Page 113 of Safe With Me

“I don’t know why you’re here,” she whispered, her tiny voice even smaller as she sat down.

“I’m not sure either. But I’d like some answers. I know the overall explanation for why you did what you did, but maybe you can do me one last favor and indulge me.”

“Fine,” she said with a weak shrug. “Not like I have anything to lose.”

“How long were you following me?”

She fell back in the seat, crossing her arms as she met my gaze.

“On and off over the years, but mostly since that night at the bar and grill. I’d seen you on dates with women before, but you were different that night. You barely noticed me standing there.”

“All right,” I said, not arguing because I hadn’t noticed anything but Lila in general at that point. “What made you do all this? What set you off?”

“I hadn’t seen you kiss her the night you had to walk her to her car like a scared little kid, but it was all I heard about at the bar.” She rolled her eyes. “People kept asking me about the two of you, and I had to smile and pretend I was happy for you after you’d basically forgotten about me because of that whore.”

I tensed at the word but fought hard not to show it and give her the satisfaction.

“The night I keyed her car was a one-off at first. I was angry and wanted to rattle her since I saw how easy it was to do.”

Her laugh unnerved me. Even now, she didn’t have one shred of remorse for anything she’d done. How could I haveconsidered someone like this a friend for so many years and have been so clueless about who she really was?

“The neighborhood punks causing trouble that same night was luck. I went to Aaron’s shop the next day to see what people were saying, figuring that was the only place she could take her car to. I really didn’t need an oil change.”

Her eyes thinned to slits as she leaned her elbows on the table. “And there you were. The dutiful boyfriend having his fragile girl’s car fixed so she never had to see the mean word again. I was hoping to see her there all freaked out, but all it did was bring you closer.”

Her jaw ticked as she darted her eyes around the room.

“Then before you took her to see your mother, you hung all over her at the coffee shop, calling hersweetheart. But right before that, as she was trying to explain why she got so nervous leaving the bar, she gave me the perfect idea to get her away from you. All I had to do was write the notes with my left hand so you wouldn’t recognize my handwriting.”

The smile drifting across her face was pure evil. She had thrown her life away to torture and later try to kill Lila, and her chest puffed out with pride.

“I almost laughed after you screamedI love youwhen she had your dick in her mouth on the beach. I guess that’s all it took. I should’ve known that in high school.”

I had no words as I stared back at her, her obvious cruelty flowing freely as if I were meeting her for the first time.

Maybe I was.

How was this the same girl who used to playSuper Mariowith my cousins and me and who’d baked cupcakes with tiny badges when I’d graduated the police academy?

I still wasn’t sure if she’d changed or if the friend I’d known all those years had never really existed.

“As sorry as I am for misreading you for all those years, I can’t forgive what you did to Lila or how you targeted my sister.”

She rolled her eyes again. “Don’t you think it’s time to stop babying her? I never saw a kid so obsessed with her brother. It’s weird.”

A chill ran up my spine as I remembered all the times I’d invited Amber to come somewhere with my sister and me and when I’d left Keely alone with her. My sister might have been next for all I knew, and the thought made me sick enough to taste bile in the back of my throat.

“If you’d left Keely alone, Keith may have asked a judge to go easier on you. You lost all mercy and sympathy when you did that.”

“I doubt I’d have much to begin with. Anything else you want to ask me?”

I shook my head and stood. “No. I hope you get the help you need. I honestly don’t know who you are. After I considered you a friend for most of my life, I have to tell you, that makes me pretty sad.”

I pressed my hands against the table and leaned over, close enough to look her straight in her cold, dead eyes.

“You did all this to make me love you like I love Lila, whichneverwould have happened. I hope you find some peace someday, but I never want to see you again.”

I walked out of the room and didn’t look back. I’d said what I’d needed to say, and I could replay every conversation between us since pre-K and still come up empty on any possible signs.

---