Plain Sight

chapter fifty-eight

Juliette

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"Ready to go?" Tom asks, announcing his presence in the bedroom. He slips his shirt off, carefully.

I swear I saw him wince only for a moment, and then within the blink of an eye, he masked it again.

I'm once again reminded of the work done by my father. Tom never deserved this. His cuts still look so fresh and new, but it's healing fast. 

Every time I see his cuts, it's a constant reminder of the time he needed me the most, and I wasn't there.

I look up from my bag and nod towards him, "Do you need help? I know you're still a little sore from the cuts..." I offer, walking towards him in the closet now.

He walked over to his side of the closet, carefully plucking a black shirt from its hanger, "I'm not helpless, Juliette." He says, pulling the shirt over his head in a swift movement, "See?" He finishes, walking past me and out of the closet towards the bed.

I sigh softly, following him, "Are you still not gonna tell me where you're taking me?" I sit down on the edge of the bed, watching him tie his shoelaces.

He shakes his head, "I told you, it's a surprise. All you need to know is that I have something special planned for us." He smiled to himself as he spoke, standing up after he finished tying his laces.

"Is that so?"

"Very much, you're gonna love it." He walks over to my side of the bed, picks up my bag, and tosses the strap over his shoulder.

"And," He continues, "It's gonna be good to get out of here for a while. Trust me."

And that reminds me once again of the hell that has broken loose in just the past few days.

It's been a few days since I found out the truth about Milo. My stalker. My best friends ex fucking boyfriend.

I haven't told anybody yet, but I know I should, and that's exactly what I plan on doing. But not until I find out what Milo's true intentions are.

There's been a meeting set up regarding the deal with Milo. Probably money for my safety, Tom, Bill, and Georg pay off Milo in order to keep him off of my ass.

Which is absolutely absurd.

Tom and I head downstairs, "When is the meeting?" I ask. I know he hates to talk about business with me, but this case is different. It involves me.

"One week, in Rome. Everything should be settled after that. But," He sighs, "There's just something so wrong with this. We don't know what Milo could be planning and we're preparing for anything." He says as he opens the back door and places my bag down next to his.

It's set for after Tom and I get back from our getaway, which gives me enough time to tell him the truth about Milo.

I need to be the one to tell him. If it's not me that tells him, it's just going to turn into a big mess.

"Have you guys found anything about this Milo guy?" I sit down in the passenger seat, avoiding eye contact with Tom as I ask, because I know if I did, he could see straight through me.

"Absolutely nothing. It's fucking ridiculous, I don't even know what he looks like. He could be some old fat man for all we know."

Quite the opposite, actually.

"What have Bill and Georg said about the meeting?" I ask him, when it comes to business and work, and they leave the room to talk about it.

I think they're worried about me, they think I'm fragile or something because of my recent crimes.