“This is only a coincidence!”I insist, refusing to believe it.“It has to be her dad, then!”
But I know that it’s not.
“You’re right, but the signs make it hard not to believe it’s Rebecca.”
“But why?”I ask in an almost whisper.
“Why?”Dandy scoffs.“’Cause she’s a fucking bitch, that’s why.You embarrassed her, and this was her way of getting back at you.With people like the Blooms, there is no why.They do it because they can.”
And Dandy is right.
I can’t believe it.All along, my monster was far more terrifying than I ever thought possible.For some reason, discovering that Rebecca is the one haunting my dreams makes everything even worse.
A woman doing this to another woman is just…wrong.In a male-dominated world, I’d like to believe that when push comes to shove, when there’s a choice to be made between right and wrong, Rebecca would have put herself in my shoes.
That she would remember girl code, and no matter what differences we had, she would show compassion and never inflict such torture on another.But this proves Rebecca Bloom is evil.
There is no redemption for her.
Killing her becomes a need, not a choice.
“Hallie, you’re scaring me,” Dandy says, cupping my cheek in his warm palm.
“I’m scaring myself,” I confess in a whisper.
Kit stays silent, his frown showing he’s deep in thought.“Let’s be certain it’s Rebecca before acting.”
“Of course it’s that bitch!”Dandy exclaims, his eyes narrowing.“How much more proof do we need?”
Dandy is angry.It touches me that after everything I’ve done, he still cares.That’s true friendship.
“I know, but we have to be sure.”
“And when we’re sure?”Dandy questions.
“Then I’ll take care of it.”
“Whoa,” both Dandy and I exclaim together.
“That’s not your call,” I say, shaking my head.“I appreciate your chivalry, but this is my battle, and I intend to fight it my way.”
He snickers, and the gesture ticks me off.“In case you’ve forgotten, you’ve got a serial killer ex-best friend who is hot on your ass.We don’t know what she has planned, but I can’t imagine it’ll be good.You’re relying on her to get you out of this mess?Really, Hallie?Don’t be so naive.”
I understand Kit’s trying to help, but his “help” is nothing short of patronizing.
I face him, and say, “Remind me when this started being your problem, Kit.”
He flinches because it’s a low blow, but he doesn’t have the right to dictate how I handle this.He wasn’t there.He hasn’t been tortured by the memories for all these years.He doesn’t know what I lived through.
No one does.
And learning that Rebecca was responsible makes it even harder to accept.
“We do this my way.If you don’t like it, then there’s the door.”I point at his front door, which is ironic, since he’s being kicked out of his own house, but he gets the message.
He doesn’t budge.“Now isn’t the time to be stubborn.Or arrogant.”
“Arrogant?”I question, unable to keep the anger from my tone.
