Page 14 of One of Our Own

But there was nobody on the other end. She was already gone. Had she gotten into the bathtub, or gone for the gun?

A pit opened in my stomach.

A bath wasn’t going to help her with anything. Not really, but I was running out of things to say. I wanted to tell her how many nights I spent plotting James’s death while he was in prison. Imagining what I would do—how badly I’d torture him—if they found him not guilty, or if his lawyer could somehow get him out of there. The only reason I was able to live freely now was that my attacker couldn’t hurt me any longer. If he hadn’t landed in prison without parole? I might’ve taken matters into my own hands.

But I didn’t tell her that. I couldn’t. No matter how much I wanted to bury it, to return to the life we’d lived just twenty-four hours before, I couldn’t deny that we might be talking about my son.

CHAPTER EIGHT

I waited until five minutes after eight, and then I called Shai’s mom. “Hey, Ruby,” I said when she picked up. I’d texted her earlier to see if she could talk.

“Hi, Felicia, is something wrong? Your text kinda freaked me out.”

I laughed nervously. I didn’t want to be doing this. It was silly. It didn’t seem nearly as serious in the light of day. Lots of drama happened at teenage parties, right? Just because Shai and Hunter got into a fight on the same night as the girl’s attack didn’t mean those two things were connected. That’s what I’d kept telling myself. “Actually, I’ve been meaning to call you for a couple weeks. You’ve been on my to-do list! But I’ve had a huge trial, so I’ve been working eighteen-hour days.”

“Oh gosh, I don’t know how you do it,” she said. “What’s up?”

“Do you remember the night of the Worthington football game?”

“The Worthington football game?” She considers it. “You mean, did I go?”

“No, just, do you remember that night? The boys went to a party after the football game, and planned to stay the night over at your house? They had the trip to Stout in the morning.” I tried to prompt her memory, hoping she could provide me with someclues to put my mind to rest. I had to find some peace. Some kind of resolution. I couldn’t keep living like this.

“The one where they all wore their pajamas?”

“No, I think that was the following week.”

She laughed. “Jeez. These kids have quite the social life, huh?”

“They’re definitely living their best lives, that’s for sure.” I laughed in return. “The reason I was asking about it is because Hunter was supposed to stay over with you, and I guess him and Shai got into some kind of a fight that night. I ended up coming to pick him up at, like, two in the morning. He looked pretty rough, and he said he wanted to come home because they’d gotten into a fight.”

“They’re fighting?” she asked in disbelief. “Hunter just stayed here last weekend.”

I laughed again. “I know. I guess it’s a guy thing, right? Like they can just fight it out and go back to being friends the next day? Apparently, they’re not like women, who have to ignore each other for days and turn everyone else against whoever they’re mad at, too.” I was trying to lighten the mood.

“I had no idea they were fighting,” she said.

“I mean, they’re not. At least I don’t think so. They seem totally fine now,” I assured her.

“So they worked it out?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry, what’s the problem then? I’m not sure I’m following you.”

I took a deep breath. “I was just wondering if you remembered anything about the fight, or what they fought about. Like I said, I’d wanted to ask you about it before, but I’ve been so busy I haven’t had the opportunity until now.”

“When you say ‘fight,’ do you mean an actual physical fight?”

“Yes, Hunter said he hit him.”

“Shai hit Hunter?” she asked incredulously.

“According to Hunter. That’s really why I was calling. And don’t feel bad, he’s totally fine—I was just trying to figure out what happened for the two of them to get into it like that. They’ve never fought like that before, so I figured it had to be something major. I’m just over here being a private investigator, you know?”

“Hmm… that is strange, but if it was the weekend before the pajama party, then I don’t think Hunter even came home with Shai. I was out of town on a business trip, and Corbin was the one on kid duty. He would’ve picked them up, but I’m pretty sure Hunter wasn’t with him. Let me text him quick and see…”

I waited while she tapped out a text to her husband. My stomach was in knots. I was so torn. I wanted to know, but at the same time I didn’t.

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