“You smashed a rock against my head.”
Romeo prodded his temple.“I did.I should have seen this coming.”
“My rock is a bit special.”
Chad reached into his coat pocket and pulled it out.
Romeo stiffened.
The word monster was clear to see.
“I had it in my pocket,” Chad explained.“This and my car keys were all I had on me that day.”His brow twitched as he looked down at the rock, brushing his thumb against the word.
“Some asshole smashed one of our windows,” Romeo whispered.“It had a note attached.”
“What note?”
Romeo shook his head.“Some spiteful comment about you killing Lucinda Hastings.”
“I did kill her.”
Romeo ignored Chad’s words.“They smashed the window with the rock and stole the TV.”
Chad hummed.“That explains the TV.Josh said he hadn’t seen it before, said if he’d had known I was after a new TV he would’ve recommended one.”
“The TV I picked works fine, thanks.”
“They told me I’d gone on holiday with Mercutio and my ex-boyfriend, Frank.”
“Ex-boyfriend?”
Chad’s mouth twitched.“That’s how Josh describes him.Josh hates the man.Says he’s worthless scum and he’d make a better boyfriend.”
Romeo flared his nostrils.“Maybe I should’ve killed Josh when I had the chance.”
“Can you really blame him for hatingFrank?He didn’t rush to the hospital.He vanished, abandoning me while I was at my most vulnerable...”
Romeo’s heart hurt.“I’ve been right here the whole time.I’ve been waiting.”
“You’re Frank,” Chad snorted.“The boyfriend I’ve not formally introduced to them...”He shook his head.“How is this even real?How can this...”he gestured between them, “be real?”
“We work.It didn’t happen overnight.There was compromise involved but we love each other.”
“How did that happen?”Chad hissed through his teeth.“How could I let myself fall in love with a killer?”
“Falling isn’t a conscious decision.If it was, it would be jumping.You fell in love with me, accidentally, against your better judgement, despite everything.And I fell for you in exactly the same way.”
“What happened that morning?”
Romeo didn’t need Chad to clarify.He knew Chad was talking about the day he hadn’t come home.
“It was our last morning at the cottage.We walked hand in hand along the beach with Mercutio.He kept running up to you, dropping his ball at your feet, then waiting for you to throw it.You handed it to me, though, because I can throw further.We went back to the cottage, packed our things, and then drove home, me in the back with Mercutio, you in the front.”
Chad squeezed his eyes shut.“This can’t be real, yet...”
“Yet?”
“If feels more real than everything else I’ve been told.”
