The New Syllabus Ch 12

Phantom Pasts

The afternoon sun filtered through the eucalyptus trees of a quiet Beverly Hills park, casting long, lonely shadows across the grass. Kelly Taylor sat alone on a wooden bench, her knees pulled tight to her chest. She had asked Steve to drop her off here under the guise of needing to clear her head. The silence of the park was a stark contrast to the echoing screams and shattering glass of her ruined dealership. She felt completely isolated, a drifting island in a sea of corporate warfare.

Her phone vibrated in her palm, breaking the quiet.

Unknown Number: "They're still watching the dealership. You aren't safe. The Vances play dirty. We need to meet, Kelly Somewhere public, but out of the Scanlon campaign's immediate reach."

Kelly’s breath hitched. It was the same contact who had warned her right before the mob breached her showroom floor. She immediately dialed her husband's number, her voice tight as she fabricated a quick excuse about a lingering management meeting at the office to cancel their dinner plans. As soon as she hung up, she texted the unknown number back with a single location: Pruitt's. Little did she know Ray was still involved with her circle.

An hour later, the moody, low-lit atmosphere of Pruit’s offered a welcome shield from the bright California sun. Kelly sat in a secluded booth near the back, her eyes scanning the entrance. When the front door finally swung open, the silhouette that walked through didn't look like a hardened political strategist.

As the man stepped into the ambient amber light of the bar, Kelly's heart stopped.

"Colin?" she whispered, rising slightly from her seat.

Colin Robbins looked older, his rugged artist charm tempered by years of running from his own demons, but those familiar eyes were unmistakable. He offered a melancholic, tentative smile as he slid into the booth across from her.

"Hey, Kel," Colin said, his voice quiet. "I know I'm the last person you expected to see. But when I saw Jasper and Annie Vance targeting you... I couldn't just sit back and watch them ruin your life."

"You... you work for the Scanlon campaign?" Kelly asked, her mind spinning as she tried to connect her troubled past with her chaotic present.

"I was doing graphic design and media staging for them," Colin explained, reaching across the table, his fingers brushing against hers. "But when Jasper weaponized your leak, I realized how dangerous they actually are. I risked everything to call you at the dealership, Kelly Because after all these years... after everything we went through, the art, the addiction, the fallout... I’m still in love with you. I never stopped. That’s why I betrayed them. To protect you."

Kelly sat frozen, completely overwhelmed by the sudden confession, entirely unaware of the eyes watching them from the shadows near the soundboard.

Ray Pruit stood motionless by the bar, a tray of glasses in his hands, his brow furrowed as he stared at the booth. He recognized Colin instantly. Ray’s jaw tightened. He knew the history, he knew the drama, and he knew that Kelly being hidden away with an ex-boyfriend while the entire town was looking for her meant massive trouble. Without hesitation, Ray pulled out his phone, fired up a text to Noah: Kelly is at my place. And she’s not alone. Colin Robbinsi s here.

Meanwhile, across town at the Sanders Martial Arts studio, a different kind of bomb had just detonated.

Janet Sanders stood in the center of the dojo's office, her arms tightly crossed over her chest, her eyes blazing with absolute fury. Steve stood before her, still in his black-and-gold studio tracksuit, sweating profusely under her glare. Noah’s text message had just flashed on both of their phones, but that was only the tip of the iceberg.

"So let me get this straight, Steve," Janet said, her voice dropping into a dangerously low, icy register that made her look far more intimidating than any black belt in the room. "the second Kelly calls, you drop everything, rush into a riot in your tracksuit to be her knight in shining armor, and now we find out she's sneaking around at Ray's with Colin?"

"Janet, honey, sweetheart, listen to me!" Steve pleaded, his hands raised in a defensive posture. "The Hunter Oil thing was just business! And Kelly was in danger! I always show up for her, you know that, it's a platonic instinct!"

"I am sick and tired of your 'platonic instincts' turning our life into a soap opera, Steve!" Janet snapped, slamming a stack of Hunter Oil paperwork onto the desk. "You've tied our entire business, our future, and our family's reputation to a political war zone just to play hero for your ex-girlfriend. You wanted a mess, Sanders? Congratulations. You're right in the middle of one."