AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The hallway is empty and smells like feet. The living room is also empty save a ratty couch in the middle of the room. The kitchen faucet drips noisily. I walk to the back of the house and look out the window to the overgrown yard. We are only one street away from the Strasser-Manning house... where the murder went down. I think of Sienna. I can’t recall the last time I heard from her. Is thaton purpose, or is she just busy? All at once, my friendship with Sienna seems so uncomplicated and safe. I regret not putting more effort into it. Maybe we’ll be able to start over, once I collect this money and repair my life.
“I might be having second thoughts,Alexis,” I murmur, my throat tight.
Alexis’s mouth pinches. “Don’t call me that.”
“I should call you Jane, then?”
“Don’t call me anything.”
She turns and struts up the stairs. I try not to stare at her butt, but it’s difficult. She’s wearing a skirt so short that I keep seeing snatches of her ass. Her shoulders are bare, too; I can see the delicate knobs of her spine. Her skin glows. I want to bite into it.
The bedroom she leads me to is generic and stripped down. In it is a bed with a mattress, sheets, and a comforter, though I wonder when they were last washed. Alexis flops down and glances at her watch. “He’ll be here soon. I’ve got everything set up.”
I look around. “Where are the cameras?”
“Hidden.” Alexis crosses her arms. Her eyeliner is thick today, and her lips are extra pink. “I’m not going to tell you where they are. You’ll stare at them and give everything away.”
I scoff. “I’m just as good at this as you are.”
“Says the girl who tried and failedtwicein the past six months.”
Her eyes are gleaming. Is she flirting with me? But when I look again, she seems impassive, even annoyed. Like this is just a job to her, nothing more.
I smooth my hands on the comforter, then realize how dirty it probably is and pull away. “So what’s the plan?”
“We’re supposed to act like we’re at a sleepover. And then, I guess, he breaks in”—she makes quote marks with her fingers—“and pretends he’s robbing us. We need to act scared. He has to believe that we’re into this, too.”
I bite my lip. This issoweird. “What next?” I want to know when we reveal we’re blackmailing him.
“And then wait for my signal.” Alexis’s voice is businesslike. “Leave everything to me.”
I nod, though I don’t like putting my trust in someone else’s hands—I’ve always worked alone.
We kick off our shoes. I want to suggest that we watch something on my phone, but I don’t know if that’s allowed. I pick at my nails. Alexis rolls on more lipstick and presses her lips together with a smack. She gets up and paces around. She seems nervous, too. I wonder if she’s thinking about our proximity to the Strasser house, like I am.
“You really are acting like this is your first time,” I remark.
She shoots me daggers. “It’s not, don’t worry.”
“So what was your first time?” I lower my lashes. “Your first con...oryour first time having sex. I’ll accept either answer.”
Alexis stops with her back to me, facing the window. “We’re not here to have a little chat. We’re not friends.”
“Okay, okay. Jesus.” I grit my teeth. “I’m just trying to act like we’re friends at a sleepover. I’m trying to get into character.”
But Alexis doesn’t buy it for a second. “Don’t you know the best way to succeed at this is to not actually become attached to people? That’s when mistakes get made. That’s when people get hurt.”
“I guess that’s the difference between us.” I turn away, not wanting her to see the emotion on my face. “I’m not really cut out for this world. Iwantto make attachments.”
Alexis snorts.
But I don’t believe her. Ican’t.So I position myself so we’re looking at each other again. “You mean to tell me you and I had absolutelynoconnection? When we were hanging out—when you thought I was different, and when I thoughtyouwere different—you felt absolutely nothing for me?”
The gooseneck lamp on the side table illuminates her sharpjawline. A muscle in her cheek twitches. She seems to be gnashing her teeth.
“What happened to you to make you like this?” I ask. “I mean, for me, it’s because I always went without. It’s not really my parents’ fault—they only did what they knew. They weren’t smart enough to climb out of their situation. But I wanted to change things. I wanted a better life. Is that what happened to you, too?”
Alexis’s mouth is pinched. “You really want to know?” she challenges.
