Page 44 of Crazy Rich Monsters (Necessary Evils 1)

“You threatened me.”

“I blackmailed you. There’s a difference. As for Emily, I chose to protect her because I failed to protect Carter. I can handle whatever you throw at me, but she’s just a girl.”

“The amount of coddling the three of you need is pathetic. You have to know that.”

I climb to my feet and slowly approach her. “I don’t think you’re in a position to point any fingers.”

“Why were you even at my house that night?”

I invade her space, closing the distance so that our bodies are a mere hair apart. The friction between us threatens to engulf us both in flames, not of passion but something more explicit. Carnal lust torn from the pages of absolute hatred. “I was watching you.”

“Stalking is a crime in every state,” she says deadpan, a lump lost halfway down her throat.

“So is murder.”

“God,” she scowls, “I’m bored of this conversation.”

“We are just getting started.”

“I really hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I’m not sticking around for this melodrama any longer.”

And then she’s gone, running out of the bedroom and into the hallway. I follow close behind, watching her ass bounce with every elongated step. As she approaches the stairway landing, I briefly entertain the idea of giving her a little push, just hard enough to send her barreling over the wooden banister.

But then I wouldn’t get the answers I so desperately crave.

“Why did the police drop the investigation into Carter’s death?”

She spins in a full circle, exasperated. “Because unlike everyone else, they could see the writing of innocence on the wall.”

“We both know that’s bullshit.”

She chuckles. “Are you suggesting that I somehow paid them off?”

“Nothing adds up.”

“That’s not my problem. Learn to do math.”

I reach for her arm, but she’s too fast, pulling away from me. “I’m through playing games with you, Addison.”

“And I was never playing games with you. Did you suffer a hit to the head that caused brain damage? We are only in this position because you decided to stalk the girl that you believe killed your brother.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to know what it’s like to lose someone that you love.”

“Then youreallydon’t know me.” She steps backwards. “I lost everythingthat summer.”

“Sing me a sadder song because I’m not moved to tears. Try giving me something with a little more oomph.”

“Fuck you, Nick!”

And then she’s gone, again. The goodbye girl putting on a show. Always running, but never quite willing to take the final leap and just disappear for good. She’s drawn to the trauma like a moth drawn to the flame, and she’s going to burn before she ever escapes the demons of our mutual past.

ChapterTwenty-Four

ADDISON

The Spanish philosopher George Santayana once said that those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it. It’s a roundabout way of saying that history has a cruel way of repeating itself.

I remember the past, all too well. The harsh scent of chlorine still courses through my senses. I’ve been here before, running down the stairs while being chased by a Calloway boy. Nick follows me down the length of stairs with the same determined vigor as Carter before him. The last time this happened, it ended with a knife in the younger Calloway’s gut.

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