Page 27 of Boxer Next Door

I did my best to push it out of my mind, though a traitorous voice in the back of my head couldn’t help pointing out that most people don’t go around telling others that someone they were with is a murderer.

When I got home, I practically threw myself into work to keep my mind occupied. I hung around the front, close to the window so I could see what was happening outside. When I heard the rumble of a car, my heart thumped hopefully, and I looked outside. It happened a couple of times before I saw her car sliding into her driveway.

I wanted to head over there immediately. Not to start demanding answers like a crazy person, but even though I was trying not to be, I was worried about what I’d heard. The moment I saw her get out of the car with her son, though, I decided to wait for the little guy to go to sleep.

“I’m so sorry Bryson,” I apologized as I watched him run after his mom into the house, knowing he wouldn’t hear me but feeling like I had to, anyway. “Sorry I’m thinking this about your mom…”

If only that woman had left me alone! Why didn’t I keep walking?

It was already too late to un-hear what she’d said.

I was restless, moving around the house trying to find something to keep myself occupied, something simple so I wouldn’t accidentally hurt myself. When it was around Bryson’s bedtime, I went next door. I waited on the doorstep for a full minute before knocking on the door. Lydia opened almost immediately and was surprised, then grinned at me.

“Hey! I was starting to think you might have been too busy to come today. Come in! Bryson and I just finished eating. I don’t know if you’ve had dinner yet, but there are leftovers if you—” She turned as she spoke, heading for the kitchen, and I closed the door behind us and followed her.

“It’s fine Lydia. I didn’t just come here for you to give me food.”

She gave me a disapproving look. “In other words, no, you didn’t eat, right?”

I pursed my lips. After all the worry I’d been going through since lunch, when could I have eaten?

“Let me warm something up for you quick,” she went on. “Just sit down and wait for me, okay? It won’t take long.”

Any other time I would have protested, but I moved silently over to the dinner table and sat down in the same place I’d sat yesterday. I watched as she served up a plate, put it in the microwave for a minute, and then brought it over to me.

“Eat up, okay?” she said, smiling. “I need to clean the dishes.”

I didn’t miss the slight strain around her eyes, but she had turned away and headed to the sink before I could ask what was wrong.

It was probably work, I thought. I hadn't planned on asking her about what that woman said before.

“I kinda expected you to come by earlier,” she said from the sink with her back still to me. “After our lunch date today. Were you too busy?”

I hummed, chewed quickly and swallowed before answering. “You could say that. I also didn’t want to bother the kid, so I hoped I’d gotten his sleep schedule right…”

Lydia chuckled, and the sound had me relaxing unconsciously.

“He always claims he’s not tired, but he clocks out at roughly the same time.” She threw me a smile over her shoulder. “Thank you, for giving him consideration. I don’t know what to tell him if you keep coming by so frequently.”

Frequently… That part of my plan hadn't changed, even though I was a little weary now. Still, with how Lydia was acting and how tired she looked, probably from her job, it was hard not to believe her over some stranger, even though I couldn’t say I knew her all that well.

I finished eating before she was done with the dishes and picked up what I’d used to go over to the sink and help. She gave me a thankful smile as I took my place beside her, and we finished washing up quickly.

“You look tired, Lydia,” I said.

She sighed. “Just had a difficult case in the office in the afternoon. I left early because I didn’t want to leave Bryson on his own and his usual babysitter is on some trip for her school, so I just worked from here.” She grimaced. “I wouldn’t have been much company if you’d come earlier, and I need an early start tomorrow, too.”

I sighed myself, feeling some disappointment, even if it was tinged with relief. “It’s fine. I think I’ll just head back home and get something done before I go to sleep myself. I can call you tomorrow?”

She gave me a grateful look for my being so understanding, and my body moved without thinking. I wrapped my arms around her in a tight hug, then pecked a light kiss on her forehead, only to still when I realized what I was doing. We’d done things a lot less innocent yesterday, but this was just a little too intimate for me. She was looking up at me in wide-eyed surprise, and I shot her a quick smile before leaving.

I got outside, and the words that had been repeating in my mind for most of the afternoon were back again. She killed her husband…

That woman from earlier… who was she? Why would she stop a stranger and say something like that? I couldn’t possibly be the only person Lydia hung out with; I’d just insisted on hijacking her lunch break this one time because I was impatient to see her.

Damn. Today had been a day full of worries.

This was a question I could try to find answers to without involving Lydia. I went into my house and up to my bedroom. I sat down at my desk, booting up the computer and going online. I tried to find the information I wanted, coming up with several search questions, but none of them brought up anything related to the town. I was just about to hit my keyboard when something occurred to me, and I pulled out my phone.