AllFreeNovel
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She leans against the big oak tree I used to try to climb as a kid when my father would bring me up here while he cut the grass and shit. “So, you’re saying that I have my sister on a pedestal?”
“Maybe. I want to be honest with you, but I need to know that I can trust you.”
“And trust is earned, and you don’t know me.”
“You get it.”
“I do, but we are talking about what really happened to my sister. Not you feeding my fish for a weekend when I’m out of town.”
“You have fish?”
“Can we stay on subject?”
“Fine.” I hold up my palms. “I get it. You want me to tell you that she was this great girl who had sunshine coming out of her ass and that someone I know fucking snuffed that out? I’m not going to do that. I’m not going to lie to you.”
“I don’t want you to pretend anything. It’s hard for me to accept and acknowledge those bad parts that she didn’t share with me. It’s like there’s two different versions of her and now I wonder which was the real her.”
“Fair enough. Though maybe neither of those sides of her were who she really was. Sometimes people try so hard to be what everyone needs them to be that they lose sight of who they really are. Or both versions could be smaller or bigger parts of who she was.”
“I miss her, you know. Like things happen in my life and I want so badly to send her a text message and tell her everything.”
We trade the bottle of liquor back and forth, trading shots and truths.
“Like how I’m stalking you and leaving notes on your car. Flattening your tire.” I grin and she rolls her eyes.
“You’ve got to admit that it’s a bit strange you just happened to be driving by when I so happened to get a flat right after you came by my apartment. Very convenient. And your friends just happened to be at the restaurant we went to. I’m not convinced.”
“I wasn’t there for you and how would I even know what car was yours? I didn’t even know who you were. Coincidences happen all the time. Charleston isn’t so big that I’m not going to run into my people at a restaurant we all happen to enjoy going to. It’s not that big of a stretch that I would roll up on you on a stretch of road that isn’t that far from the garage I work at.”
“Prove it.”
“How am I supposed to do that?”
“Give me your phone.”
“My phone?”
“Yeah. If you had never heard of me until today, then there won’t be anything incriminating or about me in your search history.”
“I’m not giving you my phone.”
She clucks her tongue. “I knew it. I think you should take me home now.”
Shit.
“I’m not sober enough to drive.”
“I’ll get an Uber.”
“Good luck getting cell service.”
“What the hell is this? You brought me here to what?” I laugh at the wild look in her eyes as she spins around, holding her phone up, searching for any bars.
“Honestly, I don’t know. I thought maybe we’d talk, and I could help give you some closure with your sister. It’s not my story to tell, but you really want to know why Ember hated Shiloh and said the shit she did? I’ll tell you. You won’t like it. Truth can be a real dirty bitch.”
“I’m a big girl.” She flops back down next to me on the hard ground, crossing her legs and holding onto the bottle of Jack like it’s a lifeline.
I light up a cigarette and nurse the last of my Coke. “When I first met Shiloh, she was a fun party girl. One of the chicks who’d hang around the clubhouse looking for a good time. She wasn’t there for Mr. Right. Mr. Right Now was more her speed. You know the type. Here for a good time, not a long time. This was before I became a prospect, mind you. Over time, though, something shifted, and she caught feelings for Smoke. Wanted something he was never going to give her. Had no intentions of ever taking it there with her as far as I know. Like I said, what went down between them wasn’t pretty. She became obsessed and jealous. Turned into someone she herself made fun of in the past.”
