She described how Madison insisted on spending time with her but started to get overbearing.
My mind was racing. Madison couldn’t have her own child; I would have thought she’d be furious that her husband was having a child with another woman. Why did it sound like she was on board? Trying to be helpful, albeit in a pushy and controlling way? And what about Max?If his plan is to leave Madison to be with Savannah, then why would he encourage the two of them to meet?
I had no idea what to think. But the food in my belly—the first meal I’d eaten in days—and the feeling that I’d made significant progress in my quest for information was sustaining me.I have to keep going. There’s more to this—I know there is.
And then she turned the spotlight on me.
“So … what about your situation?”
Shit.
“Oh …” I froze. I had been so hell-bent on asking her questions, I hadn’t prepared a believable backstory for myself.Idiot!“Uh … to be honest, I’m not really sure.”
Savannah’s expression was sympathetic. “Are things not good with the father? I mean—if you feel like talking about it, of course.”
“Things have been … strained lately. I’m not sure how interested he is anymore, to tell the truth.”
“Oh … I’m so sorry.”
I realized, maybe I could use this to my advantage. It could be yet another thing me and my “new friend” could bond over—uncertain relationships with our baby daddies, ordaddy, as it were. “We hadn’t been dating long either, when I found out I was pregnant. I’m not really sure how he feels about the baby these days—or me.”
Savannah’s eyes filled with emotion.Wow, that really worked, I thought. Then she reached out and touched my hand.
“Well … what I’ve come to realize these last few months is that there are all sorts of crazy ways babies come into the world. Some planned, some not. And there are all kinds of mothers, and all kinds of fathers …”
I was conflicted. I was inclined to be touched as I listened to her kind, supportive words. Here she was, trying to stay strong and prepare for single motherhood, not knowing if Max would be there for her or what to expect from Madison. And yet she was trying to be a friend to me.
All of a sudden, I felt completely overwhelmed.Time for me to get going.I couldn’t bear another second of her compassion.
That night, I replayed my conversation with Savannah over and over, until I finally felt myself get sleepy.
There’s still so much I need to know. This story just isn’t adding up.
CHAPTER27
OVER THE NEXTseveral weeks, things took a surprising turn. I watched as Madison’s “helpfulness” turned manipulative and cruel. At least, it certainly seemed like she had to be responsible for the frightening things that started happening to Savannah.
First there was the credit card fiasco with Savannah’s look-alike caught on camera at the liquor store. Then there were the disappearing texts. And then … the stalker.
That was a big shock—after all,Ihad been following her for months. I’d never noticed anyone else watching her. Had I missed it? I would have to pay more attention.
To my surprise, I started to feel sorry for Savannah. No one deserved the shit that was being thrown her way.
In the beginning, I might have said she deserved it. I was so angry when our baby died and Max moved on. In the blink of an eye, he had replaced me and our baby with another girl, another baby. I had lost my baby at ten weeks, but here was Savannah, now several months pregnant, and all of her checkups revealed a healthy, growing child. It just wasn’t fair.
One day, when Savannah, Ellie, and I were out to lunch, Savannah gasped and clutched her stomach, her eyes wide. Shehad felt her baby kick for the first time. It was all I could do to keep from having a full-on meltdown, right there at the table.
It was a miraculous milestone I would never experience. Seeing Savannah beam, tears shining in her eyes—I wanted to vomit. The part of me that was becoming her friend wanted to be ecstatic for her. But the darker side of me wanted to burn her alive with my rage.
I wanted to hate her. But the more I got to know her, the harder that became. Savannah was caring, compassionate, genuine—a true friend. She didn’t wish anyone ill. All she really wanted in life was to be a good friend, a good daughter, a good employee, and soon, a good mother to her child.
I tried to draw her true feelings for Max out of her. Did she want him? Was she trying to steal him? And I had to conclude: no. She truly just wanted a healthy co-parenting relationship with Max, and no more—all for the sake of her child.
The only thing that stood in the way of that? Madison.
As Savannah’s situation got more and more desperate, my resentment toward her disappeared. She had chipped away at it until it finally broke into a thousand pieces. But in its place, a deeper hatred grew within me, with a new target: Madison.
When Madison slashed Savannah’s tires and nearly got her fired, I was furious for her. When the guy at the cell phone store found the spy app on her phone, my anger grew even more. But it was when the woman from the Department of Children’s Services showed up to investigate Savannah that I really started to get scared for her.
