Chapter 29: In which she is framed.

"You're late." Samuel's voice was strained when I met him after office hours the next day and I immediately knew something was wrong.
"What's wrong?" I touched his face with my hands, making sure he didn't have a fever because he looked terrible.
"No one found out, did they?" He asked to make certain.
"No, but I had to slip out telling Nate that I had a few things to buy. I'll have to get back soon. Samuel, what's wrong?" I asked again, worried about him.
It’s been a month and a half since Thanksgiving and winter was in full swing. I hadn’t been able to contact Sam in the meantime and we both had busy schedules so it got impossible to meet up, especially now that I had moved in with Nate. But I hadn’t realized that my brother must be suffering too. His eyes had bags under them and his skin looked pale. Although he was wearing a tailored grey suit, his hair was messy from having run his hands through them multiple times. He seems to have lost some weight too.
"I think someone knows about our plan." My heart stopped.
"What?!"
"I'm not sure Sav, but I just keep having these vibes that someone's watching me. Anywhere I go..." He took a shaky breath and ran his hands through his hair, messing them up further.
"Is that why you called me to this abandoned park?" I looked around the dark place illuminated only by the street lamps. It was in the opposite side of Seattle Tower, deserted and wild. This place gave me the creeps, but Samuel was here with me so I wasn't scared, my brother will always look out for me as he has done till now. "You're afraid that someone can hide better in crowded places."
"You can't tell anyone Savannah!" He took one of my hands in both of his. "Not now. Not when we're this close. You absolutely can't tell anyone!"
I looked at him stunned. This seriously can't be happening. "Samuel...I can't. I..."
"Why? What's wrong?" He asked, concern in his eyes.
"Samuel...I'm in love with Nathan Synclair." The full impact of the words hit right then. I was in love with Nathan. "And I can't lie to him anymore. It’s wrong for him. He trusts me, Sam. And I don't want to break that trust. It can work Samuel, he can help us-"
"And if he can't?" He asked, making me frown. "Sav, you trust him but I can't. And this is bigger than just you and me. This is about bringing justice to our mother. You were with her Sav! You were there for her to ease her sufferings. You were there for her when she died. I wasn't. I couldn't be there!"
This was the third time today that I was left speechless. But this time it felt like my insides were being torched. On one hand, there was Nate, the person I love and on the other, there was Samuel, my brother, my twin, my blood. God, why did you have to put me in the position where I have to choose between the two people I love most?
"Please don't cry, Savannah. You know I can't stand it." Samuel wiped away the tears that I had no idea had fallen down my face. "We'll tell him together, Savannah. I'll be there with you if anything ever happens. Just hold on till Christmas. Everything will be fine then. Okay?"
"Okay," I nodded my head as he engulfed me in a bear hug, kissing my forehead and just holding me tightly to him, the warmth of him giving me comfort just like it did when we were children, sitting snuggled up to mom in a single blanket.
*
*
"Thanks for dropping me off." I unlocked my seat belt and opened the car door.
"I'm sorry for being selfish Savannah. I-"
"I know." I said, reaching over and giving him a final hug before getting out of the car and heading to Nathan's floor.
I opened the door using the keys that he'd given me, to find almost all the lights turned off.
"That's strange....I thought he'd be here by now..." I spoke aloud as I shut the door behind me and walked inside past the living room to find Nate's bedroom door ajar and a soft golden light illuminating the room.
"Nate?" I pushed the door open and walked inside. "There you are. Why didn't you turn on the lights?"
Nate was sitting on an armchair near the windows of his room, elbows braced on his thighs, still in the black pants and steel blue shirt that he'd worn to office, his jacket discarded on the bed. He looked tired, worn out for some reason. Strange because he'd been happy when we left office, happy to come home with me.
"Nate what's wrong?" I asked, standing in front of him.
"Where were you?" He asked, something off about the tone of his voice.
"I went to buy a few things, like I said I would. Why?" I asked, a sinking feeling at the pit of my stomach.
"Did you get what you went out for?" Again that cold, distant voice.
Shit! It was too late when I realized that I had forgotten to bring back anything from the store. I had been so preoccupied with what Samuel was feeling that I had completely forgotten about my excuse. So I tried my best to cover it up without upsetting Nate.
"No...they didn't have it so I had to look around. Unfortunately I couldn-"
"Stop lying to me!" Nate yelled as he stood up from the chair to face me.
My heart was about to burst out of my chest, that's how fast it was beating. "Wha-Nate...?" I couldn't find words, this was the first time I've ever seen him this angry at me.
"You didn't go to any store did you? You went out to meet your boyfriend who you've been dating even before you met me!" He said through gritted teeth.
"What!" Boyfriend? "What the hell is all this about? You're my boyfriend Nate! I thought you knew that!"
"Really? Then what's this?" Nate handed me his cell phone and all the breath gushed out of me.
There, under an unknown number, were pictures. Pictures that were taken in such angles that it looked like they were very private, intimate moments between lovers. The angles made them not only intimate but it also made them difficult to recognize one of us.
Pictures…
Of me and Samuel.