What She Didn't Know (What She 1)

I shook my head. I didn’t know. “None of that matters right now.”

“He’s good for you.”

“He is.” I nodded.

“Everything I’ve ever done was me trying to protect you.”

“Well, now it’s my turn to protect you. I’m going to tell them. You’ll be able to go home.

She kicked the table so hard that I jumped. “You won’t tell them anything. You’ll keep all that shit to yourself, Lynn. You know why? Because if you tell them, they’ll lock you up, either here or at a mental ward, and then they’ll take your baby. Mason will have to raise him alone, because they’ll decide that you and your friends could never care for a child. They’ll keep you from him.” Spittle flew from her lips. “So for fuck’s sake, Lynn, listen to me.”

“I can’t let you rot in here.”

She laughed. “I’m not going to rot in here. I’m going to get out. I give it six months, tops.”

Even six months was too long.

“I can’t let you take the fall for

me. I just can’t. It’s wrong.”

“No,” she said quietly. The room fell deadly still. “Do you know what was wrong? Leaving you alone with him was wrong. That day, when he nearly killed you? I begged Mom to take me out. And to only take me. I wanted to be alone with her. I wanted to have her all to myself. And he nearly killed you. That’s what’s wrong, Lynn. That is why I’m staying. I owe you for all that. I owe you.”

“You don’t owe me anything.”

“I’m taking the fall for this one. And if you stir shit up, I’ll make you look so crazy that they’ll take that baby regardless. Do you understand?”

I suddenly remembered why I’d stopped talking to her. She had a way of overriding every decision I ever made. And she did it using logic.

“I’m going to be the best aunt ever!” she sang out. The guard looked into the room to be sure we were all right. I waved at him to reassure him.

“It doesn’t feel right,” I said quietly. A tear tracked slowly down my face.

“Call it my penance.” She shrugged again. “Now get out of here and go have sex with that beautiful man of yours. I hear pregnant women are really horny.”

I laughed. “I might be if I could get over the puking.”

“Eww, gross,” she said, scrunching her face.

I stared at her, seeing her as someone new. Everything she’d done, she’d done for me. She might have gone about it the wrong way, but it was for me.

“I get major points for this, right?” she teased.

“Major,” I confirmed.

“You will let me see him, right? When he gets here? You’ll let me hold him at least once, won’t you?” This time, it was her who had the tears. I reached over and wiped them from her cheek.

“I’ll let you see him. I promise. But you have to stop trying to kill people.”

She pretended to pout. “You’re no fun.”

“Can I ask you something?” I said quietly.

“I’m an open book.” She waited, smiling softly at me.

“Did you kill him?”

“Him who?” she asked, but I was pretty sure she knew.