Page 92 of New Beginnings
“Rebel, you can’t be serious?” my mother asked. “Rumi’s your sister.”
“And right now, she’s not acting like my sister. Her problems dealing with her feelings for her ex have nothing to do with my relationship. Until she can see that, I don’t need that kind of negativity in my life.”
“So, you’re choosing him over me?” Rumi asked as she stood.
Her eyes were filled with hurt, and her voice trembled with pain, but I stood firm in my decision. She needed on work things with Caesar and leave me the hell out of it. Aware of the repercussions, she pointed the cops in J.D.’s direction. Not for my benefit but to hurt both J.D. and Caesar. And I wasn’t cool with that.
“No, I’m not choosing J.D. over you. You’re my sister and I love you. But I am choosing my sanity. I am choosing what works for me. You have some major issues you need to workthrough, so you don’t project your feelings about Caesar onto J.D. I can’t deal with that right now.”
She locked eyes with me, her gaze lingering for a moment, before swiftly pivoting on her heels and exiting the room.
“Rebel, you know how much he hurt, Rumi.”
“I do. But he’s not J.D., Mother. And I refuse to let her ruin what I’m trying to build with the person I love because she can’t get over her past. That has nothing to do with me. Now can you let me use your phone? I need to find out what’s going on.”
My mother didn’t argue with me although I could see she didn’t like my decision. It was something I would have to discuss with her later but right now I was glad she was letting it go for now.
She reached inside her purse then handed me her phone. “I’m going to check on your sister, and give you some privacy,” she said, standing.
“Thank you, Mother.”
She nodded, her footsteps echoing as she walked out of the room. I took a deep breath, feeling the tension in my chest, and dialed J.D.’s number. The phone rang a few times, the shrill sound cutting through the silence, before being redirected to voicemail. As the beep echoed in the room, I couldn’t help but let out a frustrated sigh.
“Hey, just wanted to let you know, I survived.” I chuckled. “Anyway, I don’t have my phone, but they’re putting me in a room in a few days. Please get in touch with me as soon as you can. And be safe, the cops are probably looking for you. I love you.”
After ending the call, I immediately dialed Caesar’s number. Although he wouldn’t reveal all the details, I hoped he would at least share something with me.
I dialed his number and waited. On the fourth ring he finally picked up.
“Who’s this?”
“It’s me.”
“Oh, thank fuck! I told him if anyone could pull through you could.”
I chuckled. “Thanks for the confidence in me. Where’s J.D.?”
He fell into an unsettling silence, leaving me with a sense of unease.
“Come on, Caesar. You can’t leave me in the dark.”
“He’s on his way to Vegas.”
Fear ran through me. That meant he found his answers which also meant I didn’t have to ask about Agent Revels. He was already dead.
“He came to see you before he left."
“He did?”
“Yeah. He needed to get some things off his chest.”
“You mean he needed to say goodbye.”
Tears stung the back of my eyes. Of course, he came to say goodbye.
“He loves you, Rebel. Don’t give up on him.”
“Never,” I said without hesitation. “Just make sure you guys protect yourselves. The cops will be headed your way.”
