“Sounds great.” I smile. My heart is close to bursting in my chest. “So, should I pick you up tomorrow? I can get a taxi to yours and then have it take us to the train station.”
“Sounds great.”
“What time?”
“What time are the trains?”
“Hmm, not sure. How about I check the train times, and then text you to let you know?”
“Cool. Okay, well, I’ll get off. See you tomorrow.”
“See you then.”
I’m beaming when I hang up the phone. I clutch it to my chest, happiness filling me.
Jesse wants to spend the day with me! He actually called me and asked me to spend the day with him!
I can’t wait to tell Cece!
Okay, so I need train times for tomorrow.
I open up the lid on the laptop, ready to look up times, and I pause at the sight of Haley’s picture alongside the news story I was reading.
My good mood instantly disintegrates.
She was murdered. And Kas might have been the one who was with her the night it happened.
The things he could have witnessed…
The thought makes me sick.
Even if he weren’t there, he knew Haley, and she was murdered.
Kas’s harsh, abrasive, angry ways are starting to make sense in my mind now. Because, if he witnessed what happened…and was hurt…
I close my eyes against the horrific thoughts.
I should talk to him about this. But what the hell would I say? I mean, how in the hell do you bring something like that up?
And, also, I shouldn’t know about Haley. That picture was among his private things, and I snooped.
Snooping aside, how in the world would I explain Googling her because I was jealous and curious?
I’d sound like a bloody stalker.
I should just pretend like I don’t know.
But how the hell am I supposed to look him in the eye and pretend like I don’t know that something terrible happened to someone he cared about?
And, if he were the other person there…then the terrible things happened to him, too.
I can’t bear to think of him hurt and in pain.
Opening my eyes, I close out the opened windows, clearing my screen of the news stories.
I can’t think about it now.
Right now, I just need to look up the train times for tomorrow. I need to focus on Jesse. He’s what matters.
And Kas…he matters, but I just don’t know how to handle this.
It’s my own fault for snooping, but now, I know, and I don’t know what to do.
I should ask Cece for her advice. But I feel like, if I told her, then I’d be betraying his confidence. Technically, I wouldn’t be, but I’ve invaded his privacy enough. I have to keep this to myself.
I’ll just have to figure out what to do.
Maybe, when I see him next, I’ll just know.
But, right now, keeping it to myself seems like the safest option.
I type in the train website and start to look up the train times. I focus my mind on that and the fun I’ll have with Jesse tomorrow, keeping my thoughts off of anything related to Kastor Matis.
Twenty-Five
Kas is here again, outside the station, waiting for me. I don’t even bother to fight it. I just walk over to his car and get inside.
“Hi,” I say quietly as I click my seat belt in.
“How was your weekend?” he asks, pulling the car away from the curb.
“I saw Jesse.” I chance a glance at him.
He meets my eyes, a softness in his. “How did it go?”
“It was good.” I smile at the memory of my day spent with Jesse. It was the best day I’d had in a long time. “We went to Brighton for the day. Hung out on the beach, ate ice cream, rode rides at the fair.”
“Sounds fun.”
“It really was.”
“I’m glad for you, Daisy.”
“Thanks.” I swallow. “How was your weekend?” I ask, looking away.
“It was okay.”
He offers nothing more. I could ask to know more about what he did, but I don’t.
My mind is feeling all jumbled up from being here with him.
I had a great weekend. I spent all of Saturday with Jesse. And I spent Sunday with Cece. We went shopping and caught a film at the cinema.
I didn’t allow myself to think about Kas…or Haley. But, now, sitting here with him, it’s all I can think about.
I’m filled with empathy and compassion for this man sitting beside me. All the anger and resentment I felt last week are now gone.
But I still feel confused and guilty over what I know. I feel like I’ve somehow betrayed him with my curiosity and snooping into his life.
We don’t talk for the rest of the short ride to the estate.
He parks outside the house.
“Thanks for the ride.” I take off my seat belt and let myself out of the car.
I walk toward the front door. Kas is behind me.
Inside the house, I take my shoes off and hang my coat in the closet.
When I turn around, Kas is standing in the middle of the hallway, his hands in his trouser pockets. He looks unsure.
And I hate this animosity between us.
“Do you want me to get you a coffee?” I ask, offering an olive branch.
He seems surprised at that. “Coffee would be great. Thanks.”
I give him a brief smile and then head for the kitchen. I smile again when I hear him following behind me. I thought for sure that he would go straight to his office.
I busy myself with making the coffee. Kas takes a seat on a stool at the kitchen island.
When the coffee is ready, I take his over to him.
“Thanks.” He offers a smile.
Still standing, I lean my hip against the island and take a sip of my coffee.