Page 25 of The Art of Dying

“Come in!” Mack called.

“Hi!” Alecia said, carrying a covered casserole dish.

Lucas was holding the door open for her and closed it behind.

“Hey, man,” he said, shaking my hand. “How’ve you been?”

“Oh,” I said looking around. “Trying to get this house back into shape.”

“It’s looking good! I noticed the new paint on the way in. Looks like a brand-new house.”

“Mack helped,” I said, winking at her.

She smiled back at me, chatting away with Alecia about work. I paid attention to Lucas while also keeping an ear on Mack’s conversation, trying to hear if she’d tell her friend the news. I wanted to tell the whole fucking world, but I was going to let her take the lead and announce it when she was ready.

Lucas and I set the table and then chatted outside next to the grill, drinking beer and telling stories.

“Alecia says Mack has been over the moon happy. Not even Nita can ruin her mood. I’m happy for you,” Lucas said.

“She’s pretty amazing.”

“She’s a good one. They both are. Took me a lot longer to convince Alecia; you’ll have to share your secret.”

I chuckled. “No secret. They’re not lying when they saywhen you know, you know.She hit me with that sassy mouth the first night I met her, and it was love.”

“Yeah?” he said, surprised.

“Yeah.”

“No hesitation. Well, Mason has it all wrong, then.”

My expression changed. “What do you mean?”

“My brother and him are friends. He’s been telling everyone it’s a fling until you leave.”

I felt adrenaline rush through my veins, and I tried to speak my next words calmer than I felt. “Mason Hughes is the kind of guy who curls his toes when he licks a yogurt lid. I don’t associate with worthless cunts like him. And he sure as hell doesn’t know fuck about me.”

I could’ve been calmer.

Lucas looked surprised. “I know, I didn’t mean to…”

“No,” I sighed. “I need to learn to keep my head when it comes to him or something bad’s gonna happen. It’s just that… now that I’ve gotten to know her, and fall for her, it makes me hate him even more.”

“So, you know what he did?”

I shook my head. “She doesn’t really talk about it.”

Lucas blew out through his lips, his eyes wide. “I just know what Alecia told me, and that’s enough. He fooled her into thinking he was this great guy, and when he got her here, he… damn I’m not sure if this is my story to tell.”

I glanced back, seeing the girls busy with their conversation and the food. “I feel it’s definitely something I should know.”

“Well, one night he got really drunk and called her a bunch of names, like some messed up, personal shit about the way she looks, said other people were saying it, too, behind her back. Caused a rift with her and her parents, so they don’t really talk anymore and she’s ashamed to admit they were right.”

“I was wondering why she doesn’t talk about home much.”

“He slammed doors and screamed in her face. One night, she tried to get in the shower to create some space, but he grabbed her by the hair and yanked her out backward. Started talking about how he wanted to fuck some other girl. It got bad, but one night, there at the end… he choked her.”

“He… what?”

---