Page 31 of The Rookie's Second Chance

He hesitated before stepping aside, allowing us entry. “What do you want to know?”

I tried to control the impatience in my voice. “Did you know Lexi well in college?”

He snorted, rubbing his unshaven chin. “'Know her well'? That's a way to put it. We dated, if you could call it that. It was... complicated.”

“Complicated how?” Kayla pressed.

Derek glanced at me, a smirk playing on his lips. “I was her secret. Nobody knew about us. Especially not her family, from what she told me.”

The room suddenly felt too tight, the air too thin. My sister's secret relationship? “Why was it a secret?”

He shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe she was embarrassed about dating a townie. Or maybe it was something else. But it doesn’t matter. It ended badly. She left without a word.”

“And you've had no contact since?”

“Not a word. I tried reaching out, but she blocked me on everything. But then again, Lexi always had her... secrets.”

The way he emphasized the word sent shivers down my spine. Kayla, sensing the tension, steered the conversation back on track.

“Derek, do you know anyone who might have had a grudge against her from those days? Someone who might be targeting her now?”

He leaned back, regarding us with a measured gaze. “Well, there was this one guy, Ethan. He was obsessed with her. Even after she and I started whatever it was we had, he wouldn't leave her alone. Sent her tons of messages, some pretty creepy shit. She never took it seriously, thought he was just a harmless nerd.”

My fists clenched. “Do you have any idea where this Ethan might be now?”

He shook his head. “No clue. But if anyone had a reason to be pissed at Lexi from back then, it was him.”

Kayla and I exchanged glances, a new lead taking shape. As we made our way to the car, a flurry of emotions raged within me. The surprise of Lexi’s hidden relationship, and the revelation of a potential stalker from her past, was a lot to process.

Kayla put a hand on my arm, her touch grounding. “Hey, we’ll figure this out. We’re close, Jake. I can feel it.”

I nodded. With Kayla by my side and a new lead to chase, I felt a renewed sense of determination.

I was on the road, parked just around the corner from Derek’s place, when I decided to call Lexi. I didn't want to, not really, but it felt like the right thing to do. She needed to know about the past crawling up behind her.

The phone rang once, twice.

"Jake?" Her voice trembled on the other end.

"Lexi, there's something I need to ask you." I took a deep breath. "Do you remember someone named Derek Kline from college?" Silence. A thick, heavy pause.

Then, a whispered, "Yeah."

"You never mentioned him. He claims you two... dated."

"He wasn't wrong," she finally replied. There was a heaviness to her voice that I hadn't heard before. "We did, in secret. God, I never thought I’d have to revisit that part of my life."

"Why'd you keep it from everyone?" I pushed, trying to keep the frustration out of my voice.

There was a sigh. "He was older, Jake. And he wasn't a student. I knew what people would say, how they’d judge."

My grip on the steering wheel tightened. "Did he ever hurt you, Lex?"

"No," she said quickly, almost defensively. "It wasn’t like that. It just… it ended poorly, and I wanted to leave that chapter behind."

I swallowed hard, recalling Derek's disheveled appearance and dismissive tone when talking about her. "There's another name, Lex. Ethan? Derek mentioned him. Said he was a bit... obsessive over you."

A sharp intake of breath on the other end. "Ethan? Shit, I hadn't thought about him in years. He was harmless, just a bit... intense. I can't imagine he’d be behind this, but Jake, I don’t trust my own judgment anymore."

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