Page 43 of Relapse
I dropped my head and chewed on my lip. Not because of what Mason said, but because the person who said it was the only man who’d seen me naked. Well, mostly naked. I had panties on. The memory of the disgust on his face was enough to bring tears back into my eyes.
‘You make me sick.’
It was a fair thing to say. I couldn’t even look in the mirror anymore without feeling a wave of nausea roll through me.
“Psst.”
Relief washed over me when I was met with a pair of bright hazel eyes. Lana. My refuge and peace. The only person I could trust in this place.
“Why did the sheriff want to talk to you?”
My face dropped. “It was nothing.”
“Uh huh?”
It was clear that she didn’t believe me. Anyone could’ve seen that. Lana wasn’t the best at hiding her emotions, or gossip, or anything, really.
“Seriously, it was nothing.” I shot her a look, hoping she’d drop it, then focused on my work.
It was quiet for a while. Should’ve known that wouldn’t last. I could feel Lana watching me. So I wasn’t caught off guard when I heard her voice again. What she said, however…
“I talked to Riley.”
The floor fell away again, dropping me down into a deep dark hole.
“Oh?” I sang feigning shock. “What did she have to say?”
“Harper,” Lana sighed. “I know.”
I was free falling now. Thrown from a plane without a parachute, and Lana was the ground quickly approaching.
Forcing my shoulders to relax, I scribbled down the equation the teacher was pointing at. “You know what?”
“I knoooow,” Lana repeated, dragging out the word.
“Okay?” This was killing me.
Lying to Shelby and Riley was easy. I could even force myself to lie to Mason, but Lana… She was my heart, and I could feel it breaking. Each word that slipped through my lips ripped that tear apart more and more.
Lana leaned over, placed her hand on my arm and looked deep in my eyes. “You need to tell someone.”
My heart stopped. Did she know? She was staring at me like she did. But how could she? Daddy was always nice to Lana. In fact, he treated her better than he treated Sean sometimes, and Sean was his pride and joy.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I insisted.
“Is that the same bullshit you told the sheriff?”
She was getting mad. I could tell by the way her attempt at whispering failed.
The teacher’s gaze snapped our way. “Are we interrupting you, Miss Crawford?”
“Sorry Mr. March,” Lana sang, and sat back.
“Unless you plan on failing another test, I suggest you pay attention.”
Lana grumbled under her breath and rolled her eyes.
Since she’d had the babies, a lot of teachers were letting her slack – which she had taken full advantage of. Mr. March was not one of them. Not that that was a bad thing. I’d have done the same if I was in her shoes.
