Page 12 of One Little Lie
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” My voice sounds bitter, the gravely tone painful.
“Who owns Hatty’s Heart?”
Shock has my gaze dropping to hers.She wasn’t supposed to know about that. They promised me it was untraceable. Just a small shelter company within three others, so I could take care of her if she needed me. Hearing it, even in my head, sets off creeper vibes, but I couldn’t control myself.
“I know it’s not Colton, and my parents would have just given me the damn car, Halton.”
Fuck. I know how it sounds, but when I saw on Instagram that her piece of shit car died and she was taking two different buses to get to work through some seedy parts of London, I’d cracked.
“What about the oven? When we had the electrical fire, were you responsible for the team that showed up two hours later?”
“You’re sounding crazy, Rylan. I’m sure your fiancé is very capable of taking care of shit like that.”
The weasel. I fucking hate the guy, and I’ve never even met him. The thought of her marrying him causes the bile to rise dangerously high in my throat.
“He probably would have, but that’s not his job anymore since he left me.” Her brow scrunches, and she glances down. “Or, kicked me out, rather.”
For the second time, my eyes lock on hers against my will.
“He broke up with you?” My voice is deadly, and my hands curl into fists so tightly my arms shake. “Why would he do that?”
“He said he couldn’t live with my ghosts anymore. I’ll admit, I assumed it was Colty for the longest time, stepping in to help whenever I got myself into a jam. But it wasn’t adding up. Colton would have admitted it when I cornered him. It took me months to find Hatty’s Heart, but I did, and now you need to tell me the truth or let me go …”
“Ah, hey, guys. Everything okay?” Lexi asks. Neither of us heard her enter the hallway, and she has to turn sideways to slip between us in the narrow space.
Sliding my body along the wall, I ease away from them both. “Just dandy. Rylan here was telling me about her affinity for conspiracy theories.”
The gasp that hits the back of my head belongs to Rylan. I know without turning that her pouty mouth is open in the perfect O, and her face is flaming red. It always happens when she’s pissed, and we are all better off if she stays pissed. The more she hates me, the easier this will be for everyone.
* * *
“Where did this come from?” Rylan’s smile settles something in me. I never feel at peace unless she’s near.
“Dad helped me build it yesterday.” I grip the back of my neck, embarrassed, but I’ve been a nervous wreck over this all day. I hope she likes it.
“Hatty! This is amazing. It’s exactly like we talked about.”
It really is. I drew the hammock we’ve talked about for two years, and finally, I found the courage to ask Dad to help me build it. It took the better part of our weekend, but we finished just in time.
Before I can lift my gaze, she’s catapulted herself into my arms, and I hold her tight. My fourteen-year-old hormones are wreaking havoc on my lower anatomy.
“Come lay with me. We can watch the clouds.”
Together, we climb in and lay side by side. It’s the first of many hours we’ll spend like this, and the only time I feel completely whole.
“Give me a word, Hatty?” she whispers, resting her head on my shoulder as she holds her camera to the sky.
“Sempiternal,” I rasp.
Lowering her camera, Rylan frowns. I chuckle as she pulls out her phone and Googles it.
“Hmm … lasting forever, huh?”
I grin, nodding like a fool. Out here in nature, she’ll never be able to capture that with her camera. I’ve taken to trying to stump her over the last few months, and so far, I haven’t succeeded.
Turning her camera around, she scoots closer so our faces are pressed together.
“Smile, Hatty.”
