Kas knew and quite possibly loved a girl who was murdered in such a brutal way. And he might have also been with her on the night she was murdered.
My phone rings, startling me.
I scoop it up to see that it’s Jesse calling.
I take a few breaths to make myself sound normal. “Hey you,” I answer. “How are you doing?”
Things have been going well between Jesse and me since the shoplifting incident. We talk almost every day, and we text regularly.
“Hey, what are you up to?”
My eyes flicker to the laptop screen. I shut the lid down. “Uh, just watching TV. Cece’s working late. What are you up to?”
“Just got back from footy practice.”
“Yeah? How did it go?”
“All right.” I can just imagine him shrugging as he says it.
“What are your plans for the rest of the night?”
“Just gonna chill. Watch some TV. So…I was wondering…well, I was wondering if you’d fancy doing something tomorrow?”
My heart lifts. “With you?”
“Yeah.” He chuckles, and that laugh touches my heart and makes it soar.
“Of course,” I say, my voice pitching higher with excitement. “I would love that. What were you thinking?”
“I thought we could catch a train down to Brighton—you know, like we used to. Hang out on the beach, as the weather’s supposed to be good tomorrow. And there’s a fair on at the moment as well.”
“Sounds great.” I smile. My heart is close to bursting in my chest. “So, should I pick you up tomorrow? I can get a taxi to yours and then have it take us to the train station.”
“Sounds great.”
“What time?”
“What time are the trains?”
“Hmm, not sure. How about I check the train times, and then text you to let you know?”
“Cool. Okay, well, I’ll get off. See you tomorrow.”
“See you then.”
I’m beaming when I hang up the phone. I clutch it to my chest, happiness filling me.
Jesse wants to spend the day with me! He actually called me and asked me to spend the day with him!
I can’t wait to tell Cece!
Okay, so I need train times for tomorrow.
I open up the lid on the laptop, ready to look up times, and I pause at the sight of Haley’s picture alongside the news story I was reading.
My good mood instantly disintegrates.
She was murdered. And Kas might have been the one who was with her the night it happened.
The things he could have witnessed…
The thought makes me sick.
Even if he weren’t there, he knew Haley, and she was murdered.
Kas’s harsh, abrasive, angry ways are starting to make sense in my mind now. Because, if he witnessed what happened…and was hurt…
I close my eyes against the horrific thoughts.
I should talk to him about this. But what the hell would I say? I mean, how in the hell do you bring something like that up?
And, also, I shouldn’t know about Haley. That picture was among his private things, and I snooped.
Snooping aside, how in the world would I explain Googling her because I was jealous and curious?
I’d sound like a bloody stalker.
I should just pretend like I don’t know.
But how the hell am I supposed to look him in the eye and pretend like I don’t know that something terrible happened to someone he cared about?
And, if he were the other person there…then the terrible things happened to him, too.
I can’t bear to think of him hurt and in pain.
Opening my eyes, I close out the opened windows, clearing my screen of the news stories.
I can’t think about it now.
Right now, I just need to look up the train times for tomorrow. I need to focus on Jesse. He’s what matters.
And Kas…he matters, but I just don’t know how to handle this.
It’s my own fault for snooping, but now, I know, and I don’t know what to do.
I should ask Cece for her advice. But I feel like, if I told her, then I’d be betraying his confidence. Technically, I wouldn’t be, but I’ve invaded his privacy enough. I have to keep this to myself.
I’ll just have to figure out what to do.
Maybe, when I see him next, I’ll just know.
But, right now, keeping it to myself seems like the safest option.
I type in the train website and start to look up the train times. I focus my mind on that and the fun I’ll have with Jesse tomorrow, keeping my thoughts off of anything related to Kastor Matis.
Twenty-Five
Kas is here again, outside the station, waiting for me. I don’t even bother to fight it. I just walk over to his car and get inside.
“Hi,” I say quietly as I click my seat belt in.
“How was your weekend?” he asks, pulling the car away from the curb.
“I saw Jesse.” I chance a glance at him.
He meets my eyes, a softness in his. “How did it go?”
“It was good.” I smile at the memory of my day spent with Jesse. It was the best day I’d had in a long time. “We went to Brighton for the day. Hung out on the beach, ate ice cream, rode rides at the fair.”
“Sounds fun.”
“It really was.”
“I’m glad for you, Daisy.”
“Thanks.” I swallow. “How was your weekend?” I ask, looking away.
“It was okay.”