Page 71 of The Liar in Room 5

I quickly scanned the group, but I didn’t see the man who’d replaced me. Jonathan pushed his way through the people who’d stopped to listen to our exchange, which meant my tiny secret hope of escape was out the window.

“In the flesh.”

“Wow. I didn’t expect to see you here. I thought maybe you’d decided to go back to Indiana.”

“Iowa.”

“Pardon?”

“Iowa. I’m from Iowa, not Indiana.”

“Same difference,” Jonathan tittered. Had he always laughed like that? Surely it must have annoyed me. “Wherever it is, you dropped off the face of the earth.”

Beyond staring at him, I wasn’t sure what else I could do in the moment. He’d summarily tossed me out of the house when I got replaced by a younger model. At that point, exchanging future addresses wasn’t anywhere on my to-do list.

“You kicked me out of your house, remember?”

A few eavesdroppers around us raised their eyebrows at my response.

“Ha ha, you’re so funny.” This time, his laugh was decidedly more brittle. “Let’s go catch up.”

Without waiting for an answer, he tucked my hand into his elbow and led me toward a more private alcove.

“I’ve wanted to discuss something with you anyway.”

I followed him woodenly but didn’t argue. Even months later, it seemed I fell immediately back into the person who wanted to make sure no waves were left in their wake.

“My group is…”

“This won’t take long.”

He steered me toward the back of the alcove near the office doors, where we wouldn’t likely be overheard or interrupted.

“Where’ve you been?”

“I found a rental place after I moved out.”

Well, that was sort of true. Henry paid for me to stay there, so someone was paying the rent. Mrs. Calloway had gone out of her way to help me, and I sure as hell was keeping her name out of it.

“I’ve been staying there while I decide what to do next.”

“When you disappeared, I was worried.”

“Worried? I came home to find out someone else living in our house,” I countered.

“My house.”

Jonathan’s correction was immediate. Nothing like making sure I knew exactly where my place was between the two of us.

“But still, I expected you to go stay with a friend. It’s unlike you to be inconsiderate. That’s what I always liked about you…always putting other people first.”

“Given he was already there when I arrived, there wasn’t much time to call around.”

“Oh, that.” Jonathan waved his hand like the destruction of my illusions was a slight inconvenience. “You were supposed to be gone, remember? You extended your trip.”

“You suggested it.”

“Well, you should have known better than to listen to me.”