Page 104 of The Lake of Lost Girls

I addressed Ryan again. “Daisy said that you got drunk and drove to our house. That you saw Jess with a man.”

“I did. We fought earlier that day—she broke up with me—and I went and got drunk on a bottle of Grey Goose vodka I’d received for Christmas. Then, full of drunk courage, I had the stupid idea to drive over here and confront her. Maybe I was going to tell her she was wrong to leave me. Maybe I was going to beg her to take me back, who knows. I just needed to see her.” He was picking at his thumbnail, looking torn.

“What were you planning to confront her about?” I asked.

“I thought she was sleeping with Dr. Daniels. That he had sucked her in like he had all the others,” he replied. “So, yeah, I wanted to confront her. I don’t know why I thought it would make me feel better to hear her confess it. ”

“What happened when you got here?” I asked.

There was a tick in Ryan’s jaw. “I saw her with him—with Dr. Daniels—at least I thought it was him. It was dark and I was wasted. But I saw her arguing with an older man. His back was to me, so I couldn’t see his face. Though, I know for certain that whatever was happening wasn’t good. Then he grabbed her …”

Ryan:

April 23, 1999

6:20 PM

I turned the radio up. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony belted out of the speakers at full blast. I weaved too far to the right, running off the road.

“Shit,” I muttered, overcorrecting myself, almost driving into oncoming traffic.

I rubbed my eyes, looking nervously in my rearview mirror to make sure I wasn’t being tailed by the cops.

Maybe driving to Jess’s parents’ house when I was loaded wasn’t such a great idea after all.

I thought about her face when she told me to leave. There was no way in hell she actually wanted that. Not when she was sleeping in my bed only two days ago. Girls can’t fake that kind of thing. Or, at least, I hoped not.

So no, I had to see her. I’d beg her to come back to me. We’d fix what was wrong. I’d help her with whatever she was going through.

Because I really loved that girl and I couldn’t stand the thought of us being apart.

My frat brothers told me I was whipped. Tomas, my big brother, said I should forget about her. He tried hooking me up with one of the Omega Mu girls. They didn’t get it. Jess was it for me. She was the one.

Somehow, I made it to the right road. I had looked up Jess’s address in the student directory before leaving, ripping the page out and taping it to the dashboard.

I recognized her Toyota Camry with the dented chrome from when she had driven into a ditch by campus. It was parked in front of house number forty-two.

I made sure to park a little way down the street. Far enough that she wouldn’t notice me, but close enough I could see her house. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to say to her, but even as hammered as I was, I knew she’d be pissed if she found out I’d driven here intoxicated.

I cupped my hand and smelled my breath. Damn, it was bad. I smelled like a distillery. I hit my hand against the steering wheel, knowing that I had to go home. I couldn’t waltz up to her kid sister’s birthday party drunk as a skunk. I was such an idiot.

Then I saw Jess. She was standing by her car, the trunk open.

My heart sped up. At the sight of her, every worry drifted away. I had to talk to her. Now.

I put a hand on the door, but before I could get out, I saw a man walk toward her. She stopped, turning to talk to him. Only they weren’t talking, they were arguing. They were clearly both angry. I squinted, trying to make out who it was she was speaking to, but his back was to me. All I could tell was that he was older. It must be Dr. Daniels. Who else could it be?

I watched them for what felt like forever, their heated fight building, before finally getting up the courage to confront them.

“Screw this,” I snarled under my breath.

I fumbled to get my keys out of the ignition, dropping them at my feet. With a string of curses, I reached down and picked them up, smacking my head painfully against the dashboard as I sat back up.

“Goddamn it,” I grumbled, rubbing my head. I reached for the door handle and looked out the window.

Jess was gone.

The man she had been arguing with, too.

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