The unforgiving, hard pavement beneath my palms is as cold as the stone that marks my sister’s final resting place. If I thought I was dead inside before, it was a joke. I’m the reason my sister was killed.
If I’d stayed in the passenger seat, it would’ve been me instead. It was supposed to be me.
I cry out loud this time as the realization crushes my soul. “It was supposed to be me!”
20
Dash is beside me in seconds as agony unlike I’ve ever felt rises up into my throat.
“Lennon! What in the hell is going on?” he shouts. He’s not calm; he’s panicking. All his strength and patience have flown out the window by now. He’s almost as desperate as the moment I heard his voice in the hospital.
“It’s why you were hell-bent on me being Lennon! You knew!” I shout, jerking away from him.
He recoils with a furrowed brow.
“What? You’re not making any sense,” he says.
I manage to stand and point to the Mustang parked behind the Camaro.
“You knew it was me…” I trail off as the world turns upside down all over again.
“It was you, Dash! You wanted to kill me! You were stalking me while you were pretending to love me!” I shout.
“Lennon, baby, please think about what you’re saying?—”
I cut him off.
“I know what I’m saying, and I know what I saw. It was you. I just don’t understand why.”
My entire body trembles from the sting of betrayal.
“No, Valkyrie. You’re wrong,” he says and tries to reach for me.
“Don’t call me that! Where’s our necklaces?” I ask, absently feeling around my neck for mine as reality strangles me.
“I have no clue, Lennon, because I’m not your damn stalker! I love you! I don’t know what you think you remembered, but I’d never hurt you.”
“Is that so?” I snipe back. “What about Darcy? She sure wasn’t shy about telling me all the ways she hates me and couldn’t believe you were pursuing who she thought was London after she seduced you just last week. The week I happened to take time away from you,” I say clenching my teeth together because they’re starting to chatter.
His brows furrow before he advances on me. I stand my ground, refusing to back down. The moment he reaches me, our bodies collide, and he traps my arms under his before getting nose to nose with me. He’s careful not to hurt me, but I can’t move, and I’m forced to listen to every word he says.
“I didn’t touch her. I feel like I’ve been losing my mind staring at the walls of my house while thinking about you. So, I went to a party and had a few drinks to get out of the house. Darcy was there and kept rubbing herself all over me, but I told her to get the hell away from me. I went to use the bathroom, but little did I know she followed me and locked the door behind her. I’m sure I don’t have to paint a picture for you, but she offered herself up on a silver platter. She was ready, willing, and eager. If I wasn’t so in love with you, then yes, I would’ve laid her out right there. It would have been easy. But the only legs I want wrapped around me are yours, do you understand?”
My chin quivers and my stupid heart flips. How can something so crude sound so reassuring?
“As for being your stalker, why would I do that? Think about it,” he says as he releases me.
“I don’t know if I can trust you,” I say as I take a step back. “I know what I just remembered about the car following us that night. It was a black Mustang and it looked a hell of a lot like yours.”
Dash scrubs his hand down his face in frustration. “Do you know how many black Mustangs are on the road? And don’t you remember watching the video at the police station? That Mustang had some sort of guard on the front. Mine doesn’t have one,” he waves his hand in the direction of his car.
“Anyone with know-how about cars could easily put something like that on and then remove it,” I say as my chest gets tighter. “And from the time I woke up, you said the way I was driving that night, you knew I was Lennon. Did you only see me driving from the tapes the cop friend of yours had or because you were there?”
He stares at me in disbelief. His jaw is set, and his arms hang by his sides. “I can’t believe you just said that. If you don’t trust me, I don’t know what to do. This is not how I imagined you remembering that you’re really Lennon.”
I can almost feel my heart physically cracking. This isn’t what I pictured either. I knew it would be messy, but I never dreamed I wouldn’t trust him because of my memories.
“I’m sorry. But I can’t tell you I do.” I lick my lips and step forward, but still stand just out of reach. “I’m in love with you, Dash. My heart can’t reconcile what my mind is telling me you might have done. But right now, it doesn’t matter.”
