“Feelings are different when you’re older, Rana. There’s so much more weight to my mistakes. I don’t want to rush into things with Peter.”
“It’s not like that was your fault. Or his. But how has he handled it so far? I think he’s totally obsessed with you, rich, and hot… so you should go for it.”
“And what about this baby?”
“It can’t hurt to make things work with his or her dad,” Rana points out. “Even if the romance dies… don’t you at least want to try?”
“It’s not easy for me to express that stuff since Kennard.”
I didn’t expect her to say something that would make me feel better, but somehow, Rana does.
“Aricia, Peter ismuchbetter than Kennard in every way. No disrespect to Mr. Plant. But youalwaysdeserved better. Now you have a chance to get it. Please do it for me.”
“For you?”
“And for the baby. I want updates when I’m at Notre Dame. It’ll probably be the only thing giving me hope through high school.”
“Okay,” I tell her. “We have a deal, then.”
“Why do you think Peter’s in Miami?”
“No idea. He said he had to take his sister down there for some job, but he was super weird about it.”
“Hm,” Rana says. “Should I look into that, too?”
“You just gave your two weeks’ notice,” I tell her. “Shouldn’t you be focused on packing your things and getting an apartment out there?”
“I was going to keep working until the week before,” Rana says.
“I’ll pay you if you need the time off,” I assure her. “Anything you need.”
“If I have all that free time, just know that I’m going to follow up investigating Peter.”
“I neither confirm nor deny giving you permission to do that,” I tell her with a wink.
And we talk about nothing else but law school for the rest of the nature walk. When I get home, I finally get a text message from Peter, but it doesn’t say much.
Peter: I’ll be home soon. I miss you.
Still, it warms my heart. I can’t wait to see him and I finally feel ready to tell that man how I feel.
Chapter Thirty-One
Peter
Miami, FL
Flora flashes the laser on her keychain at the car mirror when she leaves the club. Our little signal will be imperceptible to the drunk woman on her arm that she’s manipulating into the car tonight. I recognize our target on Flora’s arm, but the woman looks a little heavy the way she leans on Flora… Hopefully my sister can handle things well enough. I get out of the car when she gets close, perfectly playing the part.
“This is Pablo,” Flora says. “He’s going to take us to Lil’ Egg Yolk’s house.”
“Oh my God yesssss,” Inessa says. “Woo! I’m up for anything.”
Inessa turns to me and says with a flirty tone, “Hello, Pablo…”
Looking her dead in the eye with my plan to kill her, I feel absolutely nothing. This woman caused immense personal harm to Aricia. She looks so… small. So easy to destroy. I make brief eye contact with my sister who rolls her eyes and mouths the word “annoying”.
This goes unnoticed by Inessa who hears the music in the back of the Escalade and starts singing loudly toSlow It Downby Benson Boone. I find all the new shit on the radio these days annoying, but of course Inessa knows every word.
