Page 93 of Am I the Only One

The sun no longer illuminates the dank, cloud-covered sky as I make my way closer to Carly’s house. I’ve been here once before, but everything looks different at night. I make the turn that leads me to her home, which sits on a large piece of land that’s surrounded by woods and backs up to the bay. I slow to a stop when I see the glow of house lights.

I take the keys out of the ignition and toss them next to my purse in the passenger seat before picking up my phone. She has one more chance to talk to me before I resort to pounding on her door and yelling until she opens up.

The call goes to voice mail, and I grit my teeth as I step out from my car and make my way up the stairs that lead to the front door. The lights are on inside, so I know she’s home. I ring the doorbell and wait impatiently, but no one ever comes.

I ring again and wait.

Ring again.

Ring again.

Her avoidance only serves to piss me off even more. Walking back down the stairs and onto the drive, I look up at the house, but before I can shout her name, my phone rings from my coat pocket.

Pulling it out, I see it’s Luca.

“Hi, Luca.”

“Hey, I just got out of class and wanted to know how your meeting went.”

Already feeling a monumental amount of guilt for involving Luca in this mess, I make the choice not to tell him about Liz. “Um, good. I’ll talk to you about it when I get home.”

“Where are you?”

Anxiety infects me, and in my struggle to figure out if I should lie to Luca or just tell him the truth, I walk aimlessly. I hate that he and I have taken this huge step to be together, and here I am, a constant deceiver.

“I’m actually at Carly’s.”

“At her office?”

I continue to pace nervously, walking across the snow-covered lawn. “No, I’m at her house in Maryland.”

“What are you doing there? Is that even a good idea?”

“Yeah. Like I said before, she’s harmless,” I tell him before spouting off yet another lie. “She has the money she owes me, but by the time my meeting was over, she had already left work. So, I decided to just come out here and pick it up.”

“When will you be home?”

“I don’t know, she lives kind of far out here. Maybe a couple of hours.”

“What about her husband?”

“He’s staying in DC. He isn’t here,” I respond before placating, “Don’t worry about me. Everything’s fine.”

“Are you sure?” I hate the uncertainty in his tone.

“Yes,” I assure as I mindlessly stroll out onto the dock, unable to keep my feet still. “Like I said, I’m going to talk to her really quickly and then I’ll be on my way.”

“Okay. I’m going out to The Tombs with some buddies, so I’ll probably be out late.”

“I’ll just see you tomorrow then?”

“Yeah. Call me when you’re heading back to the house.”

“I will.”

We hang up, and when I slip the phone back into my pocket, I look out over the water, which is frozen in a solid sheet of ice. A few random flakes of snow float down, and I shiver against the frigid night, wrapping my heavy wool coat more tightly around my body. Turning around, I stare up at the house. There’s a light shining through the large window on the second floor.

A shadow crosses.

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