“Do you feel safe with him?” she interrupts. “Are you comfortable around him?”
“He’s my best friend!” I insist. “Of course I feel all those things with him.”
“Then maybe forgetting Anton is the first step.”
I have no idea what to say to that. So I don’t say anything at all.
Freya gives me a smile. “I’m not trying to be a bitch, you know,” she says. “I’m just trying to show you what’s right in front of your face.”
“Yeah. I know.” I nearly jump a foot when my phone starts ringing.
Freya laughs. “Who is it?”
“Not sure,” I say when I glance at the screen. “It’s an unknown number.”
Freya jerks upright. “Do you think it’s him?”
“Anton?” I stare down at the phone, wondering if he’s on the other end. It makes me feel close to him, though I have no idea if I’m right. I’m not sure if I want to throw the phone across the room or squeeze it to my chest.
Freya holds out her hand. “Let me answer it just in case.”
“I got a new phone,” I remind her. “And a new number.”
“He might have more resources at his disposal than we realize. Let me answer it.”
I’m too flustered to argue with her, so I pass the phone over. She answers the call, using a deeper tone than her usual tempo.
“Hello?” Her frown relaxes a second later. “Oh, Chris. It’s just you…”
I exhale along with her and reach for the phone.
“She’s right here,” Freya says. “Hold on.”
I take the phone while Freya sinks back down into her seat and pulls her own phone out. “Hey Chris,” I say, craving the sound of his voice. “Whose phone are you calling from? I don’t have this number saved—”
“I don’t have my phone on me,” he says urgently. “Be normal and make some excuse to walk away. Do it now.”
I freeze, rattled by his tone. “Um, okay, cool,” I say, trying to sound as casual as possible. “I’m gonna take this outside,” I say to Freya.
She gives me a nod but doesn’t look up from her phone. As I walk, I blab on about the house and England, about the flight here. I talk about everything and nothing until I’m far enough away from the house that I can be sure Freya won’t be able to hear us.
“Okay,” I say, dropping my casual tone. “What the hell is going on? Why do you sound so freaked out?”
“Where are you right now?”
“You know where I am. I told you last—”
“Where’s Freya?”
“Back in the house where I left her,” I say impatiently. “Why?”
“Jessa, I don’t think she’s who she claims she is.”
My heart clenches. “What are you talking about? Of course she is.”
“Jessa, I’m fucking serious. I’ve had an uneasy feeling about her since we met. And since you decided to leave the country with her, I decided to… to do some digging.”
“What does that mean?”