long.
Now that he knew the truth, so much about Allie made sense to him. Her secrecy, her mulling over the past, her ruminations about her sister, Jill, and high school. Her sleepless nights, her stomach problems. Larry realized he’d constructed narratives to explain her behavior, but they’d all been wrong. He’d based them on assumptions because he hadn’t known the life event, or its memory that had shaped her personality—or warped it. He sensed the birth control pills were a part of the same puzzle.
Larry exhaled, mulling it over as he drove. They would sort it out, with insanely expensive counseling. He was so happy to have her alive and for them to be going home together. Now that she was leveling with herself, and him, things could be even better than they had ever been. It could be the marriage he’d always wanted, and the family, too. He believed the truth really did set you free, and he was going to find out. His heart lifted, with hope.
Allie accelerated slightly, and Larry smiled, feeling better. It had been the scariest night of his life, but he was a lawyer, and there was nothing he liked better than the right result. He and Allie had put Julian Browne behind bars. If the asshole didn’t plead out, he and Allie would happily testify against him. Julian could get as much as ten years for their attempted murder, and Pennsylvania would have jurisdiction to try him for Sasha’s murder and New York for David’s. There would be no legal consequences to his loading the gun the night they played Russian Roulette, which Allie already knew, having evidently consulted a lawyer. Larry wished she had consulted him, but he knew why she hadn’t. She’d been afraid he wouldn’t love her anymore. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Larry kept an eye on his wife, exhaling. He was no psychiatrist, but he knew it had to have been traumatic for Allie to have lived through seeing Kyle kill himself. And he understood why she blamed herself. He would’ve felt responsible, too. He hadn’t really appreciated until tonight the shades of gray on the spectrum between innocence and guilt, but he would never think about it the same again. So much of the law was parsing degrees of culpability, but all of those academic distinctions were lost on the human heart.
He breathed deeply. It would be morning in no time, and he would wake up in bed, next to Allie. He would get his clothes from the hotel tomorrow. He would tell her about Lacy someday, of course, but not tonight.
The arch of the bridge to Pennsylvania soared ahead in the darkness, next to the YOU’VE GOT A FRIEND IN PENNSYLVANIA billboard, the state’s slogan for tourism. Larry smiled to himself.
He watched her car rising into the sky over the beautiful span of the bridge, with him right behind her, the two of them going home.
CHAPTER 102
Allie Garvey
Allie rested her head on Larry’s chest, lying on her left side. Her head buzzed. Her right wrist ached, and her throat hurt, too. She couldn’t sleep. Larry was still awake, too, but they were all talked out, having gone over what had happened, traded thoughts, and shed more than a few tears.
The bedroom was still and quiet, and the sun was beginning to rise, sending a pale gray shaft through the part in the curtains. She heard the hydraulic screech of the trash truck, a faraway siren, and a dog barking. The morning sounds of the city. Finally, it felt like home.
Allie’s mind was in overdrive, but the one thought that kept coming to her consciousness was Kyle’s mother. “Honey, I have a question for you,” she whispered.
“Not tonight, dear. I have a headache.” Larry chuckled at his own joke.
“No, really. It’s serious.”
“Like tonight hasn’t been?” Larry chuckled again. “I look forward to talking about the weather. And how about those Eagles?”
“Honey, this is really serious.” Allie swallowed hard, and her throat stung. “I’ve been thinking about Kyle’s mother.”
“Okay. I’m all ears.” Larry’s tone quieted.
“I’ve been thinking about her for a long time, and now that this is all out in the open, I want to go to her and explain. I want to tell her. What do you think?”
“Whoa, really?”
“Yes.” Allie felt it resonate within her chest. She knew it was the right thing to do. “I know her address. She lives near Brandywine Hunt.”
“How would you do it? Would you call first, or what?”
“I guess