Love Notes

My Brother's Keeper Part 2

*Trigger warning - this chapter contains conversations about rape and sexual abuse that may be upsetting for some.*

The air was cold and windy. The dark gray clouds hung in the night sky, threatening a downpour. Alex pulled into the parking lot of the cafe. Hopping out of his SUV, he pulled his leather jacket tighter and walked briskly towards the door.

As he approached the cafe, he could see her. She was sitting in her usual spot by the window, doing her usual reading while eating her usual dinner salad. Rebecca was certainly a creature of habit, like himself.

Alex took a breath, keeping an eye on her as he went to the counter and ordered a cup of noodles he had no intention of eating. She looked very pretty. She was wearing a sleeveless black dress and her shapely legs were crossed and dangling under the raised table. Her long, red hair hung softly down her back.

In the past, seeing her might have invoked a physical reaction from him (nothing as strong as when he saw Norma but still...Rebecca was a beautiful woman). Her drive and intelligence had always been an attractant for him. But her less than attractive qualities (like the fact that she was dishonest, gossipy, petty and at times, boring) made it impossible for him to ever form a real connection.

He gathered his noodles and turned towards her. Reaching in his pocket, he pulled out the key to Bob Paris's safety deposit box and cupped it in his palm. He felt nervous. He knew that giving her this key could possibly lead the DEA to the man who had murdered Bob. He could be putting the nail in his own coffin.

But it was burning a hole through his pocket. He needed to pass it along to the person who really wanted it and be done with it for good. He didn't want Bob's dirty money. All he wanted was to start his new life with Norma, and leave behind the skeletons of his past. He told himself he was doing a good thing for Rebecca...repenting for the hurt he caused her.

Besides...he didn't believe that Rebecca would REALLY turn on him, not even if her back was against the wall. After all...he'd protected her when she started laundering Bob's money, even though in doing so could have cost him his job. Plus...she had cared about him for years...and one doesn't turn on the person they care about. Right?

So he joined her at the counter. She looked up, surprised to see him. He didn't speak. He simply slid the key to her under a sugar dish. When she lifted it, her eyes filled with shocked tears.

"How much money do you want?" She whispered.

"Nothing. I don't want any of it." He replied.

With that, he stood up and walked out. But he turned to look at her one last time through the window. She was still in shock, clutching the key to her chest.

Be well Rebecca Hamilton, he thought. And then he headed home to his wife.

....................................................................................

Dinner was ready. Norma made pasta with homemade tomato cream sauce, along with a green salad and freshly baked bread. Creating the meal busied her and allowed her to keep her mind off of her upcoming doom.

When she first arrived home, she was still upset about her rainy encounter with Chick on the bridge. So upset that she ended up snapping at Dylan again, who had come back to pack up a few essentials. But this time, Dylan wasn't in the mood. He picked up on her tone and made a hasty exit, determined not to get into it with her. She sighed when he left the kitchen. So much for not taking her crappy day out on him!

By the time she heard Alex's key in the door, she had managed to calm down a bit, thanks to a glass of wine. She didn't want him to see her for the lunatic she could be sometimes.