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“Yes. In two days. They’re taking me straight back to Denver. I’ve enrolled in a few summer classes.”
Good. Very good. She wasn’t going to stay in Snow Creek at all. Halle-fucking-lujah.
“May I ask you a question, Brad?”
“Sure. Go ahead.”
“Are you happy?”
A loaded question if ever there was one. She meant with Daphne, and yes, I was. But so much else had taken over my life. First and foremost, Dr. Pelletier’s revelations about Daphne’s original diagnosis and the fact that she might be headed for another breakdown. My father’s untimely “death” and the responsibilities he’d left me with. Murph’s and Patty’s murders, which we were no closer to solving. And Theo, Tom, and Larry…which reminded me.
“Why did Theo visit you here?” I asked.
She widened her eyes. “Aren’t you going to answer my question?”
“Yes, I’m happy. Now you answer mine.”
“I don’t remember Theo visiting me.”
“At night.”
She wrinkled her forehead. “No one visited me at night, Brad. I was asleep. They gave me medication to help me drift off. I doubt anyone could have woken me up.”
“Do you remember me being here at night?”
“No… Did you come to see me?” Her face brightened—just a bit, but I noticed.
She was still holding a torch for me. Well, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
“Only once. At night.”
“How did you get in at night?” Pause. Then, “Money, of course.”
“I was concerned,” I said. “I wanted to see for myself that you were here.”
“Why?”
“You know why, Wendy.”
“You thought I might be responsible for Sean’s death.”
And Patty’s, but I kept that to myself.
“And where was I when you visited?” she asked.
“In bed. Asleep.”
“Exactly. Did you really think I could escape this place? Believe me, I tried at first. Several times. I was mad as hell at you and at my parents for doing this to me. I planned several escapes, but none of them worked. I only ended up being strapped down for a few days, which was more than enough punishment. Trust me.”
I suppressed a chuckle. I’d tied Wendy up many times. Apparently she was no longer a fan. At least not when orgasms weren’t involved.
“How many times did you try to get out?”
“Three. The third time I almost made it too.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. I made it out of the building, but the police got here before I could get off the grounds. They tasered me. Do yourself a favor, Brad. Don’t ever get tasered.”
“Wasn’t planning on it. What made you stop trying to get out?”
“A change in mindset eventually. The therapists here are good. They helped me.”
“I’m truly glad to hear that.” Truth. Even though I didn’t believe what she was saying.
“I see now that I wasn’t fair to you. You moved on, and I didn’t. That in itself wasn’t the problem, though. It was how I dealt with it. Sometimes relationships end for one person but not the other.”
“I’d say that’s pretty common,” I said.
“Of course it is. The problem was how I reacted.”
“I’m sure I didn’t help either. I always let you come back.”
“You did. Until Daphne. I’ve worked through a lot of that. I see now that my reaction wasn’t fair to you or to me.”
“You can’t fix what’s already broken, Wendy.”
“I know. I see that now. For a while I didn’t, because to me, it was never broken.”
I didn’t know what to say. Wasn’t broken? How many times had she yelled at me to get the fuck away from her and never come back? Granted, I’d done the same. It had been broken for a long, long time. How had she not seen it?
“I think part of our relationship was always broken, Wendy,” I said truthfully. “It wasn’t ever normal.”
“No, it wasn’t. I see that now.” She sighed. “We never really had a chance, did we?”
“No, we didn’t.”
“I can’t say I’m not sad about it. A part of me will always love you, but it’s time to move on.”
“Yes, it is.”
“I want you to know that I’m no threat to you or anyone you love, Brad. I mean that with all my heart.”
Did she? Did she really? I didn’t believe her, but I had to make her think I did. “Thank you,” I said. “I appreciate that. I wish you only the best. You’ll be a great journalist.”
I stood.
And I left.
For good. If I had it my way, I’d never see Wendy Madigan again.
Chapter Six
Daphne
I ran into Brad’s arms when he came through the door at eleven p.m. I’d just finished feeding the baby, and he was down for the night. He usually slept for six hours after his night feeding.
“Hey. Easy, baby.” Brad kissed the top of my head. “I’m glad to see you too. Everything okay?”
“It is now,” I said into his chest.
He pulled away slightly and met my gaze. “I know. I’ve missed you too. And Jonah. I don’t like being away so much.”
