Page 57 of The One Before

Coop clenches his fists. “Just wait,” he tells me, then marches downstairs.

When he’s gone, I slide the knife I’d hidden under my chair into my bag. I’d sat on it during the entirety of our conversation, just in case. Then I follow him.

“Morning, sunshine,” Regina says, clearly not having picked up on the mood between us. Or maybe she has and is just glorying in it.

“Madison, don’t leave,” Coop says, grabbing my arm. I pull away from him and get into my car. As I back away, Coop and Regina stare, both wondering what I’ll do next.

Forty-Three

Madison

I’m not sure where to go. All my connections in Whisper Falls are through Coop. I drive, following the signs to I-40, then eventually Knoxville. People in Whisper always refer to it as ‘the city’. It’s not my city, but that’s okay. I just need different scenery, so I can think.

An hour seems to have passed in twenty minutes. My brain has been preoccupied, replaying every syllable of my conversations with both Coop and Helena. I pull off the interstate, following the rows of cars in front of me. I’ve driven past four red lights when I spot a familiar restaurant chain and park. I request a seat on the patio and order a drink. Sorting this situation on my own hasn’t produced results. I need someone else’s thoughts, and the only person I can trust is Beth.

“You miss the hustle and bustle of the city?” she asks when she answers my phone call.

The sound of her voice makes me burst into tears. “More than anything.”

“Madison, what’s wrong?”

“You remember what Coop told me about his ex-girlfriend who died? Celia?”

I tell her everything. How the people in my new hometown act as though Coop is responsible for Celia’s death. How Helena deceived me for weeks in an attempt to turn me against him. That part of what she’d done worked because I no longer trust him. I tell her about the pictures I found and our angry confrontation. When I finish, I’m out of tears and Beth is something she never is: speechless.

“What do you think I should do?”

“Honestly,” she begins, then waits. “I think it’s bullshit.”

“Which part?”

“The part where Coop is some girlfriend-killing madman. He’s a standup guy. The type to nurse injured cats back to health and help old ladies across the street. Could he put on that image and still be violent? Sure. Tons of people do it. We only show one facet of ourselves to the people around us. Very few see underneath the mask.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” I ask, wondering if I’ve seen the wrong side of Coop this whole time.

“If you need a Hallmark card, I’m sure there’s a Walgreens down the street.” She snorts. “What I’m saying is you’re one of the few people Coop has let in, from the sounds of it, ever. These angry simpletons and grieving mothers only see what they want to see. You have the full picture. Do you think he’s capable of murder? Of hurting these women?”

“No. I don’t. But I can’t very well trust my emotions on something like this. People are content in relationships all the time only to find out their spouse has a secret family or a lover or worse.”

“Yeah, but there’s usually a lot of heads in the sand before those revelations are made. You’re not like that, Madison. Hell, I’m surprised you made it this long without snooping through his things.”

“I did look once before. I felt so guilty I vowed never to do it again.”

“Okay, so that’s the lesson in all this. Some good can come from being nosy.”

“Do you search Matt’s things?” Their relationship is perfect; I can’t imagine him giving her reason to be suspicious.

“Are you kidding me? I have all his passwords memorized. I know where everything is in our house, even the things he thinks he’s hidden from me. But he knows all my stuff, too. Our lives are together. We should be able to go through each other’s things on a whim and not find anything.”

“That’s what bothers me,” I say, wiping the tiny droplets sliding down my glass. “I’m afraid he has something to hide.”

“Coop’s past isn’t the cleanest. You have questions and he can’t fault you for asking. Honestly, I can see why he didn’t tell you about girlfriend number two. The idea two of his relationships ended under mysterious circumstances would scare a lot of people off.”

“Should it scare me off?”

“You’re the only person who really knows. Do you think the man you’re about to marry is dangerous? Or are you considering walking away because everything is too coincidental?”

“Anytime we’ve talked about Celia, he’s seemed genuine. When I asked him about Laura, he was upset, but I believed him. I think he was more scared of losing me.”

---