The Illusion (Book Two in The Illusion of Certainty Series)

I'll See You Soon

“Oh. My. God.”

“Don’t say that,” Aidan said. “I know what you’re thinking. Or what you’re not thinking. You want to know why.”

“Yes,” I squeaked.

“And I’m going to tell you. But I need to give you some back story first. Some you aren’t going to like. I hope you’re sitting down for this. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.”

“How is the voicemail going on this long?” I whispered.

I was staring at the wall as he started talking again. “First thing I want you to know is I do love you. I love you so much it hurts inside. And I know what I’m going to say is going to hurt you and that causes me pain,” his voice reflected it, “I am the informant. I’m working with Jason. Why, you may ask, it’s because I love you.”

I closed my eyes and tried to breathe. “It happened over the summer. Remember when I went on that family trip to Italy? My parents canceled. I didn’t know until I landed. They wanted me to still do the trip, so I did. And I ran into Jason. He asked what I was doing in Italy alone and I told him my parents had canceled on me…again. Like I told you before, he was my teacher so I wasn’t freaked out by talking to him. He always seemed nice enough. But what he said halfway through freaked me out. He said a man was coming to campus. A man that would wreck everything I wanted. He would be poised as a student and his purpose…was you.”

I looked down at Michael then, our eyes locking and holding.

“Jason said the man would hurt you and that if I wanted to protect you, I’d have to take him up on his offer. And the offer was simple really. Help him thwart this man’s attempts at seducing you and the future would be changed…forever. And I would have you.”

I closed my eyes again and bit my bottom lip to keep myself from crying.

“And in case you’re wondering…the voicemail is lasting this long because…your phone is bugged. Your voicemail is wired for this message.” I heard him take a breath before he continued. “I told Jason I would have to think about it because honestly I thought the guy was crazy. Nothing could happen to you, not while you were tucked away at school where you were perfectly safe. You’d been that way for years and I didn’t think I had anything to worry about. I called you when I got back to my hotel and you answered. I think you were half asleep because I don’t think you even knew what you were saying. I asked if you were ok, you said you were fine just sleepy. I let you go, told you I would call the next day. You told me you missed me before you hung up the phone. I didn’t think much about it, not until what Jason said took root and started to grow.

“I cut my vacation short. I lied to you and told you I got sick. Truth is I’ve never been sick in my life. I was just worried about you. I kept an eye on you for the rest of the summer. Spent as much time with you as I could. It wasn’t hard considering there was barely anyone else on campus. It was nice. I followed you in bird form when you were alone in case you were wondering. But nothing happened. It was a blissful, uneventful summer. I was starting to think Jason was just a crazy man and you—you’d be fine. There was nothing to worry about.

“And then the incident at the beach bash happened. I was racked with worry that week before your hearing. I was so freaked something might happen to you besides the usual wrist slap you’d get. We were all used to you getting into trouble but this time…it just felt different. I sat in the tree outside your window those nights and just watched you. You’re so peaceful when you sleep, did you know that? Most of the time I would just want to duck in your window and sleep next to you. But I didn’t. That infernal cat of yours stood guard over you.

“Day of the hearing came. I sat on the roof top of the building waiting for it to be over and when it was, I followed you home. I sat in the tree and watched you agonize over the whole thing. But in the end you held strong, just like you always do. I think watching you that day was what made me say yes. You prepared like a soldier going to battle.