Page 71 of Erotic Behavior (Observant Behaviors)
TheentiretimeBeckettwas gone, I had a feeling of dread about me.Ashlee and William coming by was a decent distraction, but the second we put William to bed, I had nothing left to think about other than what could possibly take so long.I was pissed at Calvin, and called him multiple times only to be ignored.It made no sense that he had such a problem with Beckett, and the only thing I could think of was he was jealous.Sometimes people think pointless jealousy goes away when you get older, but it doesn’t, it just shows up in larger, more unpredictable ways.I’d give anything to be a bunch of kids sitting at the school playground watching two boys push one another in an argument, but arresting Beckett for drug trafficking was a dirty fucking move.
“Are you going to be okay?”Ashlee’s voice broke into my thoughts.
“Yeah.I mean, he’ll be home soon, so I guess I’ll know what’s going on when he gets here.”
“That’s not what I meant.I mean with everything.The two of you have faced a lot since you got together, and I know it can be stressful.”
“I know, but I think I’m doing okay.”
“If you ever need to talk about any of it, you know I’m always here for you.Trying for a baby is hard enough.Add living with my brother and the drama that surrounds our family to the mix, and it can be too much for anyone.”
“You’re right.It is a lot.I really love him, though, and that makes it all a little easier.”I twisted my engagement ring around on my finger as I spoke.“We’ll get through this.I just feel bad because this time I think it’s my fault, not his, that we are in this situation.Calvin is my ex and the one who’s been digging around into Beckett’s businesses and past.If I weren’t here, then he wouldn’t be dealing with all this.”
“You can’t think like that.I’ve never seen Beckett so happy.At least not since we were children.Life has been hard on him and I contribute to a lot of his worries.I need to work on myself and make some changes too.The stress I add to him isn’t helpful for anyone.”
“Now it’s my turn to tell you not to think like that.Your brother loves you more than anything in the world.He just wants you happy, and he wants to know that you and William are well taken care of.”
“I know, but my happiness is not his responsibility.”
We both turned as the front door opened and I jumped up, running to Beckett.
“You’re okay,” I said as he pulled me into his arms.
“Of course I am.I told you I would be.”
I squeezed him even tighter, and he let out a small chuckle.“Maybe I should get arrested more often.I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this happy to see me.”
“Don’t even joke about that.”
Beckett let go of me and closed the door behind him, then greeted Ash and took a seat with us on the couch.
“Well, what was it this time?”she asked once he had settled in with me on his lap.
“There is an officer with a personal connection to Raven who has been causing some problems.”
“She said they used to date.”
“Yeah, but he had nothing other than a witness who claimed he saw some drug deal go down at the club.”
“Was it true?”
“No, turns out he wasn’t even a member.”
“Then how could he have seen anything?”
“He didn’t, and if Calvin had done any actual research on the club, he would have known that some fake witness wasn’t even worth his time.I’m pretty sure they just orchestrated this whole thing to scare Raven and pretend they had some sort of power over me.”
“Who was the witness?Ashlee asked.
I felt Beckett’s hands come around me, and his hold was a little tighter than before.
“Raven’s father.”
I couldn’t hide my shock at his words.“What?But how?”
Beckett’s hand came up and rubbed my back as he continued to talk.“I don’t have all the details yet, but it appears Calvin knew more about you than he let on.We will have more information once the private investigators I’ve hired are done, but as of right now, he and your father have not only been in contact, they worked together to place me behind bars.Local media reached out to my PR team already looking for a quote about how a high profile real estate firm got involved with drug trafficking.”
I reached my hand up when I felt the tears on my cheek.“I’m so sorry Beckett.This is all my fault.”