Chapter 10

Destiny's shift wouldn't be over for at least another 2 hours so Matthew decided to hop on his laptop to do some digging. He knew his parents would be upset, but what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them. From the moment he stepped foot in their apartment, his hovered over him like two insane vultures. They wouldn't let him go anywhere or do anything. "Not until you're one-hundred percent", they'd say anytime he protested. They strictly limited his access to television and the internet. "We don't want you overstimulated," they said, though he knew that was code for "we don't want you finding out the secret we're keeping from you". But Matthew hated being lied to almost as much as he hated being treated like he was fragile.

That ended today.

He needed answers. What was this positive thing Destiny was scared of? What did his uncle do to warrant his mother's scorn, while earning Destiny's gratitude? None of it made sense. He booted up his computer and went to Banner website. His eyes lit up at the headline that stared him in the face: Date set for Buchanan Enterprises CEO Clint Buchanan's arraignment.

Matthew curiosity gradually turned into disbelief, which then turned in to horror and finally anger as he read the accompanying story. 'Clint killed someone? And no one told me?' Even though his uncle was known to pull out his shot gun at any moment, Matthew never pegged him as one to actually use it. Clint was ruthless, but not a murder. The more Matthew read the angrier he became. Clint was charged for the murder of a man named Eddie Ford, who also happened to be Nate's father and an abusive felon. A man who had also kidnapped his mother on the night he was killed no less.

Fuming, Matthew slammed his notebook shut and tossed it to the other side of the couch. "How could they keep this from me!" he said angrily. He could understand his parent's silence. That was nothing new. Destiny on the other hand? She never lied to him, ever. He figured his mother had something to do with that. Matthew rested his head on the armrest of the sofa as his mind raced. Did his uncle kill Eddie while protecting his mom? 'No, that's self-defense, he wouldn't be charged for that. But why would mom be mad at Uncle Clint for saving her life?' It couldn't have been a business disagreement gone too far. Eddie wasn't a man who did things on the up-and-up, but neither didn't Clint. It still didn't make sense though. Clint used lawyers and litigation to crush his enemies rather than shotguns. 'Wait, this guy wasn't even killed with a shot gun and Clint doesn't own any small firearms.'

Half an hour and several dozen theories later, Matthew was thoroughly exhausted and felt a headache coming on. He took some aspirins, laid down and tried to clear his mind.

"All right, all right" Matthew called out sourly as he got up from the couch to answer the door. He didn't know how long he'd been sleeping, but the tapping on the door was a welcome wake up call, especially considering the dream he was having.

Destiny tapped on the Buchanan's door once more and it swung open. "Hey," she greeted him cautiously as she entered the apartment. "Is everything okay? You sounded a little anxious on the phone."

"I'm okay," Matthew said with a yawn before walking to the couch and taking a seat.

With her arms folded across her chest, Destiny waited impatiently for him to tell her the truth. Even though he'd just woken up she could see the distress in his eyes.

"What?" Matthew asked as he stretched.

"I know you aren't 'okay' Matthew and judging by the look on your face, you know that too."

"I just didn't sleep well," Matthew said.

"More memories?"

"Yeah I guess. They've been coming back at lightning speed," Matthew finally confessed. "It really started a few nights ago. I saw Nate at the Buenos Dias and all these memories of us fighting came back."

"Well you two did that a lot so—"

"Yeah I know that, it's just…" Matthew wasn't sure how to explain the ominous feelings he'd been and he still wasn't convinced that he wasn't just making a big deal out of nothing.

Destiny sat down in the chair across from Matthew and took his hand into hers. "What is it Matthew?" She could tell her having a hard time saying what he wanted to.

"It's just something mom said something the other night. It's been driving me crazy."

"What did she say?"

"She said she wouldn't give up on me no matter what happens." Matthew paused briefly studying Destiny's reaction before he continued. "After that I started having all these weird dreams. Everyone is really upset; my mom's crying; I'm crying; you look like you've been crying. It's all because of something I did."

"Is that all you remember?" Destiny's tone was direct and emotionless.

"The last thing I remembered happened the night we had sex. I was talking to you. I was really upset about something, but I don't know what."

The glint of sorrow in Destiny's eyes betrayed her knowledge about that night. She was utterly distraught when she knocked on Matthew's door that night; less than an hour earlier she had inadvertently sold her best friend up a creek. She was only trying to defend the Mrs. Buchanan to reporter Blanca Morales, but the scandalmonger twisted Destiny's words into some sort of acknowledgement that Matthew had killed Eddie Ford. Worst still was Blanca's threat to go public with her accusations.

Destiny never hated her big-mouth more than at that moment. "Sometimes it's best not to say what's on your mind child," her grandmother would say. She always brushed off her grandmother's warning though; she wasn't one to hold her tongue. Sure that got her into trouble more times than she could remember, but her loose lips had never put anyone's freedom or life in jeopardy—until then. She knew Matthew wasn't capable of taking another person's life and the thought that he'd be labeled a coldblooded killer by the media and because of her no less, was almost too much to bear.

Matthew had been through so much already. He didn't need that and especially not because of her. She had to see him. She had to make him understand that she was only trying to help. She hoped that Mr. and Mrs. Buchanan could stop Blanca. There had to be some law against falsely accusing people of a crime. They would figure it out and everything would be okay. Only it wasn't and she wasn't sure it ever would be again.

Destiny was jolted back into reality only after she felt Matthew's hand on her thigh. Her eyes instantly met his gloomy gaze; he was sitting on the coffee table directly in front of her. "Don't I what?" She asked hearing the tail end of his question.

"You know why I was upset don't you?" He asked.

This was the thing she feared even more than putting her feelings on the line. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know what she could say. Nora had been adamant that no one do or say anything that could jeopardize Matthew's recovery. Destiny wasn't about to break her promise to Nora, not when their relationship was already strained.

"I can't," was her only response.

"Where's all this secrecy coming from?" Matthew asked trying to appeal to her strong sense of honesty. "We don't hide things from each other, or at least we didn't use to. You don't have to protect me."

"Matthew if I could tell you I would," she said wringing her hands nervously.

"What do you mean if you could tell me?"

"Never mind."

"Dammit Des, don't do that!" Matthew growled in frustration. "Is this about what Clint did to Eddie Ford?"

Destiny's body stiffened at the mention of Eddie Ford. She had hoped to never hear that name come out of Matthew's mouth again. "This had nothing to do with Clint, Matthew."

"Then what is it?" Matthew asked leaning closer to Destiny.

She rose from her seat running her fingers through her braids in frustration. "I can't do this Matthew. I'm going to go." She grabbed her purse and turned towards the door.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Matthew sneered . "I start asking question and people run away. Great. Thank you for your help Destiny."

"I'm not running away Matthew; I'm trying to protect you! We all are," She huffed. If he was in his right mind she'd tear him a new one for his attitude, but she knew all too well how much it sucked to be kept in the dark about things that directly affect you. It bothered her to have to do that Matthew, but she agreed it was in his best interest for the time being.

Matthew grabbed Destiny's arm and spun her around to face him. "Protect me from what?"

"Matthew I can't say anything." She freed her arms from his grasp and walked over to the balcony, staring out at the sunset. She closed her eyes as warm, salty tears rolled down her cheeks. She hated being the girl who knew too much. It never failed; whenever she found out a secret someone ended up getting hurt because of it. She opened her eyes when Matthew rested his hands on her shoulder.

They were so caught up in each other that they didn't hear the front door crack open.

"Destiny please whatever it is I can handle it."

Her will almost broke when she turned around and saw the desperation clouding his eyes. "I don't need to get into any more trouble with your folks."

"I won't let that happen," he promised her.

"I t doesn't matter anyway, it's not my place." She tried to leave, but he stopped her again.

"Please," He implored her once more.

Destiny bit down on her bottom lip as she stared at the ceiling, 'Mrs. B is going to hate me.'
Breathing in deeply she finally said "It's bad Matthew, it's really bad."

"I know," he whispered. Her words were confirmation that the dread he felt in the pit of stomach day in, day out was legitimate. "I'm in trouble right?"

"Yeah."

"Does it have something to do with my uncle Clint or Nate's dad?"

Destiny nodded affirmatively.

"What happened?"

"I'll tell you," Nora said as she pushed the front door open.