And this rings true for some reason. He does have a slight southern accent to his speech. “Columbia,” I say.
“Columbia?” JD says. “Dayum, girl. You grew up rich and smart. How the fuck did you end up here?”
“It’s a long story.” My eyes never leave Ark’s face.
“We have time,” Ark says, staring back. “Give it a go, Blue. You’re gonna have to tell us eventually.”
How did I end up here? It’s been so long since I thought about it, I have to trace back my steps. “My best friend from when I was a kid—”
“School?” Ark interrupts. “Or home?”
“Home,” I answer, acutely aware that he’s fishing for details. “She moved to Denver and so I followed her here.”
“How old are you?”
“Jesus, Ark,” JD says. “It’s not an interrogation. Calm down.”
“Twenty-four,” I answer. And it is an interrogation. I’m just having a hard time piecing together why this guy feels the need to interrogate me. He’s protective, I get that. He’s controlling, and that too makes sense. But why me? I’m not that pretty. I’m at least fifteen pounds underweight, my hair is brittle, and my skin is pale. I look weary, even after a few days of rest. I look downtrodden. So why is he so interested? Why are either of them so interested? “How about you?”
“Twenty-seven.”
“Twenty-five,” JD adds.
“So, your friend came to Denver and…”
I lift my knees up and wrap my arms around my legs, hugging them to my chest. “She came to Denver and worked as a waitress at first. But then…” I have to stop and make this part up. “But then she called me and said she was pregnant and could I come spend the summer with her and babysit.”
Ark narrows his eyes at me. “Why would she assume you’d drop your life and go help her?”
“We were BFF’s, ya know? And I wasn’t working.”
“So you came to Denver last summer?”
I shake my head.
“Summer before last?”
I nod.
“Well, fuck, Blue. That’s a long time to be in town. What the hell have you been doing here?” JD is starting to put things together. Ark has always known. It’s like he took one look at me out in the rain that morning and he could read my mind. But JD was just along for the ride. “Blue?” he prods, poking me to keep it fun.
But the fun is gone. I have to make a decision and I have to make it right now. Trust them or not. And if I do, then yeah, that’s a big move. And if I lie, they will know. I won’t be able to stay here much longer. A day or two at the most.
And then where would I go? I can’t call my father. That would be a huge deal. I can’t just go back out on the streets. There’s no way they won’t still be looking for me. They know I have no ID, no clothes, no passport. I can’t leave the country. I can’t go to the local charities, they’d find me first thing. I can’t even go to the police. Who knows how many officers they have on the payroll? And who knows how high up they go?
“You gotta trust someone,” Ark says, calm as can be. He’s used to this. Something about his detached professionalism is very familiar to me. And he’s right, I do need to trust someone. But two guys who make porn for a living? Really? “Start with the brand.”
JD’s whole body stiffens behind me when Ark says the word brand. I shake my head automatically at that one. “That’s an ending, not a beginning.”
“Fair enough. What happened when you got here?”
“We had lunch at a place down on Colorado Boulevard.”
“What city did you come from?”
“Montreal. I was home for the summer when she called. That’s the only way she knew to get a hold of me.”
“And you just took off for Denver.”
I know what he’s implying. And fine. Whatever. Who cares if he figures out I come from privilege? “I told you, I wasn’t working. I couldn’t find a job. I had nothing preventing me from going.”
“What kind of job do you do, Blue?”
I don’t know why when JD asks that question it sounds so… genuine. But when Ark asks it, he makes me want to lie. JD makes me want to tell him all my secrets. I can hear the sympathy in his voice. “I’m a reporter.”
Ark’s eyes meet JD’s for several seconds like they are having some secret communication. His jaw clenches. “So you came to Denver to find a job? Or to help your friend?”
“Both.”
“Did you get a job, Blue?” JD this time.
“No. I got…” I have to take a deep breath, so I stop. And once I stop, I can’t find a way to continue.
“Just say it, baby.” JD leans into my neck and kisses me. “Just tell us what’s going on. We won’t judge you. I mean, look at us. We make porn.”
“I thought if I could just help her, I could maybe write about it. And then publish it online. And maybe that would get me a real job. I mean, they wanted me to be a blogger, you guys.”
“What?” Ark asks. “Who?”
“After school. I applied to hundreds of publications. And I got one offer to blog. Blog,” I repeat. “And I know some people have huge careers as bloggers, but that’s not what this was. It was blogging statistics. It wasn’t even writing. Just copying and pasting.”
“OK,” Ark says, a little bit annoyed. “I don’t get what that has to do with any of what’s going on. How is your friend connected? Where did you get that brand? Who the fuck are you hiding from?”
“When Janine came to me and asked for help, it was a huge favor, OK? She was pregnant and she told me that they were gonna take her baby and give it to another couple to adopt.”
“Who?” Ark demands, making me jump.
JD’s arms wrap round me, trying to calm me down.
“And I thought that was the perfect opportunity, you know? I could help her, right? I could stop those people from taking her baby. And I could write an expose on what they were doing and maybe get a job out of it.”
Ark leans his face into his palm. He takes a deep breath. “Please tell me you did not infiltrate this group to write a story.”