Charlaine stood and Professor Scott moved to help her but she playfully swatted his hand away. “I’ll be back in a few.”
Kenna felt a little awkward being left alone at a table in the middle of a crowded restaurant with one of her former professors but there was no sense in objecting to the arrangement.
“What’s up with this guy who’s been following Dayton around?”
She knew precisely who he was referring to but she played dumb. The last thing Professor Scott needed was to find out one of his dearest friends was a suspect in a homicide investigation.
“What guy?” The lie fell so easily from her lips. It seemed she was lying to everyone, herself included.
“Are you doing okay? You seem tired or something. Hell, I remember how you were in class. Spry is your middle name.”
Kenna laughed and it breathed new life into her. Gave feeling to all that was numb.
“Not so great, actually. My roommate left. I hardly got a goodbye and she was gone.” Swallowing, she considered how much she wanted to reveal. “I can’t afford the apartment on my own and thanks to my … reputation, I haven’t had any luck finding a new roommate. I don’t know what to do.”
“That’s rough,” Professor Scott conceded. “Why don’t you see if you can get out of the lease early, crash at Dayton’s for a while? I know he wouldn’t mind having you around.”
“He doesn’t know.”
“You’re going to tell him, though, right? He can help you.”
Kenna internalized his words. Was he overcompensating for something, perhaps whatever Dayton had run off to take care of?
“No.” She let out a small sigh. A tired, defeated sound. “Please, don’t tell him about any of this.”
His cheeks inflated before he released the air, nodding.
Charlaine soon returned and the three of them made polite conversation throughout dinner. By the minute, Kenna grew more and more resentful of the empty chair at her side.
31
BLINK
A wave of memories drowned Kenna as she entered The Rusted Monkey. The exposed pipes and fairy lights and the bar that nearly cut across the length of the space. She’d spent many Thursdays in the bar. Talking, laughing, drinking. The scenes were far away, foreign almost. Distorted by time.
Will ran up to her as soon as she was through the door, mumbling as they walked along the aisle, “You should know, I didn’t tell anyone you were coming.”
“Why not?” she shot back.
“I was worried no one would show.”
Dayton eyed her curiously from his and Nathan’s post at the end of the bar.
She hadn’t told him she was coming, either.
They approached the wooden booth, where the other members of the Barenaked Philosophers each wore wildly differing expressions. Neutrality masked Rebecca’s face, at first, but a delayed sort of joy spread and softened her features. Liam’s forehead furrowed but the glimmer in his eyes insisted that he was conflicted by her presence. Ivy was the easiest to read and the first to speak.
But not to Kenna.
She turned to her boyfriend, hostile. “Did you know about this?”
Liam started lamely sputtering a response but Will swooped in and saved him.
“Your boy didn’t have anything to do with this. I invited her. Though, I’ll admit, Ivy, if I had known you’d react likethis, I would’ve invited Kenna a lot sooner.”
She and Will slid into Rebecca’s side of the booth. Ivy scowled at her while Liam remained quiet, passive, color flooding his cheeks.
Eyes narrowed, Dayton’s gaze flicked between herself and Will before slamming back the rest of his—water?