“I can’t drink,” I muttered, following her into the living room.
“Well, then I’ll drink for the both of us. God knows I need it. My apartment is burned to a crisp, along with everything in my life that I’ve ever owned. And now I’m living with my brother again. So, drinking is the name of the game.”
I eased myself onto the couch, then pulled my leg up to rest on a pillow. I was already exhausted, not that I would say a word about it. It would get back to Sam, and then he would make even more of a fuss than he already was.
“Did they catch your ex?”
She pulled the cork on the bottle and poured herself a large glass of red wine. “They did. Not that he’ll pay for attacking me.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because he’s a cop,” she muttered, bringing the bottle with her to the living room.
I was desperate to hear the story, to think of anything other than what happened to me or how I would be laid up for another six weeks.
“When I was with him, he always made this big show about how much he loved me. So, when I went to the police station and told them my boyfriend was trying to kill me, and they found out he was from a neighboring police station, they closed ranks. I was officially the psycho bitch who was trying to get their fellow officer fired.”
“They didn’t help you?”
“Not even a little,” she huffed. “I thought that when I came here, he’d never find me.”
I was under the impression we could thank Austin for that. I didn’t know how he did it, and I wasn’t sure anyone else knew either. But I heard Sam talking on the phone with Parker the other day, discussing the search for Austin. It didn’t sound like they were having much luck.
“Did you hear about Kasey?” she asked, her chin wobbling slightly as she dropped her eyes to the glass.
“Yeah. Though I’m finding it hard to feel sorry for her when she terrorized Ellie.”
“I know, but still…it makes you wonder.”
“About what?”
“What her life was like,” she said, staring into her glass. “I mean, she was a horrible person, but what made her that way? Are people really that cruel for no reason?”
I had no idea, and I wasn’t sure that was a question I was ready to ask just yet. I was too busy trying to figure out my own problems. But she had a point. Were we all too wrapped up in our own lives to see someone else was struggling?
“Hey, what about her friend, Raleigh? Is she going to be okay?”
“From what I’ve heard, she’s going to live, but it’s going to be a long recovery,” Alyssa said, still staring into her wine.
“Hey, are you okay?”
She shrugged, but that look she had on her face was similar to what I saw when I caught her getting lost in herself at the bookshop. Like she was locked in the past, unable to move forward.
And now it made sense.
Her questions about Kasey could just as well be about her. Did anyone see that she was suffering? Did anyone bother to ask in the past what was going on with her? Or did they just assume that she brought all the hurt on herself?
“You know, you can talk to me if you ever need to.”
Finally, that pulled a smile from her lips. “Thanks.” Sighing, she came over and lifted my leg, then plopped down, resting my leg on hers. “Let’s do something happy.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not going anywhere.”
“Obviously, but it’s Christmas. There has to be something we can do to get us out of this funk.”
“Well…I haven’t had time to put up my own decorations,” I mused. “I spent so much time decorating at the shop, and then I was wrapped up in Sam and his big dick. I kind of lost sight of decorating my own house.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” she grinned. “Where is everything?”
