Page 112 of Love Me Brazen
WORLD’S WORST NEIGHBOR:
Greta made the cheer team
Scrubbing my scruffy cheeks, I watch for a reply, but there’s nothing.
Could she be sick?
Could she be ghosting me?
Annaleise’s threat hovers at the back of my mind. Would she tell Meg, just to spite me?
When I put the truck in gear and cruise though the neighborhood, I have to fight the urge to put the pedal down. A senseof déjà vu slowly twists my stomach into knots. Four years ago, I fled this same neighborhood, wounded. Out of control.
I turn onto Lakeshore and increase my speed, the cool evening air whistling through the hole in my back window. I’ll have to visit the junkyard on my next day off, see if they have a replacement. Meanwhile I’ll cover it with cardboard.
Finally, I’m cruising down Agate Beach Drive.
When I get to the top of Meg’s driveway, I pause. Her car is here, so at least I know she didn’t, in fact, crash in the Alaskan wilderness. But my relief is fleeting thanks to the unwelcome alchemy of feelings rising up in its place.
Fuck it.
I drive down and park next to her coupe.
Dusk has fallen, with shadows from the trees casting long stripes across her deck. My phone buzzes on the dash.
EVERETT:
Russ put in a flight plan for Alberta, Canada.
I scratch my scruffy cheeks, thinking about this, but I don’t have all the pieces. The good news is Russet is far from Finn River.
After jumping down from my truck, I climb Meg’s porch. Her door is locked, so I go to the back. A part of me is hoping to see her out in the lake, swimming away her troubles. But there’s no sign of her.
Kody is standing behind her sliding glass door, looking up at me with his big green eyes, swishing his tail. Like he needs to go out, but he’s got his own little door off the laundry room, so it’s not that.
Downstairs in her kitchen and living area, the lights are off, but there’s a soft glow coming from upstairs.
Maybe she misplaced her phone, or it’s broken, or…
I test the sliding glass door, but it’s unlocked. Damn it, that’s not safe.
“Meg?” I call out while Kody curls around my ankles, looking up at me, expectant. “Meg!” I call out again, frustration edging my tone.
Inside the laundry room, I check Kody’s dish. It’s empty, so I measure out his kibble, then take the stairs two at a time. At the top, I pause to listen. Meg’s zesty citrus scent instantly hooks my senses. She’s here. Another pulse of relief sinks through me.
I walk to her bedroom. Her uniform is in a crumpled heap on the floor. She’s sitting on her sheepskin rug with her back resting against the foot of her bed, in nothing but her underwear and a t-shirt.
When I step into the doorway, she glances up. Her crystalline blue eyes are glassy with emotion and her dry lips look frozen in place. She looks so…lost.
Am I the cause?
“Hey,” she says. It comes out soft a whisper, yet it hangs heavy in the air between us.
“Your door was unlocked.” I run a hand through my hair. “Kody was hungry, I…” I stop myself from addingwas worriedjust in time.
She pulls her knees tighter. “Sorry I didn’t text you back. I’m not up for company tonight.”
Her words skim across my thoughts, but I’m too pent up to interpret them. “You just get in? Are you hungry?”
