Page 38 of Crazy Rich Monsters (Necessary Evils 1)

“At the moment? You.” She finishes unlocking the door and then holds it open while she gestures for me to take a step inside. She closes the door behind me.

The apartment is small, not much bigger than a studio. The windows are covered in stained, torn blinds and the place reeks of cigarette smoke. It’s like my own mother decorated the empty space while smoking a carton of cancer sticks. There’s a counter that separates the tiny kitchen from the living area. The place is a mess, with clothes thrown over the back of a recliner and dirty dishes piled in the white tubbed sink.

“Welcome to my humble abode,” she says, stretching her arms out wide before dropping down onto a floral-printed couch. “I know it’s not much, but it’smineand it can’t be taken from me. I enjoy the freedom that comes with not being tied down by my parents’ expectations. I also like my peace and quiet, so make it quick and then leave.”

“I’ll get straight to the point.” I clap my hands together. “It has recently come to my attention that my father was having an affair with your mother before he died. What do you know about that?”

“Seriously?” Her eyes roll into the back of her head. “I don’t know anything about that because it’s not true.”

“That’s funny because your mother and I had a conversation in which she implied as much. My suspicions were only confirmed by my mother. Usually, I’d have a hard time believing a word that comes out of her mouth, but deep down, I know she was telling the truth. I just need you or someone else to prove to me that I’m not crazy.”

She fixes her gaze on me. “Didn’t your dad die when you were young?”

“You would have been old enough to remember if he was around occasionally.”

She leans into the couch, shifting the weight of her body against the back. “You know my father isn’t a saint, but neither is my mom. I’m not sure they ever loved each other. The truth is that there were always other men around when Daddy was gone.” She shakes her head. “I couldn’t tell you their names.”

I step forward. “What if I showed you a picture?”

She answers with another shake of her head, but I’m persistent as I dig into my back pocket to retrieve a photo of my father from forever ago. I lean forward, holding the photo in front of her with a shaking hand.

She looks at the picture and then up to me, but her gaze only stays for a second before she’s looking anywhere else, anywhere but at me.

“You recognize him, don’t you?”

She shrugs. “I could remember him in passing, from walking down the street. Maybe I’ve seen him in a restaurant or something. I remember that face from somewhere, but it doesn’t have to mean what you’re hellbent on believing it means.”

I shove the photo back into my pocket. “I really am sorry for what happened that day. I’m sorry that you had to watch it happen and I’m sorry that you’ve had to keep secrets for all these years. I’m not sorry about what I did, though. I’ve thought so much about it for so long and I always come back to the same place. The world is better off without Carter in it, and you know that to be true.” I inhale sharply before continuing, “Most of all, I’m sorry that I’ve lied to you again.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Now that I know the truth, I can’t just walk away. I have to know what happened between your parents and mine.”

She jumps to her feet, closing the distance between us. “Just once in your life, do the right thing. Leave this place and never return.”

“If you were in my shoes, would you leave?”

“I’d never be in your shoes!” She yells in exasperation. “I know better than to dig up skeletons from the past. There’s a reason I picked up and left in the middle of the night. Sometimes, it’s in our best interests to let secrets remain buried and try to move on with our lives to the best of our ability.”

“Where has this Emily been all summer? The Emily that’s as concerned for me as I am about her?”

“You’re mistaken if you think I care if you live or die.” She grinds her teeth together. “I am being the selfish girl I should have been all those years ago and I am warning you that it’s time to pack your shit and leave before you destroy two families.”

“Take a look at us, Emily. What is there to protect anymore? My father’s dead and my mother’s a bitter, angry drunk. You don’t have a relationship with your family to destroy anymore. You already did that, loaded the gun and pulled the trigger.” I drag my palm over my mouth and pause in contemplation. There’s a part of me that knows she’s right, but I’m too fucking stubborn for my own good. “I need to know the truth.”

“I am begging you, don’t do this. It’ll only kill you in the end.” She reaches for my hand and squeezes while stealing my entire attention with wet eyes. “Years ago, you promised me that you would keep me safe. Earlier today, you promised me that you would leave this place and let me move on with my own life without you here. I need you to keep just one single promise to me.”

Toxic is the only way to describe our relationship with both each other and the truth. We dance around the secret we share like shadowy figures in the back of a bar. Our lips are forever sealed to the point that sometimes we forget that we’re still lying. Emily is hot and cold, sometimes allergic to the truth and other times leaning into it. She can’t truly hate me for what I did, just as I can’t hate her for what she’s done in the aftermath. We are bonded for life by the secrets we keep.

And they’re fucking dark.

“I really am sorry,” I say in a hushed whisper, all the while wishing that I could tell her what she wants to hear.

She backs away from me slowly, the back of her legs brushing against the couch. She’s silent at first, but there’s a storm brewing in her eyes. “Get the fuck out of my house, Addison.”

I nod one last time, whispering another useless, “I’m sorry,” as I exit. Something shatters against the door just as it closes behind me. Broken glass or something else, it doesn’t matter. The door will be fine. It’s made of the hardest woods, able to withstand the weight of the world.

But us humans, we might as well be made of glass.

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