Page 38 of The Truth in My Lies (Secrets of Suburbi 1)

“Good? Not great?” He handed me a cup of coffee.

“I actually had a hard time paying attention.” I looked down at the cup in my hands. I didn’t drink coffee. The caffeine in it made me anxious. Or was I told that the caffeine made me anxious? I didn’t remember ever having a cup and freaking out. I took a sip and sighed, the memories flooded back as soon as it touched my tongue. I used to drink it in college. And it had definitely never made me anxious. If anything, it helped me focus. And I loved the heat of it in my hands. It was so soothing. How had I forgotten about that?

“I thought for sure you’d admit it was a classic.”

“That was never going to happen anyway. It’s in color.”

He shook his head. “What is this obsession with black and white? It’s a little dull.”

Maybe he was too young to know. Maybe he hadn’t experienced anything like what I had. “Everything is black or white. Good or evil. There is no in-between.”

“That’s the most pessimistic thing I’ve ever heard.”

“It doesn’t make it untrue.”

He sat down on the edge of the coffee table, his knees bumping against mine. “What if someone committed a crime with good intention?”

“One good deed doesn’t cover up the evil.”

“So what are you, Addy? Good or evil?”

Evil. I didn’t have to think about it. But I didn’t need to offer him the truth. He’d discover it soon enough. “You’ll have to figure that out for yourself.”

“Well, can I trust you alone in here while I go do a few jobs?”

Absolutely not. “Of course.” There was a zero percent chance I wouldn’t snoop. I was pretty sure he had done the same thing at my house.

“I didn’t know what you liked for breakfast. I pulled out some different cereals for you. And there’s milk on the counter.”

“That’s because you didn’t ask what my favorite food was. You asked what kind of meat I liked in my mouth.”

He smiled and stood up. “Is there anything else you need? The ice packs are back in the freezer. You should probably use them again this afternoon.”

“I’m sorry I slept so long.”

“I would have woken you up, but you looked so peaceful. And non-argumentative.”

“Fair enough.”

“I’ll see you in a bit.” He leaned down and I thought he was going to kiss me. Instead, he placed his lips against my forehead. It felt more intimate somehow. The action almost brought tears to my eyes.

“Okay,” I whispered as he walked out of the room. I heard the front door close and his truck roar to life.

I was all alone in Ben Jones’ house. A smile curled over my lips. I’m all alone in Ben Jones’ freaking house! I stood up and ignored the pain in my ankle. Screw the pain. And screw the cereal. I had some exploring to do.

Chapter 19

Nothing. I sat down on a stool at the kitchen counter. Ben had absolutely nothing incriminating in his house. How was that possible?

His underwear drawer wasn’t hiding any weird sex toys or a gun. His medicine cabinet didn’t have any odd prescriptions or foot fungus cream. There were no journals or dirty magazines under his mattress. But God did his sheets smell good.

I told myself that it was okay to snoop around his house. Because he had stolen my sneaker and I wanted it back. But I couldn’t even find that. Maybe it was in his truck. Or maybe it was in my house somewhere. I had been so sleepy recently, maybe I had just put it someplace random that I didn’t remember.

Ben had e

ven left his laptop on. Signed in and everything. He was practically begging me to look at his internet history. And again…nothing. Not even any porn. There weren’t any files in the recycle bin or in the folder marked “Important.” What kind of weirdo labeled a folder “Important” and didn’t put anything in it?

He was so much on the good side of the spectrum that it was almost disappointing.

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