Page 94 of A Little Luck

My fists clench, and murder is on my mind.

When I speak, I don’t recognize my own voice. “Who. Did. This?”

Her fingers tremble, and the thought of someone hurting her that way is more than I can handle. Stepping forward, I put my hands on her arms, struggling for control.

“Tell me, Piper.” It’s no good. I still sound like I’m on the edge of murder. “Who did this to you?”

“It’s what I need to tell you.” She’s so quiet. I watch her return the photos to her purse. “I didn’t know how to tell you… or anyone when it happened, so I didn’t. But keeping the secret pushed me further away from you all.”

I can’t take much more of this. “Who did it, Piper?”

She inhales slowly, and her eyes don’t meet mine.

With one word, she stops my heart. “Rex.”

CHAPTER21

PIPER

The room falls silent when I say his name.

Adam stands in front of me, and he’s so angry. My chest is so tight, I can’t breathe, and my stomach twists so hard, I’m afraid I’ll vomit.

I can’t read his body language.

His fists are balled, and his jaw is clenched. He’s clearly holding himself back, but I can’t tell if he’s on my side. I can’t tell if he believes me, and for the love of God, I don’t want to cry.

I don’t want pity. I want to know what he’s thinking.

When he finally speaks, it’s hoarse and broken. “Rex did that to you?” I nod, and he swallows. “When?”

Fear grips me, and I’m not sure I can do this.

Ihaveto do this.

“In college.” My voice trembles. “He would smoke… meth… and he would say things. He was jealous.”

Adam stands so straight in his gray suit with the sage-green tie that matches my elegant dress, and it all feels wrong. We’re too formal, too distant. Space yawns between us, and I want to be away from here. I want to run away and hide.

“Jealous?” Adam pushes the sides of his hair behind his ears with both hands and lifts his chin to look at the ceiling. “He did this because he was fuckingjealous?”

He’s not shouting, but I feel his rage. It’s barely contained, and I don’t know what to do.

“Yes.”

Silence.

I can’t bear the silence.

“I was afraid to tell anyone.” My eyes fix on the floor. “I didn’t know what would happen if I did. So I tried to make it stop.”

“How long?”

“Until he died.”

It’s so quiet. A clock on the bookshelf ticks as loud as a hammer, and my brain counts every beat,five… four… three… two…

“Why didn’t I know?” He exhales the words, and my heart pinches and curls in on itself.

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