed my mind.

  Maybe it should have. Probably should have. I’d certainly been warned enough by both Peter and Maura. I should have listened to them. Why didn’t I listen to them? Now I’m alone – alone and pregnant.

  God, I’m so royally screwed.

  “What is this, Maura?” I hiss.

  “I thought it best to get you ahead of all of this,” she replies simply. “I think it best if we shape the narrative rather than let anybody else do it for us.”

  “There is no narrative to shape,” I growl. “I made a terrible mistake in judgment –”

  “There is a narrative here, kid,” she puts her hand on my shoulder, forcing me to look her in the eye. “I’ve figured some things out that we need to talk about.”

  “Do we really need to do it in front of them?”

  I point to the woman sitting in Maura’s living room, a pretty, petite brunette I’ve seen on TV before, and the cameraman standing behind her. Before she’d come to pick me up, Maura had apparently set up an interview with a reporter from a local cable news station to ‘shape the narrative’, as she says.

  My biggest concern is that the brunette reporter – Gina something or other – is infamous for her hatchet jobs on people. When it comes to reporting the news, the truth is more of an inconvenience to her. I’m concerned because I have no idea if she’s sharpening her axe for me, or against me.

  “This is important, Felicity,” she tells me. “You need to get ahead of this.”

  “I can’t believe you ambushed me like this,” I snap. “I shouldn’t have come.”

  Maura grabs my arm and holds me steady. “Yes, you should have,” she says. “And I really believe you need to do this. Don’t I always know what’s best for you?”

  “I always thought so.”

  The older woman recoils like I just slapped her. When she looks at me, I see genuine hurt in her eyes – which of course, makes me feel terrible.

  “I’m sorry,” I look down at the ground. “It’s been a bad day. A really bad day.”

  “I understand.”

  I let her pull me into a tight embrace and do my best to keep my emotions in check. The last thing I want to do is lose it in front of a reporter. The only thing I want to do is go to bed.

  “I don’t mean to be rude but is this going to happen?” the reporter calls from the living room.

  Maura looks me in the eye. “It’s your call, Felicity. Your decision.”

  She gives me a soft smile, and although she says it’s my call to make, the tone in her voice tells me otherwise. She wants me to do this.

  With a sigh, I walk out of the foyer and into the living room. Maura is there in a heartbeat, a smile on her face as she goes about touching up my makeup, trying to make me look presentable for the camera. When she’s done, she steps back, then stands behind the reporter’s chair where she can observe me. With three sets of eyes fixed hard on me, I feel like an animal in a cage right about now.

  The reporter hooks a microphone to my collar, sits back down and motions for the cameraman to start filming. He makes a few adjustments to the camera sitting on the tripod, and a moment later, a red light flashes on top. He gestures to the reporter who turns to me with a somber expression on her face.

  “Felicity, I’m Gina Davenport,” she introduces herself. “I’m with Seattle Today and I want to thank you for sitting down with me tonight.”

  I sit up a little straighter, all of the grooming and training I got from Maura about interviewing kicking in.

  “Thank you for having me,” I reply.

  I have no idea what the line of questioning is going to be, nor do I know what the narrative Maura wants to shape is all about. She didn’t fill me in on the details. And I hate walking into something when I don’t know what to expect.

  “I bet as a mystery and suspense writer, you never expected to be involved in some real-life mystery and suspense of your own,” Gina chuckles. “This all sounds like something straight from your best-selling book.”

  I give her a humorless laugh. “Something like that.”

  “First, let me ask you about your stalker,” Gina begins. “I imagine that had to be a terrifying experience.”

  “More than you know,” I counter smoothly.

  Not knowing what to expect means I’m going to keep my answers short and simple. Just because I don’t know what angle she’s taking, or where her line of questions is leading. I don’t want to give her something that can be twisted into something it’s not. I’ve had quite enough drama today and don’t want or need any more.

  “I’m sure it was,” Gina goes on. “And it’s been what, about six weeks or so since Elliott Graham has tried to contact you?”

  “About that,” I answer. “Yes, that sounds about right.”

  “Interesting,” she notes. “That’s right around the time Black Moon Security started providing protection for you, is it not?”

  I feel a chasm open up in the pit of my stomach as I see where she’s going. I can see the connection she’s trying to make, and I know that Maura put her up to this. But with the camera rolling, I need to control the narrative. I need to shape it. Steer it away from where Davenport is leading it.

  “That’s correct,” I say. “And I truly believe their presence has deterred Mr. Graham from pursuing his strange obsession.”

  “An obsession that so far, has culminated with him allegedly breaking into your home and leaving a rather disturbing display of devotion, is that true?”

  I clear my throat. “That’s
true.”

  “Why did the police decline to press charges?”

  “My understanding was that they had no physical evidence with which to charge Mr. Graham,” I explain.

  “That’s interesting,” she says, doing her best to make it sound like an offhanded remark. “It’s almost like Mr. Graham has some knowledge of police forensic measures.”

  I shoot a glance at Maura, who is imploring me with her eyes to throw some fuel onto the fire and follow the path Gina is laying out for me so easily. As much of an asshole as I think Knox is right now, and as much as I despise him, I’m not going to be a party to assassinating his character. For all of his obvious faults – fidelity chief among them – he’s got a good heart.

  “I think anybody with a library card could have more than a passing familiarity with forensic measures,” I note. “There certainly are enough books on the subject. I’m a writer who deals with these things myself, and that kind of knowledge is vital to my work. It wouldn’t surprise me that somebody random might have that same kind of information.”

  I try to keep my tone light and conversational, but it seems clear that Gina isn’t getting the interview she’d hoped for, judging by how hard she’s working to avoid sounding irritated.

  “Like all good books – like yours –” Gina chuckles, “there’s always a twist at the end, right?”

  “Some authors use a good twist as a way to spice up their plots, yes,” I confirm.

  She smiles as if she’s got me backed into a corner. “I personally always love a twist ending,” she states. “In this case though, the twist is downright terrifying, isn’t it?”

  “I’m not sure I understand what you mean?”

  “That your bodyguard, Knox Vaughn – the owner of Black Moon Security – is responsible for your stalker, Elliott Graham.”

  I can hear the barely-controlled excitement in Gina’s voice as she speaks. It’s as if she feels she’s stumbled into the biggest story since the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby or something.