Page 107 of Freshman

“I know, okay? I was stupid…but he was never like that, there was no hint.”

She widened her eyes, and her pupils retracted to mere flecks. “You’re kidding me, right?”

“No, he…he wasn’t the monster you think he is.”

Tia tugged her phone from her jeans. She tapped her fingers at the screen, typing as she breathed heavily from her nose.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m googling him.”

Alfie widened his eyes. “What? Why?”

“Here we are,” she said. “Over the course of twenty-four hours, Nate tortured his victims. He pulled their teeth out with plyers, took their nails off with a chisel. He tied them down to chairs in the dining room, mutilated them, then when he was done having his fun, he slit their throats.”

“Tia…” Alfie turned away.

“When arrested and questioned by police why he tortured and murdered his father and his father’s friends, Anthony Horris and Jenson Tipper, he responded he killed them because he felt like it, because he liked the sound of them begging for mercy.”

“He had his reasons.”

Tia smirked. “Oh yeah, what did he tell you?”

“They hurt someone he cared about.”

“Of course he told you that, he told you that to get in your pants, Alfie, and you…you believed him.”

“Yeah, I believe him.”

“Is there any proof they hurt this person?”

He lowered his head and stared at his lap. “He…he looked out for me.”

“That’s a no then.” Tia snorted. “Just his words, that he wrapped you up in with ease. He’s a monster. Can you not see he’s used you? He seduced you, then left.”

“He tried to take me—”

“I can’t believe I’m hearing this. He tried to take you, but it was too difficult, and he dumped you in the road to die.”

Alfie bit the side of his cheek and squeezed his eyes shut.

“Where is he now? If he cared about you, where is he?”

“I…I don’t know.”

“You could go to prison.”

“I am going to prison. An ex-prison officer locked up; the prisoners will hate me, and so will the officers. I might get two years if I’m lucky, but that’s plenty of time for them to do damage. I know I’m stupid, Tia. I know I fucked up and made a mistake, but it’s happened. I can’t go back.”

“Knowing what he did, why would you even go there? Why would you even talk to him?”

Alfie sighed through his nose. “I knew he was in there for murder, and I knew what he'd done must’ve been bad, but I never read the details. I didn’t want to.”

Tia’s eyes bored into the side of his face, and when he turned to her, she wore an expression of disappointment. The look a mother would give her naïve child. “You didn’t read what he did?”

“No, I didn’t want to…hate him.”

“Alfie…he pulled his dad’s intestines out while he was still alive.”

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