“He’s here!” his mom exclaimed.
“Here’s my son,” his dad said to the sergeant behind the counter. “He’s the one who made the accusation. He’s here to take it back. Where’s that detective?”
Of course, he assumed that Aaron would simply let Lauren off the hook. As if it was that easy. This was part of the reason everyone else thought she was guilty. Their parents never made her own up to her mistakes. She was never held accountable for anything she ever did.
“Can I talk to the detective in charge of my case?” Aaron asked.
Detective Rogers thought it was a great idea for Aaron to talk to Lauren himself. She wasn’t being very cooperative with the questioning and their dad had brought a lawyer, which significantly slowed things down.
When Aaron came into the room, Lauren sat up straight. “Aaron, thank God you’re here. Can you believe that they think I did this?”
“I strongly suggest you not talk about anything that the police have asked you about,” her lawyer said.
Lauren ignored him. “They’re asking me to account for my entire evening and said they’re going to be checking all the local hardware stores to find someone who will identify me as someone who bought spray paint. This is nuts. Can you please inform these detectives that I would never vandalize your stuff?”
“Can you ask your lawyer to leave?” Aaron knew the only way he was going to get the truth out of her was if it was only him and her. No police. No lawyers. Not even their mom and dad.
“Leave,” Lauren told the man.
“I strongly advise you not to—”
“Leave,” she repeated a little louder.
The man closed his briefcase and grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair before exiting the room.
“Now can you tell them this is ridiculous?”
Aaron sat across from his sister and tried to picture her destroying his house. He knew Bonnie could see it, but he couldn’t visualize it no matter how hard he tried. “I know you’ve been mad at me,” he said.
“Aaron, there’s being mad at you and there’s going berserk. I’ve been mad at you.”
“All I need you to do is look me in the eye and answer one question. Did you destroy my house?”
Lauren didn’t blink, she didn’t shift her gaze, she didn’t hesitate. “No. And I feel like the worst sister in the world, because if you even thought for a second that I would do that to you, then I’ve really ruined our relationship by being so hateful.”
“I didn’t think you did it. I knew you wouldn’t do that to me.”
Tears filled Lauren’s eyes and rolled down her cheeks. “You did? You believed in me? Because I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t. I haven’t given you a lot of reasons to trust me not to do mean and terrible things. I asked Daddy to fire Mr. Windsor. That’s pretty horrible. I have been nothing but hateful for months.”
“Where were you last night? I tried texting and calling. I kept getting messages that you were driving.”
“I just drove around. I didn’t have a destination in mind. I just couldn’t sit in my house anymore. I know it’s a terrible alibi.”
“You don’t need an alibi.” At least Aaron didn’t need her to have one. If she said she was driving around, she was driving around. “I have one more question, though. Is it possible that you may have said something to someone else and accidentally inspired them to vandalize my house?”
“I hope not. I don’t think so.” She wrung her hands. “It’s possible, I guess. I’ve been encouraging people to lash out at Bonnie. I’ve been complaining about you. Maybe one of my friends thought that by attacking you, they’d make me happy.”
That was a distinct possibility. A lot of people worshipped the ground Lauren walked on. If they thought hurting Aaron or being mean to Bonnie would make Lauren happy, they might just have decided to do something illegal instead of simply shameful.
“We need to tell the police everyone you’ve been talking to over the last couple weeks so they can interview them. Anyone you complained to about me, about Bonnie, about Mitch.”
Lauren nodded. “I’ll tell them whatever they need to know.” She reached across the table and touched his hand. “You look like you haven’t slept. I am so sorry if someone did this because they thought I would want them to. I know how hard you worked on that house. I hope you can fix it back up.”
“We can fix it. It’s going to mess up my timeline and cost me more money, but we’ll fix it. I was worried that you were so angry with me that our relationship would be irreparable. That’s why I couldn’t sleep last night. I’m sorry I’ve been such a lousy brother the last few months. I should have held Mitch more accountable for what he did to you. For that, I’m sorry.”
“Apology accepted.”
He gave her hand a squeeze. “I won’t apologize for standing up for Bonnie, though. I’m in love with her, Lauren. I’m in love with her, and I think she’s in love with me. We’re really good for each other, and just like I knew you didn’t wreck my house, I know she didn’t wreck your wedding. She doesn’t want to be with Mitch. She wants to be with me.”
Lauren didn’t respond right away. She sat with that news for a minute, but she didn’t let go of his hand. That had to be a good sign.
“You’re in love with Bonnie?”
Aaron nodded. His nerves were upsetting his stomach.
“You think she’s in love with you?”
He nodded again.
“You know, I’ve heard this before.” She tapped a finger to her chin. “Where have I heard this before? Oh, right! During my wedding vows.”
“I know Mitch said the same thing. The difference between me and Mitch is that Bonnie is aware of how I feel. She wants
