Troubled Indeed

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Simon followed me the short drive to the coffee shop, as promised. He parked next to me, but I didn't wait for him. I just got out of the car and into the shop. I wanted to be done with this and go home as soon as possible. I needed to tell Anthony what was going on.

"You could have waited for me," Simon says, acting offended as he approaches me at the table with his coffee. He has a big ass shiner under his eye and another one on his chin, looks like he was in a fight. I'm sure he deserved what he got.

"You've got arms and legs. I don't see why you would need me outside. You wanted to talk so let's talk."

"Friendly as ever," he says jokingly.

I don't reply. I hope he understands I'm disgusted by him. I don't want to spend any time with him, whatsoever. He might look handsome on the outside but he's really rotten on the inside. And the less time I spend with him the better.

"Alright, princess...," he begins, but I interrupt him immediately.

"Don't call me that."

"Fine, your highness," he keeps mocking me.

That's it, he's here to make fun of me and I'm not taking any of his shit. I stand up and turn to leave but before I can do that, he grabs my wrist.

"If you don't stop this right now, I'm leaving. And you can keep whatever you had to say to yourself," I say sternly as I wriggle my wrist out of his hold.

He lets go of me and raises both of his palms as a sign of surrender. This makes me sit back down. At least he knows now that I'm not to be joked around with.

"Your boyfriend, Anthony," Simon begins in a serious tone, "He's done some pretty intimidating shit, you know?"

"I know and I don't care. I love him." But the truth is I'm not sure I know everything he's done. Anthony told me once that he had done some shit he didn't want to talk about, and I never confronted him about that.

Simon raises an eyebrow and looks at me for a moment too long. This makes me uncomfortable. What is his intention here?

"Well, good for you," he says after the longest pause, "I'm not entirely sure you know everything about him, though," he keeps on going.

"Why do you even care? I know enough to understand that the past is in the past and he's a new man today. He loves and adores me and my son."

"An honest man? A gentleman?" he smirks.

"Fuck you," I reply. I can't stand him. I know Anthony is not exactly the most honest man on this planet, but I'd have his back any second of the day because he respects me.

"Yes, you did," he responds quickly.

I should be furious at that comment. I should be leaving his ass right there. But instead, he amuses me. I try my hardest not to laugh at his joke and keep a straight face.

"What do you want? And try to be serious," I manage to say.

"I'm just making sure you know what you're doing and who you're letting into your and Benji's life."

"What do you mean?" This piques my interest.

"He told you about his father, right?" Simon asks me, testing the waters, no doubt.

I vaguely remember the conversation we had with Anthony. His father was deep in debt and there was no way out. I'm not sure what happened to him exactly, but I know he didn't live very long.

"Yes, of course," I reply very confidently. No way I'm going to show this man any doubts about Anthony.

"Do you know how he died?"

"A little bit," I reply, but my confidence is wavering. This feels like an interrogation.

"What do you mean a little bit? You either do or you don't," he furrows his brows.

"The official record said he OD'd," I blurt out.

"Exactly!" Simon exclaims as if he has made a remarkable discovery. "The official record...because this way the case could be closed."

"What do you mean?"

"They are all scratching each other's backs. At least they did back then. The official record stated one thing, but the reality was something else." He's clearly excited to tell me this, with his expression so animated.

"Oh my god, just say what you want to say, quit beating around the bush," I'm getting tired of his mind games.

"I've seen those records," he says triumphantly, "I had a friend on the inside. And let's just say your boyfriend isn't all that innocent when it comes to his father's death. In fact, during some point of the investigation, he was the main suspect, but he was an adolescent at the time, so they decided to ditch that lead." Simon stops talking, waiting for my reaction.

I'm not sure how to react. I'm trying my best to understand if he's telling me the truth or trying to manipulate me to get rid of Anthony.

"I'm trying to understand why you are telling me all this," I state after a minute.

"Just trying to enlighten you. I want to protect my son."

"I never asked you to do that. You're the one he needs protection from." I look at him dubiously.

"Are you sure? The only reason I ever took him was because you wouldn't let me see him. I didn't harm him in any way, did I?" he tries to smooth things over, as if kidnapping my son was a good deed.

"Why are you telling me all this? What is your purpose here?" I'm getting restless. I feel like he's leaving some things unsaid and very much enjoys himself.

He shrugs but doesn't say anything.

It's only now that I realize he tried to plant a seed of doubt about Anthony in my head. And to my misery, he succeeded.

"Nice artwork you have there," I finally say wryly, pointing at his beaten face, "Who did it?" I don't want to talk about Anthony and his fucked up past any longer. I just need to find a way to leave.

Simon doesn't reply, he just cocks his head slightly to the left with a "what do you think?" expression.

"Oh." It's hard to believe Anthony would be this violent to someone. I can only hope that this is another lie coming from Simon. But then again, what if it's true? What if everything Simon just said is, in fact, the truth? What if Anthony did kill his own father?