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“Stop making excuses for him!” I drop myself on the edge of bed and shake my head. “For a moment there, I thought you had my back.”
“I do have your back.”
“Yet you didn’t tell your father you thought I could handle the truth? What? You didn’t believe it either?”
“It’s not that,” Leo answers.
“Then what? You’re just a coward? Is that it? You just do everything your father tells you to even though you think it’s wrong?”
“He was trying to protect you,” Leo insists.
I stand up. “Really? Or is he just trying to protect himself?”
“What do you mean?”
“How do I know your father didn’t murder mine, hmm? After all, if my father hadn’t been in that accident – ”
“Stop,” Leo cuts me off. “My father would never do that.”
“And I’m supposed to take your word for it?” I shake my head. “For all I know, he could have ordered you to bring me to that mountain so he could have the house searched for evidence that could incriminate him in my father’s murder and then have it burned down anyway just to be sure.”
“That’s insane.”
“Maybe he’s keeping me here so that I don’t find out the truth. He acts like he’s protecting me but he’s really just letting you keep an eye on me so I don’t foil his plans.”
“Enough!” Leo raises his voice this time. “I promise you my father didn’t do it.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “So you know who did it?”
“No. I just know that someone tampered with your father’s car.”
“Someone who your father could have paid,” I argue.
“He didn’t.”
“What? Don’t tell me your father’s never paid anyone to break the law before.”
Leo purses his lips. Ah, I’m right.
“I swear he didn’t do this,” he says. “I don’t blame you if you don’t believe my father, but believe in yours. Bart was…”
“Don’t say his name.”
He lets out a breath. “Your father was a good judge of character. You know he trusted my father.”
I shrug. “I also know that people can betray each other. Under the right circumstances, they can murder their closest friends, their parents, their siblings.”
“Then believe me.” Leo places his hand on his chest.
I snort. He wants me to believe him after all the times he’s deceived me?
He grabs my hand. “I know I haven’t always been honest with you, but you know me, Jodie. You know I would never stand by quietly if I knew my father was a murderer.”
I don’t answer. I want to believe him, I do. I’d like to believe there’s someone on my side. But I’m not sure I can trust anyone right now. I need time to fully digest the information I’ve been given, to go over the case, to come up with a plan.
Besides, I really need a shower.
I pull my hand away and place his phone in his. “I need some time alone, Leo. I’m tired.”
Leo nods. “Okay.”
~
After my shower, I feel slightly better. Less dirty, at least. But I still feel tired. Confused. Devastated. How can it feel like a century since I was enjoying the breeze on that mountain, since I was smiling and laughing like a child without a care in the world.
To think I felt sorry for those children. Well, I’m one of them now. The world has turned its back on me and I have nowhere to go, no one to trust. It’s good that those kids found refuge, but I can’t rely on someone else to protect me, to put the pieces of me back together. That’s all up to me.
I let out a sigh as I sit on the bed. I feel so tired but I doubt I’ll be able to get any sleep tonight. What do I do, then? Watch TV?
I decide to listen to music instead, so I pick up my purse from the floor. I set it down on the bed beside me. I find my phone inside it and as I stare at it, I wonder if I should call my mother.
I still have her, right?
I veto the decision. I can’t bring my mother into this. She’s got other children, including a teenager with cerebral palsy who she has to take care of. She doesn’t need to be worrying about her almost thirty-year-old daughter.
I realize I’m thinking along the same lines as Leo and his father, trying to protect someone from the truth. I guess I do understand their intentions. But that doesn’t mean I like what they did or that I no longer think Leo’s father is a murderer. There’s just something about him that makes me uneasy.
If that’s true, doesn’t that mean I’m in danger? What if he plans on killing me, too?
I shake my head. I’ve got enough worries right now.
One at a time, Jodie, or you just might go insane.
Now, what was I going to do again? Right. Listen to music. I put my phone down and search for my earphones inside my purse. Instead, my fingers brush against something hard and smooth.
