Page 25 of Shifted

Isaac(6:42 a.m.): Where is Hugo's wife and child?

This text felt weird, but he could’ve just been curious. I hadn’t informed him of what I did after rescuing them. He just expected me to drop them off at the agency. But I would do anything to protect Melissa and her baby.

I was confused because he knew if I didn’t drop them off, it was for good reason. But why did he need to know? Why should he know? They were just two clients I saved personally in addition to killing Hugo.

Hope(6:45 p.m.): In a witness protection program, who knows where they are now

I replied, knowing full well where the two remained in safety. I turned off my burner and stowed it away for now. "Hope someone's at the door!" I heard Kendall call from downstairs.

Taking a deep breath, I quickly go to Joely's room. She’s seated at her tea party with her stuffed animals. "Be good for them tonight, okay?" She nods as I kiss her forehead, leaving her to continue playing with her stuffed animals.

I rushed down the stairs, holding my pumps in hand, and quickly opened the door. "Wow, you look great." He stood smiling at me as I quickly put on my shoes. "Thank you. I'm sorry I kept you waiting. I had to say goodbye to Joely." He nodded in understanding and looked to the living room, waving at Bella and Kendall.

"Bye!" Kendall yells as I shut the door quickly before they can embarrass me further. Knowing them, they’d take any chance to expose any odd secrets about me.

"So, where are we going? You gave no explanation nor indication of what this night will consist of?" As we walked towards the elevator, he intertwined our hands as we continued forward.

"Well, first, we have to get you food for this because our destination does not provide it. So fast food, what are you in the mood for?" I thought back to the choices in the area, but one key detail mattered most, well, to me. "Depends on what kind of fry you like. I mean, there's classic, crinkle, waffle, curly, and let's not forget about spicy curly." I probably sounded insane, but it was a very important process.

"I didn't realize I had such a fry connoisseur in my midst, Taylor. I think you have a gift," he says, and I glare at him. “A gift for picking greasy foods? Thanks.” I wouldn’t call myself a fast-food connoisseur, but I took fries seriously.

We made our way to the bottom level of the car garage, and we made our way to his car. It was a dark blue sports car, and he opened the door to the passenger's side. I slid inside while he moved to the front. I looked around his car. "What?" He questions.

"There is not a single crumb in here? Do you know who you are on a date with?" He put the key in the ignition. "Well, we won't eat the food in the car.” What a rookie mistake on this guy's part; he had no idea who was in his car.

"Again, do you know who you are on a date with? Reed, I can't just hold a bag and not have a fry!" He laughed as we pulled onto the road, "Now curly, spicy or waffle?" I narrowed down my options, seeing as he wouldn't choose.

"Waffle?" He suggests waiting for my approval.

"Good man, read my mind." He soon found a spot that sold fries and pulled into the drive-through, bringing my hand to his mouth and kissing it. "Wow, mister romance," I teased.

"I told you I don't date. I'm not a dating guy?" He warned again, but he did a pretty good job at it so far for a reserved guy.

"But for some reason, you are for me, huh? That sounds like bullshit. You had to have dated once before?" He pulled in further as we placed our order, then turned back to me.

"I've been on dates, several. But it was years ago, and there was none I wanted to make work?" It was interesting: just because you can’t find anyone you like, you stop completely. I had a genuine excuse: I found the love of my life and lost him. Then I went ahead and had his child, leaving me a single mother, “But I like you a lot. You're different." I rolled my eyes, knowing that this is what they all say. All I know is Reed Austen could be playing me and he’s had many relationships prior.

"I'm not like other girls." I mock him; what was this rom-com? "Seriously, don't say that shit. It's cheesy as fuck, and I'm not afraid to call you out on it."

"Exactly." He noted.

"What?"

"Exactly, you're not afraid to call me out on my shit. You don't care what anyone thinks. Most girls won't even eat on the first date, but here we are at a fast-food drive-through." That was pretty presumptuous for him to make, with no facts to back that up. I was going to eat whatever I wanted, when I wanted, with no judgment from some dick on a date.

"I have a child, so I kind of had to stop caring what everyone thought about me. I mean, people doubted the shit out of me in law school and if I gave into their opinions. I would've failed, and I never saw those people again. So who gives a shit." He smiled, pleased at my words, grabbing the bag of food from the cashier.

"I like your train of thought, Hope."

"A wise woman once told me that those who degrade you will one day obey you." He looked at me weirdly as I smiled, “Fucked up, right?"

"Who said this to you?"

"Windsor, Arabella's grandma, she was a lovely lady. That's when I spent my first Christmas with them. She was Arabella’s father’s mother. I never met her father; he died when she was just a kid.” It was a hard topic for the Jones family to come by, and Theo didn’t like the mention of his father at all. He always just seemed to shut down about it.

"So you really lived with the Jones family? Why on earth would your parents kick you out?" Because they didn’t want me in their lives in the first place.

"I was a burden to them; they simply hated having children. Still, it confuses me why they'd have two of them. But yeah, during my senior year of high school, I shared a room with Arabella under the agreement of going to college on a scholarship." I will forever be grateful to her family for saving me and helping me further my education.

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