Chapter 53

“I heard the rumors but—I didn’t think they were true.”

“They weren’t! They aren’t!” Connie took a step forward. “It was just this once, Emily, I swear! It was just—I just wanted to see. That’s all. It doesn’t mean anything, honestly, it’s nothing. You know me—you know I’m not like that.”

Neither of them looked my way. I doubted either of them even noticed I was there.

“I know you’re not,” Emily sniffled, “You’re my sister. You can’t be…”

“It’s not like that at all. Alex is—Alex is my friend—”

I think Connie would have done anything at that moment to keep her sister quiet. Anything at all. She would have begged, she would have pleaded, she would have implored. Luckily, she didn’t have to. Emily cleared her throat, still focused on Connie alone, and with a firm voice, she tugged away everything that ever mattered.

“You should leave,” she said, voice venomous, and her eyes briefly flickered to me. “We need to talk.”