Page 38 of A Smile Full of Lies
Ros walked beside me, arms crossed tight like she was bracing against more than just the too-warm weather. Her clothes clung to her skin in places, and she kept her gaze locked straight ahead, jaw tense.
I aimed the flashlight low, guiding the way like she didn’t already know every inch of this walk. From her front door to mine only took thirty steps, give or take a few. We’d been walking that same path back and forth since we were eighteen.
Seven fucking years of easy rituals and quiet routines, and still, she hadn’t thought to come to me.
“You’re mad,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Damn right I’m mad.”
She tensed and stifled a gusty sigh. Not afraid. Just… ashamed. Like she was the one who’d done something wrong.
I ran a hand down my face and tried to keep my voice level.
“It’s not just that you didn’t tell me. It’s that you thought youhadto handle it alone.”
“I didn’t want to be any trouble.”
I stopped walking. She slowed beside me. I turned to face her. Even in the dim light, I could see the exhaustion carved into her expression.
“I’ve been your neighbor for seven years, Ros. How could you possibly think I wouldn’t look out for you? How could you think, even for one second, that I wouldn’t want to take care of you?”
She didn’t have an answer for me, but her eyes went glossy and her lip trembled.
“You’re not a burden, Ros. You’re mine to protect.” The words slipped out before I could catch them, but I didn’t take them back. “Now come on. It’s too damn muggy to stand out here arguing.”
I pushed the front door open and stepped aside, letting her cross the threshold first. She hesitated for a second, like she was still trying to decide if this was a good idea.
It wasn’t, but I didn’t give a fuck.
Inside, the air was pleasantly cool, humming with low music from the kitchen speakers I’d forgotten to turn off earlier. Jazz, something moody. The scent of cedar and clean laundry drifted through the space. I kept things neat, making sure my space wasorganized and calm. I had to. It was the only way to choke out the noise in my head.
She stepped inside like she didn’t belong here, like she thought she was intruding. I hated it.
“This way,” I said, guiding her down the hall, to the guest bedroom on the left. She’d slept here before, but only once. It was years ago, shortly after the frat house incident.
“You can shower first,” I told her. “Towels are clean. My shampoo’s better than yours, anyway.”
Ros’s mouth twitched. She almost gave me a smile. Almost. She shook her head and disappeared into the guest bathroom without a word.
As soon as I heard the water turn on, I exhaled for the first time in what felt like hours. My hands were still clenched into fists. I flexed them open and stretched out the ache in my fingers.
Then I walked back next door and grabbed her laptop off the coffee table in her living room. I brought it back and took it straight to the kitchen and plugged it in. I got her phone and phone charger out of her bag and plugged those in, too. I needed to do something, anything to keep myself occupied and moving. Anything to keep me from storming back down that hallway, pulling her out of that bathroom, and making her understand she didn’t get to hide shit from me ever again.
The laptop screen flickered to life, and everything changed.
The second her laptop lit up, it offered me an opportunity on a silver platter. Her emails were pulled up to that same fucking thread with Nina Frost. The subject line with my name in it stuck out like a sore thumb.
Exclusive Opportunity – Philip Knox.
I’d read the emails before, days ago, in her dark, silent house while she slept like a fucking angel down the hall. Back then, it gutted me, watching her crumble under bills and still refuse to use me… refuse tosell me out.That had done something to me then… it still was.
But now? Now it was a gift because this time, I didn’t have to justify anything or come up with a cover story so I could approach Ros about the Nina situation.
The screen had opened on its own. No hacking. No lying. No lines crossed. Just a flick of the screen, and there it was, a perfect excuse wrapped in good timing and righteous fury.
I leaned one hand against the counter, eyes scanning the thread I had already memorized. Nina’s pitch felt even filthier the second time around, trying to get Ros to use me like I was a commodity… like my family’s murder was just another cash grab.
But then her reply, sweet and firm and so goddamn good it made my chest ache.
