Page 39 of Watching Ames

Then I turned toward Bex, who looked both homicidal and guilt-ridden as she processed my words. Finally looking up at me, she opened her mouth but I held up a hand, waving off the apology I knew was coming my way.

“You were right about him,” I admitted, “But I don’t want to spend any more energy talking about him. What I want to talk about is why you’re here.”

“I’m here because this morning I got an anonymous message telling me to come to this address tonight. I tried backtracking the message to its source but couldn’t, which pretty much never happens. So then I tried using a little force to trace the message, but instead I got a threat with an attachment of the evidence that the police lost. So I showed up, only to find you here.”

“I guess I’ll jump in here. Nice to meet you, Bex, despite the circumstances.” Alex turned slightly toward me as he explained, “I’d been planning on helping you and Bex make up for a while. It was easy enough to get her number from your phone since I’d already cloned it, and of course my number wasn’t blocked. The original plan was subtler, but I didn’t want to overstep any boundaries, so I kind of just sat on my plan. But this morning when you mentioned having Bex hang out with us, I knew I had to act. ”

Alex had been directing most of the backstory to me, but glanced at Bex as he complimented her, “You’re pretty good, by the way. But I couldn’t risk any security breaches with my business so I threatened you to get you to back off and guarantee you’d show tonight.”

“Why didn’t you just say I was here?” I asked, confused by all the subterfuge.

“Because I wouldn’t have believed it. It would’ve looked like a scam, or a trap,” Bex admitted grudgingly, arms crossed as she assessed Alex with a slightly impressed look. “I wouldn’t have come unless he threatened to expose the police evidence. But the better question is, how did you get it?”

“Because I’m the one who stole the evidence.”

“What?” Bex and I asked in unison, the disbelief in our voices evident. I pulled myself from Alex’s embrace, which caused a short furrow between his eyebrows, though it smoothed when I didn’t leave his side but rather turned so I could face him more fully.

“Well, back when I was first watching you - Ames can explain that part later -” Alex interjected for Bex’s sake, noting her confused look at the mention of ‘watching’ me, “I saw Bex was on trial for hacking into some government systems. I couldn’t have her going to jail, since she was your sister. But also, I was impressed. She wouldn’t have gotten caught if it weren’t for that idiot boyfriend. So I called in a few favors, had a couple officers look the other way while they ‘lost’ their evidence against Bex, and then hired a much better lawyer to take on her case.”

“So that was the shit you had me steal months ago?” Alex just nodded in response to Dev’s question, his friend shaking his head as he whistled. “Damn, Xan, I knew you were gone for this girl, but I didn’t realize how gone.”

Dev was right. Watching me after his contract with Peter’s dad ended and buying me a house? Those paled in comparison to committing multiple felonies to keep my sister out of jail. His generosity, the fact that he’d helped my sister solely because he knew she meant so much to me, knocked the breath out of me.

While based on the house he’d bought, money wasn’t an issue, I was sure those favors had cost him, too, considering the types of men he worked with. Not to mention the danger it had put both him and Dev in. But Alex didn’t say anything, just shrugged as he checked his watch, tilting his head in the direction of the kitchen.

Wren and Dev jumped up from their seats, Dev starting the grill before following Alex and Wren into the house. Bex and I were left alone in the afternoon sun, though it had started its descent behind the trees in the backyard.

As soon as they left, Bex was beside me, pulling me in a tight hug as she apologized, “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have left you.” I heard the tight anger in her voice and knew it was directed inward, blaming herself for everything that had happened since she left.

“I should’ve listened to you about Peter. Not just because of what happened with him, but because of how I was acting. You were right, I was letting him walk all over me.”

“I can’t believe you’re trying to apologize to me right now. I’m the one who fucked up. I shouldn’t have left, and I shouldn’t have blocked your number. It was stupid of me. I didn’t expect - it doesn’t matter that I didn’t see it coming. I still should’ve been there when that happened.” She held up her hand when I opened my mouth. “Don’t try to argue, just say you forgive me.”

“I forgive you.”

“Good. I’ll buy you a coffee tomorrow.”

It seemed quick, but all was forgiven. Despite the heartache Bex caused me, she was still my sister. We were all the other had, which was why her leaving had been so hard. And she was right; had it been any other week, she could’ve unblocked my number and texted me with little to no repercussions, just a long, drawn-out fight between sisters. It wasn’t her fault that everything went to shit as soon as she left.

“So what do we think about this Alex guy? What’s your relationship with him?” She finally asked, glancing over my shoulder as she lowered her voice, as if worried Alex was spying.

“It’s complicated. We were friends but then I found out he was my admirer and things kind of went off the rails for a bit. He’s intense, for sure, but I trust him. He’s been there for me every time I’ve needed him, and that counts for something.”

Bex winced at the implication that Alex had been there for me when she hadn’t, but quickly switched gears. “This guy’s skills are impressive, Ames. Like less-than-legal impressive.”

I barked out a laugh at her warning, reminding her, “Did you not just hear the same story I did, Bex? Where he broke into a police station and stole evidence and then hired us a lawyer whose hourly pay is hundreds of dollars?”

“I’m not knocking his skills, Ames. I’m just impressed, is all. I’m not so much a hypocrite that I would warn you off a guy who probably does the same shit I’ve done, except he’s obviously found a way to make more money and not get caught.”

Bex’s annoyed-yet-impressed grumbling had me doubled over in laughter, tears streaming out of my eyes, and her laughter followed close behind. We were still laughing when the rest of the group emerged from the kitchen, plates of uncooked burgers and sausages in hand.

“You’re welcome to stay, Bex,” Alex called out as our laughter petered out and Bex stood up. Her eyes had taken on that cornered-animal look, telling me she planned to bolt. I reached out a hand to reassure her, and Bex took it, allowing me to lead her over by the grill to mingle.

Now that Bex and I had made up, Alex, Dev, and Wren were back to their antics, tossing jokes and insults around without pause. Bex followed along silently, looking out of place among the friendly camaraderie. I wondered what she thought of my new friends, two criminals and a sweet florist who looked so different standing around the grill.

Alex, in his dark jeans and forest green polo, looked casual but impeccable, not a strand of hair out of place, which I’d come to realize was standard for him, even during casual get-togethers. Dev had on a similar outfit to last night, a pair of joggers that hugged his legs and a t-shirt, looking like he just rolled out of the gym. His friendly smile was belied by the assessing looks he kept throwing at Bex, as if weighing if she was a threat. Wren, on the other side of Dev, wore a blue sundress paired with white sandals, a red ribbon tying her hair up in a bow. She looked patriotic and adorable, much too sweet to be hanging out with a couple of punks and criminals. But even if Wren didn’t look like it, she fit with them, the guys constantly joking with her and giving her casual, friendly touches that Bex continually frowned at.

Bex didn’t have a great track record with stable relationships, jumping from one unreliable partner to another in her love life, and keeping only surface-level friendships. Ours was the only stable relationship she had, and the only relationship where she let down her guard. So it didn’t surprise me that this intensely tight-knit circle unnerved her, got her walls up, but I also didn’t want to let her escape too early, without giving them a chance, because I knew she’d fit in with them as easily as I had.

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