Page 76 of Good Girl

“Also, worst way for Charlotte to find out we love her,” Samuel scoffed dryly. “As if anything else could go wrong.”

“That woman is foul,” I muttered, pressing my fingers to my eyes and rubbing. “I can’t... even think about her right now. But you, Matt... do you think someone fucked with your bike?”

“I don’t see how,” Matt replied. “The brakes were fine on the drive up. Maybe a fault I didn’t know about? But the fucker running me off the road... I have my suspicions.”

I quirked a brow.

“Paul,” Matt said.

“What?” Samuel straightened up. “No way.”

“Think about it. Those cryptic letters we all got made no fucking sense.Stay awayandI know what you’re up to, I’ll expose you—we all know it’s that cunt because his bullshit didn’t fly with Derek. Then he tries to burn down your office in some pathetic attempt to what, scare you? Then I’m being run off the road? You can’t tell me there isn’t a connection here.”

Paul had to be the culprit of most of what Matt had listed, but running someone off the road and nearly killing them was quite the jump in crime.

“From scaring us about grades to trying to kill you?” Samuel puffed out his cheeks. “That’s a jump.”

“Maybe not...” Thinking back to how Charlotte had been acting and what she had been up to on the computer, maybe it made sense. “If he has something on Charlotte that forced her to look at those grades, for whatever reason... maybe he panicked when he learned she had gone home. Haley posted about that, right? And fuck, I don’t know. I don’t know how that bastard’s brain works, but if he followed her, there’s a chance he saw us. Took it as some fucked up opportunity.”

“Exactly!” Matt declared. “Rich kids will do anything to keep the family name clean.”

“Maybe,” Samuel mused. “I just... I can’t help but feel like we’re missing something.”

“I know it all sounds like I’m reaching, but I can’t believe that it was just a passing psychopath.” Matt sighed, and he shifted slightly on the bed, wincing. “And look, I don’t know. Maybe I’m the fucking crazy one but... fuck, I loved that bike, man.”

“I know.”

“My dad and I built thattogether, it’s just... it fucking sucks.”

“Thank God you’re on painkillers.” Samuel scoffed lightly, and a tired smile pulled at Matt’s bruised face.

“Yeah. Well, all I’m saying is I think we should be careful. If Paul has snapped like a psychopath, then it’s probably not a good idea for us to go anywhere alone, at least not until we can prove the little bastard’s psychotic,” Matt grumbled. “Won’t be safe at home either if he’s brave enough to go for my bike.”

Samuel’s gaze met mine at the same time as likely the same thought jolted through his own mind the second it did mine.

“What?” Matt glanced at both of us.

“We left Charlotte at our place,” I said, bolting to my feet.

“Alone?” Matt pushed himself up as Samuel scrambled up too.

Regardless of who was behind this, they were clearly unhinged, and Matt was right. If they were brave enough to go for his bike, they sure as hell were brave enough to go for our home.

Goodbye barely had time to reach Matt’s ears as Samuel and I sprinted from the room like the hounds of hell were scraping at our heels.

We had to get to Charlotte before it was too late.

37

CHARLOTTE

Athundering echo rattled through the apartment, jolting me out of the restless half-sleep I had found myself in. Such a sudden, frantic noise had my heart rattling in my chest and I clutched at the duvet, half wondering if I’d simply dreamed the noise and scared myself awake.

Then it happened again. Someone was banging on the front door. Throwing the covers back, I slipped from the bed and trudged through the apartment with a wide yawn. My throat and eyes were raw from all the crying I had done once Derek and Samuel had left, but it hadn’t helped ease the pain I was in. It only exhausted me enough to get some rest which was now, rudely, at an end.

With the apartment in darkness, I flicked on a few lights as I passed while the knocking on the door became more frantic.

Did Derek forget his keys? Or was it Matt in no condition to open the door by himself? As I reached the door, I smoothed down the T-shirt I had stolen from Derek to sleep in and unlatched the door.

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