Page 81 of Dear Debbie

She thought that she was going to shock me by bringing my husband here and revealing that she was his lover. But it didn’t go quite as she expected.

I have to hand it to Jesse—telling Harley that his name was Cooper Mullen was a smart move. Cooper was already in the system at the gym because he used it too. Also, as a technophobe, he didn’t have any social media presence online. Any search she did would fail to turn up a photo or any information. It kept Jesse’s wife—actually quite a nice woman who doesn’t deserve any of this—from discovering what her husband was up to. I have no doubt this was not his first rodeo.

Cooper hasn’t been entirely honest with me, but one thing he would never do is cheat on me. He has many faults, but he does love me, and he is very, very loyal.

I hope he doesn’t find out what I will be doing here tonight.

“Jesse?” Harley repeats in confusion. Her eyes, heavily lined with mascara, are huge. “Who’s Jesse?”

Jesse squirms. Harley has likely seen my Cooper when he’s been working out at the gym, and I’m sure she finds Jesse more attractive than my husband, but I’ve always found Jesse’s looks to be slimy. I could be biased though.

“Look, Harley,” he stammers. “There are a few things that…that I might not have been entirely honest with you about.”

I burst out laughing. I can’t help myself. It’s entertaining watching him try to squirm his way out of this one.

Jesse shoots me a look, then he turns back to Harley. He’s desperate to explain himself, but not because he wants to continue things with Harley. I’m fairly certain he came here to end things with her tonight. But now that she knows his name, he doesn’t want her approaching his wife.

“Your name isn’t Cooper Mullen?” Harley asks incredulously.

He shakes his head slowly as he takes a step toward her. “No. I’m sorry. Cooper is… He’s that other guy that I come to the gym with all the time. He and I… We work together.”

“Oh my God.” Harley shoves him hard enough that he stumbles backward. “Here I thought that you loved me and you might want to spend your life with me, and all along, you didn’t even tell me your real name, you piece of shit.”

Jesse opens his mouth to protest, but then he sways on his feet. He presses his fingertips against his temple and squeezes his eyes shut for a moment. “I think I need to sit down.”

“You need to get out,” Harley retorts.

But Jesse isn’t listening to her. He pushes past her in the direction of the sofa, and he collapses onto it. He doesn’t look like he can get up again.

He must have been chugging from his water bottle the whole way home from the gym. The opium that I mixed into that water is working nicely.

Jesse’s eyelids are starting to sag. The adrenaline of the encounter may have helped a little bit, but it’s wearing off.

“Don’t close your eyes!” Harley shrieks at him as she shakes his shoulder. “You’ve been lying to me this whole time! How could you do that to me?”

I can’t believe I ever thought Harley was cool. The pink streak in her hair misled me. Or maybe it was the way she genuinely seemed interested in what I had to say, although now I realize she was just picking my brain for details about my husband. I didn’t start to put it all together until I found that T-shirt at her house. When I smelled it, I knew immediately who it belonged to.

Then I went to the gym and talked to Cindy, who was extremely eager to share information about her philandering coworker. She was very, very helpful. After that, I knew everything I needed to know.

“Cooper!” Harley snaps. “Or…Jesse. Or whatever your name is. Are you listening to me?”

He’s looking at her, but he’s not seeing her. The drugs in his system have taken hold, and I’d say in another few minutes, he’ll be unconscious. This conversation will seem like a dream later, if he remembers it at all.

Now is the time to make my move.

I reach into the purse slung over my shoulder and first take out my pair of leather gloves. After I pull them onto my hands, I take out the Glock I’ve been carrying. I shot it once when I put a bullet between Ken Bryant’s eyes. Now I’m going to use it a second time.

“Harley,” I say.

Harley interrupts her tirade against Jesse and turns to look at me. When she sees the gun in my hand, she inhales sharply.

“Debbie?” she says. “What are you doing?”

In a way, Harley is innocent. She never did anything to me directly. She did think she was sleeping with my husband, but she wasn’t. I have no beef with her.

But she’s a terrible person. She used me. And she has destroyed countless marriages without any remorse. I hate to use her as a pawn, but she would do the same to me. It’s no big loss.

“Sorry, Harley,” I say.