Chapter Two-Hundred-Seventy-Six
Meanwhile at the Orphanage, Aaron, Stacy, Angel, and Conner all walked into the lobby and found Brooke and Peyton hanging out there. Brooke raised her eyebrow at their sudden visitors and she met them halfway.
“Hey Aaron, Angel…what are you kids doing here? Nick isn’t here you know…”
“Yeah, but he’s coming back today isn’t he?”
“Mhm, he should be here in thirty minutes.”
“We wanted to be here when he got back,” Angel replied.
“More like Angel wanted to be here when they got back, we just tagged along” Aaron replied, rolling his eyes some and Angel scowled, but otherwise ignored her brother’s comment.
“Point is, we were wondering if we could wait here for him,” Stacy spoke up, as she moved between the twins, looking like a natural referee. She must have to break up a lot of arguments between the two.
“Yeah sure that’s fine…as long as you don’t cause too much chaos.” Angel’s entire face lit up then.
“We’ll be on our best behavior. Conner and I are gonna go find Holly – I love that little girl,” she insisted, sliding her arm around Conner’s. Brooke laughed.
“She’s in the playroom.”
“Sweet!” she cheered, and then proceeded to drag an unwilling Conner off toward the playroom.
“Conner and Angel seem pretty close since the last time we’ve seen you all. Are they a couple now?” Peyton asked curiously. Aaron rolled his eyes some.
“Angel wishes, but he doesn’t seem very interested in her in return.”
“That’s too bad…they’d be very cute” Peyton replied.
“Maybe he’s afraid to get too close to her for some reason,” Stacy suggested, giving Aaron a look.
“Ridiculous.”
“Is it Aaron?”
“Why would he be too afraid to get close to her?”
“Then why isn’t he interested in her?”
“Not every guy has to have an interest in my sister.”
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said interested. I know he is into her, I see him looking at her when she’s not paying attention. The question is, why is he so distant when she IS looking?”
“Some guys are insecure…believe it or not,” Brooke chimed in. She hasn’t seen these kids in awhile, therefore, is very interested in their teenage drama at the moment.
“I think he’s hiding something.”
“I think you are being paranoid,” Aaron insisted.
“I think you need to be as well sometimes. You are too trusting.”
“Stace…we’ve been through this over a hundred times already. He’s been nothing but a good friend to me so far…if he was going to do anything to hurt any of us, don’t you think he would’ve done it already?”
“You don’t find it a bit too coincidental the way we met him?”
“No, I look at it as fate. I was needing new friends, the ones I have are all boring me. He’s exciting – new, and I like him. So back off.”
“Whatever Aaron.”
“It’s not my fault you have a hard time getting along with people when you first meet them. You didn’t like me at first either.”
“That’s completely different.”
“How is it different?”
“I didn’t like you because you broke my heart years ago. Conner on the other hand, is being fake and mysterious and I can see it. And I find it bullshit how he just suddenly showed up at that park with his Aaron Carter crazed sister and just happened to run into you prepared with Aaron Carter merchandise for you to sign.”
“Okay Stace,” Aaron replied indifferently.
“It was planned Aaron.”
“Whatever you say.” Stacy rolled her eyes.
“I’m gonna go look after your sister since you don’t seem to be doing the job,” she told him, and she stormed off toward the playroom.
“If something was happening to Ange, I would know about it!” Aaron called after her.
“What good would telepathy do with you standing out here while she is in there?” Stacy asked, turning around and looking at him again from across the lobby. Aaron scowled and waved her off and Stacy let out a low frustrated growl before whirling around and proceeding to go to the playroom. Aaron shook his head and he looked over at Brooke who had rejoined her sister long ago. He walked over to them then and Brooke looked at him somewhat amused.
“Well, you and Stacy are cute. I can really feel the love between the two of you and everything” she told him sarcastically.
“We aren’t always like that I promise. Usually Angel has to tell us to get a room.”
“Aaron, there are just some things that you don’t have to share with other people” Peyton told him and Aaron smirked.
~*~*~*~*~
Meanwhile in the playroom, when Stacy walked in there she found Conner standing next to the door leaning up against the wall just watching Angel play dress up with Holly. Stacy rolled her eyes before standing next to him and she eyed him curiously. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
“In love much?” she asked, poking him lightly in the side like a friend would do.
“What? With who?” he asked dumbly.
“Angel. The girl that you can’t keep your eyes off of.”
“Nah…” Conner replied, immediately looking away from the brunette girl that he has a fascination for.
“Why not?” Stacy challenged. “She’s beautiful, she’s funny, she’s interested in you…”
“I know she is.”
“So what’s the problem then?”
“…I’m not that into girls these days.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever met a boy who wasn’t interested in girls…unless he really wasn’t interested in girls if you know what I mean. So…if you aren’t then, does that mean you are interested in boys?”
“No of course not,” Conner replied, incredulous that she would even think such a thing.
“Well then, I don’t get it. You are officially a mystery Con. I can’t figure you out.”
“I’ve just…been hurt one too many times is all,” Conner replied, quickly making up a sob story. She’s a girl…girls like sob stories. “I’ve just learned to be more conscientious about the girls I date,” he added. Stacy looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Plus, I have Rosalie to think about” he told her, and then nearly kicked himself for it. He forgot he hasn’t told them his parents are dead yet.
“You are careful about your girlfriends for your little sister’s sake? …That’s sweet of you.”
“I told you both my parents are lawyers so it’s mostly me who takes care of Rose. Sometimes I seem more like a parent to her then a brother…and she spends so much time with me, so I would like a girlfriend who wouldn’t mind that, you know?”
“…Well, guess what? Angel adores your sister so I think it’s safe to say that she would make a good girlfriend.” Conner thought about this for a moment, secretly wanting to strangle this girl. Why doesn’t she just back off already?
“I don’t want to hurt her.”
“Why would you hurt her?”
“She’s Aaron’s twin sister.”
“So what? Air dated a lot of her friends, he owes her.” Conner opened his mouth to reply, when suddenly his cell phone rang. Grateful by this interruption, he pulled his phone from his pocket. He has never been more thankful to get a phone call from Sean before.
“I’m sorry, I have to take this” he told her, before flipping the phone open and placing it to his ear as he walked out of the room. Stacy rolled her eyes, and she waited a few moments, before opening the door and poking her head out the door just on time to see him turn the corner. She walked out into the hall closing the door behind her and hurried after him. When she got to the corner, she peeked with one eye to see him standing near the bathrooms. She darted behind the trashcans and listened carefully.
“I told you not to call me right now, that I would call you!” she heard him hiss into the phone. “I’m at the Orphanage right now. I was talking to the girlfriend. What if she just happened to see the caller ID and see your name on it?” he whispered, and he turned his head and glanced around the area cautiously, causing Stacy to duck more into the garbage cans. He caught sight of the her shadow, narrowed his eyes, and then pushed the door to the boys room open and went inside it.
“DAMNIT,” Stacy cursed after the door was closed. Stacy scowled, and she stared at the bathroom door as if imagining that it’s Conner’s face and she is giving it evil glares.
“I am onto you Conner O’Ryan…you’re definitely up to something and if I have it my way you aren’t getting away with it.” She sat there thinking for a few moments, and then suddenly saw someone standing next to her in the corner of her eye. She turned and looked and flinched when she saw a two-year-old standing there with her thumb in her mouth and she is just watching her curiously. Stacy took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a few seconds and when she was sure her heart was beating normally, she opened them and smiled at the little girl.
“Well hello there Lillian,” she greeted gently, and she stood up before gathering her in her arms and she walked off to the playroom before Conner comes back and catches her. When she got into the playroom she set Lillian down and Lillian ran off to play while Stacy went over to Brooke, Angel, Peyton, and Aaron.
“Hey Brookie?” Stacy asked.
“Hmm?”
“Is it possible that I could use your laptop for a little while?” Brooke raised her eyebrow at this very random question.
“What for?”
“I want to do a little bit of research for school. I have a big project due…”
“Sure go ahead. You know where my office is. If a webcam pops up, it’s probably AJ. Just tell him you are using my computer and that I am in the playroom so just call me if he wants to talk.” Stacy nodded, and she walked out of the room aware that Aaron is watching her suspiciously. She doesn’t care though. She has his best interest at heart, so he can just deal with it. Meanwhile in the boys’ bathroom, when Conner got in there he went over and sat on the counter.
“What were you and Aaron’s girlfriend talking about?”
“She is very suspicious of me Sean…she’s asking me all kinds of questions and I am doing my best to come up with believable lies, but I don’t know how much more I can come up with.”
“Questions about what?”
“Angel…”
“Aaron’s twin??”
“Yeah…”
“What kind of questions?”
“Well, Angel has been sending all kinds of signals that she wants to go out with me, but I’ve been blowing them off and she was wanting to know why.”
“I want to know why too. You could use her Conner.”
“I’m not going to fucking use her Sean. I’ve already told you that so just forget about it okay?”
“No, I won’t forget about it! I want you to do it. It would help me out a lot.”
“If you make me do this, I swear to god I’ll quit.”
“No one quits on me unless they have a death wish, kid. Just look at Kori, she quit and I’ve been chasing her for years.”
“You won’t kill me. You promised my father you’d take care of me.”
“And you have a really fine way of showing me how well you appreciate it.” Conner rolled his eyes.
“I’m not using Angel, Sean. I put my foot down. You order me to do this, and I’ll quit. I’ll take Rose and go.”
“And where would you go? I’ll just come after you.”
“Think about where I am at, Sean. Think.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“I know where you are hiding.” Sean grew very quiet then.
“Scared yet? You should be. You had better start treating me better or I will check Rosalie and myself into this Orphanage and tip that Detective off.”
“Why you ungrateful little shit…”
“It isn’t too nice being blackmailed, is it?”
“I guess you really are like your father.”
“He taught me a thing or two when he was around.”
“I guess so.”
“So, what’s it going to be Sean? Do we have an agreement, or should I go have a talk with the Orphanage owner about this detective coming to visit?”
“Are you in love with this girl? Is that what this is all about?”
“I wouldn’t call it love just yet, but there is definitely something there.”
“Fine,” Sean growled. “But you had better be doing everything else right.”
“I don’t think you are in any position to threaten me anymore, Seany. You just sit tight and relax. I’m doing my job.”
“That Orphanage may be a safe haven for you now, kid, but enjoy it while it lasts” was all Sean said, and he hung up. Conner sighed heavily, and he brought his feet up onto the counter before hugging his legs to his chest and burying his face in his lap.
“Dad…what have you gotten me into?” He whispered softly as he rocked slowly back and fourth and a single tear rolled down his cheek. “I hate you so much for getting me into this…it isn’t fair.” Meanwhile in Brooke’s office, Stacy sat at her desk on the laptop and she stared at it in deep thought, wondering just exactly how to go about searching for information on Conner. As she sat there racking her brain, she looked around Brooke’s office idly, and suddenly noticed the number to Detective Stabler written on a sticky note and sticking to her filing cabinet and a light bulb suddenly turned on inside her head. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket then, flipped it open, dialed the Detective’s number, and she placed the phone to her ear. After a couple of moments he answered.
“This is Detective Stabler speaking, what’s up?”
“Hey Elliot, it’s me…Stacy.”
“Oh hi Stacy, what can I do for you?” Detective Stabler asked and he is clearly surprised to be hearing from her. She bit her lip nervously for a few moments. How in deep of trouble is Conner in? Who is he working with? What if it’s Sean? What will happen to her if Sean finds out that she is sticking her nose into other people’s business? Will he suddenly turn on her?
“Stacy? Are you there? Is everything okay?” Detective Stabler interrupted her thoughts, suddenly becoming worried.
“Yeah…yeah I’m here. Sorry…I just have a question to ask you. You work with all kinds of lawyers and stuff all the time, right?”
“Yes I do…why? Do you need one?”
“No, no…I’m fine. I was just wondering if you by any chance know any that go by the last name O’Ryan?” Detective Stabler was silent for a couple of moments as he thought about this.
“O’Ryan? No…that name doesn’t ring a bell.”
“Are you sure?” Stacy pressed gently. Detective Stabler was again silent for a couple of moments.
“Well…the name does sound a little familiar…I think I’ve heard it from somewhere, but there aren’t any lawyers in Florida by that last name.”
“Oh…”
“Why?”
“…I have an uncle by that name, and he was a lawyer once. A long lost uncle that I am trying to find,” Stacy answered, deciding she wouldn’t tell on Conner just yet. She’ll grill him on this later and give him a chance to explain for himself first.
“Oh, I see,” Detective Stabler replied interestedly.
“Where did you hear the name from Elliot? Just curious…”
“I don’t know, I can’t remember. I know I’ve heard it from somewhere though…”
“Will you let me know when you find out?”
“Absolutely.”
“Thanks for your help Elliot,” Stacy replied, smiling some.
“No problem honey. I hope you find your uncle. Let me know if you need anymore assistance…I could probably help you.”
“I’ll be sure to do that,” Stacy promised. “Bye”
“Bye,” Detective Stabler replied, and he hung up and she stared at the computer thoughtfully.
“If your parents aren’t busy Lawyers Conner…then who are they? And where are they?” she wondered out loud to the empty room.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Here's the next chapter.
Enjoy =)
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