“Oh,” is all I can say in return.
I’m disappointed in you, Carrie. I thought you were better than this. Much better. You used to be a good person. Or at least I thought you were. So what happened? Where did the Carrie I know and love go? Did she die all those years back too?
“You can’t keep me here, you know. People will miss me. They’ll come looking for me.” She blinks, and I know she’s lying. “I have friends, so many friends, and they’ll call the police when I don’t show up.”
She’s lying again.
“Are you listening to me, Ethan? Do you hear what I’m saying? People will worry and they’ll come and look for me.”
I smile. And I know that she’s a terrible liar. I’m beginning to get to know this new Carrie, and really, she’s not much different from the old one.
“Stop fucking smiling at me,” she says, her voice filling with panic. “Stop it or I’ll scream!”
Lie, after lie after lie…
“It’s okay to be afraid,” I say, mimicking her words from so many years ago. “That heavy beat of your heart? That just means your living. That you’re alive. But I’ll never hurt you. I’ll always be here. You just have to trust me.”
And I smile again and then she breaks down crying, and I go to her and I hug her, and I rock her in my arms and she sobs and sobs and sobs…
