Everything She Saw

I Know This Much Is True

 "I met Katie a couple of months ago. She was snooping around the Narrows on her own. There was no camera with her."

"Why were you there?" I interrupted him. I'm pretty sure Zoey used to live in the Narrows, which meant that Katie would also live there. For Sam, it was suspicious for him to have been there. Katie could have just been checking the outside of her building.

"The jobs I take are. . . less than ideal. Sometimes they take me to undesirable places. And the place she was scouting was a hot spot for the mafia."

Did Sam take jobs for the mafia? Is that what he was implying? Had he been doing this in all the time I had known him?

"There were people inside the building. She was listening at the window. To them. I confronted her. I told her that I was going to tell the men inside that a little girl was sneaking around and listening to their conversations. The thing was, she wasn't scared. She actually threatened me. She said she knew someone far more powerful than the men inside. She said she wasn't scared of me because the man she knew told her that if even a scratch was put on her, the man would return it to me tenfold," Sam explained.

"Does Katie even have connections like that?" I asked. How could a seventeen-year-old have connections like that?

Why was I still asking myself these stupid questions? As if any of them would ever get solved.

"I don't know, but the way she spoke, she was so sure of herself. I didn't want to take the chance. So later, at another job I took, some of the others I was working with mentioned a girl with blue hair who had been seen sneaking around. They sounded respectful when they talked about her. It wasn't until that moment that it occurred to me that she was probably telling the truth."

This was so damn confusing. I didn't understand any of it.

"She found me again a week later, suddenly asking about Strange. I told her I didn't know anything-"

"Do you?" I cut in quickly. He dropped his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you know anything about Strange? Katie said you did."

"I'll get to that. But, before I keep talking, is there anything you want me to clear up?"

"I'm going to be confused no matter what you say. Keep talking."

Sam took in a deep breath, albeit a bit shaky. I wanted to think that I hated making him nervous. Really, though, if he was nervous, I was more likely to get the truth out of him.

"She didn't believe me. She knew about all the jobs I'd taken and said they would have been of interest to some of the people she knew. Someone who didn't like some of the jobs I'd been taking."

"And what did you tell her?" I asked him. Sam didn't answer. I took his wrist, maybe a little too tight. "Sam, what the hell did you tell her?"

"I told her what I knew about Strange."

"Are you done being cryptic yet? What the fuck did you tell her?" I was getting more than impatient. "You'd better start talking-"

"I told her that I knew that Strange was talking to the mobs about money or payments or some shit like that. He's in deep and taking drastic steps to getting himself out of debt. That's all I know, I swear, Amber," Sam pleaded.

"So you did fucking know something about Strange," I said quietly. Sam looked guilty. More than guilty. I didn't care.

"Yeah, I did. I'm sorry," he whispered.

"And you work for the mobs?"

"Sometimes."

I couldn't fucking believe this. Sam had been lying to me for months. He worked for the mobs. He knew Katie. He knew some of what was happening with Strange.

"Are you the one who stole my papers?" I asked, hoping the answer wasn't what I thought it was.

Sam was silent.

"Did you steal my papers, Sam? Are you the one who broke into my apartment?" I asked again, much slower this time.

"They made me," he said, so softly I could barely hear him.

"You-fuck!" I stood up and put both hands on the back of my head before starting to pace back and forth. "You broke into my apartment and stole all of my information? For what? You're working for Strange, aren't you?"

"No no no no," Sam said quickly. He also stood up. He put his hand on my shoulder. I pulled away from him.

"You expect me to believe you? Fuck off. The only reason I won't be going to the police is because I don't really give a damn anymore. It's all gone, isn't it?"

"Burned." Sam stood there like a lost puppy. Good.

"Damn it. I really thought I could. . ."

Trust you was left unspoken. Sam knew what I meant.

"Sky's not always blue, right?" Sam asked quietly. He shoved his hands deep in his pockets.

"No. No, it's not," I said.

I slammed the door when I left.

Zoey's door was locked. She was still gone. Either with Katie or working.

It made so much more sense now why Katie wanted to avoid Sam. I felt there was more to Sam and Katie's story, more than he was telling me. I would never find out. I wanted Sam Evans out of my life.

I hated him. I hated Sam Evans.

At least, I wanted to.

Part of me thought that I could never hate him, though.

___________________________________________________________

A/N: I cannot promise a new chapter soon, since I'll be starting my college classes on Monday. Hope you all enjoyed this little chapter! See you soon, hopefully!

Chapter title borrowed from Wally Lamb