Like Rapunzel, but Not Really ✔

Chapter 15

"Ari, I think I really fucked up this time."

As if I've been conditioned after the onslaught of recent activities, I gripped hard on my knife to prevent it slipping like earlier today when he broke the news on Eric. I made a mental note to stop cooking each time he walked through the door. It seemed like, lately, all he brought back were surprises - and they weren't even good ones.

"What now?" Tristan sighed tiredly, as if this was getting old. I supposed that was fair.

Hunter trudged to the couch and crash landed there, before putting his face into his hands as if to silently vent his frustration. "Hunter, what's up?" Annoyance began to dissipate from my voice when I saw how agitated and pale he had become.

Leaving the knife on the table and wiping my hands on the kitchen towel, I went towards my cousin. "You need to start talking or we can't do anything."

Hunter stared at me grimly. "You're gonna kill me."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm gonna kill you if you don't start talking soon," I threatened before looking at him with worry again. "Now, tell us, what's going on."

"EricisnotactuallyEric," he mumbled, while his eyes shifted away from mine as if he could not look at me.

"What?" Both Tristan and I said at the same time, although my tone was more confused while his was a mixture of gruff and disbelief.

"Did he take on a fake identity?" Tristan guessed. I was still a little slow on the uptake and looked between the two, trying to comprehend what this all meant.

"Sort of," Hunter answered. "Eric - or should I say, Not-Eric," he corrected grimly, "had actually stolen an actual Eric Daniels' identity. The parents came in earlier thinking it was the actual Eric Daniels who got hurt after the hospital called them using the info they had with the fake ID Eric was carrying. But the actual Eric Daniels' parents confirmed that that was not their son."

I needed a few more seconds before I understood what was going on. Then it dawned on me.

"So who've you been bringing back all this while?" I asked, horrified.

"I don't know," Hunter's voice was near silence.

"What else do you know?" Tristan pressed on.

"That's all. The police are trying to ID him using his fingerprints right now."

The room was filled with thick apprehension. I could tell what everyone was thinking.

Had we all invited Connor into our house all this time?

Tristan suddenly stood up from the barstool he was occupying earlier. "I need to go somewhere. You both stay in here until I come back," he instructed as he put on his black leather jacket.

"Where are you going?" my eyes shot up as I followed his movement out to the door.

"To help you get some answers. We can't do much from here."

I stood up and grabbed the discarded cardigan on the sofa. He was not the only one who wanted answers. I had been kept in the dark enough. "Well, then, I'm coming, too."

"No!" Both the boys reacted simultaneously.

My eyes narrowed and I crossed my arm in indignantly. "Why?"

Both of them looked at me as if the answer was obvious.

I rolled my eyes. Just under two hours ago, Tristan was all over me about playing the victim and staying idle about my situation.