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"That one is me, however, there's no cheating," I pointed out. "He got a hug from me."
"Wait for it," Silas cautioned and again the girl they'd posed in the other videos was there. She was wearing a similar outfit and someone who didn't care might not have noticed the differences.
"Take a screenshot for me; of this, then go back to the hug and take one."
Jackson's gaze flickered to me, then he did as I asked.
"Now put them side by side," I ordered.
"You're bossy, I like it," Silas noted. I chose to ignore him as I waited for Jackson to put the photos up.
"Damn, that's obvious now," Jackson noted. Silas leaned in, studying the two pictures and shrugging.
"You can't see the tattoos," he pointed out.
Jackson snorted and circled three spaces like this was one of those spot the differences games.
"Her shirt, her hair, and she turns for a fraction of a second, there's a glimpse of her face."
"Shit," Silas muttered under his breath.
"Also, if you go back two frames from the hug, Malia is there," I pointed out. She threw both of our lives down the drain out of pettiness. "I think I want to be alone now."
They didn't argue as Jackson packed up his computer.
Silas stopped in front of me. "Amos isn't a bad guy, he's just an idiot. I'm sorry he did that. We'll handle this."
When I didn't respond, he moved on. Jackson stopped next, not saying a word but giving me a look that said everything for him. He was furious with Evrin and didn't want me to blame myself.
"I'll be okay," I promised. "I'm glad I know."
He gave me a half smile before walking out, leaving me in silence.
I'd finally been vindicated, knew what evidence had been sent my way, and yet I felt just as shitty as before.
How did my life get so complicated?
Serenity
The lake shimmered in the afternoon sun. It was peaceful here at Lake Tenner. Dad used to take Ezra and me here anytime we needed to let off some steam, but honestly it was his safe place, too.
Right now, I just needed to be out of Lockwood.
Heavy footsteps behind me had me turning around to find my father walking my way, two poles in hand, a cooler, and a tackle box.
“Heard we needed to get some fishing done,” he noted without a hint of judgment. “Here’s your lucky pole.”
“It was only lucky one time,” I joked as I took it, threading on the hook and adding on some bait while he did the same. Moving closer to the shore I cast my line, letting it hit the water and watching the small ripples move over the surface.
“Sure is quiet out here,” Dad said as he did the same. “Or it was until I got here, I guess.” His familiar raspy chuckle had me smiling to myself.
“Glad you came, Dad. How did you know?”
“I wish I could say dad intuition, but it was Jackson. He came by to tell me that you guys talked last night and he wanted to make sure someone was watching out for you. Apparently, he tried to find you in town and not a soul knew where you could be.”
“That’s all you needed, huh?” I laughed. “You are the one who introduced me to the lake, after all.”
“So… eight mates?” I choked on my laughter at his blunt question. He wasn’t here to pull any punches it seemed.
