There was no way he could have murdered her. And like the previous article said, when would he have had the time? Still, what Kell said was right. Something about this didn’t add up, and as I continued reading article after article, falling deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole of the Melanie Graham tragedy, I felt an unsettling twist in my belly.
There were videos of people ranting about Roland, screaming all kinds of theories, and then there were others supporting him, claiming his innocence and that his reputation had been ruined for no reason at all.
I couldn’t believe it. This man was a walking OJ Simpson case—you either thought he did it or you didn’t—and then there was me. A woman who was falling for him, and was torn about which side was the truth.
CHAPTER TEN
After all the information and articles I’d found on the internet, I started ignoring all of Roland’s text messages. I didn’t know what to think about the situation or him. All I knew was that Kell was right—whether Roland was innocent or not, it wasn’t a good idea for me to be with him.
It sucked. I missed him, ached for him, but I had to be strong. So his reality was harsh and he’d been dealt a bad card. I’d had enough bad luck in my life. I didn’t need to bring this man into it and carry all of his baggage too. He was going to be in Florida for the next month for work purposes, but he’d be gone soon and I had to keep that in mind.
I lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling fan as it whirled slowly. It was just my luck to meet a guy I really liked only to have to abandon him. Sighing, I turned over just as there was a knock at the door.
Shelia popped her head in with a smile. “Can I come in?”
“Always.”
She smiled as she passed through the doorway and gently closed it behind her. That was a bad sign—her shutting the door. She never closed my door to talk to me unless it was something serious, like the night she cried on my shoulder when her father passed, or the night she and Ben had a hard falling-out and had broken up for a month.
“What’s up?” I asked, sitting up and resting my back against the wall. She sat on the edge of my mattress, close to my feet, and sighed.
“How’s job hunting going?”
Oh, shit. I should have known it was going to be about this.
Money. Bills. A stable job.
“It’s . . . going, I guess.”
She nodded, pressing her lips and gazing at me sympathetically. “Did you like the waitressing gig Ben set you up with?”
“Oh—yeah, it was good.” It was how I met Roland, so yes, it was good . . . for a while. Shelia knew of Roland now after all the flower deliveries and seeing a picture of him and me together on my phone, but she didn’t know how close I was getting to him, and after finding out the rumors about him—well, I was glad I hadn’t gotten all gooey about him with her. She and Ben would have just teased me about it and looked deeper into him than I had, which would have made me paranoid.
“Good. Good,” she said.
I sighed, placing my phone down. “What’s up, Shelia?”
“What do you mean?”
“You came into my room and closed the door. You didn’t come in to talk to me about that waitressing gig. Something is clearly on your mind, so what’s up?”
She studied my eyes a moment before finally releasing a sigh and placing a hand on top of my bare foot. “Well, I’ve been talking to Ben a lot,” she started, avoiding my eyes.
I nodded, even though she wasn’t looking at me.
“And . . . we’ve been talking about moving in together.”
I blinked. “Oh.”
She peered up at me. “Don’t take it the wrong way. I love having you as a roommate. You’re my girl and you know that—but . . . well, when Ben moves in, I’m thinking maybe we’ll need more privacy, and if we have a roommate then . . .”
“No, no. I get it.”
She rubbed my leg. “I’m sorry, Mira.”
“No—stop it, Shelia. Seriously.” I grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “This is good news! You guys are taking your relationship to a new level and privacy is so important. Trust me, I get it. I really do.”
She smiled, squeezing my hand back. “I don’t want you to think I’m kicking you out or anything though! You can stay here for however long you need to until you find a steady job and a place of your own.”
“Thanks, Shelia. I appreciate that.”
“Of course, babe.” She gave my hand one more squeeze before standing. “I was thinking about hitting the Crab Shack if you want to join me? My treat,” she sang.