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Todd shakes his head. “It’s probably covered in dog pee.”
Instantly, I shriek and drop the flower. “I can’t believe you said that!”
Todd laughs. “Look at Lulu. She’s peeing everywhere.”
Lulu never wanders far from us, but he’s right. She’s sniffing and peeing on everything.
Self-consciously, I wipe my hands on my pants as Todd chuckles at me. “Yuck.”
He looks at the flower on the ground. “It’s pretty.” Todd looks out at the view and crosses his arms across his chest. “How come you didn’t sleep well?”
“There was a man at our reception. He reminded me of someone from my past. I guess it’s been playing on my mind. I’m reliving old memories.”
“From New York?”
A single tear works its way down my cheek. “Y-yeah.”
Todd holds his arm out, and I move under it and lean against him. He’s my best friend, and there’s not much he doesn’t know, but I’ve never told him Kris’ accident was because of me. The weight of that secret feels heavy on my heart.
“There was a man in New York. Luis Rivera… he said he was Roberto Rivera’s brother.”
Todd moves quickly to hold me at arm’s length. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“T-the accident was my fault. They want me dead. It was supposed to be me in the car, not just Kris.”
Todd’s arms drop from me, and he turns, facing the view. “Jesus Christ, Athena! Why didn’t you say anything?”
“You can’t tell Kris!”
Todd whirls around, and whatever he sees in my face causes him to crush me against his chest. “You could’ve toldme,” he whispers as he strokes my hair.
“I wanted to, but so much time passed, and I never saw him again. Todd, I thought maybe he’d decided to leave me alone.” My gaze drops to my feet. “A-And then he appeared outside our home the night of the wedding. He opened the limo door when we were leaving.”
Todd bends back to look into my eyes, grabbing me by the shoulders, forcing me back out of his arms. “You. Should. Have. Told. Me.”
In all the years we’ve been friends, I’ve never heard Todd sound so angry, but there’s not a trace of anger in his eyes. He lets me go and moves further back, running a hand through his hair.
A sigh escapes him and he shakes his head. “There was an incident at your home in Boothbay. It was broken into.”
“Do you think it was him?” I ask, my voice rising with fear.
“I don’t know. Could have been kids or just someone passing through, but if you’d told me about Luis Rivera, I could have looked into him.”
Sighing, I say, “It’s a mess. I want my past to stay in the past and leave me the hell alone. It’s like a sore, and someone is constantly picking at it, not letting it heal.” Looking into his eyes, I see compassion. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you or Kris. Todd, I don’t know what to do. What should I do?”
“We should file a police report.”
“No!” I pull out of his grasp. “The whole world will know then! And Kriswillhate me.”
Todd reaches for me, but I take two steps back. Lulu gets between us and barks at Todd.
“Honey, Kris loves you. All of you. He could never hate you.”
He takes a step toward me, and Lulu growls, then barks at him. We both look down at her, and she’s focused on Todd, teeth bared, growling as though she’s going to attack him.
“She sure does love you.”
Wiping my face, I bend and touch the top of her head. Lulu turns and licks my hand.
