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***
How it was supposedto be.
Always.
She bit back to urge to scream in rage as she balled her fists up in her hair.
“Trina?”
She could hear Justin on the other side of her bedroom door, and knew he’d probably kick it in if she didn’t answer. “I’m fine,” she called out, though her voice sounded anything but.
“Cade will be here in about an hour.”
She huffed as she saw her reflection in the mirror attached to her dresser. Her hair was now a mess, her eyes puffy from crying.
“Judith is out here going through a box of pictures and Christmas cards and stuff. Don’t you want to come out and tell her to mind her own business?”
Katrina almost laughed but couldn’t bring herself to.
She had an hour to get ready to see Ren.
To look him in the eye and demand the truth, even though she already knew.
She just needed to hear it from him.
“Give me a minute,” she said. “Or several.” She eyed her makeup bag that she’d tossed on her dresser that morning, knowing she had less than an hour to make it look like she wasn’t bothered in the least.
Then she’d be ready to give him hell.
“Come have some pizza.”
But first...food. She opened her door, her tears now dry as she made her way to her living room, eyes red and puffy, but full of determination.
“And beer.” Judith handed her a fresh one from the box she’d put in the fridge to keep it cold. “Lots of beer. We’re plotting our attack.”
“What are you doing with all these old pictures?” she asked, her heart constricting when she saw one of the two of them.
“Looking for clues. Wanna help?” Judith motioned for Katrina to join her, and after she grabbed a slice of pizza, she did.
“What kind of clues are we looking for? Emily was nowhere around us most of the time,” Katrina reminded her.
“My thoughts exactly,” Justin piped up. “But there’s got to be something in there.”
“Do you seriously keep all of your Christmas cards, in their envelopes no less?” Judith asked, pushing a stack of them aside. “Anyhow, lover boy here is all into you. And what’s in the background of this picture?”
“A shadow?” Justin asked, and Judith held it up.
“Look closer.”
“It’s she who shall not be named at the moment,” Justin corrected himself. “Giving you both the evil eye.”
“That’s not enough.” Katrina looked over the photos, each one a piece of her heart that had been missing.
Each one making her madder, more determined.
“Oh, here’s an old Christmas card from the Torrences. Let’s see...” Judith pulled the photo out of the envelope with its gold embossed message for a happy holiday season, one where Lorenzo was on one side of the picture, Mrs. Torrence’s hand on his arm, and Emily was beside her father looking perfectly photogenic. “Wow, that’s creepy. Let’s just put that back.”
“Hang on,” Katrina said suddenly, stopping Judith from putting the photo back in its envelope.
