Chapter 11

       While I was eating breakfast, the mail slot on the door opened before an envelope was pushed inside. I got up from the chair, picking up the envelope to see it addressed to me. Though, there wasn't a return address.

       That was weird.

       I debated whether I should really open it or not since there was no return address, but I decided to stop being a paranoid person and just read it anyway.

       I opened the envelope and took out the letter. As soon as I read what was first on there, I immediately knew who it was from.

       Mr. Hot Shot Lawyer.

       Dear 'Youngest Doctor in Canada', I don't take things well when I'm lied to. I know you lied, and I know Cleo lives with you. You better hand her over before things gets worse. Sincerely, Brody.

       The letter pissed me off more than it should have. Hand her over? Cleo was his ex-wife, and she was a person. She didn't belong to anyone at all.

       I was going to have to sort this out though, especially before things get any worse.

       Thankfully I was already changed, because I did not want to go all the way upstairs only to come back down minutes later.

       I threw on my jacket and crumpled up the letter before placing it in my pocket. I then put on my shoes and grabbed my keys to leave my house. I had no idea where I was going to find this Brody guy, or what I would do when I found him, but I wasn't going to let him get away with thinking he could just control Cleo's life.

       While I was walking through the village looking for that dodgy lawyer, Julian saw me and walked up to me. "Hey," he said. "You look mad. Who's on your hit list this time?"

       I gave Julian a weird look. "Hit list? What are you talking about?"

       "You don't do 'getting mad'," Julian said. "So when you are, it's for a reason. So....?"

       I sighed and stopped walking so I could talk to Julian better. "Cleo's ex-husband is here in Spruceworth, and I have a feeling he's going to be staying here for a while," I said. "I'm not going to get into detail, but let's just say the marriage ended very badly and Cleo doesn't want to see him again."

       "So are you going to go fight him?" Julian asked. "I can help. I've been getting better at my punches."

       "What? No, I'm not going to go fight him," I said. "I'm an adult, Julian. Adults don't solve things by fighting, and what kind of example would that be for you, Noah, and Holden?"

       "A good one, especially if you win."

       "You are unbelievable," I said. "Anyway, I'm only going to talk to Cleo's ex-husband. That is if I can find him. He put a letter in my house, saying he knows Cleo lives with me and I better hand her over."

       "Hand her over?" Julian asked. "Okay, now I can see why you're mad. Well, even more so because you like her. And before you deny it, it's fine if you like her. You know it is. You just don't have to do anything about it until you feel like you're ready to move on."

       "Well, I wish it could be that easy to move on," I said. "I want to, Julian. I really do. It's been five years, and Cassidy is never coming back. There's no reason why I shouldn't be able to move on."

       "So what's holding you back?" Julian asked.

       "I honestly don't know," I said. "I like Cleo. A lot. And I love Celeste like she's my own daughter, so the fact that Cleo is a mom isn't even a factor of why I can't move on."

       "Well, you better find out what it is soon," Julian said. "I probably shouldn't say this because I know you wouldn't want to hear it, but....the way you looked at Cassidy was nothing compared to the way you look at Cleo."

       "What are you talking about?"

       "Just....don't get mad at me for saying this. I know how much you loved Cassidy, but I also think the reason why you thought she was the one was because of how long you liked her. You two weren't dating for too long. Further down the road, you could have found out that you just weren't compatible. Things happen for a reason, after all."

       "Julian, I really don't want to hear this. Things don't happen for a reason. Cassidy was twenty years old. You really think she deserved to die that young?"

       "I did not say she deserved to die, and I definitely don't think her dying happened for a reason. That was my fault for using a poor choice of words. What I meant to say was maybe Cassidy was never going to be the one, even if she lived. Maybe it's Cleo, maybe it isn't. You never know unless you give it a shot."

       I sighed. "Again, it's not that easy."

       "I know. And as much as I want you to give it a shot, I also don't want to be like everyone else and telling you that you have to move on. Give it a shot when you feel up to it, whenever it may be. Just don't take too long, because you can lose something amazing without even having it in the first place."

       I really appreciated Julian for telling me that I should give it a shot when I was up to it. I knew if I told anyone else I liked Cleo, they would just tell me to give it a shot no matter what. I wanted to move on, I really did, but something was holding me back.

       "Thanks, Julian," I said. "That really helps."

       "No problem," Julian said. "Now, can I help you find this crappy ex-husband of Cleo's."

       "Uh, sure."

       "Great. What does he look like?"

       "Smug. Very smug. And narcissistic. And he's probably wearing a suit, that hot shot lawyer."

       "Ugh, I can visualize him right now. Mainly because someone fits that description sitting outside of the cafe over there."

       Julian pointed to someone in the distance and sure enough, Brody was sitting there. I had no idea how I was going to go about approaching him but in the end, I didn't have to. He shortly noticed me and smirked before getting up and walking over.

       "Did you get my letter?" he asked.

       "Yes, I got your letter," I said.

       "And?"

       "And what?" I asked. "She's your ex-wife for a reason, and I'm not 'handing her over'. She makes decisions for herself and if she doesn't want to see you, then that's your fault."

       "I don't see how this is any of your concern," Brody said.

       "It became my concern when you told me to, again, hand her over," I said. "And threatening me, really? You're a lawyer, aren't you? You should know threatening people doesn't go down too well."

       Brody chuckled. "Yes, I'm a lawyer. And I definitely know how to get around certain things. I'm not going to ask you again. Hand my ex-wife over."

       "She's not an object," I said. "She doesn't even want to see you, so if I were you, I'd leave her alone."

       "Oh, that's not going to happen," Brody said. "Trust me. And next time, I sure hope I get a more warm welcoming when I move to a new village."

       He walked away, and I glared at the back of his head. I knew this wasn't going to be the last of him.

       "I now know why you used those specific words to describe him," Julian said. "Is he serious though? Hand over Cleo? They're divorced, aren't they?"

       I sighed. "Yeah, but there's one thing drawing the two of them together."

       "Celeste," Julian said. "Does he know about her? How long have he and Cleo even been divorced?"

       "Oh, trust me, Brody knows about Celeste," I said. "I'm not even surprised he hasn't even asked to see her."

       Great, now I was feeling a lot more protective over Celeste. Brody told Cleo to get an abortion, and then to choose between him and Celeste. After being divorced, did he change his mind about wanting Celeste? Or was he still going to act the same way?

       Whatever the answer was, I had to make sure Celeste wasn't going to get caught up in all the drama going on.

       "Josh!" a voice suddenly called.

       I looked over to see Joel limping his way over to me, looking extremely beaten up, and he was holding his side, wincing at every step he took.

       "Whoa, what happened?" I asked.

       "The person who shot me did this," Joel said. "I've been blackmailed ever since to keep the identity quiet, but when I refused to be blackmailed anymore, this happened."

       "No wonder you didn't say anything to the police," I said. "What are you being blackmailed with?"

       "Jett," Joel said. "He's my weakness so if he's threatened, I keep quiet. The only reason why I refused to be blackmailed any longer is because he's currently on a two week vacation with his family in France."

       "Okay, well, we should get you checked out at the hospital," I said. 

       "Did you even fight back?" Julian asked.

       "Really?" I asked.

       "What, I'm curious."

       Joel sighed. "No, I didn't."

       "Uh, why not?" Julian asked. "That's all on you."

       "Again, really?" I asked.

       Julian just shrugged as Joel said, "Because I refuse to fight a girl, even if she shot me before. It would feel weird."

       I furrowed my eyebrows. "Hold on. When the police questioned you, you said it was a guy."

       "I lied," Joel said. "I had to make sure the police got off her trail or else Jett would have gotten hurt."

       "I knew there was a reason you weren't saying anything to Horatio," I said.

       "No, that....that wasn't the only reason I didn't say anything," Joel said. "There's more to it."

       "What is it?" I asked, but he looked away. "Joel. Who shot you?"

       Joel sighed and looked back at me. "Cassidy."

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Le GaSp. :O :O :O So ShOcKiNg

lol, I said there was a plot twist coming soon. THIS IS SPRUCEWORTH. EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED, BUT THEN DON'T EXPECT THAT BECAUSE YOU CAN'T EXPECT ANYTHING.

I'm evil. Moohowhow