“You never wanted a boyfriend?” I asked one day duringlunch.
She looked up at me curiously as she tooka sip of her juice. “I don’t know.”
“Whatdo you mean you don’t know? You like beingsingle?”
She shrugged. “Boys don’t really pay attention tome, Killian.”
“Trust me, they look. You’re just sobusy looking elsewhere.”
“What would they be looking at? Idon’t look like the other girls at this school.”
“So. You don’t need to look like anybody butyou. These other girls do too much. You…you arenaturally beautiful, Alayah.”
She blushed. “Killian, stop.”
“I’m serious.You’re always so put together. You don’t showa whole lot of skin like some of these girls.”
“I thought y’all liked that.”
I waved her off. “My daddy says you have to leave something to theimagination.”
“And just what are you imagining?”
My face beganheating up. I couldn’t tell her I’d imaginedkissing her every day for the last couple of months.I couldn’t tell her that her scent was likea warm hug every time she came near me. Idamn sure couldn’t tell her I had to countto twenty to calm my raging hormones every time shestared at me with those beautiful brown orbs.
“Hello? Earthto Killian?” She waved her hands in my face, breakingme from my trance. “Where did you go?”
“My bad.I was just thinking.”
“About?”
“I’d rather not say.”
She giggled. “You must have been imagining something. I’dhate to know what runs through the minds of teenagedboys.” She took another sip of juice. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“You questioned me. Don’t you wanta girlfriend? I haven’t seen you with anybody thewhole school year.”
I twiddled my thumbs. “Well, there’sthis one girl. I’m not sure if she’dbe into me though.”
“Why not? You’re handsome, smart,and very likeable.”
“Thanks. Would you…you know date me?”
She swallowed hard. “Um…if you were into me, maybe,but you aren’t. We’re just friends who studytogether.”
That stung. “Right…just friends.”
I was too afraid to ask after that. I never imagined that just two weeks later, she’d be arrested for murder. There were so many stories going around the school about what happened. People were asking me questions like I would have the answers. A few people made jokes, saying that it could have been me that was next on the chopping block. I didn’t find that shit funny at all.
I got into a couple fights after it all went down, mostly from defending her and myself. I begged my parents to let me go to her trial, but they said I didn’t need to hear the gory details. At the time, it pissed me off. I felt like she’d think I’d abandoned her, too. Sadly, I did. Time passed. I graduated and went off to college. My thoughts of her slowly went from every day, to occasionally, to not at all.
Erica putting that file on my desk pulled everything from the back burner to the front. I knew it wouldn’t be long before it began to simmer, and I had to see her.
Chapter 5
Alayah
