“Do you really want to talk about my internship?” She barks back at me, dropping her hair against her shoulder.
“You’re right. Why did you leave? Why did you ignore all of my calls?” She lets out a sigh.
“I couldn’t be around you. Ryan threatened me. He said he would hurt you if I didn’t leave you alone. I thought he was probably monitoring my phone and your phone. I didn’t know how dangerous he was, but I didn’t want him to hurt you.”
I feel the tightening in my throat as she continues.
“I tried not to tell anyone, hoping that maybe if I just disappeared for my internship, he would leave you alone. It didn’t make it easier how we left things, the emails you sent nearly broke me to read, but they are what kept me going.”
She stops talking, rubbing a tear from the top of her cheekbone as several more continue rushing from her eyes.
“I wish I would’ve known. I should’ve known.” I scoot to the side of the couch closer to her, picking her hand up from her lap.
“I’m sorry all of this happened. I should’ve just went after what I wanted, but I was so consumed in making him go away.”
“Why did he come after you anyway?” She chokes out.
“Carter and I had followed him for months, knew he was part of a drug ring, and got the DEA involved. When we went to make the bust, it wasn’t him. He caught on to our plan.”
She shakes her head in disbelief, “You almost got yourself killed.”
“I needed him gone. I needed you safe.”
She squeezes my hand, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was leaving. The internship seemed like the perfect opportunity. I was away from you, but as much as I tried, I couldn’t fill the void, not even with pictures. You wanted to keep me safe, and I wanted to keep you safe. Kind of ironic.”
We make small talk for a while about the internship, what it entailed. She seems genuinely proud of her work on the west coast. We laugh about both being over there, but at separate times, as much as I feel our reconnection, I can tell she is still guarded. I want to pull her into my arms. I want to kiss her. I want to give her the ring that has been in my dresser drawer for months. I want everything with her. I decide against throwing a proposal at her right now, our history doesn’t guarantee our future, and truthfully, I’m afraid she will think I am certifiably insane.
Maybe I am. So I change the subject with a bombshell.
“Jake Russell was my dad.” She sucks in a breath, moving to the couch.
“Judson. Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. He knew, and Ryan knew. He left me a note.”
“Oh, my gash.” She breathes.
“I think Ryan had Russ killed.” I think back to Ryan’s words on the dock before pushing me into the water.
“Did you tell the police?” She pleads.
“No, honestly, I’ve been playing it over and over in my head, and it just now hit me.”
“What did he say?” She asks.
“He said that he would have to do it himself this time, right before he pushed me into the water.”
Her eyes go wide, and mine glass over. Her arms wrap around my neck, and my face buries into the shoulder of her sweatshirt. I could stay in this exact spot for as long as she’d let me, but instead, she pulls away.
“You need to tell them.”
I shake my head and look to my sock covered feet, I know I need to do something about it. Her phone chimes and she yanks it up quickly, glancing at the screen, then at me.
“I’m sorry, but I have to go. Can we finish this tomorrow?”
She wants to leave? She has been acting so strange since last night at the hospital. Always in a hurry, she looks depressed and tired.
Before I can stop the words from barreling out of my mouth, they explode, “Is that your other boyfriend?”