Page 53 of I Did Something Bad
With shaky hands and a clearly extensive vocabulary, I type backGreat!,then, wanting to add a bit more, send another text clarifyingOn both ends!
Three dots appear, then three words—Good to hear—that, in her very Clarissa way, indicate that the conversation is over just as instantaneously as it began. And although now would be an excellent time to have a panic attack about my definitelynotgreat article with the definitely nonexistent Tyler Tun–career-related scoop, I have to prioritize.
Swiping back to the timer, I see that I’m down to one minute and forty-five seconds and am about to shove the phone in my purse when one of the back doors opens. I turn from my position in the driver’s seat just as Dipar is sliding in, Tyler ducking and shutting the door behind him.
“Hi,” I say, twisting and leaning over into the space between the driver and passenger seats.
Dipar’s flirtatious smile freezes as she looks at me, then at Tyler, and back at me. Making a one-eighty, her mouth droops, pupils dilating as it dawns on her that she’s most likelynotgoing to have a one-night stand with Tyler Tun tonight.
“We’re not kidnapping you!” I blurt out, only to realize that that sounds like what a kidnapper would say.
“Cool. I’m… gonna go,” she says, trying to escape without making any sudden movements. She gives the other door a tug, and jolts in her seat when she finds that it’s locked.
“We can explain—” Tyler starts.
Dipar flattens her back against the door, not knowing whether to focus on me or Tyler. “Who are you?” she asks me. “What do you want?” she asks Tyler. Then, “I don’t do threesomes!”
“We just want to talk!” I jump in. “No threesomes! Not that I’m kink-shaming. I think threesomes are a perfectly legitimate means through which to explore new territories in your sex life—”
“Khin,” Tyler says, bringing me back.
I shake my head and start over. “My name’s Khin. I have a few questions about Jared. We’re not murderers or kidnappers, I promise.”
“Then why did you trick me into getting into this car and lock the doors?”
I wince in the face of a perfectly reasonable question to which I donothave an equally reasonable answer. “I know how this is going to sound,” I say with a light chuckle that I hope will ease her worries. Instead, her face twists some more. “We needed to get you alone.”
“Oh my god,” she groans. “This is how I die, isn’t it? I have a dog at home! His name is Kauk Swe. My sister hates him because he farts in her face, but can you tell her my last dying wish was that she loves him as her own—”
I fling up a hand to interrupt. “You live with your sister?”
Dipar nods. “Yeah. But not in a mansion if that’s what you’re thinking. It’s a one-bedroom in Yankin; I sleep on the couch!”
Tyler and I trade aHuh?expression. “What about… Jared?” he asks.
Dipar swallows. “What about him?”
I shift in closer to make sure I don’t mishear her. “You don’t live with him?”
“What?” She seems as confused as we are. “Why would I be living with him?”
“Because he’s your boyfriend?”
“We broke up months ago,” she says, squinting at me. Something hits her, and she immediately looks scared once more. “Wait, how do you know about me and Jared? I’ve never met you in my life.” Turning to Tyler, she asks, voice raising several octaves, “How doyouknow about Jared? What is going on?”
I raise both hands to reassure her that we’re not going to hurt her. “You haven’t seen him recently?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“So you don’t know Jared’s dead?”
“What?!” Her body visibly tenses. “Jared’s dead?!”
Tyler tilts his head at me with a look that reads,You really couldn’t have been more tactful about that?“Sorry,” I say with a grimace. “I assumed you knew.”
But I don’t know if Dipar even hears me, because she’s staring down at her lap, motionless.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Tyler begins in a low, cautious tone. “Are you… were you guys in touch recently?”
