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She stared at that word for a long time. What was she thinking about?
Then she put her pen to the paper again.
Lilah came to the pet store.
Chris froze. He’d thought for sure that Tyler and the others would leave everything to the Guides. That’s how these things worked.
Are you OK?
She very deliberately rolled her eyes.
What do you care? You lied to me.
Then she went back and underlined lied again.
He studied the words on the page, feeling his chest tighten. He almost spoke out loud, but then took a quick glance at Beamis, who was scrawling all over the board.
Chris drew a question mark, then circled the word lied.
Becca turned her head to look at him. Her eyes always reminded him of the ocean after a storm, a gray so dark you just knew there were secrets in there. Just now they hid some kind of pain that he didn’t understand.
She dropped her gaze, letting her hair fall across her face while she wrote. The scent of almonds and vanilla was making him crazy.
Then he saw the words across her notebook.
You killed Seth’s parents?
Chris stopped breathing, staring as if just looking at them would rearrange the letters into another sentence.
Her breathing was quickening, and he knew she was assuming the worst since he hadn’t denied it.
Chris lifted his pen and forced himself to write.
Not what you think.
She practically knocked his hand out of the way to write more.
Did you try to kill Tyler last week?
After I saved you?
What? He started shaking his head. She wrote furiously.
Arrested?
Then she underlined that three times.
Damn.
Chris drew a long breath. How could he explain that he’d needed to feel powerful for a night, for an hour, for a minute? How could she understand what it felt like to have this strength inside you, but to always have others knock you down?
He tapped his pen on the words he’d already written. Not what you think.
She picked up the notebook and flipped to a clean piece of paper.
I’m going to ask for a new partner.
Chris looked at those words for a long moment. It felt like she’d stabbed him with the pen. He leaned over and wrote the only thing he could.
