“What’s up, Killian?” she asked, looking up at me. “You look a little perplexed.”
“I am.” I took a seat across from her. Leaning forward, I clasped my hands in front of me. “Are you still looking into the Alayah Chambers case?”
“I am. I’m actually about to go see her in about twenty minutes.”
I swallowed hard. I wanted to ask her if I could go with her, but I didn’t want to be pushy.
“Would you like to come?” Erica asked, seemingly reading my thoughts.
“Was I that obvious?”
She giggled. “You have a horrible poker face, Killian. I don’t mind you tagging along since I assume you plan to help me with the case.”
“I’ll help any way I can.”
She eyed me curiously. “I sense there is more to your history with Alayah.”
I sighed. “I told you I had a thing for her back when we were classmates. We were friends, but I never got up the nerve to ask her to be more.”
“Why not?”
“I didn’t think she would want it. If she wasn’t studying, she was taking care of her sisters. Her mother would have never let her have a boyfriend anyway.”
Erica scoffed. “I need to meet this mother.”
“Trust me, you wouldn’t be meeting much. How she still has custody of her other children is beyond me.”
“According to the police reports, the other two couldn’t corroborate Alayah’s story. CPS did a visit and didn’t find anything that would deem her unfit. The house was clean, they had food, clean clothes and shoes, proper bedrooms, and neither of them had been touched. If anything, they were just very sad about their sister. They loved her very much.”
“They did. She was more of a mother to them than a sister. I hope they get to reestablish a relationship.”
“Me, too.” There was a bout of silence between us before she spoke again. “Well, give me a few minutes to finish up what I’m doing, and we can head out.”
“Okay.” I stood and headed for the door, stopping when she called my name.
“Killian?”
“Yeah?”
“Try not to go in there with googly eyes, okay?”
I kissed my teeth. “Bye, Erica.”
Her laughter rang in my ears as I closed the door behind me.
Erica and I stood on the front porch of Mr. and Mrs. Easton’s home. My heart felt like it was resting in the pit of my stomach. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea for me to tag along. I was never one to hide my emotions or feelings. I just knew seeing Alayah would stir up all the feelings I buried so long ago. Before I had a chance to bow out, the front door opened, and there stood Mr. Easton.
“Ms. Sawyer. Good to see you.”
“Good to see you, Mr. Easton. This is Killian Lake. He works at the firm with me and will be acting as my co-counsel.”
He extended his hand to shake mine. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Lake. Wait…have we met before?”
“Yes, sir. I brought my car into your shop for a tune-up a few weeks ago.”
“Oh! Right. Well, won’t you both come in.”
He opened the door wider to allow us entry. Nervously, I stepped inside.
