“I was going to marry her!” Tate shouts back, and I hold my breath now, thinking she might point that gun at him and shoot him.
Her jaw clenches. “She loves my brother, you fucking idiot!”
I gag and press my hand tighter over my mouth. Oh God. Finn. This is going to destroy Finn. He’s been living with so much guilt.
“How could you do this to us? To Finn?” I ask when I finally regain my composure. “He was trying to get justice for you. We both were!”
“And, what, you found justice in his dick?” she spits, eyes narrowed. The venom in her tone and the way her grip tightens on the gun make me freeze. “You felt guilty for leaving me there to die so you turned to him for comfort?”
“That’s not what happened.” I wipe my eyes.
“Maybe not.” She purses her lips. “My brother has only ever cared about four people. Henevercares about women, but ofcourse, he had to fall for you. It’s like you have us all under a fucking spell.”
“You act like I planned this!”
“That’s the thing, Josslyn. You don’t have to plan anything. Everything just works out perfectly for you. Always.”
Anger hits me with a force and I shudder. “You’re a fucking BARLOW, Mallory. YOU COULD HAVE HAD EVERYTHING! You HAD everything!”
“You know, my brother didn’t miss a game after I died,” she says, ignoring me. “He missed two practices when he flew home and went right back to Vegas like it was nothing.”
I wipe tears away again. “What do you want from me?”
“You got too close to the truth,” she says, glancing at John briefly. “We have a plan. I was going to disappear and John was going to file an insurance claim. Everything was fine until Leo started sniffing around and sending you footage of that night.”
“Mallory,” John warns. It’s the first thing he’s said since I got here.
“I don’t understand,” I say. “If this is about me getting too close, why not go to my apartment? Why not get rid of Leo?”
She laughs. “You do know my brother has had a private investigator following you around for almost two years now, right?”
I feel the color drain from my face. I don’t even ask how she knows that. She seems to know too much about everything.
“I knew you’d come running when Tate didn’t show up for work,” she says when no one speaks. “I mean, it was either that or the police, but I just knew you’d come here.” She laughs again. “Does my brother know where you are?”
That seems like a trick question. If I say yes, she’ll know I’ve already alerted the police. I take a sip of water to ease the dryness in my throat.
“What are you going to do to me?” I ask.
“I’m not sure yet,” she says. “I’m not sure I can bring myself to kill you.” She looks at John. “But he will.” John’s grip tightens on the magazine, but he doesn’t look up. “I have too much dirton John and too much money for him to disobey me. Maybe I am a Barlow, after all.”
“You were my friend. I loved you. I?—”
“Not enough!” she shouts and bangs the gun against her knee, making me flinch.
“What is enough for you, Mallory?” I demand. “I invited you into my home, I took you to my mother’s house for the holidays, I listened to you and comforted you and?—”
“I WANTED MORE! I wanted you to notice me!” she yells, her voice shaking slightly with emotion.
“I didn’t know!” I respond and stop talking when my tongue starts to feel heavy.
I lift my hand to wipe my face again, but it feels like I’m trying to move a boulder. Panic spreads through me. This can’t be happening.This can’t be happening.I turn my face and notice Tate is slumped against the couch, passed out. Everything is spinning and seems to be going in slow motion, but I manage to look at Mallory again.
“I had to drug the water to keep you from trying to leave,” she says, answering my question. “Don’t worry, you won’t lose consciousness this time.”
This time.This time.A tingle spreads through my body, leaving goosebumps on my flesh. A sob threatens to shut my airways.
“It was you,” I whisper. “You were the one who drugged me at Onyx that night.”
