Page 6 of Tell Me You Need Me

TEDDY

“Have you ever heard of him?” I pose this question to Willa as I close her bedroom door. Her room, like most of the rooms, is quite spacious. It has a sitting area with a fireplace. I bet her room is as big as some Manhattan apartments.

“Never.” Willa goes over to her bed, sitting down. I follow after her, trying to stay focused on her and not West. I have a million questions there. I’m sure Willa has to as well, but I think ours might be very different. “But with how much he resembles my brother, I’m guessing it's true. He’s my uncle.” I nod, sitting down next to her.

“We can try and dig up stuff if you want.”

“How?”

I shrug, but I already have a few ideas. I bet her father's office is filled with information. “There are ways.” I wink at her.

“Don’t go all Nancy Drew.”

"You love when I go full Nancy Drew," I counter. I am rather good at finding information, and I’m too curious for my own good. It doesn’t hurt that I have my own agenda as well. That only stokes my curiosity even more.

“I just hope he was telling the truth. That he’s not like my father.” Willa fiddles with the button on her cardigan. She can be quiet and reserved but not typically with me.

“This is bullshit,” Rich says, bursting into the room.

“Let’s take a breath.”

“We can’t breathe through this, Teddy,” he snaps.

“Hey, don't take it out on her.” Willa is quick to come to my defense.

“It’s okay. There are a lot of emotions going on.” I can take it if it helps Rich calm down. He can be a hothead at times. It seems to run in the family. West tried not to show it, but I could see an underlying tension in him as well.

“How about we watch a movie?” I offer. No one says a word, so I get up on my own and start one. I get into bed with Willa while Rich drops into one of the oversized chairs next to it.

At some point, I doze off. When I awaken, Rich has already left, and Willa is sound asleep. I check my phone to see that it’s only nine. I slip from the bed to use the bathroom. A text pops up from my mom asking how Willa and Rich are and if she should make dinner. I tell her I’ve got it. I don’t think she knows anything about West yet.

I plug Willa's phone into the charger before leaving her bedroom. I step across the wide hallway to where Rich’s room is. Their rooms are on this wing of the house. There are a total of three. Karl kept one to himself. He stayed true to it for the most part when he was home. Willa and Rich preferred it that way, so it worked for all of them.

I hated it when he was home. There was this tension that lingered around the whole estate. I avoided the main house as much as possible whenever he was here. He always gave me the creeps. Willa would often end up at the guesthouse, crashing in my room.

She never explicitly stated what she was doing, but she didn’t have to. I knew she was masking it behind hanging out and just happened to fall asleep in bed with me.

I press my ear to Rich’s door to see if I hear anything, but it’s quiet, so I step away. I'll prepare something for them to eat later. I’ll leave a note in the kitchen for them. If they are able to sleep, I want to let them do so. I’m sure they haven’t had much rest.

When I come to the end of the hallway, I pause. You can either go straight to Karl’s wing or right to the other. If you go left, it’s down the stairs to the entryway of the home.

Everything's in its place, making me wonder where West and Jack went and if they are still here and getting settled in. I glance around, not hearing anything. Seeing this as a change, I venture down Karl’s wing.

This is my chance to do a bit of poking around. I have never been to this side before. There are two cleaners that come each morning and keep that part of the house. It would be impossible for one person to do it alone. It was my mom’s job to handle all of these details. I’m sure she’s been to Karl’s wing before.

Perhaps I should focus my search on his office. That’s where he would’ve kept documents. I worry my bottom lip between my teeth, debating what I should do. I decide the office is my best bet, so I turn and go back down the stairs.

I peek around, checking a few of the rooms to see if anyone is here before I go to the double doors of Karl's office. Now, Karl had a strict rule that no one was allowed inside. For obvious reasons, I’m pretty sure it doesn’t still apply. Plus, West can’t know that rule is in place. When I try the handle, it's locked, but it's just an old one, more for aesthetics. I pull one of the bobby pins out of my hair to use.

I glance over my shoulder again before I slide it into the lock and wiggle. My uncle taught me this trick long ago. He was always teaching me and my cousin Tabby things our momswould get annoyed with, but it was fun and sweet. Like our own little secrets.

It takes me a couple of tries before I get the hook right, and the lock clicks over, annoyingly loudly, making me again check over my shoulder, not wanting to get busted. I could explain it to my mom or Willa and Rich, but broody and sexy, I'm not so sure. He got weird about me going upstairs, which I still don’t understand. I’m guessing he wouldn't be too happy if he caught me popping locks around here to look through personal information.

I smirk as I slip inside, swiftly but quietly closing the door and clicking the lock back into place. I rest my hand against the door, slightly overexcited that I managed to pull that off. When I turn around, all my excitement fades as a light on the desk flickers on.

Leaning up against the desk is none other than Mr. Broody and Sexy himself. He folds his arms over his chest, his legs outstretched.

I’m so screwed.

---