AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Annie’s exhale was long and loud. “Why haven’t you ever told me any of this?”
“You’re the best friend I’ve ever had. Guess I just couldn’t risk losing you too.”
Seconds ticked by. Lexie became fidgety, waiting for Annie to scold her or judge her or run away screaming. She turned to find that her lips had quirked up on one side. “You’re a prize idiot, you know that?” she said. “To think that I’d abandon you over a stupid mistake you made when you were a teenager.”
Relief swamped Lexie so powerfully that she felt her whole body sag. “That’s it?”
“What else is there? Come here.” Annie came to wrap her arms tight around her. “I get how awful you must feel about the whole thing, but it sounds like that girl had her own stuff going on long before you came along. I mean, all you did was take her to a party, right?”
“Right.”
“So, if you took me out to a party, and I ended up chugging six beers then dancing half-naked on the tailgate of a truck to "Jesse’s Girl," would that be your fault too?”
“I did feel somewhat responsible for that, yes,” Lexie said, fondly recalling the first time she and Annie had spent time together outside of school. It was supposed to be a quiet gathering at the lookout, but Annie being Annie, she’d made it her mission to liven things up and introduce herself to the island in a big way.
Annie grabbed her shoulders and held her at arm’s length. “Every decision I made that night was my own. Yeah, it turned out messy, but it was also one of the best nights of my life. The point is, you can’t control what people choose to do with their lives, Lex. Sara was troubled, clearly, and yeah, maybe it wasn’t the best idea to lead her astray, but”—she smiled, all warm and understanding—“you were a kid. Kids don’t think. You gotta let it go.”
“You could be right.”
“I am right,” she said, pinning Lexie with hard eyes. “And that’s the last time you ever keep me in the dark, got it? It’s not good keeping secrets. It gives you premature crow’s feet.”
Lexie squinted.
“Yeah, see, there they are.”
“Shut up!” Lexie swatted away the hand that was pointing out her supposed wrinkles and laughed. “Seriously, though, what do you think?”
Annie knew exactly what Lexie was asking without her having to spell it out. Did she believe that Kyle was a killer?
“I think we just need to sit tight and let the cops handle it,” she said. “I mean, what are you going to do, show up there and tell them to let him go because you think the real killer might actually be some ghost from your past coming back to haunt you?”
Hearing it said like that, it did sound ludicrous.
Lexie nodded, agreeing to leave it up to the authorities to sort out and try not to worry.
The remainder of their run was much more lighthearted. They didn’t talk any more about murder or their guy problems, instead choosing to enjoy each other’s company and chat about happier topics, like the amazing weather and if Vikki would ever give poor Seth a chance. By the time they made it back to their cars—having sprinted the last mile—they were both out of breath.
Lexie guzzled some water, then felt her phone vibrating in her pocket.
“Hey, Paul,” she greeted, intentionally letting Annie know her husband was on the other end. “What’s up?”
“Hey, Lex. You guys back from your run yet?”
“Just in the parking lot. Why?”
“I need to borrow your key to Rusty’s,” he said, sounding mildly exasperated. “The Wi-fi is acting up. Wade asked me to come take a look at it this morning but he’s not here, and I’m going to miss my flight if I leave it any later. I’d call him, but I don’t want to wake him if he’s sleeping off a late night.”
“Oh, okay, sure. Give me five minutes. I’ll come meet you.”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Clicking off, Lexie caught Annie up.
“Why would he ask to borrow your key and not mine?” she asked.
Lexie chuckled. “Where is your key?”
