2 kids

A little souvenir.

Alex.

I might as well reconsider my profession.

Being a musician feels like a stolen dream anyway. But even if it really is, I can't give up on it now. I'm bound by a guilt awakening desire and a deadly promise.

Perhaps switching to law enforcement holds a brighter future for me. There's one last detective job I have to do before we leave for LA.

Releasing a heavy sigh I run my hand through my hair absolutely frustrated. If Ace finds out we're as good as dead. But I can't let him mess with Ace's like this. I can't watch Ace lose his mind.

If taking the situation into my own hands is what it takes to get some answers, I might as well give it a try. If I get nothing out of this self-sabotaging meeting, I'll have to lean for the worst and last option.

I look at the building over for me. Then I check the time on my phone while also checking any missed calls or messages from Ace.

Nico is gazing at me. I look into his eyes, and I can see the question in them. Am I ready? I shake my head, but open the door. I'll never be ready for this.

The air feels visibly colder tonight. Even the sky seems to be darker. Regardless of the noisy street, I can feel an uncomfortable silence setting itself over us. Like the calmness in a horror movie before someone dies. You know bad things will happen, but it's out of your hands to change them.

We've spent a good thirty minutes sitting in the car and only waiting for him to get here. Neither of us dared to say we should give up. From the perspective of someone who's been spying on him for the past few weeks, it's hilarious to observe his behaviour. Not a single thought that he may be followed has crossed his mind.

I carefully counted the floors twice to make sure I wouldn't buzz the wrong door. I walk slowly, gaze fixed on the front door. I can still turn around and let it be. But when that thought crosses my mind, I see Ace's face. The empty, blank eyes with no sparks, the fake smile never reaching his eyes. I see the pain and memories he has to go through. I see all that he doesn't deserve, and my mind is set. I'm not backing off now.

Buzzing his door would be stupid. Buzzing someone else's door might not let us in. An older lady with her dog is walking up the stairs very slowly. Her legs shake so drastically every once in a while that I get the assumption she's going to fall down.

Nico offers her help while I hold the door for her. She smiles kindly at us, letting us enter when we tell her we're here to visit our friend. She falls for the lie, not even thinking that it might not be true.

She takes the elevator to her floor, but we take the stairs. We watch her get in the elevator and wait until she doesn't get out. First when we hear the door to her apartment shut, do we move.

We don't hurry. The stairs feel endless, and time moves too slowly.

My plan wasn't to come here with someone. I already feel guilty for dragging Parker deeper into this mess. I wanted the others to stay out of it. But I had to ask Nico. I had to know a simple answer to a simple question. I couldn't approach him in a way that wouldn't tell him my intensions. I couldn't find a way to camouflage the real reason with a lie.

He insisted on coming with me. Why in the first place does he have to know everyone, I wondered. After a series of arguments, I let in.

We both stop before his door. That's it, I say to myself. All that's standing between us is a simple wooden door. We just have to knock.

We've collectively been pretending his existence was just a nightmare for the past ten years. Now I'm standing here, before his door, and hesitating to knock.