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Roman followed me home—like a fucking stalker. I didn’t care if he’d given me the best sex ever. I didn’t need him to smell my morning breath or to make me beg for a repeat. I needed a fucking shower. And coffee. And maybe to sleep for a week.
I went to the Morning Cup and strolled to the counter. This place had Coffee of the Gods. Not figuratively. It was the brand name, and it was divinity in a cup. Usually, it was a place bustling with the college crowd this early in the day. Coffee was a staple for us.
The tables were mostly four-seaters and tall, equipped with USB charging ports and drink holders for the paper cups. It always smelled like banana bread and cinnamon, no matter the time of day, and the counter wrapped around the side was always stocked with donuts.
At the register, I waved at Gretchen. I’d known her since moving to New York, but I’d never seen her so upset. Her red hair clung to her face, mixed with the tears falling down her cheeks. She was puffy and red, sniffing back more tears as she came closer.
“Hey, girl. What’s going on? Why are you crying?” My morning wasn’t so much about coffee anymore. Whatever happened here had half the clientele as sad as Gretchen. And no one had coffee in front of them. It was like they’d come here to cry. All of them. Some shit had definitely gone down.
Gretchen shifted her brown gaze to me, wiping her eyes with a tissue. “It’s Moni…” She shook her head. “The cops found her body early this morning. She’s dead. Someone fucking beat her to death,” she cried, and her body shook with the force of racking sobs.
Open-mouthed, I stood there, unable to speak. Shock. Disbelief. That was all I felt. And then anger mixed in and I had an emotional soup stirring through my blood.
That fucker—Lars. I knew in my gut it’d been him who’d killed her. After witnessing what he’d done to her last night, there was no doubt in my mind. But I could think about that later. Right now, I needed to comfort my friend.
“Come here,” I said, moving around the counter and pulling Gretchen in for a hug.
“Moni was like my sister,” Gretchen muttered. “We’ve been friends since grade school. She only moved out here because of me. It’s my fault she’s dead.” The weight of her pain came crashing down in sobs that echoed throughout the shop, not because they were loud, but because they’d inspired others to join in.
“Shh. No, it’s not.” I hugged her tighter, rubbing soothing circles along her back.Motherfucker. My body was trembling from rage, but I tried to keep it together for her.
“No. I should’ve gone with her last night. You don’t understand.” She pulled away and wrapped her arms around her middle. “She and Lars got into a huge fight, but she loved him, and she wanted to talk to him. I asked her not to go, but she wouldn’t listen.” Gretchen sniffed and the tears magnified the deep brown of her irises. “I told her she was on her own, that I wouldn’t be caught dead in a place like that.” Gretchen hung her head as silent tears streamed down her face.
“You couldn’t have known.” I tried to reassure her. But everyone who was at the fight knew Lars was a dick who beat women. They’d watched it. And my antagonizing him… fuck. Maybe I was the reason Moni was dead.
No. He wouldn’t have stopped hitting her. Audience or not.
Another hard sob shook Gretchen. “You really couldn’t have known.”
ButIdid. Maybe not the details, but I’d witnessed his temper, his fury. Possibly what Gretchen had warned her about. Moni hadn’t been at fault. No. It was the fucker who’d put his hands on her.
“Those were my last words to her, Rylie: ‘I wouldn’t be caught dead in a place like that.’ And now, she’s the one who’s dead. So, yeah, I could’ve stopped it. My best friend,” she wailed and swayed, and there was no way she should be behind the counter.
Steadying her, I led her to the nearest booth. “Here, you need to sit down. Why are you even at work? Where’s the fuckin’ manager?”
“At the police station. When Moni didn’t show up this morning and the cops found her, Todd got called in for questioning. He’s the one who told us.” Standard Operating Procedure. They would work their way out from the people who knew her best to where random strangers would be suspects if it got that far. But it wouldn’t.
Glancing over my shoulder, I motioned to Brad behind the counter. “Hey, do you mind bringing her a glass of water?”
He blew out a short, quick breath and nodded. “Yeah. I’ll grab your coffee, too.”
“Thanks.” I directed my attention back to Gretchen. “Hey, why don’t you go on home? Fuck it. I’m sure your boss won’t care. You’re in no condition to be here, anyway.” If I had to, I would stay and pour coffee. But no one in here seemed to be interested in ordering. This was all about Moni.
“You-you’re right. I should go,” she finally agreed.
Brad set our drinks on the table and squeezed Gretchen’s shoulder. “Here ya go,” he said, voice soft, the kind of empathy that brought on fresh tears. “Sucks about Moni, but Rylie’s right—you need to go home. I’ve got you covered.”
She peered up at him, her eyes red-rimmed, her lashes glistening and damp. “Thanks, Brad. I appreciate it.”
He squeezed her shoulder again, then gave me a knowing look. With an imperceptible nod, he went back to the front.
Reaching across the table, I took Gretchen’s hand. “Hey, look at me. You’re gonna get through this, all right?” I wanted her to look at me, but she kept staring at the table. “But please don’t blame yourself. Come on. I’ll walk you back to our dorm. You need to get some rest.” I couldn’t turn her loose on her own any more than I could leave her here trying to work.
“No, that’s okay,” she said. “But thanks, anyway. I’ll just call my boyfriend to pick me up. I’m not sure if he knows yet. I mean, we just found out right before you got here.” Good news traveled fast, but bad news? Much faster. I would bet he already knew. Likely, the whole campus did by now, but I wasn’t going to argue with someone already so distraught.
“Okay.” I stood from my seat and leaned down to hug her. “Take care of yourself, all right? I’m here if you need me.”
“Thanks, Rylie.” With a napkin from the table dispenser, she dabbed away a few stray tears. “We’ll talk soon.”
