Her Heart

Chapter 39

Riley's POV

Maya went down for a nap after playing nonstop. She was really excited. Now that she's finally settled in we're going to Jackson's room to see what was in the duffle bag Olivia and Carter saw.

"I'm telling you it's gonna be pointless he wouldn't do something like that to us." Sofia whines to her girlfriend as we're walking to his room.

Olivia groans, "You think with your dick instead of your head."

"Ewww." Carter comments.

"Wait what. That's implying I'm attracted to Jackson is it not? You do know I'm in love with you woman right." Sofia says offended.

Carter laughs, "Ask Riley she's the professor."

I roll my eyes at Carter's joke but smirk anyway. "I'm not a professor of relationship drama, but Olivia's got a point," I say, glancing at Sofia. "It doesn't hurt just to make sure he's not involved."

Sofia huffs, clearly not convinced. "He's been stressed, like all of us. That doesn't make him a traitor."

Olivia shakes her head, clearly frustrated. "Sof, I'm not saying he's guilty of anything yet, but we need to check. He's been sneaking around, and the last thing we need is to be blindsided."

As we reach Jackson's room, the air feels tense, thick with uncertainty. Carter pauses at the door, glancing at me for reassurance. I give her a small nod, and she takes a deep breath before pushing it open.

"Where did you see the duffle bag?" I ask Olivia.

Olivia points toward the closet. "It was stuffed in there when Carter and I came in last night. We didn't touch it, though."

Sofia goes behind Olivia, "You go first."

"Scared baby?"

Sofia scoffs, rolling her eyes. "I'm not scared. Just being cautious."

Olivia smirks, clearly enjoying the moment. "Sure yeah let's send your pregnant girlfriend in first."

"Fine fine I'll go first." She steps forward and opens the closet. Sofia looks around but it looks like there's nothing in there besides clothes.

She lets out a small sigh of relief as she pulls some clothes aside, revealing just a stack of boxes and shoes. "See? I told you, nothing here."

Olivia and Carter both push Sofia aside and also look.

"Maybe you just saw a shadow since it was dark." I say.

Olivia shakes her head firmly. "It was definitely there. Carter, you saw it too, right?"

Carter nods, looking more serious now. "Yeah, we both saw the bag, Ry. We weren't imagining things."

I frown, stepping closer to the closet myself. Something doesn't feel right, "Okay let's get out of here before he comes we can talk about it somewhere else."

"See told you it's nothing love, you always overreact." Sofia tells Olivia.

Olivia shoots Sofia a look, her frustration bubbling just beneath the surface. "I'm not overreacting. I know what we saw. Something's off."

Sofia sighs, clearly still not convinced, but she doesn't argue further. Carter, though, remains quiet, her brows furrowed in concern. I can tell she's thinking about what all this could mean.

We make our way downstairs and go to the living room.

Olivia looks at Carter, "We should tell Mama."

"She's downstairs we could do it now."

Sofia clears her throat, "Okay crime fighters let's take a second we don't have any evidence."