Free Misplaced Trust (Misjudged) by Sarah Elizabeth Page B

his eyes have become narrowed on me.
    Shit. Is he angry with me?
    “You cell phone sounded and I just saw it sitting there. It’s no big deal, Neil,” I tell him, pulling my hair back into a high pony tail. “So …?”
    “What?” h is voice is tight as he asks, while leaning over and placing the photograph back where I’d found it. He closes the drawer with an almost urgency, before leaning himself back against his pillow.
    Digging him in the ribs, I shake my head at his reaction. Is he always this shy when a girl’s involved? “Who is she?”
    “Nobody,” he answers, breaking what little eye contact we had and springing himself off of the bed. “She’s nobody.”
    “You just have random photographs of women sitting in your top drawer?” I chuckle lightly, watching him as he throws on a tank and begins making his way over to his bedroom door. “You don’t need to be sh y about it, Neil. You are allowed to date you know.”
    Jumping up from the side I was sleeping on, I follow him out into the living area and make a beeline for the coffee machine, “I’ll make us a coffee,” I tell him, noticing that he’s beginning to look increasingly distracted by whatever it is that’s playing on his mind.
    “It’s new … we haven’t been together long …”
    “What’s her name?” I ask, stilling my movements and turning back towards him when he begins talking. “Is it serious between the two of you?”
    He doesn’t answer me right away , but I see a slight smile forming over his lips as he appears to be thinking hard about how to answer my question, “You could say that,” the smile soon fades away from his lips as the vibrations from his cell phone sound over from his room. “I think I’ll take that coffee,” he says, throwing a wink my way as he heads back into his room.
     
    ***
     
    Placing the two coffee mugs down on the breakfast bar, Neil comes back out from his room. He’s wearing a vacant expression over his entire face, and continues to fiddle with his cell phone as he walks over to take a seat beside me.
    “Are you ready to tal k about last night?” he asks, taking a sip of his coffee before turning his whole body around to face me. “You said something about Brandon?” his eyebrows are knitted tightly together as he asks, and I feel him gazing at me, studying me even, as he awaits my reply.
    “Last night I went to the lake. I heard Harry on his cell phone. Neil, his name isn’t Harry,” I begin to explain, while looking down and fiddling with my fingers in my lap. “He met with Brandon, and Brandon called him Zach. I followed him to some place and when I saw them—“
    “Wait a second,” he bolts up from his seat and begins pacing the space in front of me. “You saw Brandon again? … Zach … Zach …” Neil places his hands behind his head, and lets out a deep breath, seemingly becoming even deeper in thought than he had been previously.
    Nodding, I watch him walk back and forth as he brings both of his hands down to his face, covering his nose with them as he continues to think.
    “I knew I recognized that motherfucker from somewhere,” he whispers, although I’m not sure whether I was supposed to hear his small outburst. He looks slightly worried, stressed even. “Did they see you?”
    “Neil, what’s g oing on? You said you knew him … How? Do you know him or who he is?”
    “Yeah, yeah I do . Dammit I knew I recognized him from somewhere, but when I asked him, he told me his name was Harry. I just assumed I’d gotten mixed up somewhere,” Neil begins chewing at his nails, his eyebrows furrowing as he continues to pace the floor.
    After a few moments, Neil pauses his steps and takes out his cell phone, tapping on the screen a few times as though his life depended on it, “What are you thinking?”
    “Tell me what happened after yo u saw them. Did they see you?” he walks back over to where I’m sitting, resting his hands on the breakfast bar while leaning