Page 32 of Twisted Liars

Teddy looked over at us and blinked. His expression was morose, and his eyes were slightly glazed. “Oh. Thanks, man,” he said, lifting one arm to accept the drink.

“This is my girlfriend, Amerie Warnock,” Jensen said, gesturing to me. “Amerie, this is Teddy Oakeshott.”

Teddy cracked the top of the bottle on the ledge to snap the lid off. Then he took a swig and looked at me, eyes flickering with curiosity. “I haven’t seen you around before,” he said after he’d swallowed his mouthful. “You new here?”

I nodded. “Pretty new. I moved to town in August.”

He let out a cynical snort and lifted the bottle. “Welcome to hell,” he said. He took another swig, eyes skating between me and Jensen. “Never thought I’d see the day where Jensen Lockhart has a girlfriend. How did you two meet? At school?”

“Sort of. We work together at the Mill,” Jensen replied.

His words had the intended effect. Teddy’s face tightened, and he turned to look back down at the water. “My sister loved it there,” he said.

“Rosie, right?” I said gently.

Teddy picked up a small stone and tossed it into the water. “Yup,” he muttered.

“I actually have her old desk,” I said, venturing a little closer to him. “So I’ve read all of her old articles.”

“Yeah?”

I nodded. “She was a really talented writer. Everyone at the Mill loved her, too. They’ve all told me how wonderful she was.”

Teddy grunted. “You know, all I ever hear about Rosie is how great she was,” he said in an acid tone, slightly slurring his words. “But she wasn’t always Little Miss Perfect.”

I briefly exchanged glances with Jensen. Then I took another step closer to Teddy, brows furrowing. “What do you mean?”

His shoulders slumped, and he shook his head. “Sorry. I don’t know why I said that. I loved my sister,” he muttered. He stared remorsefully down at the bottle in his hand, upper body swaying slightly. “Guess I’ve had too much tonight.”

“It’s okay. I get it,” I said, carefully lowering myself onto the ledge next to him. “I loved my dad, but sometimes I feel really angry at him for dying. Sometimes I even feel like I hate him for leaving me, as awful as that sounds.”

Teddy cast a glance in my direction, bleary eyes flickering with a mix of emotion and understanding. “Yeah?”

I nodded. “It’s really hard to explain to people who haven’t lost someone before. They usually don’t get it and think you’re just being horrible, so you wind up feeling really guilty for having all these thoughts and emotions. But they’re still there, and sometimes they come up when you least expect it.”

“No shit.” Teddy looked back at the water. “What happened to your dad?”

“He OD’d when I was seven.”

“Damn. That’s rough.” Teddy set the bottle down and scrubbed a hand over his face. “Rosie died in an accident.”

“Yeah, I heard about that. I’m so sorry,” I said softly.

“I always told her not to hike at Salem Peak Park in cold weather,” he went on, lips tugging downward. “It’s pretty rough terrain up there, and it’s even worse when it’s raining. But she never listened. Typical Rosie.”

“Is that what you meant a minute ago?” I asked, tilting my chin. “When you said she wasn’t always perfect?”

“Sort of. I loved her, but sometimes we clashed over stupid shit. You know how it is with family.” Teddy exhaled deeply and shook his head. “Truth is, we had a fight just before she died. We weren’t even on speaking terms.”

“Oh, wow. It must’ve been a bad fight.”

“Yeah. I told her I’d never speak to her again if she didn’t stop being so selfish and stubborn.” Teddy paused, and his voice thickened. “Guess I got my wish, didn’t I?”

Jensen crouched and lay a hand on Teddy’s shoulder. “Hey, man. It wasn’t your fault.”

“I know. I just wish I stopped being such a dick and actually spoke to her, you know? That way my last words to her could’ve been something better.”

“I’m sorry,” I said softly. “That sounds really hard.”

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