Split Love

CHAPTER 37

2:50pm - Micah: Many readers?

2:50pm - Jasmine: Just one.

Jamie placed her phone on the reading table and looked at Agent West, who was sitting across her with his eyes fixed on her.

Right after Jamie took a shower and her grandmother bandaged her knee and forearm, she went to the library. Even with her grandmother's protests that she should stay home that morning, everything was ignored with one goal. Agent West needed to get back so they could talk again. She knew he was nearby, as he had warned her the day before, and she didn't hesitate when calling him that morning.

- It's him? - He asked.

- Yes. - She snorted and got rid of the anxiety that was growing in her chest.

With one thought in mind, Jamie turned her phone off before the conversation. She didn't see any reason, but if the FBI said there was a bug on her phone, maybe she wouldn't doubt it.

- What do you want to know?

- Everything. - She crossed her arms over the table. - I wanna know everything before I give you an answer.

- I don't think you're ready to know everything.

- And why wouldn't I be?

Agent West hesitated for a moment.

- This is much bigger than you think, Jasmine. Maybe I'm not the right person to tell you. - He shook his head almost imperceptibly. - You should talk to Richard Keller.

- Do you know him?

- Yes. We are from different offices but we know each other.

She blinked. The gears of her brain turning trying to put together the pieces that seemed to be falling apart.

- Richard Keller is from the FBI?

The silence was like a vacuum that sucked the words from Jamie's mouth. His eyes raked over her face for almost a full minute.

- Yes. From the Chicago office.

- And he knew my father. - She stated, afraid that it would also be a lie.

- They were friends from what I heard.

- From what you heard?

- Yes. Obviously I haven't met him, and I've been on this case for only two years.

Obviously? But if he knows Richard Keller, then... Jamie felt a tremor run through her and a deep buzzing in her soul began to torment her.

- My father was from the FBI. - She concluded in a whisper.

Agent West lowered his head and took a deep breath. Maybe he realized that she didn't know anything about the people around her and felt sorry for her. Does he pity me? I don't want his pity, I want the truth. Or is he just unsure whether to tell the truth or lie right to my face like everyone else?

Jasmine wouldn't be surprised if he lied like everyone else. That's what people do, right? They lie and make up fake stories for her to believe and live in this fantasy world in which she is nothing more than a puppet. Maybe she was already so used to living in the dark that she didn't question anything anymore. Maybe she had already accepted being a puppet.