Page 162 of Tainted

“Yeah, I am,” Zara confirmed.

"So, that’s it?”

“Should it be something else?” Zara asked, dropping her iPad on the counter and giving Sydney her undivided attention.

“I’m not talking to you,” Sydney quipped.

“You’re not talking to him either. Not when it concerns me, so since we’re all here. What’s the fuckin’ problem?”

“Aye, chill," I warned because by now, Zara had moved my arm and inched to the edge of the kitchen.

“We can go there! The problem is I don’t recognize my best friend anymore. Like what we went through. WhatIwent through means nothing now that you’ve got your new little life planned out with her?" She shot Zara a glare that could cut through glass.

“Look a little harder. He’s the same man he’s always been. He wouldn’t have run out of here last night to help you if he wasn't. You just don’t like it because it doesn’t benefit you how it used to.”

This wasn’t how I wanted her to find out, but I refused to apologize.

The knock at the door came amid Zara standing her ground and Sydney’s nostrils flaring like a bull ready for destruction. Two detectives stood there when I opened the door.

“Good Morning. Miss Jackson told us we could find her here. We have a few more questions.” One of them said, his eyes sweeping from me to Sydney.

Opening the door wider, the two officers stepped inside, and Sydney walked to the living room. Zara was still standing in the kitchen like a teacher monitoring her class.

“There are some gaps in the timeline, specifically when you called Kenyon and when the police were notified.”

Sydney’s face paled because she wasn’t built for this, and with the added pressure of finding out about Zara's pregnancy, she was on the verge of breaking down.

“I called him for something else, but then I heard a noise,” Sydney stammered, eyes wide.

The detectives exchanged a glance.

“Then what happened?”

“Nothing, I thought I was hearing things then it got louder.”

I could see Sydney unraveling in real-time. I started to intervene, but Zara beat me to it.

“It seems like it took you a while to arrive, Mr. Keyes,” the officer stated, shifting his focus to me.

I stared, refusing to answer a question that wasn’t asked. I knew how this went, and the more I talked, the easier it was for them to poke holes in our story.

“Is there a reason it took you a while to arrive after Miss Jackson called?” The detective narrowed his eyes, digging deeper.

“It was my fault,” Zara said, her voice clear and calm as she turned to face them. “We just found out I was pregnant and went to the boardwalk. The candy apple made me sick, so he dropped me off first before leaving. He still got there as fast as he could, but I was the reason for the hold-up.”

Sydney shot Zara a look between shock and relief when the detectives turned to me.

“Did she call the police first or you?” The detective pressed.

“How the fuck should I know? I wasn’t there yet,” I groaned, irritated with his tone.

It was a gamble, but Zara’s timely intervention about the pregnancy had shifted their focus, even if just a little.

The shorter one nodded, closing his notebook. “Alright, that fills in some of the blanks. We may have more follow-up questions later.”

I nodded, not giving them more than necessary, while Sydney stirred uneasily in the chair. Once the door shut behind the detectives, I let out a breath.

“Thanks for that,” I said, keeping my voice low.

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