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“So why don’t you say anything? He did the time already. Why not absolve him now?”
Her haunted eyes meet mine. “Because they’d prosecute. They’d come after me too.”
Right. Yeah, that complicates things. Still…
She shakes her head. “Honestly, some days I kind of want that. Going to prison has to be better than living with this guilt, right?”
I shrug, wanting to argue, but I can’t. It’s impossible to watch what just happened to an innocent person who’s already been through hell and back andnotlong for justice to be served. Sure, she’s my best friend, but I don’t know how to reconcile that with this new reality.
“So do it. Turn yourself in,” I say, surprising myself.
It catches her off guard as well, and her eyes widen like I hit her. I feel bad, I guess, but I’m so confused by this entire situation. What is justice? Who are the good guys and the bad? I don’t even know anymore.
“I can’t,” she says finally. “It’s not up to me.”
“What do you mean? Of course it is.”
She shakes her head, a hard look on her face. “No. It’s up to him,” she says, pointing her thumb toward the hall. “He’d never forgive me if I went against his wishes, and honestly, after everything he’s been through, what right do I have to make that decision?”
Maybe. I don’t know. What I do know is that the current plan isn’t working. We’ll have to find another solution because I’m not going to stand by while Tristan gets pummeled for the rest of his life.
I follow her gaze to the empty hallway and stare into the darkness that just swallowed a huge chunk of my heart.
By the time Tristan emerges from the bathroom, Kim has left for work, and I’ve determined to convince him to right five years of wrongs.
Maybe it’s not my business, but these two have had plenty of time to do the right thing and here we are, no closer to the truth.
But my speech goes to shit when Tristan comes down the hall wearing those barely-on sweatpants. He does it on purpose, I swear. It kind of pisses me off, and I’m hoping my glare is distracting from the drool.
“We need to talk,” I say, as he struts toward me like a freaking runway model auditioning for a Roman god opening. What, is Apollo retiring or something?
“About?” he asks, brushing past me. Of course he also smells like sex and temptation. Why wouldn’t he?
Gah! I hate him right now. This is serious.
“Can you put a shirt on first?”
“Why?” But by his return look, he knows exactly why. He’s also going to torture me, which just annoys me more.
“I need to work off some steam,” he says in a casual tone. “Fair warning, if you’re not happy about my outfit, you definitely won’t like this part.”
And bywon’t,he meanswill.Because as he starts doing pushups on the living room floor like it’s nothing to support your entire body weight with your perfect arms, I suddenly can’t remember the magnificent speech I spent the last ten minutes preparing.
Fine, I’ll wing it.
“You need to tell everyone the truth about what happened.”
“No,” he says without pausing his workout.
Geez, does he think he’s being timed? I didn’t even know people could do pushups that fast.
“Okay, well, you do. You’ve been punished enough for something you didn’t do. It’s time to set the record straight.”
He hesitates mid-push to glare up at me. “I said no, Iz. What makes you think they’d even believe us? If they wouldn’t then, they sure as hell won’t now. And if by some miracle they did, they’d prosecute Kim.”
“And they should!”
“I thought you were her friend.”
