It’s good to have my friend back.
ChapterFour
JUSTIN
I’ve been waiting for three days till a good opportunity turned up. Now I’m hiding behind the car, trying to check the brakes while making sure nobody sees me doing it. As I thought, the brake pads are fucking worn down. Completely. I’d been hearing the loud squealing noise of dying brakes every time this rust bucket stopped at traffic lights or parked, and I could now confirm. How she hasn’t been found dead in a ditch yet is beyond me. The only place she should drive this metal can ever again is to a junkyard.
I squat next to the wheel again, making sure I got the right model.
“Huh, interesting.”
I jump like my ass is on fire and come face-to-face with a very smug-looking Freya.
“Lost something over there?” she asks, trying to stop her smile from spreading too wide. Her stance is that of a woman who knows a secret with which she could bury you.
“Over where?” I play dumb, even though I’ve been busted.
“Under Kayla’s car.” She nods at the old beast.
“Yeah, dropped my keys.” I pat my front pockets nonchalantly.
“Did you find them?” She crosses her arms over her chest and cocks a hip, challenging me.
“Yep,” I affirm and start walking toward the grocery store. Freya falls in step behind me.
“I never thanked you for saving Kayla. So thank you,” she tells me.
“I didn’t do anything,” I grunt in the most neutral voice I can manage. “It was Alex who noticed the fire.”
"Really?" She perks up at the mention of his name, even though she's heard this story a dozen times. This motherfucker better hurry the hell up because I don’t know how long I can keep up with this charade he’s putting me through.
“Yeah, he noticed that something was wrong and called me.”
“You got her out, though.” She pushes for more with a suggestive tone.
“Anyone would do the same,” I cut her off too sharply.
“Yeah.” Her tone dulls, indicating that she didn’t like my answer. What did she expect? For me to announce my undying love for that trailer trash? I did what everybody would do in my place, and then I had to get out before the firefighters arrived. I just had to. I had my reasons.
“How is Jake? He isn’t talking to me much nowadays.” Great. Another sore subject.
“He’s fine.” He’s not. He hasn’t been fine since he shot that asshole. I know he and Freya made amends, but I don’t think he’s in the right state of mind to dive into a friendship with her. Not when he killed her ex.
“Okay, good. Do you think Alicia will want to meet for lunch or something?” Her tone is hopeful, and I don’t have the heart to tell her that my sister is antisocial. And for a good reason. She hasn’t really talked to anybody besides family for years now. It worries us, of course, but we don't know how to help her move on. She said she has, but we all know she’s been stuck in that nightmare, thatthatmoment defines who she is now, even though it shouldn’t. We love her, and she’s perfect just the way she is. I’d love to see her more open though, livelier, more like her old self—the social butterfly who attracted everybody to her bright light. But she refuses to change anything. Or maybe she simply can’t. I wish I knew, but she doesn't share with me or anybody. Our conversations now include only safe subjects: her books, our house, the weather, and family holidays.
“Sure, I’ll ask.” I nod regardless of my thoughts—I don’t want to be the villain and burst Freya’s little bubble of temporary happiness.
“Thank you! That would be so cool!”
She then proceeds to chatter about local gossip and living with Alex’s family, and I just nod and hum at the right moments. My mind’s busy sorting out how to covertly fix the brakes on Kayla’s car. If I didn’t know about them, my hands would be clean, and I’d happily move on with my life. But now Iknow,and I can’t have her getting into an accident because of worn down brakes that I could have fixed because I fuckin’knew.
But then, while chatting about her recent encounters with every single person in Little Hope, Freya mentions Jake’s name again, and I get an idea. He’s been giving Kayla tickets on a regular basis, and knowing her, she probably hasn’t been paying them out of spite. I could remind him about all those tickets and ask why her car hasn’t been towed yet. And once it’s towed, I can go and replace it. Bobby, the guy who owns the towing company, owes me a favor. Yeah, sounds like a solid plan to me.
Once Freya’s dutifully informed me about everything I didn’t need to know, I hug her goodbye and head home to my place.
Where I get a bad fucking surprise.
Ashley’s sitting on my bed, clearly naked under the comforter draped over her shoulders.
