Paid To Love

Episode 23

Paid To Love EPISODE 23

Victoria's POV

“What just happened”, that was all that played round in my head.

“Murder” would be another word. Why would they want to murder my brother. I know he wasn’t the cleanest most model citizen but I’m sure he wouldn’t do anything too shady. I was really just trying to assure myself. Is it possible that maybe he actually did something illegal, No it can’t be, he wasn’t that sort of guy. He always had it rough because of the way our parents died, he felt as the man and as my elder brother he had to do it all to keep us from starving but i was the one taking care of us because i wanted him to live a normal life and to not worry about me.

What could he have done that would warrant death. I cried “why him”.

“Why.....” I fell on the ground sobbing in tears. The towel fell and it was just my naked wet body and the tears.

“I have to get to the bottom of this. Mr nobody was right. I need to be strong for my brother’s sake.”

I got up, grabbed the towel and wiped my eyes. I dropped my phone back om the safety counter, I got back into the Jacuzzi and slipped deeper into the water and put the bubbles back on and closed my eyes.

I wasn’t sure if the police would be interested in any evidence i had although a witness should be strong enough for me to have a case. But given what Mr Nobody said over the phone the police might be involved in this. I would really need a really influential lawyer to make them reopen the case, it’s a good thing I got this weird arrangement with Henry, that would help me pay for the lawyer.

“Oh, Detective Sidwell “ I forgot to tell him about Mr Nobody.

I got out of the Jacuzzi again and grabbed my phone and dialled his name.

“Detective Sidwell”

“Miss Victoria, how are you”

“I’m ok but something just came up”

“what?”

“It's my brother, someone called me and he said he witnessed everything that happened that night. He said it wasn’t an accident, it was... It was a murder. “ I said with my eyes tearing up again.

“What!, this is exactly what i suspected. My findings are pointing towards a murder and a huge cover up from someone really influential.”

“Oh my God, what are we doing to do”

“Relax Victoria, we will act after we get more evidence. For now i just need to know everything he said to you”

“He just wants to meet me, he said he has evidence and he knows who must be behind this.”

“Okay, then you should go meet him and i will meet you there, just text me the address and if the evidence is good enough we can reopen the case.”

“Detective are you sure we can do that. Because he said the police are involved in this cover up, do you still have anyone in the police that we can trust”

“ You may be right but we can still pursue it. I don’t really know which of the officers might be involved but i know a judge that will take it up if we have the right amount of evidence”

“Thanks a lot Detective.”

“Its just my job. Goodbye”

That was it, we were all set to find out what really happened to my brother, all I had to do was wait for Mr Nobody’s text.

I hoisted myself out of the bathtub and used the other door to go into the stall shower in Henry’s room to quickly wash my hair and rinse myself. I thought about getting back into my dirty clothes but then remembered I was in Henry’s room and if he could let me borrow his pyjamas, would it matter if I borrowed a shirt, too?

Wrapped in only a towel, I tiptoed out of the bathroom, being cautious even though I knew no one was home. I made a move to open Henry’s wardrobe door and went back in to the massive wardrobe. I gawked at his huge Nike sneaker collection, I kinda expected he would have that but i was still stunned by the size of his collection. I opened a small closet and grabbed a shirt hanging inside.

I sneaked out of his room immediately to go change somewhere else with the shirt and underwear in my hands . As I made a move outside his bedroom I remembered the spare room that he’d warned me not to go into. Suddenly the temptation to go take a peep engulfed me. My feet started moving to the other door before my mind could process it.

He said not to go in there! I chided myself. But he also wasn’t here. Would one look really hurt anything? Even though he said it was his cousin’s room, for all I knew it could be a torture chamber. Wouldn’t it be safer to make sure it wasn’t? After all I didn’t really know him well and I have watched horror movies.

Deciding that was a reasonable thought, I turned the knob and pushed it open a little. The scent of vanilla engulfed me once again and I wrinkled my nose. I took a step into the room, my hand searching the wall for the light switch. Eventually, I hit it and light filled the room.

It was clearly a bedroom and not some medieval torture chamber. It was a little smaller than Henry’s room, but not by much. In a word, the room looked uninhabited. There was a complete lack of personal items or life. There was only a bed with sheets that looked like they hadn’t been cleaned in ages. A bookcase that was half full. A desk with a computer that was coated in dust and a chair with broken wheel. Dust filled the air, making my throat dry.

I swallowed, glued to the spot. I couldn’t look away. The room looked so desolate. Just what had happened to Henry’s cousin? Was he dead? Why was he living with his cousin anyway? The lingering sense of sadness in the room was enough to explain everything to me. To lose someone you care about... I knew it all too well.

“Hey!”

The sudden sound of a voice behind me made me gasp and I screamed as a hand grabbed my shoulder, forcing me to turn around. The feeling of being caught sent a hard jolt of self-reproach into my gut. Why had I given in so easily to myself and snuck in?

When I finally registered the person before me, my eyes widened in surprise. “Ja-James!” I cried at the same time he said, “Victoria!”

“What are you doing here?” I demanded, speaking simultaneously as he said, “Why are you here?”

We both stared at each other suspiciously. “You first,” we chorused.

I moved to close the door to the spare bedroom and felt my towel slip off my body. I seized it mid-fall, feeling my cheeks flame. In two days, two guys had seen me basically naked. What had my life come to?

“Sorry,” James apologized, adverting his gaze.

“Hold on, let me get dressed,” I squeaked, making sure my towel was around me securely and hobbling off to Henry’s room. I went over to his dresser and basically tore it apart looking for some trousers to wear. Fortunately for me, the closet was loaded, so I grabbed his jeans.

By the time I was dressed, James had moved down to the living room. I slowly went down the stairs, my cheeks still warm. I cleared my throat as I approached him. “Sorry about that.”

“I’m sorry too. We startled each other pretty good,” he responded, his gaze anywhere but my face. What a decent guy. “I thought you might have been a robber.”

“In a towel?” I said sceptically.

His cheeks tinted pink. “I wasn’t expecting anyone to be here.”

“Does Henry know you’re here?”

“No, I sometimes come here to escape my family,” he told me sheepishly. “Strange, I know.”

“Was the door locked?”

“I know where the spare key is. I do this a couple times a week. And this isn’t meant to be rude, but why are you here? Why were you in Jack’s room?”

Now it was my turn to be self-conscious. I pushed my hair behind my ears and grimaced a bit. “I needed a more comfortable place to sleep last night. And that was, um, I was just being nosy. Please don’t say anything to Henry.”

James frowned at me. “Henry doesn’t let anyone in there.”

“I know. I feel bad now, really.”

“Since you got caught?”

Ooh, a stab right to my ego. I sagged my shoulders. “Yes. Sorry. Does it help to say I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t a torture chamber? He told me it was his cousin's room, but you never know, right?”

James seemed to debate this for a moment and then he slowly nodded. “I guess that excuse is reasonable. Henry is kind of strange. Honestly though, I occasionally go in there just to see if Henry’s cleaned it up yet.”

“Cleaned it up?” I echoed.

“Yeah. It’s really depressing to see how he keeps it exactly the way it was when Jack lived here. I’m sure if he cleaned it up and moved on it wouldn’t be so painful to him still.”

“Is he dead?”

James suddenly looked apprehensive and he shifted his body weight, like he was suddenly uncomfortable. “You don’t know what happened between him and Jack?”

I shook my head.

“It’s really personal for Henry, so I won’t talk behind his back about it,” James said shortly and I wondered if I’d asked something I shouldn’t have. Just what exactly had happened to Henry’s brother?

“I wouldn’t suggest going in there again and don’t talk about Jack in front of Henry either, Victoria,” James added, narrowing his eyes at me. “I’m warning you in advance.”

I couldn’t help but smile a bit at his defensiveness. He caught this and gave me a doubtful look. “I was just thinking that you’re a good friend,” I explained before he could comment.

He smiled a bit and shrugged. “It’s for your own good too. It really messes with Henry still.”

“Oh,” I said, unsure of how to react to that. I still think his dead although James isn't letting out much. The death of a family member would take its toll on anyone. Some people could just cope better. Some people took longer to come to terms. Some never did. But which one was Henry?

“I’m really curious though.”

“About what?” I asked.

“You being here. I never thought I’d see the day Henry brought a girl home, let alone letting her stay while he was gone. What’s going on between you two? Are you really dating?”

The quick intake of breath I took to deny the fact caused me to choke and I turned away from James, covering my mouth. What gave him that idea? Was it really that weird for people to be at Henry’s house? “We’re not in a relationship, I promise,” I finally muttered.

James didn’t seem satisfied with my answer. “Is that so? You should be careful then, Victoria.”

“Careful?”

“Henry doesn’t realize it, but I think he is scared to get close to people,” he told me, with this look of suspicion still on his face. “If he let you stay here, it means he trusts you. I’m worried that when your contract is done and the time together is up he might not want to let you go and you’ll want to leave. I don’t want him to lose someone he cares about again.”

I took his words in carefully, with every word making me ponder. James was overthinking this. Henry was helping me out because we were friends. There was no way he had any ulterior motives. There was no way he liked me. He’d made it clear on multiple occasions that I wasn’t his type. Instead of worrying about Henry not wanting to leave, I was more worried about myself not wanting to leave.

“I didn’t mean to bring the mood down, Victoria,” James spoke, pulling me from my thoughts. He offered me a kind smile. “I’m just doing the whole best-friend thing.”

“Ah, no, it’s fine! I get it.”

“Should I show you something nice in return?”

I tilted my head to the side. “What’s that?”

“I know where Henry keeps his photo albums. You wouldn’t believe how big his head was when he was little.”

“I bet it was smaller than it is now,” I commented wryly, causing James to chuckle.

He then gestured for me to follow him back upstairs. “Come on, Henry might show up at any time so let’s take a look while we can.”

I nodded, following behind him. Maybe if I were lucky there would be an embarrassing photo that might come in handy if I ever felt the need to blackmail him. Sometimes it’d be nice to have the upper hand.