Page 144 of Exposé

"Yep, it’s all there. Gotta go."

The call ended, and I stared ahead, vision tunneling. The steering wheel creaked under my tightening grip.

He lied.

His parents weren't dead.

How much of what he's said to me was the truth?

Tears burned my eyes and I swiped them away, the rest of the drive to my apartment a foggy haze.

I let him in.

The rain softened to a whisper as I parked into my spot and got out, the box fighting me as though I hadn't put it through the same hole moments ago.

Water dribbled down my face, wetting my hair as I struggled. The box tore and my items scattered across my trunk, causing a guttural scream to bubble up from my chest.

I cast my gaze to the sky and let the water hit me, resetting whatever bad luck, curse, or misfortune plagued me.

The rain rolled down my cheeks, and down my neck, soaking my collar.

Whatever this is, let it be done.

Piling the spilled junk in my trunk to the box, I maneuvered it out and carried it to my apartment, my arm covering the rip down the seam.

Inside my studio apartment, I dropped the box onto the coffee table with a dull thud and stared at the evidence board, the shadows surrounding me like a tomb.

Red strings webbed the wall, pinned to photos and notes, a chaotic map that once made sense.

Now, it's noise.

Static.

I watched it, waiting for it to speak.

My mind churned, every lead unraveling into nothing.

The pressure clawed at me, tightening around my ribs until I could barely breathe.

Think, Ava.

You can do this.

The suffocating air pulled my damp clothes tighter around my body, squeezing the focus from my mind like water from a rag.

Pulling my shirt away from my torso, I glanced down as it clung.

I need to shed it all...

The lies...

The doubt...

The betrayal...

I yanked my clothes off, peeling them away like a second skin, and let them fall to the floor in a trail behind me. The promise of scalding water was the only thing that made sense now.

Turning on the shower, I waited until thick and clinging steam coils around me, turning the bathroom into a sauna.

---