Page 110 of Unexpected

We were all comfortably lounging on the sectional, listening to Reed seated on the edge of the fireplace and Josh, who I realized couldn’t sit down for any length of time. Amanda took up the spot to my right, giving me additional details and insight into the entire group.

On my other side, Devon added his own versions with lightning-fast wit, and farther down the couch, James enjoyed chiming in when he overheard part of our subconversation.

Even as an outsider in their long-since-established group, I didn’t feel that way at all. They had all met in college, and they’d been friends ever since. People had apparently come and gone—names I didn’t recognize appeared in several of the stories—but the core group of seven had stayed.

I was curious how Valerie had fit into the group. Had they liked her? Had she fit in seamlessly before everything went to shit? No one had brought up her name, and I couldn’t tell whether it was intentional or not. But I had a feeling it was a long-held standard to not mention her name, given the way Luke spoke about her and what was happening then.

It was in the middle of a story Amanda was telling about Reed and Josh trying to pursue the same woman when there were raised voices from Luke’s bedroom. Amanda stopped midsentence and they all peered at each other, careful not to look at me.

With the liquor of my third hot toddy coursing through me and feeling comfortable, I spoke up. “Anyone know what they’re talking about?”

They all glanced at each other again before James said, “Blake and Luke have always butted heads. They look at things in very different ways, so that means they argue a lot. It’s been like that for as long as we’ve all been friends.”

“Not to mention, Blake can be a tad opinionated and argumentative,” Reed quipped, taking a long pull from his cider.

Josh scrubbed a hand through his hair as Amanda patted my leg. “I’m sure it’s fine. Want to help me get everything out for dinner?”

Ready to find a different topic and move farther away from the bedroom, I agreed.

For the twenty minutes it took me, Amanda, and Devon to lay out all the parts of the meal—most of which had been warming in the oven or staying cool in the fridge—Luke and Blakely still hadn’t surfaced. We had been engaged in light conversation about what we all did for a living and other somewhat mundane details of our lives.

Amanda was a middle school teacher, which didn’t surprise me in the least when she used her “teacher” voice on everyone, including me, more than once. Devon was a genius; he was working for a start-up company that was working on a new form of artificial intelligence technology. He began to ramble on about the details of his daily work until Amanda gave him a “teacher” look and he chuckled.

“Sorry, I get a little carried away and forget that not everyone understands, nor wants to hear, the nerdy shit.”

I laughed. “You’re passionate about what you do, that’s not a bad thing. Besides, I get that way with books and writing.”

That spawned the conversation of what I did for a living, and whether it was the liquor or what, I wasn’t sure, but I told them that I was writing a book. They asked all of the usual questions, but I kept the details surface level. Just telling them was a big step for me, and I was thankful they didn’t push too much.

They both expressed their eagerness to read it, and I didn’t have to pretend to be excited. Slowly, the idea of others reading my work was becoming less terrifying.

When everything was set and Amanda was poised to break up the arguing still happening in the bedroom, I interrupted her and said I’d go. She contemplated it for a moment but stepped aside.

Josh gave me a sympathetic smile as I walked past where he sat on the fireplace. Uneasiness filled my stomach as I approached the door, my heels clicking on the hardwood, and I heard angry whispered voices.

The door was slightly ajar, and through the small crack I could see Luke leaning against the windowsill with his arms crossed defensively across his chest. He was shaking his head and his expression portrayed his frustration.

They’d been arguing for nearly an hour, and dinner was ready. So, I pushed the door open just in time to hear Blakely say, “She’s not going to survive it, Luke. You’ve put her in the worst possible situation because you’re being selfish. Flaunting your relationship or whatever the fuck this is, is just going to bring Valerie’s wrath down on her harder.”

Having heard enough, I cleared my throat. I stood my ground as both of their heads whipped to me, standing in the open doorway, and I said in an even voice, “Dinner’s ready.”

Blakely opened her mouth like she was going to argue, but I said again, “Dinner’s ready.” She glanced over at Luke, who was watching me carefully with deep-green eyes. When he didn’t acknowledge her, she brushed past me and headed back down the hall.

When she was well and truly gone, I closed the door behind me and faced Luke. “You were arguing about Valerie?”

He nodded but didn’t add anything to my assessment.

“She doesn’t think you’re handling it correctly?”

He shook his head and scrubbed a palm over his beard. “She thinks I should stay all but in hiding while the police try to handle it, which I’ve done before and it didn’t help jack shit. She was around when it all happened, and I stayed cooped up for weeks hoping they’d handle it. Nothing ever came of it because Valerie has always played on the cusp of legality. She straddles the line of stalking and never leaves fucking evidence, and it just won’t help. I’m tired of hiding and playing by her rules.”

I crossed the distance between us in a few purposeful strides. “I agree, Luke. I understand.”

“But she’s right about me being selfish,” he said, drilling me with a guilty look.

I was shaking my head before he could finish the thought or even think about adding to it. “No. You gave me a choice, you left it up to me whether I wanted to be involved or not, and like you said, Valerie will come after me even if we aren’t together. She did it to Blakely, right?”

He gave a slight nod. I knew that was probably part of why she was so defensive—she had been on the receiving end of Valerie’s terror and didn’t want that for another woman or for her friend. I could appreciate that, but I wasn’t her.

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