little surprising. Meet him in school or something?”
“Just kinda ran into each other.”
“Have you heard from him lately?” he asks, startling me.
“Uh—n-no. Isn’t he, you know—um….”
“No, he isn’t dead. He took off. He’ll come back, he always does. My mother actually had him buried, she said she had a feeling. She never quite recovered. This stunt of his ran my mother into an early grave with grief and worry. When he does show up, I have a few choice words for him. Why would a sweet girl like you befriend a crazy bastard like my brother?”
“He isn’t all bad.”
“Dominick thrived on sadness, inflicting it on everyone around him, including me. My mother worked her fingers to the bone to in order to pay for his medical care, and he repays her by crushing her heart into a million pieces and taking off. He was infatuated with his psychiatrist, and clearly she was reciprocating the behavior, or so we thought anyway.”
“Is that what happened?” I ask, astonished.
“That’s exactly what happened. When mother found out about the affair, she confronted them both. She threatened to report it, and Dominick took off the next day. We never saw him again.”
“Maybe she did something to him, that Mrs. Peyton woman,” I defend Dominick.
“How did you know her name? She was a private therapist, she didn’t even list through insurance agencies. There were only three people in this world who knew who Dominick was seeing: Dominick, myself, and Mother.”
“Nick told me.”
“Nick? He never let anyone call him that. You must’ve been pretty close.”
“Um—pretty close, I guess.”
“Were you dating?” He shakes his head in correction. “Of course you weren’t. He’s pathetic and way beneath your league.”
“I don’t really care for the way you’re talking about him. He’s no monster. He’s sad, hurt, and obviously very disturbed, but he is not pathetic. He’s a person—your brother. He loves me. And guess what? I have feelings for him, too. Save your crappy remarks for someone else,” I bark defensively, as I stand to leave.
“So, Sydney, you have seen him?” His eyes widen.
Mia comes back to the tense conversation at the table, looking warily at me as Cayden is stifling with anger.
“Um, is everything okay, guys?”
“Fine, everything is fine, Mia. I have to run, I forgot I have a photo shoot in a few minutes. I have to jet, like now.”
“That’s okay. Cayden and I have rounds in fifteen minutes so we are in a bit of a rush too. I’m coming over to discuss that THING after work, okay?”
“Yeah, cool. I gotta go.”
Cayden stands, shaking my hand once again.
“It was nice to meet you, Sydney. I would love to continue this conversation very soon. Here is my card. Call me ASAP.” His tone reflects that this is no request—it’s an order.
I snatch it from his hand and jog toward the door, kicking myself for my mistake.
How could I have slipped so badly? Oh my god, this is not good.
I run from the restaurant frenzied and desperately seeking answers. The first order of business is going to be finding Lana. I fling the apartment door open and head straight for Heather’s room. It occurs to me that I’ve never really been in her room. I observe the numerous pictures of me scattered throughout. I don’t have time right now to consider the fact that it’s almost shrine-like—which is slightly creepy. I focus on the search for an address book, planner, anything that might lead me to Lana. If I don’t find her and figure this mystery out, Cayden will expose me and I could be implicated in Nick’s disappearance.
Heather’s drawer is perfectly organized as I expect, aside from a lump at the back. As I pull the liner up, revealing the hidden treasure underneath, I realize that if I had listened to Lana’s words—listened to Nick—I could have seen this coming. My balance sways as my mind wraps around what my eyes don’t want to believe.
“No!” I
“Just kinda ran into each other.”
“Have you heard from him lately?” he asks, startling me.
“Uh—n-no. Isn’t he, you know—um….”
“No, he isn’t dead. He took off. He’ll come back, he always does. My mother actually had him buried, she said she had a feeling. She never quite recovered. This stunt of his ran my mother into an early grave with grief and worry. When he does show up, I have a few choice words for him. Why would a sweet girl like you befriend a crazy bastard like my brother?”
“He isn’t all bad.”
“Dominick thrived on sadness, inflicting it on everyone around him, including me. My mother worked her fingers to the bone to in order to pay for his medical care, and he repays her by crushing her heart into a million pieces and taking off. He was infatuated with his psychiatrist, and clearly she was reciprocating the behavior, or so we thought anyway.”
“Is that what happened?” I ask, astonished.
“That’s exactly what happened. When mother found out about the affair, she confronted them both. She threatened to report it, and Dominick took off the next day. We never saw him again.”
“Maybe she did something to him, that Mrs. Peyton woman,” I defend Dominick.
“How did you know her name? She was a private therapist, she didn’t even list through insurance agencies. There were only three people in this world who knew who Dominick was seeing: Dominick, myself, and Mother.”
“Nick told me.”
“Nick? He never let anyone call him that. You must’ve been pretty close.”
“Um—pretty close, I guess.”
“Were you dating?” He shakes his head in correction. “Of course you weren’t. He’s pathetic and way beneath your league.”
“I don’t really care for the way you’re talking about him. He’s no monster. He’s sad, hurt, and obviously very disturbed, but he is not pathetic. He’s a person—your brother. He loves me. And guess what? I have feelings for him, too. Save your crappy remarks for someone else,” I bark defensively, as I stand to leave.
“So, Sydney, you have seen him?” His eyes widen.
Mia comes back to the tense conversation at the table, looking warily at me as Cayden is stifling with anger.
“Um, is everything okay, guys?”
“Fine, everything is fine, Mia. I have to run, I forgot I have a photo shoot in a few minutes. I have to jet, like now.”
“That’s okay. Cayden and I have rounds in fifteen minutes so we are in a bit of a rush too. I’m coming over to discuss that THING after work, okay?”
“Yeah, cool. I gotta go.”
Cayden stands, shaking my hand once again.
“It was nice to meet you, Sydney. I would love to continue this conversation very soon. Here is my card. Call me ASAP.” His tone reflects that this is no request—it’s an order.
I snatch it from his hand and jog toward the door, kicking myself for my mistake.
How could I have slipped so badly? Oh my god, this is not good.
I run from the restaurant frenzied and desperately seeking answers. The first order of business is going to be finding Lana. I fling the apartment door open and head straight for Heather’s room. It occurs to me that I’ve never really been in her room. I observe the numerous pictures of me scattered throughout. I don’t have time right now to consider the fact that it’s almost shrine-like—which is slightly creepy. I focus on the search for an address book, planner, anything that might lead me to Lana. If I don’t find her and figure this mystery out, Cayden will expose me and I could be implicated in Nick’s disappearance.
Heather’s drawer is perfectly organized as I expect, aside from a lump at the back. As I pull the liner up, revealing the hidden treasure underneath, I realize that if I had listened to Lana’s words—listened to Nick—I could have seen this coming. My balance sways as my mind wraps around what my eyes don’t want to believe.
“No!” I
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