Page 4 of Rent Free

Sage knew how to ruin people’s lives, that was for sure.

“I’ll fix it.”

Everest looked at me. “I don’t think she’s fixable, Pepper.”

Yeah, I wasn’t too sure she was, either.

Age 22

“I’m sorry, but can you repeat that?”

“She’s telling everyone that she was raped,” my mom whispered into the phone, her voice shaking from unmitigated rage. “I swear to God, Pepper. I’m getting a bunch of nasty reviews on the diner’s page because of our ‘lack of concern for our child’s safety.’”

I stared down at my lap, wondering what kind of time I would get if I killed my sister in cold blood. Surely they would give me some leniency after everything she’d put our family through… right?

“What happened?” I asked.

“That’s the thing, nothing happened.” She sounded tired, worn out from years of having to deal with a psychopath in her own family. “I was there. I know exactly what happened. We were out to eat with Pan and Merrily. Sage had come with us when she heard Merrily’s son was in from college visiting. We checked out the new restaurant they just put in downtown. We were there for maybe an hour. We all walked out to our cars, and then Pan and Merrily left. The son drove himself, so he stayed for a bit longer and spoke with us. Your dad and I left, leaving Sage and him talking in the front of the restaurant. But your dad forgot his leftovers, so we turned right around and went to grab them. They were both still talking when I ran inside. When I came back outside, Merrily’s son was gone. But Sage was still in front, playing on Snapchat. I didn’t say anything because your dad really had to use the bathroom. We pulled out right after Merrily’s son and followed him almost all the way to their house before we pulled into our driveway.”

“Okay,” I waited, knowing this was about to be the showstopper.

“I waved at him as he walked inside his house. We were home for maybe ten minutes when I got a call from the cops saying that Sage was at the hospital, crying her eyes out, in the aftermath of a rape,” she continued.

I blinked a couple of times. “And she blamed it on the son.”

“She did!” my mom gasped. “What the absolute fuck?”

“What happened then?” I asked.

“I got up there and was listening to the female officer explain what happened, and who did it, and I had to stop her and tell her that wasn’t the case.” She groaned. “I couldn’t believe I was having to tell this officer that my daughter lied. Jesus Christ, Pepper. What the hell am I supposed to do?”

If I had an answer to that, I would’ve provided a solution a long time ago.

Why do people like to tell you they ran into your ex? Unless you ran into her with a car, I don’t care.

—Atlas’s secret thoughts

ATLAS

3 years ago

At first, I wasn’t too sure what I was looking at when the woman ran toward me.

And the only reason I could tell it was a woman was because of the female curves, and the dress she was wearing.

Her face was battered to the point of appearing like raw meat, and there was so much blood on her blue sundress that I wondered if there was any left in her body.

She ran straight for me, her eyes only open to slits due to swelling.

I got out of my cruiser and reached for the mic at my shoulder. “Victim located.”

I ran toward her in time to catch her right as she fell.

“I’ve got you,” I told her breathlessly.

“He had me,” she said. “That serial killer. He had me.”

Those were the first and last words she said about the serial killer in my presence.

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