“I was scared that if they thought we were the same, they wouldn’t want me anymore. That they would send me away. But in the end, they turned out to be the worst kind of people. And you…the one I said awful things about…you s-saved me. You went to juvie for it. And what did I do? I n-never spoke to you again.”
She’s full-out sobbing now, tears pouring from her brown eyes and dripping onto what I’m pretty sure are Brunello Cucinelli jeans. Perusing fashion magazines is one of my guilty pleasures, even if I can’t afford half the stuff on their pages. Heaving a sigh, I get to my feet and rummage in my purse for tissues. “Here,” I say, pushing them into her French-manicured hand.
Julia wipes her eyes and sniffles some more. “You’re being so n-nice,” she whimpers.
“Why wouldn’t I be? You were akid,Julia. You think I’d honestly be mad that you didn’t thank me for putting an end to something that never should’ve happened in the first place?”
My voice comes out harsher than I mean it to, and she sits up straight, those brown eyes scanning my face with the acuityI remember from when she used to make me quiz her for math tests. “He hurt you, too,” she says, tears still clogging her voice.
It isn’t a question, and so I don’t treat it that way. Instead, I just shrug.
That clear brown gaze travels over me from head to toe, lingering on the bruises on my elbows and the scratches on my arms. “You’re hurt right now! I was so upset, I didn’t notice. Why didn’t you say? Whathappenedto you, Rune?”
“I was in a car wreck.” It’s easier than getting into the rest. “But I’m fine. What are you doing here, anyway? How did you find me?”
Julia hadn’t come back to Sapphire Springs after the night I piled the monster’s belongings in his yard, set them aflame, and then threatened to torch him and his house unless he backed off. When he refused, I made good on my promises. He got what he deserved, both from me and from the court system. I didn’t regret it.
“You’re easy to find,” Julia says, giving me a watery smile. “I just went to the Peach Tree Grille—God, I can’t believe that place is still there!—and asked Mrs. Grant. She remembered me, gave me a free milkshake, even. There was a weird group of women sitting around a table, talking about”—she lowered her voice—“lap dances and sex toys. They were, like, seventy. But anyway, they all seemed to knowyou.And Mrs. Grant was super happy to tell me where you lived.”
“That’s the Sinsters.” I roll my eyes. “Don’t even ask. And yeah, I just bet she was.”
“You’ve done well for yourself,” Julia ventures. “This place is totally adorable.”
I snort, dislodging Valentine and sitting down beside her on the couch. “By which you mean, what a shock it is that I’m not living out of the back of a broken-down camper van.”
“No! Not at all,” she says, blushing. “I just…it’s beautiful, Rune. Really. And I’m happy for you. It looks like you’ve finally found some peace.”
“So have you, apparently. Looks like all those honors classes paid off.”
Julia blushes harder. “I do okay for myself.”
“Heard you went to Harvard,” I say, unable to resist needling her, the way I used to.
“I—um, yes, I did. And then Wharton, to get my MBA. I work in emerging markets now, empowering microbusinesses. My specialty is helping underserved women. Especially women who’ve been abused.”
Her eyes meet mine, and I see the resolve in them. “That’s your way of giving back, then,” I tell her. “It’s all the thank-you I need. But it still doesn’t explain why you’re here.”
She looks away from me, smoothing the unused tissue out on her lap. “I—um, well. I came to warn you.”
Every hair on my body stands up. “About what?”
“Him.” Her voice falls to a whisper. “I…I keep tabs on him, Rune. He’s gotten early parole, for good behavior. They’re letting him out.”
My mouth goes dry. I try to swallow, but my throat makes a strange clicking sound.
“Rune?” She squeezes my hand. “I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you in person. I hope he won’t do…you know, any of the things he was threatening that night. But you deserve to know.”
“Thank you.” I force the words out through the pinhole of my throat. No wonder I felthishands on my shoulders today, rather than Cooper’s. Some part of me must have known.
“Don’t thank me.” Her voice is stiff. “Everything good in my life—the family I have now, my degrees, my career—I owe to you. This is the least I can do.”
She drops my hand and stands, snatching up her bag. “I have to leave. I have a flight to catch. But I just found out, and I wanted to make sure to tell you before I go.”
I walk her out, to my front porch. She wraps her arms around me, and I let her, even though I don’t ever remember us hugging before. It’s the tight, life-affirming hug shared by survivors who stand in the wreckage of an earthquake, afraid that the ground may begin to shake again. Standing on my beautiful, perfect porch, I watch her drive away.
And then the red haze of my third premonition in one day descends on me again.
Chapter
