I groan loudly. That feels like forever ago now. “Oh God, Thomas, that was a nightmare.”
“It didn’t go well then? That’s a shame, I had really high hopes.”
“So much has happened, Abbi, it’s got really crazy.”
“Well, just start from there. Tell me what went so wrong with Thomas.”
“He was boring, Abbi. That was the first problem.” Actually, this was a good idea. As I try and think through the fog to get to where Thomas and I were, my brain becomes a little clearer. “And he was rude as well. He was arrogant throughout, only really bothering to talk about how wonderful he is.”
“Urgh, I hate that sort of guy. The sort who thinks everyone gives a shit only about them.”
“Yeah, and then when he dropped me off, he got a bit mad because I didn’t want to have sex with him.”
“Why the hell would you want to have sex with him?” Abbi exclaims, horrified. “It was date one.”
“He holds on to the assumpt
ion that because he paid for dinner, I owe him.”
Abbi shakes her head hard and hands me a drink. I sip it gently, blanching at the amount of sugar in this drink. I know they say that sugary tea is good for shock, but I think Abbi has taken that too far.
“Okay, so that didn’t work out. Is that what happened last night when you called me?”
“No. That wasn’t it. That was before all of that.” Oh God, the closer we get, the worse I feel.
“Okay, because if he’d made you that upset, I would have absolutely kicked his ass.”
I let out a little sound that’s almost a laugh. I can just imagine Abbi tracking him down on the app to kill him. “I know you would, but it wasn’t that which upset me that much. It was this mess with Carter.”
“Carter?” Abbi’s eyes widen with surprise. “Something happened with him?”
“The date made me realize just how much I like him. I know it’s stupid, I’m aware of how complicated it can be, but I can’t help my feelings. I just like him so much. He just… he isn’t like anyone else, you know?”
“I knew it! And I knew it would be awesome as well. I could just see how much you liked him… oh.” Realization crosses her face. “But you were crying. Why were you crying? What did he do to you?”
“Well, he had a meeting with his ex-wife and I thought they were getting back together. I was all worked up because I assumed that I lost him, which was why I called you…”
“But…?” Abbi asks me curiously. “It seems like there’s more to this story.”
“There is.” I gasp a couple of times, knowing that I’m getting to the bad bit. “There is more. And it isn’t good. Well, it is with Carter and me, we talked and we sorted it all out. It was all just a bunch of misunderstandings. We actually got to a really good place but then… but then…” I can’t get the words out, tears are falling.
“Oh, God, what’s going on?” Abbi jumps up and comes to my side. She wraps her arms around me.
“We were… were walking back to his house after reconciling and everything was amazing. But then something happened. We saw something and… and I don’t know what to do with that information.”
Shit, I feel sick. The images of that murder make me want to fall apart.
“Raelyn, you need to tell me what’s going on here. I can’t help you unless I know what happened.”
“We saw someone get killed, Abbi. I don’t know how else to put it. These guys started arguing and then one stabbed the other.” God, it’s like a rush of everything spilling out of my mouth. “It all happened so quickly. And then I screamed, or I made a noise, or I did something, I don’t know what. And the killer saw us. He… he brandished the knife at us and he started chasing us. He wanted to kill us, Abbi. Seriously.”
“Are you kidding me?” Abbi is completely shocked. “You saw someone be killed?”
“We did, and now I’m all messy about it. I don’t know what the fuck to do.”
“What did the cops say? You must have been at the police station all night? Oh God, and you’re going to have to deal with a trial and everything, aren’t you? Unless the asshole pleads guilty of course…”
“Abbi, we didn’t go to the police.” I need to stop her in her tracks before she gets too far with this.