It’s all bullshit.
All of it.
She asked me to believe her.
And I do.
I do believe her.
But his words bounce around my skull.
Seems she has a history of finding vulnerable victims.
I try to breathe.
Just a coincidence. An easy lie, one to tug on the heartstrings.
Don’t fall for it, Jared.
But the chill that wraps around my chest doesn’t disappear as Arron Matthews walks away from me, disappearing into the darkness.
48
Emmy
Isearch for Jared through the crowd, my brow furrowing when I don’t see him.
Throat tightening, I force air into my lungs. The confined space suddenly feels too loud, too overpowering.
I’m becoming too reliant on Jared Bennett.
My heart hammers beneath my ribcage as I turn and smile at another customer. “What can I get you?”
I’m leaning in to listen when my eyes land on him. Jared shoulders his way through the packed floor, his eyes down and a frown tugging at his lips.
He doesn’t look at me as he slides onto the stool in the corner.
The polite cough jerks my attention away. “Sorry. Can you repeat that?”
I keep Jared in the corner of my eye as I work. He catches Carla’s attention, saying something that makes her eyebrows draw together. But she nods, pouring him a glass of golden liquid.
He throws it back, swallowing it in one and placing the glass down on the bar.
Gesturing for another.
And he still doesn’t look over.
The glass in my hand trembles as I pass it over to another customer. “There you go.”
I can’t approach him for another hour, the flow of customers not stopping. My feet are beginning to ache by the time I can edge my way over.
He hasn’t looked at me once. And I’ve been paying attention. “Jared?”
There’s a tension in his posture as he looks up. His lips move, lifting up. “Hey.”
The churning in my stomach doesn’t ease. It grows.
It’s not his usual smile. It’s not crooked, and small, and genuine.
