Page 74 of I Did Something Bad
My breath shakes. “Didn’t they get suspicious that you’d lied to them the first time around?”
“Yes, but I explained that I knew how it’d look. He’s a white man, and we get into a physical fight on the same night that he shows up dead? I knew I’d immediately be their first suspect. But as luck would have it, Ididhave a solid alibi that night. My friends have been dead set on a mission to get me over this breakup, and now I’m actuallythankfulthat they’ve been dragging me out to clubs every other night. I gave the cops the name of the club I was at on that particular night, explaining I’d gone out to clear my head and also to be around people in case he returned to the apartment. They could check the club’s CCTV footage if they wanted. We might’ve gotten into an argument at my place, but he was alive when he left.”
“Dipar.” My voice is coarse. “You could’ve gotten into serious trouble. Youstillcould.”
“I know, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. Here’s the thing—in that moment, I knewIhad a solid alibi and that you didn’t, and the choice was… clear.” Her voice takes on a steeliness, the kind that you can’t fake. “I stayed with him as long as I did, as long as Icould,because despite it all, I did love him. But you know the first thing I felt that night that you told me he was dead?”
“What?”
“Relief. I wasrelieved. That’s when I knew I’d made the right decision by leaving. You know—” She pauses. “I’d always wondered if I’d ever meet you in real life. You saved my life, Khin, without a doubt. I just returned the favor.”
“Thank you,” I say. It feels both not enough and yet all that needs to be said. “Just… thank you.”
“You’re welcome. But Khin?”
The caution in her voice makes my stomach roil in a new way. “Yeah?”
“I hope that what I did was enough, although I’m not sure it was. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but those two detectives, they seemed to be really upset about your article. They kept circling back to it, showing me different photos of your face, repeatedly asking if I wassureI didn’t know you. It was clear that they wanted me to turn on you, make me jealous, try to frame you as someone Jared was obsessed with more than he was with me or whatever.”
Just like that, the wisps of hope and relief that I’d started to feel vanish. I bite down hard on my lip to hold back a sob. “Thanks for the heads-up,” I say.
“Anytime. Again, thankyou. I have to go, but… stay safe, okay?”
I nod, the tears practically gluing the screen to my cheek at this point. “Okay. You take care of yourself, too.”
Outside, someone yells, “We’re resuming shooting in twenty, people!”
“I’ll see you on set,” says Tyler over his back, closing the trailer door and already two steps in before he halts at the sight of me. “Oh my god, Khin,” he says, rushing over. His hands reach out for my face but stop themselves in time, and, ever the boundary-respecting gentleman, he instead restrains himself to tilt up my chin with the back of his knuckles. “What’s wrong? Did something happen? Is it the police? Did they call again? What can I do to help?”
“No, it’s… stupid. I popped in to use the toilet.”
He raises one brow to point out that that doesn’t explain the crying part.
“I’m… PMS-ing, and I watched this video of this dog who gotabandoned by her family and anyway—” I wave my phone in the air. “I’m okay, just need a minute.”
“You’re crying alone in my trailer because you watched a video of an abandoned dog,” he deadpans.
I take a tissue from the coffee table and blow my nose. “Look, dude,” I say, scraping together as much tenacity as possible. “I can show you my period tracker app if you want,” I offer, realizing that my period seems to be my go-to excuse for any tricky situation.
For a beat, I worry that he’ll challenge me on it. But then he raises his palms and moves backward. “Sorry. But still, is there anything I can do?”
“Yeah,” I say, nodding. “Are you and May free today? After shooting? There are some things I want to go over. About the investigation. Strategize. And… stuff.” I am awordsmithtoday.
To my surprise, Tyler sits up and points a finger at me. “That sounds like agreatidea. I was actually going to suggest the same thing.” His voice has perked up, and his mouth is splitting into a smile that seems to want to grow larger already.
“You… were?” I ask, confused. Then it hits me—maybe he and May kept talking after they left the trailer, and she managed to convince him to convince me to go to the police. Maybe he’s working overtime to put on an “everything’s fine” air so as to ease me into the whole thing.
“Yeah. Your place okay?” There’s a knock at the door. “Yes?”
“May’s left her trailer,” Tun yells from the other side.
“I’ll be out in five!” Tyler yells back. He gets to his feet and I follow suit. We remain motionless, staring at each other in the foot of space between the coffee table and couch. At last, he grimaces and signals toward the bathroom. “Do you, um, mind leaving and meeting me at the set? Sorry, I feel weird peeing while I know you’re on the other side of the door.”
I suppress a rueful laugh. “See you on set.”
Seventeen
In the carpool back to my place, something is way off. May and Tyler stick to strict work talk, neither of them making eye contact with me or letting me too deep into the conversation. It feels, frankly, like I’m third-wheeling while they’re talking in secret best friend code that I’ll never decipher. Eventually, I stop trying to. Whatever it is they’re buying time to attempt to break to me, they’re going to have to say it outright anyway when we arrive at mine.
