Page 63 of Preying Heart
Of course, she’s torn between wanting the payoff and wishing I would disappear. I wonder if they have bodies buried underneath the basement. Every fiber of my being screams,What happened to the wife?I won’t be able to rest without knowing. Of course, I’m not going to let Lucy see me sweat.
“I’ll stay or leave on my own terms.”
“Good. I approve.” She gives me a wink. “I came to see how you’re doing and got into an argument with Heath. How’s the baby doing?”
“I’m still pregnant. No bleeding. No morning sickness, but still bloated and my nipples are tender.”
“Good.” She finishes the food and picks up her bag. “After all this is over, I’d like us to be friends. No matter how it goes with Heath. I think we have a lot in common.”
“Sure.” I give her a smile so she won’t suspect I snooped in her laptop. I can’t treat either her or Heath any differently, but it will be hard.
“We’ll be good friends, you and I.” She gives me a wink and heads for the door.
After Lucy’s gone, a lump rises in my throat. It isn’t often I get asked to be friends. I was never around long enough to have a best friend—not the way other girls had. There was Allison in high school whose parents were too strict to let her run around with the usual crowd or allow her to wear attractive clothing. We were both misfits—me being the new girl and she was the out-of-style girl wearing hand-me-downs.
Kind of surprising given the socioeconomically privileged neighborhood the Greasleys lived in. Then again, not all rich people are spendthrifts and some can be downright frugal. Allison’s parents kept her on a short leash without an allowance or other perks, so whenever we went anywhere, I always paid.
Anyway, why am I thinking about her? It’s another pain point best left alone but I can’t help it. I can still feel the wound as fresh as if it were yesterday.
“Can you invite me over this weekend?” Allison’s cheeks were flushed, and her knee jittered as she tapped my shoulder like a child on a sugar overload. “I told my parents we have a project.”
“Why can’t we meet at your house?” I knew the only reason she was eager to come over was because my college-aged foster brother, Gavin, would be home for the homecoming weekend.
“You know.” She giggled. “Come on, please? It’ll be so important for me. Everyone will envy me because I’m your friend. Is he coming to the homecoming dance with anyone?”
“He always goes stag.” I knew Gavin. He liked picking up younger girls and didn’t want any one girl to believe she had ownership over him.
“Can you ask him to take me? Even if he doesn’t do anything but pick me and you up and drive us there. Then I can pretend he’s my date. Can you ask him?”
Allison didn’t know the reason Gavin granted me these little boons. Every favor cost me a physical pleasuring of him in weird ways. Some of them hurt, but as long as I was not pregnant or dead, it was a great way of getting favors.
“I’ll ask him for you because you’re my best friend.”
“Oh, yes, besties forever.” She hugged me tight. “My parents trust you, so don’t let them know I’m going with Gavin instead of you.”
I let her entertain her fantasies. She was my best friend, and she never got a break. I had her come over early and lent her one of my dresses, a short and sexy number. We giggled and put makeup on each other. We practiced dancing and walking with high heels. Deanna took pictures of us, believing we were going to the dance together as friends.
Then Gavin came home and everything changed. He’d agreed to take Allison but I had to give him a favor first.
“You can take a rain check,” I pleaded. “We’re already late, and Allison wants to get there while they’re still doing the red carpet.”
“This won’t take long.” He shoved me into the powder room and hiked up my dress.
“Please, I don’t want to mess up my makeup.”
“Then don’t cry.” His hand went over my mouth, smearing the lipstick and lip liner pencil I so meticulously applied not ten minutes ago.
Allison walked in on us.
Her mouth widened and her brows lowered in judgment. “You little slut!”
Even now, so many years later, her words reverberate in my mind, bouncing through my brain like boomeranging shrapnel.
I wonder why Lucy would want to be friends. I wonder what she thinks she can get from me. One thing’s for sure. After I pay those two off, I’m leaving them far behind. It doesn’t matter that I have the hots for Heath and I see glimpses of a better man trapped inside his hard shell. I’ve been there before—taken on the misunderstood underdog—only to have that poor, downtrodden puppy turn around and rip a bloody hole through my heart.
Heath
It takes me a while to let my anger go. I know I shouldn’t have been distant to Remi, but Lucy’s low blows tear open old wounds. Summer is ending, and cooler air nips through the valley. Usually, at this time of the year, I take Glock out to go elk hunting. The mountainous lakes and forests provide plenty of opportunities to hunt.
