“That’s how they get down. I can’t afford to be high on anything. Especially not when people earn a living looking for dirt on me and my family. I can’t be involved in anything like that.”
“And yet…” I sat back in my chair, studying his face. “Here you are.”
“Here’s your pizza and your breadsticks,” the waitress said as she placed a delicious looking pie in front of me. She turned to Aiden and her eyes widened. “Your order will be ready in a couple of minutes. Would you like me to plate your to-go order, Mr. Black?”
“No, thank you. But I will add her food to my bill, please,” he responded.
“And I’ll take a to-go box, please,” I added, no longer in the mood to remain in the restaurant.
The waitress nodded and then sauntered away.
“Brooklyn, I don’t know what happened last weekend, but I know where we were and what we were doing. And since we didn’t have anything to do with anything that happened, we shouldn’t go down for it.”
I gave him a look. “That’s what I told you on Friday.”
“I know. I get that now. Reporters are asking my mom if I’m connected to a dead girl. I know the PROs lawyered up, but I told them I had my own lawyer and I can take care of myself. I haven’t heard from them since. I don’t know what they’re saying but someone said enough to have a reporter ask my mom that when she landed in New York. She’s pissed because she’s supposed to be getting ready for Fashion Week and my dad is shooting a movie abroad so I can’t be tied to this at all.”
I looked at him in stunned silence.
I understood exactly what prompted his change of heart and I hated that it hurt my feelings. I hated that I’d believed Aiden was different than the PROs and he turned out to be just as selfish as the rest of them.
He licked his lips. “I was going to call you and see if we could talk about how to move forward and—”
“Ohhhhhh,” I interrupted dramatically. “So now that people are trying to tie you to it, you want to move forward and be each other’s alibi.”
Even though I needed him to alibi me just as much as he apparently needed me to alibi him, I was annoyed that he only decided to do so when it was his name, his reputation, his future, and his family on the line.
I thought we had a real connection. I thought he liked me.
“It’s not like that, Brooklyn. Come on,” he sighed. “I just needed to talk to my parents and our lawyer to make sure nothing was going to come back on the projects we have in the works. I’ve read the stuff you’ve written about your parents in class. You would’ve done the same thing.”
“I wouldn’t do anything to hurt my parents, but I also wouldn’t let someone I knew was innocent get railroaded,” I snapped.
“Here’s your box,” the waitress announced as she walked up, handing it to me. She turned to Aiden and grinned. “And here’s your food. And your check.”
After looking over the order for a second, he gave her a couple of twenties. “Keep the change.”
“I could’ve paid for my own food but thank you,” I stated as soon as the waitress was out of earshot. I started boxing my meal so I could leave.
“Wanting to make sure this didn’t blow back on my folks doesn’t mean I didn’t care what happened to you. Everything I said last weekend, I meant. I like you. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you. And the stuff I have in the works is important, but I wasn’t going to let you get railroaded.”
I closed my box and pushed down the sadness I felt.
“I thought you were different,” I told him quietly. “But I guess all PROs are the same.”
His eyebrows furrowed and his forehead creased. “Listen, I’m not like them.”
“Privileged kids banning together and refusing to cooperate with the police unless it benefits them? Relying on Mommy and Daddy to get you out of trouble?” The sarcasm from my words seemed to get under his skin. “Sounds like it’s right out of the PROs playbook.”
“You have no idea what it’s like for me,” he uttered angrily.
“And you have no idea what it’s like for me,” I spat back, shaking my head. “You’re worried about bad press and I’m worried about my future. If it weren’t for my best friend, I’d be living in my car on top of all of this. Don’t you dare try to play the sympathy card.”
His expression softened and he chewed on his bottom lip. “I’m sorry. I know how it sounds and I know it looks like I’m only doing this for me.”
“I need you to go to the police and tell the truth because it’s the right thing to do. But I hate that you only came around and decided to do it once you were being implicated. When they were implicating me, you were ready to sit back and watch.” I stood, gathering my boxes. I held his gaze for a beat before I added, “I didn’t think you were like that.”
“Like what?” he called out as I walked away from the table.
“Like them.”
“Brooklyn!”
I didn’t turn back around.
He didn’t follow me or try to stop me. I didn’t want him to, but I noticed when he didn’t.
…
Chapter Ten
I walked into the poorly lit apartment and froze. Outside of the dim light the gloomy sky cast in through the window, the place was dark. I figured Jay wasn’t back from wherever he’d been all day yet, so I didn’t call
