Page 18 of A Lie so Dangerous and Fragile

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Threats

NOW

“Ryan?”

He gave me a lopsided grin and stepped in with two of his suitcases. “Help me with the last suitcase, will you?” he told me as he walked past me into the apartment.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, leaving the last suitcase at the doorway.

“That was not the reaction I was expecting, but it’s fine,” he said and went to get his last suitcase.

“Why are you here? How did you even know I lived here?”

“I asked Brie,” he said. Picking one apple from the fruit basket at the dining table, he took a big bite without bothering to wash it. “Nice place. It’s better than the crappy basement I was living in.” He looked around the small living room.

“You still haven’t answered my question. Why are you here?”

“To be closer to my wife, and it was the perfect opportunity to get away from my whining parents.”

Did he even have a job? Why the hell had Mrs. Porter given him my address? I was having second thoughts about this whole idea, and I wanted out of it right now before it got out of control.

“You can’t stay here. I have a roommate.”

“So? There are two rooms, right?”

“It doesn’t matter. You can’t live here. I have not even made up my mind about this.”

The door opened, and Vina walked in with her sneakers in one hand, her feet in her Crocs that matched her red scrubs.

“I’m home,” she said tiredly.

She was too busy hanging her shoe on the shoe rack to see Ryan. I thought of what to tell her. She finally looked up and saw us. She stared between us with a questioning look glazing her oval face.

“Hi, cutie,” Ryan said before I could say anything.

Vina’s forehead creased at his greeting.

“Chlo?” She turned to me for an explanation.

“This is Ryan, my, um … my boyfriend.”

“I thought we were mar—”

I elbowed him in the gut to shut him up.

“I knew it! I knew you were seeing someone!” she said with a wide grin, like she’d just won a prize.

“Ryan, this is Belvina, my best friend and roommate.”

“Just call me Vina.”

He stepped forward and took her small hand and placed his lips on the back of her palm. “My pleasure,” he said huskily.

Could he be any more disgusting? I’d just introduced him as my boyfriend, for Christ’s sake.

Vina blushed and mouthed,Hot, to me when he wasn’t looking. I forced a smile, trying my best not to roll my eyes.

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