Page 33 of Twisted Liars

Teddy’s lips pressed into a grim line. “No, I’m sorry. You two probably don’t want to hear all this depressing shit at a party.”

I shook my head. “No, it’s fine. It sounds like you need to talk about it, and you’re not going to get any judgment from me.”

“Or me,” Jensen added. “I’m the last person in this town who should be judging anyone.”

Teddy let out a mirthless snicker. “Hey, you said it, not me.”

“If you want to get all this stuff off your chest, feel free,” I said. “I’m happy to listen. And sometimes it’s actually easier to vent to a total stranger than someone you’re really close with.”

Teddy looked over at me again, brows dipping in a slight frown. “You know… you might actually know what we were fighting about,” he said. “Sort of, anyway.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, forehead crinkling.

“You said you have Rosie’s old desk at the Mill, right?”

“Yes.”

He sighed. “That’s what we were fighting about. An article she was working on. It seems so petty now.”

My heart began to race, and I stole a furtive glance at Jensen before turning my attention back to Teddy. “What was the article about?”

“You might’ve seen it in her old notes,” he said. “She was working on something about a local myth. A group called the Rosmerta Society. You probably haven’t heard of it because you’re so new in town.”

“I know all about it,” I murmured, knot tightening in my stomach. “I, um… I saw Rosie’s notes, I mean.”

“So you know what I’m talking about, then.” Teddy let out a bitter sigh. “She thought it was real.”

“You didn’t agree?”

“It’s more that I didn’t care,” he said. “Even if it is real, it’s probably just a bunch of rich dudes jerking each other off over how amazing and superior they are, right?”

Jensen’s lips flattened. “Yeah, something like that,” he muttered.

“Well, Rosie was convinced it was real. She was obsessed with conspiracy theories. She was hard-headed, too. If she wanted something, she got her own way,” Teddy said, tossing another stone into the water below our feet. “Always.”

“So what exactly started the fight between you two?”

Teddy grimaced. “She ended up getting herself a source for the article, and the way she went about it was really, really fucked up. But I’m sure you know what I mean,” he said, eyes lingering on Jensen.

“No. What are you talking about?” Jensen asked, frowning.

Teddy’s brows rose, and he cocked his head. “You didn’t know?” he said. “I assumed you would. I mean, the source was your friend.”

“What?” I said shrilly, heart skipping a beat.

“The source was your friend,” Teddy repeated, still looking at Jensen. “Julian Brooke.”

Amerie

“Julian?” Jensen stared at Teddy, thunderstruck. “Are you sure?”

Teddy nodded. “Yeah. Totally sure.”

“But that doesn’t make sense. How could it be him?”

“I guess I’ll have to tell you the whole story for it to make any sense.” Teddy sighed and hoisted himself farther up on the ledge so he could spin around and face Jensen properly. “So, like I was saying, Rosie wanted to write an article about the Rosmerta Society. She thought Julian could be her source.”

“Why?” I asked, nose wrinkling.

---