Hell yeah. I need to get the fuck away from her anyway. She’s a mess.
ADDIE
I wish you didn’t have to deal with that trainwreck.
LANE
And it’s so much worse than you know.
Ice slid into my veins.
So much worse than you know.
Had he…had Lane shared my deepest secret with Addie? The idea that she was aware exactly how damaged I was had me choking down the bile that rose in my throat.
But he wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t hurt me like that.
Would he?
Fuck, my head was a mess.
Still, I continued reading the messages, despite somehow knowing they were about to get worse.
And several pages later, I reached a section of texts sent on Valentine’s Day, and my entire world came crashing down around me.
LANE
[picture message] do you see this shit? Could she get any more desperate?
ADDIE
HAHAHA oh god that’s embarrassing. What does she think is going to happen? That you’re going to fuck her?
LANE
Seems so.
ADDIE
Wait…you haven’t, right?
LANE
Of course not! It’s me and you, baby. It’s always been you and me.
The ridicule continued long after that, but my vision had blurred too badly to continue reading. In disgust, I pushed the folder away, head hanging. I refused to let them see me cry.
“Jealousy is a powerful motive,” Johns said.
This time, I kept my mouth shut.
I’d officially given up.
forty
. . .
LANE
