Page 179 of Happily Never After

She had texted Luke twice to remind him to bring his cut of the episode, but would he remember? He’d been ignoring her all day. Probably still salty about the premiere.

Roy was chatting with Jack and Tanya, who appeared to have brought a Tupperware container of their vegan snacks. Tanya wafted something under Roy’s nose, and his head retracted into his neck like a turtle in his shell.

George, Luke’s bullheaded brother, was engaged in a spirited conversation with Rachel. Even though Luke’s mother was facing away from her, the rigid posture was unmistakable.Thank god they hadn’t stopped to say hello. She turned away before George could spot her.

Her stomach dropped when she saw the front row of seats. They had reserved five seats for Barney’s victims. Jennifer Heiser’s mother was talking to Kayley Herrold’s wife, and they were both dabbing at their eyes. Ariel Pullizzi’s mom was standing in front of her daughter’s portrait, clutching a hand over her heart.

Claire was drawn to them like gravity. Her feet carried her forward even as she stumbled over what she would say. Whatcouldshe possibly say to them? Sorry for being alive?

“Hi. I, uh.” Claire stopped. The families turned around. Anxiety scrambled her stomach like eggs in a too-hot pan.

“Claire,” Ariel’s mom said gently. She laid a hand on Claire’s shoulder. “Thank you so much for inviting us. You made it really special.”

“I’m sorry, I—” she broke off again and bit her lip. Her mother would be ashamed. But there wasn’t a How to Speak to Relatives of People Who Were Murdered chapter in that book Alice had given her when she tried to convince her to be a debutante.

“We know. It’s okay.” Kayley Herrold’s wife swung in and gave her a hug. She smelled like oil-based paint. Blue speckles dotted her hands.

“It should’ve been me,” Claire said in a rush. The words poured out before she could even process them. “Not your daughters and wives.” She looked at the posters of the women in front of her. “I’m not special. I was just—lucky.”

And that was the truth of it. Claire wasn’t spared because she had some divine calling in life that demanded to be fulfilled. She was just a regular girl in a terrifying world. And she had been lucky enough to have a mother who cared about her enough toteach her self-defense. And Sawyer, who saved her life when she was ready to give up.

“Stop that,” Shawna Delong’s dad said. “The blood is on his hands, and his alone. We are so grateful for you, you know that? Because of you, that idiot is in prison. We’ve already been contacted by the FBI about the case they’re building against him. He’ll pay for what he’s done. And that’s because of you.”

“You’ve given us justice, hon,” Courtney Stevens’s mom said.

“Because of you, we get to lay our little girl to rest.” Jennifer’s mom dabbed a tissue under her eyes.

Claire sniffled. If she didn’t get out of here right this second, she would ruin Judy’s hard work on her makeup.

“Thank you. I think of you all the time. I hope the documentary helps you heal.” She smiled sadly and walked off before she put her foot in her mouth some more.

She took a couple of steadying breaths and glanced at her watch. People were starting to take their seats. Luke should be here by now. The meager amount of press on the red carpet couldn’t be expected to wait around all day. She gritted her teeth, almost welcoming the instant flood of annoyance. He was pathologically punctual. It was his most annoying trait. So why the hell couldn’t he manage to show up on time for his premiere?

Mindy was chatting with Alice. Claire marched up to them. “Have you heard from Luke? He’s never late.”

Mindy shook her head. “Maybe he hit traffic?”

Claire glanced behind her at the highway. Not a single car went by in either direction. “He’s doing this just to annoy me.”

“Probably. I’m sure he’ll be here soon.”

A knot grew in her stomach. What if something had happened to him? What if a rogue member of ESA had decided to take revenge for dismantling their organization and found him home alone? She called him, but there was no answer.

She pulled up the app linked to the doggie camera she had installed when they returned to West Haven. Rosie and Winston napped soundly in their beds in the kitchen. There weren’t any puddles of blood or sounds of a struggle. She switched to the video doorbell and checked the driveway. Luke’s car was missing, so he had definitely left.

“Just relax, Claire,” she said to herself, shoving her phone back into her clutch. “Everything’s fine.”

Maybe a corn dog would calm her nerves. She took half a step in the direction of the food trucks when a video flickered to life on the movie screen. The Edison bulbs strung over the beer garden dimmed. She stopped and whipped around. Light emanated from the projection booth. Had Luke shown up and snuck the disk to the theater staff? Where the hell was he?

The remaining people who were standing hurried to their seats. A couple of them glanced around, like they were expecting someone to make a speech. That had been the plan, but apparently Luke didn’t care about the plan. It was the tandem bicycle all over again.

Claire scanned the dark field for him, but he was nowhere to be found. What an ass. Should she take a seat and watch the episode without him?

Wait a second. This wasn’t the episode. This wasn’t anything to do with the documentary at all. A video of Claire dancing at Kyle and Nicole’s wedding was playing. Oh my god. The idiot had given them the wrong thumb drive. They were playing Kyle and Nicole’s wedding video in front of the families of Barney’s victims.

She sprinted for the projection booth and hammered on the door until it opened.

“Yeah?” A dazed-looking teenager with impressive chin acne asked. A faded red vest that read West Haven Drive-In Theater hung over his skinny shoulders.

---