Agent Kelly Tomlinson

Forty

"You're not packed yet?" Louis gasped when he walked into my room.

My bedroom looked like a tornado of clothes busted through here. Shirts, dresses, jeans, and shoes were thrown about in open drawers, on my bed, and even in my bathroom. My suit case was empty, tossed in the corner of the room in frustration. I was laying in my bed, using a pair of shorts as a pillow and was staring up at the ceiling. I had been frozen in this spot for about an hour.

"I don't know what to pack," I said monotoned.

"Don't know what to pack?" Louis repeated. "How about all the clothes that are laying around everywhere in your room except in your suitcase. Come on, Kell. We leave tomorrow." Louis sighed when I didn't reply. He placed his hands on his hip and walked to the edge of my bed to look me in the eye. "What's the matter?"

"I don't know what to pack." I repeated.

"Why do you keep saying that?"

"Because Louis," I said exasperated. I sat up straight and punched the mattress like a bratty toddler. "I don't know if I'm going to be with you for one day, one week, or one month."

"What are you talking about?" Louis shook his head and sat down on the edge of the mattress.

I frowned and picked up one of my tank tops. "It all started with this shirt." I held it up for Louis to see. "I folded it on top of five other shirts and then it got me thinking; do I need five shirts? Will I be with you guys that long?"

Louis nodded, finally understanding. "Kelly, you can stay with us for as long as you want."

"No, I can't. It doesn't work like that. The second that I close this case... if I close this case successfully I have to leave and report back to my office...back to my original apartment...and leave you all behind. Like our time together meant nothing. That's how my job works."

Louis shook his head. "That's crazy. I mean, after all you've done for the agency, they wouldn't give you a couple weeks vacation?"

"Crime doesn't stop so neither do we." I remembered the first time I heard that line. It was my first class ever when I was in training. It was said so much that Ryan and I called it the agency's motto.

"What about Harry?"

I scoffed at the idea that Louis didn't think I was thinking about Harry. Of course I was thinking about Harry. That's why I'm so distraught about this. "What about Harry," I repeated and pretended like I was pondering the idea. "What about Harry," I said again. "You know, I never thought about that Louis. Thanks for bringing it to my attention."

"You're going to break his heart if you turn your back on him and never speak to him again."

"Don't you think I know that?" My voice grew and my body tensed. "Its all I've been thinking about since the second we first hooked up. You warned me, Ryan warned me, hell - the whole world basically told me dating him was going to blow up in my face. But that's on me. I have to face the consequences of that."

Louis didn't say anything for a moment. "Maybe if you told Harry the truth, he would understand and help work through it with you. There's a possibility you guys can stay together."

"He's not going to want to talk to me after this, Louis. I broke his trust by lying to him about who I really am. Hell, he doesn't even know I'm your sister."

"So let's tell him," Louis suggested.

"You can't speak a word of this to him," I pointed at Louis. My insides twisted with nerves, thinking about the last guy who exposed the agency to people on the outside. Noah. Still, no one has heard from him. I didn't want Louis to be next. "You signed a contract before I got here. You knew what was at stake."