Page 47 of Corrupting Ivy

The machine spat out a disturbing amount of quarters.

Ivy laughed. “What are you going to do with all of those quarters?”

Good question.

She threw her clothes in the new washer, then slipped her quarters into the silver slot and pushed it in. It rang out like a casino slot machine, but this wouldn’t give you anything in return.

I shoved my clothes in the washer beside her, paid the outrageous price for a single load, then sat next to her.

We had the laundromat to ourselves, aside from the clerk, in this mid-sized facility with nothing but the sounds of wet, sloshing clothes, flipping and flopping in the tub. News played on the flat-screen TV in the top corner of the room.

Ivy turned in her seat, facing toward me. “It’s your turn.”

“For what?”

She tucked her ankle under her other leg and folded her hands in her lap. “To tell me your secret.”

“You’d have to be more specific. I carry a lot of them.”

She rolled her lips, then raised her brows. “How about the reason you left this town? Where do you live now?”

I huffed. Where do I begin with that? “I live far enough away, where I don’t have to think of this town, ever.”

“Um… that’s not really an answer, but okay. What about why you left?”

“Have you seen the town?”

She giggled, and it made me smile. I enjoyed seeing her this way. It was in stark contrast to the events of the last couple of days.

I slouched, spread my knees out wide, taking up the surrounding space, then touched my fingertips to each other, matching each one with the other hand.

“I mean, it’s not that bad—unless you move here and they find a serial killer’s disposal grounds… then I guess that could be a turnoff.”

“Give it time.” I leaned forward in my chair and leaned my elbows on my knees. “What did the Sheriff mean when he said that death followed you?”

Her beautiful smile fell as the sudden change of topic startled her. “You ask a lot of questions for someone who isn’t willing to answer any.”

“I like to know who I’m getting involved with.”

She chortled. “Are we involved?”

I leaned in close and palmed her neck, rubbing my thumb along her cheek. “Not yet, hun. When we are through, there will never be a doubt in your mind.”

Pink tinted her cheeks. The woman at the counter, overseeing the building, turned the TV volume up as the news covered a segment of the serial killer in the next town over. They replayed the day they found the first body. A blonde with perky tits spoke into the microphone in her hands, but it wasn’t her I couldn’t keep my eyes off of. There, in the background, sitting in the back of an ambulance, wrapped in a blanket, was none other than Ivy.

I stared at her blurry image. It was her. I could tell. And if I could tell, then so could her family when it hit the big news stations across the county.

“Thank you, Georgia. It’s been a little over three weeks since the discovery of twenty-seven female victims, and the facts of this terrible tragedy are still being unearthed. Officials said yesterday afternoon that they would not reveal the identities of the people who found the gruesome scene in order to protect them, but that they were Cavil residents. The cause of death and identities of twelve victims have yet to be determined by FBI authorities, but those findings are expected by the end of next week. Back to you.”

Ma’s nonsensical utterings weren’t nonsense after all. The girl who started all of this—started the investigation that led to Doug’s remains—was the same girl who sat staring into a void before me, the same girl I wanted to drag down into oblivion just so she could never escape me. It’s no wonder Ma has an issue with her.

“Ivy.” The more I got to know her, the more I found a treasure trove of enemies surrounding her. Just being around her would get me high on the prospect of danger.

Her green eyes raked across my body, colliding with my gaze, then broke away to the TV behind me. Her face blanched as she caught the tail-end of the broadcast.

“Oh, my god.” She stood, pacing to the door, then back towards me. “Jeremiah’s going to find me now. I have to leave.” She bit her lip. “I knew it was only a matter of time.”

She tugged on the locked washing machine door, then tugged harder, not understanding it wouldn’t budge. I strode towards her in three long steps and wrapped my hand around her wrist.

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