I park in my usual spot. The truck hasn’t taken my designated place, like Justin let me have my spot to not upset me. Weird. Whoever comes first takes the better spot. That's the rule of the jungle.
I grab my two bags of groceries from the passenger seat and head to the door, carefully eyeing my unexpected guest getting out of his truck and following me.
“May I come in?” His voice is timid. He never asked for permission before, so I nod without a word, fearing I’ll scare him off. He seems ready to run, and something tells me I want to hear what he has to say.
I put the bags on the table and begin unpacking. Justin stands by the door without moving further inside. I discreetly eyeball him: he’s looking around, observing every single detail like he’s never been here before when just a few days ago, he was making fun of it. His gaze is calculating. I stay silent, curious to see how the situation will unfold.
After a few minutes of silence, he takes a deep breath. “I want you to tell me everything you know about Ashley.”
I smack a can of pumpkin on the table so hard that it makes Justin flinch. “Seriously?” I growl. “You came here to ask about Ashley?”
He swallows roughly. “I need to know what you know.”
"Why, Justin? Why should I waste my breath telling you something you’re not going to believe?” I can practically hear my teeth grinding.
“I will believe you.” He rasps.
“The whole town knows every single detail about her. Go ask them.” I shove the cans into the cabinet. I’m so mad that I can’t stack them properly the first time, and they all fall. Justin walks over and stands behind me, suffocating me with his delicious musk. His front is almost touching my back. He stretches his long arms around me and begins picking up the cans and stacking them neatly. I’m caged, but I don’t feel trapped. My heart’s beating like a hummingbird’s wings. I was mad only a moment ago, and now I’m not.
“I need to ask you, Kayla.” He whispers into my ear while slowly creating neat piles of everything I just dropped. It’s a rare occasion, him calling me by my name: it sounds…goodcoming from his lips, in that low tremble he has going on. “What exactly happened that night? Tell me like I’m new in town and don’t know anything yet.” His breath tickles my ear, and I shudder.
My head drops forward in defeat. “I was walking home.”
“Home where?” He interrupts.
“Here.” I swallow.
“You already lived here on your own? Alone?” A note of disbelief in his voice.
“I’ve been on my own for a long time, yes.” I get distracted by his heavy breathing next to my ear. His movements are deliberately slow. “So, I was walking here and heard weird noises, and then I heard you.”
“Go on.” He urges me.
“I saw you beating some guy on the ground.” I swallow, disgusted by memories.
“Why did you stop me? Was he… close to you?” His nose touches the shell of my ear, and I know he’s doing it on purpose, but my willpower is weak, so I don’t stop him.
“In the moment, I didn’t know who he was, but I could tell he was barely alive. You almost killed him, Justin.” I whisper more to myself, reliving that horrible moment. It was the first time I saw him as a monster. “I had to stop you.”
“Go on.” He nudges.
"Then you said he forced himself on Ashley." I spit her name out like it's poison. Which it is, in a way. "And then I saw her in the car. She was smiling, and she winked at me. Winked! Like she was happy. What kind of person would do that?” I shake my head in disbelief.
“And?” He inhales deeply, moving the strands of hair on my neck.
“And then I put two and two together because I recognized the guy the moment I saw him on the ground. We grew up together at the park. I knew him well enough to know he wouldn't rape a woman. Never. I mean it." I shake my head, enforcing my statement. "Besides, I—” I stop myself on time.
“Besides what, Kayla?” He urges me to continue.
“Nothing.” I bite my tongue, not knowing if I should keep going.
“Besides what, Kayla?” He presses his front into me, and I feel his hard dick along my ass. My eyes widen, and I freeze. He is a psycho too.Hello, let’s be psychos together.“What, Kayla? What did you want to say?”
I swallow a lump in my throat. “I had seen Ashley with Mark a few times around town.”
“While I was deployed?” There isn’t a single note of anger in his voice for somebody who just heard that his girlfriend was cheating on him.
“Yes.” I breathe out.
