Page 56 of Another Postcard

With every step down the hall, my footsteps felt heavier. Something had been bothering Brooklynn since yesterday and I’d been prepared to drag it out of her today. Now, I had to drop this weight on top of whatever was already dragging her down. I hated going in blind, it left me no ability to prepare myself for her reaction.

Swiping my keycard, I walked into our suite. I made my way to the bedroom and did my best to keep quiet as I opened the door, assuming she was still sleeping. My brow lowered in a frown when I spotted the empty bed. A sound from the bathroom alerted me that she was still there. “Brooklynn? Baby?” I called softly. There was an extended silence and I wondered for a moment if I’d imagined the noise. I started for the bathroom but she suddenly appeared in the doorway. I smoothed my expression, not wanting to freak her out before I had a chance to ease into everything. Coming to a stop in front of her, I ran my eyes over her beautiful face before gathering her into my arms and kissing her sweetly. “Morning, baby.” She leaned into the kiss, deepening it with a fervor that surprised me. There was almost an edge of desperation to it. I pulled back and set her a few inches away from me. “Let’s talk, all right?”

Her brown eyes cleared of desire and became sad, but it was the wariness in them that surprised me. Taking her hand, I led her over to the sliding door to our balcony. There were two chairs situated in front of it and I guided her to one of them before dragging the other close and sitting across from her, our knees almost touching.

“Levi, you’re making me nervous.” Her fingers were tangled together and she was twisting them anxiously.

I didn’t know how to fucking start.Damn it all to hell.

Handing her the folder, I decided to start with the postcards I hadn’t been telling her about. “First, I want to remind you that I love you. You knocked me on my fucking ass and now, I’m head over fucking heels in love with you.”

Her wary expression didn’t change but she whispered, “I love you too.”

“I didn’t want you to worry, so I kept something from you. Maybe that was wrong, but my first instinct will always be to protect you.” Her eyes narrowed, clearly conveying her irritation.Shit.

“Anyway, when we were in Dublin, I started getting postcards again.” I paused, expecting an explosive reaction, but she didn’t say anything. The only indication of her displeasure was in the darkening of her expression. “Like I said, I didn’t want you to worry. But, we started looking into it again.” I gestured to the folder and she opened it to find the latest postcard.

I went on to explain everything I’d been told, watching her carefully and waiting for the moment when she would either freak out or break down. The longer she went with little to no reaction, the more I felt that something was off. She was still holding back and it was making me suspicious.

When I finished explaining, I took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Baby, I know this must be incredibly hard to believe, but they wouldn’t have come to me if they weren’t one hundred percent sure. I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”

Brooklynn shook her head, her face becoming blank. “I don’t know what to say.” She stood abruptly and turned away from me, stalking back inside and across the room. I followed slowly, cautiously, since I felt like I was stumbling around in the dark. The sense of wrongness about this was getting stronger, shrouding me in suspicion.

She whirled around suddenly, her body tense as a guitar string, her face a mask of resolve. “Look, we have a few days off. I’m going to go home and take care of this. I promise, I’ll fix it.”

I closed the distance between us and gently clasped her upper arms. “Baby, let’s get something clear. None of this is your fault, no one blames you.” Even as I said the words, my suspicions made them feel like sawdust in my mouth, but I ignored it. “Beyond that, it’s not your responsibility to fix it either. Brooklynn, you can’t solve this on your own. Baylee needs help and do you really think you’ll have the strength to put her in an institution? I know you. You think you can care for her yourself, but sometimes, things are just out of our control. She needs professional help, baby.”

Brooklynn shook her head emphatically and tore herself out of my hold. “You’re wrong. I can do what needs to be done. I know what’s best for my sister.”

I sighed, hating the universe for making me the one to pull the wool from over her eyes. “That’s just it, baby. Who Baylee has become, she’s not the sister you know. She’s a stranger to you.”

Brooklynn stepped back and almost tripped over something behind her. I made a grab for her, helping to steady her and that’s when my eyes landed on what she’d stumbled over. “What the fuck are those, Brooklynn?” It was a rhetorical question, I knew exactly what they were. Two bright red suitcases sat on the floor, with her purse propped on top, clearly packed and ready to go. I wasn’t sure I could trust my eyes because it seemed so unbelievable.

“I need to go. I was already planning it before you came back. There are some things I need to deal with.”

Just like that, the suspicion blooming in my chest grew to epic proportions, mixed with a healthy dose of anger. “Brooklynn, what the fuck aren’t you telling me? Why are you hiding something from me?” I steamed.

“It doesn’t matter—“

“Bullshit,” I spat. I marched around her and picked up a suitcase, tossing it on the bed and unzipping it. “You’re not going anywhere until we figure this out. We are in a fucking relationship, Brooklynn. We need to be honest with each other.”

“Like you were honest with me about the postcards?” Her voice was quiet, but it didn’t need to be yelled, it pierced my heart in a direct hit.

I turned to her. “You’re right, that was a dick move and I’m sorry. I promise to never lie or withhold anything from you again. Now, it’s your turn to unload and we’ll start over, with nothing between us.”

Her eyes flitted to the suitcase on the bed and they widened. “No,” she said frantically, moving toward it.

Frustrated, I spun back around and opened the case. I started throwing her clothes back onto the bed, determined to unpack and force her to stay. “Don’t!” She lunged at the case just as I unzipped an upper pocket and stuck my hand inside. My fingers brushed something hard, thin and sharp, like heavy paper. Using two fingers, I pinched it and slid it out.

I barely registered Brooklynn dropping down onto the bed and putting her face in her hands. My focus was on the postcard in my hand, a card with chimpanzees and a postmark that matched those sent from Baylee’s post office.

“What is this?” I continued to stare at the offending item, my voice picking up volume as I spoke again. “Brooklynn. Why do you have one of Baylee’s postcards in your luggage?” Mistrust suddenly gave way to accusation and rage.

“Did you know? All this time?” I tried to find an explanation, but I was too far gone to be logical. “Fuck,” I breathed. “You let an innocent woman take the fall for your sister.” I finally looked at her and tossed the postcard into her lap. “How could you do that?”

She got to her feet, sticking her hands in her back pockets and pacing in quick, jerky movements. “You know me better than that, Levi,” she argued, sounding almost as angry as I felt. I didn’t know what the fuck she had to be angry about.

“Obviously, I don’t know you at all. You certainly did a fantastic job of pretending to be the woman I fell for.” I clapped mockingly. “You should go to Hollywood, Brooklynn. Really, your acting talents are wasted here. And making me chase you, wow. Fucking brilliant.”

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