The Dead Girls Club - Damien Angelica Walters Page 0,101
glass. “I’d like to pass by.”
“I remember you, remember what you said.”
I say nothing.
“What kind of game are you playing?” he says. His gaze bores into mine. His foul breath pushes into my face. “I know it was you.”
I’m so tired of it all. Tired of this man, his suspicious eyes, his reeking mouth. Tired of the bullshit and my aching wrist. Tired of everything. I step forward, forcing him to take one back. “So what the fuck if I did? It’s no crime to park on the street. Did I hurt anyone? No. So why don’t you back the fuck off, asshole.”
He recoils, mouth working silently. He definitely wasn’t expecting that. Over his shoulder, I spy Gia standing at the entrance of the kitchen. One hand touches her lips, the other palms the doorframe. A little behind her, Ryan, his brows arced into sideways commas.
“Heather?” Gia says. “What’s going on?”
Fuck. How much did she hear? How much did they fucking hear?
Gus crosses his arms. “She was sitting in her car outside on the street a couple weeks ago, right before the big yard sale. Just sitting. Said she wanted to move here. She didn’t like me talking to her, that’s for sure. Wasn’t happy to be seen, and she hightailed it out. I should’ve gotten her license plate number—that would prove it—but she drove too fast.” He points, then turns to Gia. “And now she’s here in your house? Doesn’t that bother you at least a little bit? ’Cause it bothers me.”
Gia says, brow creased, “I don’t understand.”
She’s glancing from Gus to me and back again. I open my mouth to speak, to tell her it’s a misunderstanding, and Gus speaks over me, burying my reply.
“You two just happened to run into each other at the bookstore, you said. You sure about that?” Gus says, spittle in the corner of his lips. “Maybe you did, maybe you didn’t, but when I told her I remembered her sitting outside, she said it wasn’t her, then she admitted it and told me to fuck off. You heard that part.”
Gia’s eyes meet mine again.
“So why not tell us why, huh?” He rounds on his heels, jabbing a finger toward me, almost touching me between my breasts. “Why were you here?”
“Okay, I think that’s enough,” Ryan says, stepping around Gia to grasp Gus by the upper arm. “This is between them, okay?” Gus snorts and tugs his arm, but Ryan doesn’t let go.
When Gia and I are alone, she blinks away the sheen of tears. She can’t blink away her expression, though. It’s the look of a dog expecting a treat and getting a kick; a child anticipating ice cream but being sent to their room. In that moment, I know she had nothing to do with the necklace, with any of it.
“Gia, I—”
“The big yard sale was before we ran into each other. Was that meeting an accident, or did you already know I was here in Annapolis?”
“I can explain,” I say. “Really, this is just … Gus is blowing it all out of proportion.”
She runs her thumb along the counter. “I think maybe you should go.”
I step closer. “But if you let me—”
“I said go, Heather,” she says, her words painted with anger. “I don’t understand this, but I don’t want you here right now.”
“Okay,” I say. “I’m sorry, I’ll go.”
Ryan’s waiting by the front door. I pretend not to hear the whispers, not to see the looks, as I make my way, but my face is hot. Gus is near the steps, wearing a smug frat-boy smirk. I’d love to walk over and slap him. How dare he. How fucking dare he.
We drive out of Gia’s neighborhood in silence, and at the first light, Ryan says, “What the hell was that about?”
“I wasn’t doing anything wrong,” I say, tapping my knuckles on the window.
“But you were sitting outside her house?”
“It’s not how it sounds.”
“I hope not, because it sounds irrational. It sounds like something—”
I slam both palms on the dashboard. “I don’t want to fucking talk about it!”
“Jesus Christ, Heather. It’s like I don’t even know you anymore.”
“Oh, please,” I spit. “I’m not the one sneaking around in my suit going to secret meetings.”
“What are you talking about?”
“My mother saw you on Wednesday at Grinds,” I say, because obviously I haven’t done enough damage today. “You were dressed up. In your suit.”
He scratches his chin. “Not sure what you want me to say.”