Page 26 of The Editor’s Choice

Clicking the thread of messages, I realize I texted her at some point, saying we needed to talk, which then sent her into a fit of rage, judging by the messages throughout the night. The longer they went unanswered, the angrier she became from the looks of it.

The frustration is a hair’s breadth from boiling over right now. Slipping on some shoes, I head to the gym to work out some of my stress before getting back with her later. It’s only going to explode if I try to talk to her right now. One of us has got to be level-headed, and it sure as fuck isn’t going to be her apparently.

As I make my way to the gym, memories come flooding in. Memories from the first time I saw her here. How it was just an assignment. I needed to infiltrate Emily’s life somehow, and the best way I’ve found to do that is by getting close with someone your target already trusts.

Typing in my code on the lock, I glance through the front window, eyes landing on the one person I’m determined to avoid right now. Jade. Fucking hell.

She’s red-faced, sweaty, and insanely angry. Looks like great minds think alike. She looks like she’s on a war path, and I’m not ready to face that problem just yet.

Thinking better of it, I turn back toward the street, opting for a run instead. Being in the gym with her is a recipe for disaster.

“What the fuck?!” About a mile into my run, something slams into the back of my head. Turning halfway, I see the water bottle rolling slowly across the road toward the grass. Ripping my earbuds out, I whirl around, finding Jade directly behind me. And she’s furious. I swear if this was a cartoon, she’d have steam coming out of her ears.

“What the actual fuck?” I yell, stepping away from her to create some space. “What’s your problem?” My problem is that she’s absolutely breathtaking, even engulfed in rage. Somehow it brings a mesmerizing light to her eyes, making it damn near impossible to look away, even when I know I should.

“MY problem?! Oh, I don’t know, Roman,” she yells back, lifting her hand to tick off each offense. “Maybe the fact that you ditched me on our date last night! Or that you texted me saying we needed to talk and then fucking ignored me the entire night! Maybe that you’re man enough to come to the gym but too chicken shit to come inside because I was there working out!” She puts her hands on her hips, fury radiating from her.

“Did you think that maybe I got lost in my own head last night and didn’t even realize I didn’t text you back? Or maybe I wasn’t ready to see you this morning because I had shit to work out for myself first so that’s why I didn’t come in the gym? Or perhaps something came up last night and I didn’t actually want to leave our date but I didn’t really have a fucking choice?” I let the questions hang between us for a few seconds before finishing. “Of course not because that would mean it was about someone other than Jade.”

As the words hit home, her face morphs into one of both shock and rage, as well as pain. Maybe even a little embarrassment.

I spin back around and start jogging, determined to be as far away from her as possible. All I can think about when looking into her eyes now is how she murdered her best friend. How she cried to me about it, hellbent on finding out who took Emily’s life when the killer was in front of me the entire time.

Within feet, I’m bent over, puking up the little bit of breakfast I was able to choke down this morning.

I’m in love with a killer.

It takes less than a second for my brain to shift, trying to make an excuse for all of the evidence pointing to her being the murderer.

Maybe she had a good reason. It’s not like I know the whole story at this point. I’m just making assumptions. It’s easy to assume it was because of Emily and Dawson, but maybe it was self-defense. Yeah, that has to be it. My brain grasps at straws, latching onto anything that keeps me from having to let her go.

Before I’m able to spin even more out of control, she’s beside me, rubbing my back to soothe me. The thoughts go silent, as if they were never there to begin with. That’s the scary thing about whatever this is with Jade. She’s able to calm the storm inside me just by being around.

“I really need some time alone,” I say, sitting and pulling my knees to my chest. The last thing I want is for her to leave, but it’s exactly what I need right now. I can’t think when she’s around.

Silence envelops us for several seconds before she responds. “Okay,” she starts. “I’ll go. You know where to find me when you get whatever the fuck this is sorted out.”

She stands with shaky legs, looking as if it takes every ounce of will she has left to leave me here. She knows I’m fighting a losing battle, even if she doesn’t know what it’s about. She’s willing to fight these demons with me without questioning it, but in the end, my request wins out and she starts the trek back to town on her own, not bothering to look back.

Gathering every drop of energy I have left, I stand and start making my way to the overlook. I’m not sure why, but being there feels like the right place to be while I try to sort all of this out.

In 15 minutes, I’m leaning against the old metal railing, looking out at the river below. For the first time, my mind is entirely quiet. No matter how much I try to think about the situation at hand, my mind remains silent, as if there’s really not anything to think about at all.

Everything feels… final. Like there’s nothing else to be done now, other than have this conversation with Jade and move on with my life.

With a deep sigh, the heavy feeling filters in, weighing me down again. I drag my feet along the path, making my way back to my apartment.

Chapter Fifteen

Jade

“What the fuck?!” Staring down at Dawson’s phone, text messages pulled up, everything starts to go fuzzy. The texts are from Emily. My best friend.

It doesn’t take more than a minute to put the pieces together. Scrolling back, I realize this has been going on for longer than I could’ve imagined. Weeks of betrayal from both sides, the people I trusted the most holding the knife that has now been firmly planted into my back.

As I read on, my stomach begins to churn, taking in the full scope of their relationship. The texts paint a vivid scene of their life together, along with the plans for a future once I’m ‘out of the way’, as they’ve so kindly put it.

Dawson: Em, we can’t do that. She’s not a part of this.