“Look, I think Josie’s friend Sara helped her. Check there. She works in the records office. All I know is Liam didn’t do this.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’ll talk to him.”
She wrapped her tiny arms around me. “Thank you. No matter what, I support you. I just can’t stand seeing everyone I care about this messed up. There’s more to it, Autumn. You and Liam are endgame.”
“I said I would talk to him, Gabby. Hold off on planning the wedding.”
She smiled at me, waving once before leaving me alone with my thoughts. I hated being in my mind these days. Years of being cautious and suspicious had kept me on edge. I knew myself, and I knew I couldn’t accept pretty words wrapped in a shiny bow. I needed the truth, no matter how ugly it was. The truth would heal me.
Can we talk?
The steady thump in my head was the only reason I knew I wasn’t dreaming. She’d texted me. She wanted to talk. That was either a good or bad thing. I eyed the half-empty whiskey bottle by my bed. Slowly rising, I grabbed it and poured it down the drain before I had anymore dumb ideas.
I would like that. Just say when.
Coffee shop. After the final today, she replied almost instantly.
See you then.
My reflection was everything I was feeling. Pale, with black circles under my eyes, frazzled hair, and busted knuckles. I hopped into the shower, hoping I could undo the last week with a simple stream of hot water coursing over me.
If she saw me like this, there would be nothing to talk about. She would believe all the bad about me. There was a small part of me that wanted her to see this, though. Maybe she should run, far in the other direction. My dad, Josie, all my shit would just drag her down in the end. She didn’t need the extra load. I toweled off, throwing on the first pair of jeans and a tee I could find before heading downstairs.
Tyler was on the couch. His eyes were glued to me like a parent disappointed in their teen for missing curfew. He had a cut on his nose and a faint bruise below his right eye. Sighing, I sat on the opposite side.
“Look, I’m sorry, dude,” I started.
“I was out of line,” he stated, cutting me off. “I just didn’t want to see you go down that path again. You scared the shit out of me after the accident.”
I shook my head. “I’m not. I just needed a few dumb nights.”
“Just like I needed a black eye,” he said, giving me a pointed look.
“It won’t happen again. I’m done with the shit,” I said, standing up. I walked to the door, hoping to make it to class a few minutes early to judge Autumn’s reaction before the test.
“Something else that Gabby mentioned.” I stopped, letting out a frustrated sigh. “I’d see if Josie’s friend had something to do with digging into Autumn at the record office.”
“Fuck, you’re right. I have to go, dude.”
‘Good luck.”
I sped the short way to campus, focused on one thing only. Finding out what the hell happened. When I pulled into campus, I emailed the teacher, saying I had a virus. Regardless of taking the final or not, I would still pass, but that was the last thing on my mind right now.
I stormed into the administration building, following the arrows leading me to the record office. When I finally found it, I was so worked up I had to take a breath to settle down before I caused a scene. There she was. It was amazing how much she and Josie looked alike. It was like they were trying to be the same evil person wrapped into one.
“Liam.” She didn’t look surprised or bothered by my presence.
“What did you do?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said, smirking.
“I swear to God, Sara, I don’t have time for your shit. I’m sure your boss would be happy to look into it for me. I’m sure looking into students’ records isn’t legal.”
“You wouldn’t dare.” She laughed once, but I had her attention now. She stepped away from her computer, inches away from me. Her arms were crossed at her chest. Her black-lined eyes were slits, staring into my soul.
“I’m not fucking around. What Josie did to Autumn was awful. You’re going to tell me everything right now.”
She rolled her eyes, huffing at me. She looked around before pulling me to a back office. “Fine, but you didn’t hear it from me.”
“I don’t care about that. Just tell me,” I demanded.
She closed the door, sitting on one of the chairs, motioning for me to sit across from her. I did, but I felt impatient. My leg was bouncing up and down enough to shake the entire building.
“Josie has, like, a serious obsession with you.”
“Tell me something I don’t know. Just get to it.”
“Well, she saw the way you looked at Autumn immediately, and she knew it was becoming a problem. At first, she was just venting to me about it every day, but one day she asked me to do some digging. She even put a camera in their dorm room. We found some crazy stuff, Liam. She’s a missing person…” Her eyes went wide, like she was telling me something I didn’t know.
“I know everything about her, and she had every right to run away, take everything with her, and not tell a soul.”
“I mean, I don’t know everything. I just connected her to her father,” Sara said, shrugging her shoulders.
I rubbed my hand down my face, so frustrated. “Her father is abusive, Sara! You know what your friend did with that information? She dragged him up here and threw him at her during her birthday party!”
She cringed. “I didn’t think it would go that far.”
“You didn’t think? There’s a million-dollar sentence. Neither of you thinks about anyone other than yourselves!”
“Liam, you
