I laughed, and then sat back with a long sigh. “I have to leave him. Matt.”
“Yes.”
“And Plumpton. I can’t stay here after.”
She put the car in drive. “You don’t want to kill him on the way out?”
“I’m not sure I ever really wanted to do that, Savvy.” My desire for revenge was fading, and slowly being replaced by a desire for a new life. My life so far had been a series of supposedly “good” choices—I met a guy in college, married him, moved back to my hometown and into a dream house. And it all turned to shit.
I didn’t want revenge so much as I wanted to find out what would happen if I made different choices. I needed to start over. I didn’t want to be the girl trapped in a marriage because I was too scared to leave, too scared of what other people would think of me if I didn’t have a shiny, enviable life.
And I didn’t want my fresh start to involve a possible prison sentence.
“Did you actually want to kill Matt?” I asked Savvy.
“Absolutely.” She flashed me a grin that made it impossible to tell whether she was serious.
“No,” I said softly, looking out the dark window. “I can’t.”
She turned onto the dirt road. “Where would we go? If we left town?”
“I don’t know. Anywhere. I’ve been thinking I should pack my bags one night while Matt is sleeping and disappear. But I don’t think I’m brave enough to go by myself.”
She smiled at me. “You know where I’ve always wanted to go?”
“Where?”
“California. Los Angeles.”
“It’s so expensive,” I said wistfully.
“It’s expensive because it’s great.” She pounded the steering wheel with one hand. “Let’s do it.”
“Seriously?”
“Yep. Like, as soon as possible. Fuck the Texas summers; I don’t want to do one more. Let’s go tomorrow night.”
My heart thumped. I’d just been dreaming, but she was going to take me up on it.
“Yes,” I said before I could change my mind.
She let out a little squeal of delight. “Okay, but if Matt comes to find you, we’re fucking murdering him.”
“Deal.”
Her smile faded as she squinted at something in the darkness. “What the hell?”
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
LUCY
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to make the rest of the memory come into focus.
But it’s fading. Savvy’s laugh, her smile, start to drift away, and all I have left is an ache in my chest.
We were going to leave Plumpton, together. I can see Savvy in L.A. She would have loved the beach and hated the traffic. We probably would have shared an apartment.
I can’t breathe, thinking about what could have been.
What the hell? What the hell? What the hell? Savvy’s words go round and round in my head. She’s in front of me, smiling as blood drips down her face. I’m trying too hard.
Through the storefront window, I can see Nina standing in front of Emmett, arms crossed over her chest. His face is red, angry. He’s yelling at her.
He left the wedding. I blink as I remember—I clearly saw his face as he turned his truck onto the road to leave.
I grab my phone from my purse. Ben picks up on the first ring.
“Hey, Lucy.”
“Didn’t Emmett say he stayed at the wedding until it ended?”
“What? Uh … yeah. Wait, wait, can I record this?”
“Fine, whatever. Just—”
“Hold on. Okay. Ask that again.”
“Emmett said he stayed until the wedding ended?”
“Yeah. Wedding went until three a.m. People saw him there. He helped organize rides for people to get home.”
“No one remembers him leaving and coming back?”
“No. He said he was there the whole time.”
“I remember him leaving. Right before Savvy and I left.”
There’s a long pause. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I got in the car with Savvy, and I clearly saw him driving past us, down that dirt road that leads to the highway. He saw me too. Our eyes met.”
“Lucy, do you remember what happened?”
“It … it’s coming back in bits and pieces. I remember parts of the wedding, and I remember getting in the car with her. We were talking about leaving. Going to Los Angeles together.”
“Were you fighting or…？”
“No. We weren’t. We were happy.” My breath catches in my throat.