Listen for the Lie(32)

Ben:???????????????Did you ever see her or Savannah again?

Kyle:??????????????Never Lucy, but I saw Savvy once, about a month later. She was on the street, talking to Matt.

Ben:???????????????Do you know what they were talking about?

Kyle:??????????????No, but I remember thinking it looked intimate. He had a hand on her arm, and she was standing close to him. And I was like, “Oh, that makes sense. Savvy told me to convince Lucy to leave Matt because she’s sleeping with him.” But that was just speculation.

I swear to god though, man, it looked like something. And Lucy said that Matt was sleeping his way through the neighborhood … She might have known something was up with Matt and Savvy.

Most of the people I talked to were skeptical of the jealousy theory, but none more than Emmett Chapman.

Emmett:????????Jealous? Of what?

Ben:???????????????Some people have speculated that Savannah and Matt were having an affair.

Emmett:????????Dude, that’s ridiculous.

Ben:???????????????Why?

Emmett:????????I never saw any evidence of that. But even if they were, why would Lucy murder Savvy for that? I don’t think Lucy even liked Matt that much.

Ben:???????????????You don’t think Lucy liked her own husband that much?

Emmett:????????Uhh … shit, maybe I shouldn’t have said it like that. I just mean that their relationship was getting a little rocky.

Ben:???????????????You don’t think that Lucy might have been angry about a close friend sleeping with Matt?

Emmett:????????I don’t know. Maybe? She would have been mad at Matt too though, right? And he’s still alive.





CHAPTER EIGHTEEN


LUCY




Emmett Chapman is one of those “he was right there, dumbass,” guys.

The kind of guy you don’t notice until you’re too old and fucked up to appreciate him. Until you’re murdering people in your head (and maybe in real life, who knows?) and decide that, for his own safety and mental health, he should probably stay far, far away.

That was my rationale for not calling or texting him back after Savvy died.

It was also my rationale for not sleeping with him, back when I noticed that he might be interested. I mean, the rationale back then was technically that I was married and I’d only just stopped cheating on Matt with Kyle, but it feels similar. Using my high school best friend as an excuse to leave my husband, probably fucking Emmett all the way up in the process, is a bridge too far, even for me.

I drive downtown, park on the street, and stare at the front of the art store for several minutes. The words Creativity Is Good for the Soul! are written in big, cheerful bubble letters across the glass storefront, with little flowers and hearts painted around it.

That’s probably Emmett’s art. He was always doodling constantly growing up—in his notebooks during class, on the sidewalks with chalk, on his own skin when he was bored. He used to come hang out with me at the bar where Savvy worked and draw on napkins while I wrote.

He would draw something for each of us, sliding one napkin across the bar to Savvy, and another to me. Sometimes it would be a sketch of me hunched over my laptop, or a cheerful cartoon version of my face, or just whatever random thing was in his mind that day.

“You should really try to make it as an artist,” I’d told him one day, after he’d presented me with a napkin drawing of a dragon humping a car.

“Yeah, real high-quality stuff there,” he’d said with a snort.

“It is! Whatever happened to moving to New York and trying to work on graphic novels?”

“Well, it turns out you can fail at that from anywhere.”

“Seems like it’d be more fun to fail at it in New York.”

He’d barked out a laugh and bumped his shoulder against mine. “We should have gone together, after college. Like we used to talk about.”

I’d looked away then, because I didn’t want to think about what my life would look like if I’d gone to New York with Emmett after college instead of marrying Matt. I’d returned my attention to the dragon.

I think I still have those napkins, stacked neatly in a box in the corner of Nathan’s apartment.

I stare at the storefront.

I don’t even know whether Emmett is working today. I’m going to have to actually get out of the car to check.

Any minute now.

It takes another few deep breaths, but I finally step out of the car and into the sticky air.

I immediately regret my decision.

I’d been so focused on the store that I’d failed to look over my shoulder, a few doors down.

A group of men stand beneath a green and white awning outside a restaurant, their laughter echoing down the street. One of the men is looking in my direction, the smile slowly fading from his face.

Keaton Harper. Savvy’s older brother.

He has a beard, and a belly, but I’d recognize that death glare anywhere. One of the men notices Keaton’s gaze and lets out a loud “oh shit” when he spots me.

I quickly turn away. Emmett is standing in the window of the store, and he lifts a hand in a tentative wave.

I’m tempted to bolt back into my car, but I’ve been spotted from all sides.

Emmett points to the door, which I realize now has a Closed sign on it. I nod and walk to it. Behind me, I hear angry murmurs.