When they returned to the old firehouse, Jay was waiting for them, features grim. “I’m sorry.”
Ethan ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m going to head out, get a few hours of sleep before we start the search tomorrow for the person who did it.”
That wasn’t their job, but Ethan didn’t give a shit about boundaries with the sheriff’s office. This washistown, and he was going to make sure it was safe.
Maggie staredat the dark ceiling. She wasn’t tired. Not even a little bit. You’d think after all the overthinking her brain had done tonight, she’d be exhausted.
Nope.
Your mother took drugs, went down to the river, and killed herself. To get away from you.
It wasn’t true. It couldn’t be. Her mother’s life hadn’t been perfect, but she wasn’t so far gone that she’d do something like that.
She rolled to her side and shut her eyes. A second passed, and she rolled to her other side.
Five more minutes, and she threw the sheets off her body. Her feet made soft thuds against the wooden floorboards as she walked down the hall. Polly’s door was slightly ajar.
Maggie pushed it open and crossed the room to the large bed. She climbed beneath the rosy bedspread.
Polly slept on her side, facing the center of the bed. Her eyes were closed, her chest moving in rhythmic motions. But at the jostle of the mattress, her eyelids scrunched then opened, a frown cutting into her brow. “Maggie?”
“Sorry I woke you.”
“It’s fine. Is everything okay?”
“I can’t sleep,” Maggie finally said. Polly had already been asleep when she’d gotten home, so she hadn’t told her anything yet.
“Why?”
“Lilith said something…about my mom taking drugs the night she died. That she drowned herself because I was exhausting and a burden.” The words hung in the air, heavy.
“That bitch!” Any sign of sleep disappeared from Polly’s eyes. “Tell me you saw through her bullshit.”
“Of course, but at the same time, that makes more sense to me than her getting drunk, going to the river, and accidentally drowning.”
“How does Lilith know there were drugs in your mother’s system?”
Maggie lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know—she said she did her own research.”
“Don’t believeanythingthat woman says. She’s awful, and the only person she cares about is herself.”
“She believes it. This must be why she’s always hated me.”
“Maggie—”
“She blames me for her sister’s death.”
“You were achild. You weren’t responsible for anyone. And you didn’t do anything wrong.” Polly cupped her cheek. “You deserved love and protection. Shame on Lilith for not giving you both. For making you feel like you had to earn your place in her home. And now dropping this on you.”
“I love you for saying that.”
“Do you believe me?”
“I want to.” Maggie scrubbed the wetness from her face. “Distract me. Tell me how things are going with your mom.”
“How are things ever with my mom? Messy. Complicated. Strained.”
“I’m sorry.”
