Page 35 of Diem

“Older?”

“Yeah, the asshole told her he had to wait for his wife to go to bed before he could leave.”

Fuck me. This is not helping my peace of mind.

“Oh, um what else did he say?”

She sighs and rubs her brow. “A bunch of stuff. Called his wife Nunnie and mentioned kids.”

She’s either not the least observant or too caught up in what she’s saying because I’m sure all the blood drains from my face.

Nunnie. That’s my dad’s nickname for my mom. Holy fuck. Hewassleeping with my best friend, but did he kill her?

Could he do something like that? Up until a few days ago I would’ve said he’d never sleep with a student, so how the hell would I know?

“Penny,” I say softly. “I’ve heard that maybe it was that you know, um a serial killer.”

She whips her head around, her eyes sharp and says, “This dick had something to do with it. I know it.”

“How?” I ask, sitting back. I know this is her sister but the intensity behind her gaze is downright disturbing.

Am I missing something?

“Because,” she says, dropping her gaze, “the night before she died, she told me she was in trouble. I tried to get her to tell me, but she just said that she would be fine.”

“Oh,” I whisper, wincing when she seems to fold into herself. Does she think this is her fault?

Damn.

“She was going to break up with him,” Penny whispers and an icy chill slides down my spine. “She said she wasn’t sure how he would react but kept saying she would be fine. I never thought…”

After Penny’s confession, I’m left with the horrible confirmation that even if my dad isn’t a killer, which is debatable, he definitely had an illicit relationship with my friend.

Jerk. Of all the girls in that damn school he picked Dixie. How long did it go on? Did I miss cues? Did they flirt in front of me?

I try to remember but it’s a blank. If they did, I was blissfully unaware.

And what of Penny’s assertions? Was Dixie breaking up with my dad? Or someone else? Why was she worried?

My dad’s a fucking science teacher. Unless she found something that he didn’t want her to see…?

After scrolling through texts as far back as I can on my phone, I have to concede that whatever Dixie was doing, she never so much as hinted about it to me.

I doubt she would mention my own father outright but if she was scared, why didn’t she say something?

I’m going in circles which is why I turn my focus for the evening. I can’t do anything about it right this second but the burning, itchy feeling at the back of my skull tells me, I can’t let this go.

I need to know if my dad is the man who killed my friend, but I sure as shit hope it turns out I’m wrong.

Chapter Nine

Maeve

After my meet up with Penny, I exist in a haze. I can’t get the image of my dad with Dixie out of my head. Did he seduce her? Was she a willing participant?

Ugh.

I’m so weirded out by the whole thing that I do something I shouldn’t. I approach Diem after class. My stomach curdles when he smiles down at a cute sophomore who looks up at him with adoring eyes. I can’t say I’m sorry when I stop beside him and break up their little moment.

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