Page 43 of Stay Away from Him

Thomas:Like you think I’m a monster.

Amelia:Thomas, I don’t know what you’re talking about.

Thomas:You’re not looking at me and thinking about what’s in the news recently? Whatshe’sbeen saying?

Amelia:Okay, I think I understand now. This is about that woman. Rose’s friend. Kelli something?

Thomas:Kelli Walker. Yes. Stop playing dumb with me. You’ve seen her on the news. Talking about me. Spreading her lies.

Amelia:I have to admit. Her recent claims are…troubling.

Thomas:See? I knew you were looking at me different. You think I’m an abuser now? You think this whole time I’ve been hurting Rose, harming her without your knowing? That I killed her?

[pause]

Amelia:No, I didn’t say that.

Thomas:You had to stop and think about it, though.

Amelia:[sighs] She claims to have proof, Thomas. Photos. She says she was at the hospital with Rose a week before she went missing. I’ve known you for years, and I don’t think you’re capable of hurting anyone. But still, it’s unsettling.

Thomas:I hate this. Here I am, mourning the loss of my wife, hoping she’ll be found safe, trying to be there for my girls—and in the midst of it all, I have to be subjected to this? These attacks on my character, my reputation?

Amelia:Your reputation. That’s what matters to you right now?

Thomas:It’s all I have. I’m a pediatrician, for God’s sake—Ihealpeople. I don’t hurt them. If anyone hurt Rose, it’s probably her. Kelli.

Amelia:You really think that?

Thomas:I do. She’s unhinged, Amelia. Rose never even liked her.

Amelia:Then why were they friends?

Thomas:Rose was lonely. You know that. She needed the company, needed someone to talk to. But Rose always thought she was a little crazy. I think she was afraid of her, actually.

Amelia:So what really happened? What’s with these pictures Kelli claims to have, of Rose’s face all banged up?

Thomas:You know what I think? I think Rose was starting to push Kelli away. Maybe she even told her the truth, that she didn’t like her very much and didn’t want to be friends anymore. And Kelli lost it. Followed Rose—you know she thought she had a stalker, right? And then finally snapped and beat her up. When I saw the cuts later, Rose insisted it was nothing, said she’d tripped and face-planted on the front walk. But I could tell she was hiding something. There was more to it than she let on. Now I know.

Amelia:You’ve gone to the police with this?

Thomas:Of course I have! But nobody’s listening to me. They’ve got it in their heads that I killed her, Amelia. I can feel it. I’m about to get framed for something I didn’t do.

Rose

I need to talk to someone. With every passing day, my mental health grows worse. I feel like a fraying rope, closer and closer to breaking.

I really ought to get back into therapy. Or—I’m drinking more and more, coming to depend on it—rehab. But Thomas won’t allow that. Doesn’t want me talking to people about what I’m going through. Doesn’t want me airing my problems out for strangers, making him look bad.

No, I can’t talk to a therapist—not without him knowing. And I certainly can’t talk to Thomas. Can’t be honest with him. He made that abundantly clear. (There’s something wrong with you. You’re not right. You’re crazy.) Amelia isn’t an option either—like the girls, she’s always been more Thomas’s than mine, more loyal to him than she’d ever dream of being to me.

And I don’t have any friends.

***

Okay, so that’s not exactly true. I have one friend. Kind of. Does a person count as a friend when you don’t even like them very much?

Because most of the time, I’m not sure if I like Kelli Walker. Sometimes I actively dislike her. And other times, I’m actually a little bit afraid of her.

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