Page 48 of Lost Petal

“Well, if they believe that she’s been taken by that guy, it’s all the better for us,” I say, receiving a shocked look from Malia. “It would set them on the wrong track.”

She shrugs, looking unconvinced. “They’ll still want to talk to us.”

“I know.”

“Robert must have contacted the police by now,” she goes on. “He said he’d wait till tonight, but you and I know him well enough to realize he won’t wait that long. Especially with Christopher on the job.”

“We’ll be ready for them,” I try to reassure her. “We’ve practiced. And there’s no reason why they suspect any of us to be involved. You’re her best friend. And you did let Robert know that you’re worried about her, right?”

Malia nods hastily. “Yes, of course I did! I even told him to call me as soon as possible if he hears anything, and that I’d check for her, too.”

She bites her lower lip, turning away from me and staring out to the sea instead. Her black locks dance across her forehead, poking the lines that concern draws on her face.

“I’m her best friend,” she repeats. “But who are you?”

It’s odd to see how much her question impacts me. It feels like a giant clamp closing around my chest, tightening suddenly and evoking thoughts and emotions I haven’t had in a while.

The thought of not being a part of her life. The thought of being forced to stand on the sidelines as I watched her suffer, as I watched her heal, knowing that I was the one to make it possible. As I watched her blossom, as I watched her fall in love, as I watched her wilt. I’ve always been close to her, except for those four years she spent on the other side of the country. Yet there has always been this distance keeping us apart because other people were afraid of me.

Who am I to her?

Malia is asking an intriguing question.

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