“He’s tall, Kaiden. Like giant tall.”
His jaw clenched and nostrils flared. “You think he’s responsible?”
“Don’t you? After everything he did to us, I wouldn’t put it past him.”
“Why? What would he gain from hurting our parents?”
“I don’t know. I’m so confused by all this. I’m not pregnant. I swear to you, I’m not. He shouldn’t be here, yet he is, and he’s demanding I wear the necklace.” My voice shook as I gripped the pendant. “He misses feeling me.”
“Who misses feeling you?”
I froze at the sound of Gina’s voice behind us and squeezed my eyes shut. How did she move around so quietly?
She ventured slowly into the room and sat on the coffee table facing us. Worry and concern etched her sleepy eyes as she gripped the wood by her knees. Her neatly combed hair shined in the filtering sunlight. Gina never left her domicile with a wrinkle in her clothing, never mind completely disheveled if she could help it. A part of me desperately wanted to tell her the truth, but the part that wanted to protect her told me to lie my ass off so she’d be safe.
“Who shouldn’t be here?” she asked again. She’d heard more than I’d hoped.
Avoidance was the best option. Escaping to the kitchen would buy me some time. “I need a drink.” A stiff one.
The air whooshed out of my lungs when Kaiden jerked me to him in a tight hug. “I know this hard, but we have to tell her.”
I spun in his arms and clung to him, the fabric of his shirt bunching in my fists. His chin bumped against my temple as I shook my head. “She'll never believe us. No one ever did.”
He pulled back enough to stare down at me. After a reassuring smile, he turned me around to face my best friend who was watching us from the coffee table, alone and confused. Another reminder of how I kept her at arm’s length for most of our lives. It wasn't fair to her... it wasn't fair to either of us.
Hesitant, I closed the space between us. She threw her arms around my stiff frame. I wanted to melt against her, release my fears and let her help with all my baggage, but that niggling thought she'd call me crazy and kick me out of her life held me back.
“Is someone stalking you? One of your hookups? Is that who hurt your parents?” Gina squeezed me, her body trembling. “I’m so stupid. I didn’t see the signs for what they were, but it allmakes sense. I’m sorry I gave you such a hard time. I’ve been so worried about you and didn’t know how to help.” She cupped my cheeks and looked at me with fiery determination. “I’ll go to the police with you. We’ll find the bastard and make him suffer for what he’s done.”
I slipped her hands from my face and held them in my lap. Her firm grip gave me the confidence I needed to open my mouth. “We need to talk.” Those words felt like boulders in my throat. It was exhausting, heaving them up.
“Tell me as little or as much as you want. I’m here for you.” She squeezed my hands and gave me a sad smile as she pulled me to the couch.
“We're definitely gonna need a drink for this,” Kaiden mumbled and went to the kitchen.
Cabinets opened and closed as my brain tormented me with images of Patty calling me crazy.
“I appreciate your willingness to go to war with me.”
Gina’s eyes widened. “Seriously?” She said at the same time I said, “Don’t say it.”
“I will go to war for you if I have to. You are my best friend, my soul sister. I would do anything for you.”
“Anything?”
“Okay, maybe not anything. I won’t go to prison with you or for you, but I wouldn’t tell a soul if you did something that would send you to prison, so there is that.” She got closer to me. The mint of her toothpaste lingered on her breath, and I wondered how bad mine smelled. “Oh god. Did you do something? No, don’t tell me. If I don’t know, I can’t be used against you in court.”
Three glasses thunked onto the coffee table along with the Rumchata and Fireball.
“Really, Kaiden?” Gina's nostrils flared. “It’s eight thirty in the morning, and you want to get drunk?”
“Tastes like cinnamon toast crunch.” He passed one of the premade drinks to my awaiting hand. “Consider it breakfast. Trust me, you’re gonna need it.”
Gina watched in horror as I swallowed it in two gulps and tapped it on the table for a refill. He handed me his, and I gulped that one down, too.
Before I could request a third, Gina slipped the glass from my hand and gave Kaiden side eye. “Okay. Let's talk before you can't form words. If you want to get shit-faced after to cope, that's fine. Just remember, drunk lips spill secrets. And if you murdered someone or are plotting, I don’t want to know.”
While Kaiden prepared another round, he encouraged me to begin our story, but I couldn't. Years of hiding it had built walls so high even I couldn't see over the top to the truth that rested inside. And some of it I had trouble remembering.
