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“What did he do?”
“He lied.”
“About what?” Summer asked patiently, not put off by the unintentional game of twenty questions.
“He set me up.”
“Set you up?”
“The attack … Nick is a cop … after my father … used me … all a game.” She disjointedly attempted to get the facts across.
Summer’s brow furrowed as she attempted to put the pieces together. “Are you saying that Nick deliberately organized for you to get attacked so that he could use you to get close to your father?”
She nodded.
“Who attacked you?”
“Nick’s partner. They were in on it together. His partner attacked me, Nick pretended to save me, so I would fall for him. It was all just a game.” Her sobs had slowed but tears still fell.
Summer looked utterly shocked. “Nick is really a cop?”
“Apparently.” Although since he seemingly lied like he breathed, she supposed it might not be true.
“And he did this to you.” Summer gestured at Aggie’s broken arm and scraped up face.
“What’s wrong with me?”
“Wrong withyou? If Nick was cold enough to set you up, to have you attacked, to get you hurt, to traumatize you, just for a case, then there’s something wrong withhim.”
While she appreciated her best friend’s loyalty, and she couldn’t disagree with anything Summer had just said, there had to be something wrong with her too. “I can never pick a good guy.”
“You do have kind of a bad track record, but this one wasn't your fault.”
“I really thought this time was different. I thought Nick was different. I thought this time I'd finally found true love, but I was wrong again, about all of it. I feel like such an idiot, I'm so mortified.”
“Oh, honey, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. Nick played you, he’d thought this through down to the last little detail. You had no reason to distrust him. As far as you knew, he was just a brave guy who rescued you from a random attacker.”
“You're right. It wasn't real love. I just thought I was in love with him because he saved my life. Well obviously he didn’t, but you know what I mean, I confused love for hero worship. I was stupid, but I won't be again.”
Looking wary, Summer asked, “What do you mean?”
Adamant with renewed, albeit disappointed, strength, Aggie straightened. “I'm done. I'm done trying to find a husband, I'm done looking for love, I'm done with the whole relationship thing. It’s over. I'm clearly no good at it anyway so I think it’s better that I just leave it be.” Aggie didn’t think that her heart could take another letdown. She had tried, she had thought that falling in love, getting married, and having a family of her own were what she wanted, but maybe she was wrong. Maybe she should be focusing on herself, learning to find her self-worth inside and not through a man.
“Oh, honey, you're just saying that now because you're hurt and angry, which you have every right to be, but give it some time.” Summer pulled her into a tight hug.
Aggie didn’t have the strength left to contradict her friend, but she knew that time wasn't going to change her mind.
“You said Nick was a cop, that he was after you for proof that your father did something wrong. What does he think he did?”
“He said he thinks my father killed Selene and Claudia.”
“His ex-wives?”
It was almost as hard to believe that as it was to believe what Nick had done. “That’s what he said.”
“Did you know they were dead?”
“As far as I knew they were both killed by their respective partners, who then committed suicide.”
