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She went upstairs to check on Grace, leaving me alone downstairs. I crushed my beer can in my hand and a few drops of beer spilled on the rug. I wanted to punch someone. I thought of Leanne hitting Simon and wished it had been me. Wished I had that kid right there in front of me so I could beat the hell out of him, if that was what it took, to find out the truth. I went out into the cold night air and walked around the house, my feet crunching on the gravel. It was too dark to see the irises and crocuses that had started to bloom, but I got the scent of winter honeysuckle at the front of the house. Nina had helped me to plant that honeysuckle. She loved scented plants. Loves. Jesus.
I went back inside, got some soup from the freezer, and put it in the microwave for Lee. When she came back down she was carrying Grace’s laptop. I was opening a bottle of wine.
“Do you think that’s a good idea?” she asked.
“I do.” I poured two glasses and handed her one. “Is Grace okay?”
“Not really.” Lee brought her laptop to the table and opened it. “Someone sent her this video today.” She turned the screen so that I could see.
The first minute of the video was a bunch of clips from Nina’s and Simon’s social media. Pretty pictures of them kissing in a forest. The two of them standing in the snow, arms wrapped around each other. That video of Nina pushing Simon into the pool and laughing, the one from the press conference. The audio track started out something I didn’t recognize, something pretty and romantic, but that didn’t last. The image on the screen changed abruptly to a still of Leanne, taken from the press conference. The image had been frozen at a hard moment. Her mouth was open and twisted, her eyes a little wild. She was wearing her black, long-sleeved T-shirt, but there was a stain on the shoulder that I didn’t remember noticing on the day and her hair looked like she hadn’t washed it in a while. She didn’t look like herself. She looked more than a little crazy. In case that point had been missed, the video doubled down by adding Jaws-style music and some overlayed text in blood red. The image stayed the same as the Jaws music played, but the captions changed every few seconds:
HER GIRLS HAVE TWO DIFFERENT FATHERS
WHAT HAPPENED TO NINA’S FATHER?
NO ONE’S HEARD FROM HIM IN YEARS!
NOW NINA’S MISSING
WHAT IS HER MOTHER HIDING?
“Look at the comments,” Leanne said.
I pulled the laptop closer and scrolled down.
Bit harsh (also misogynistic overtones much??). But... I did think there was something off about her at the press conference. Like a robot.
[674 ]
Totally!!
[32 ]
Robotic. Like someone had told her what to say.
[521 ]
Gorgeous couple. It’s so, so sad that she’s missing.
[1089 ]
Oh, come on. It’s ALWAYS the boyfriend.
[387 ]
What crap. I’m so tired of this #believewomen. What did we learn from Amber Heard??!! Guess what? Women make shit up too.
[69 ]
Go back to your momma’s basement you woman hating fuck.
[22 ]
Sophisticated argument. Is this what they teach you at your women’s studies classes?
There is SO much more to this story. What about Nina’s stepfather?? I’ve heard all kinds of rumors about him... Nina was a little girl when he got together with her mom. I mean... what was the attraction there?
[823 ]
