Page 3 of Blood Money

“He… He raped me, Carmen. I said no, but he didn’t stop.” Her face loses the little bit of bravado it had and twists into sorrow and pain. “I told Carter, and needless to say he was pissed. Malcolm came home, and everything just went downhill.”

“What do you mean downhill?” I ask. There is no reason to ask for the other details if she doesn’t want to give them. Her confession is enough for me, and I’m sure she doesn’t want to relive it.

“I didn’t do it, Carmen. Carter did, but we can’t let anyone know. This has to stay between us, understand?”

I try to calm my haywire nerves and think of a logical response because I need to be logical, not rash. “Lydia.” I step forward and rub her arm. “The police will know. Maybe it’s better to come clean now.”

She shakes her head and jerks away from my touch. “They won’t know. I burnt the house down with him inside.”

My head spirals with her confession. “What?”

“I didn’t know what to do. Carter was useless, just sitting there all quiet and in shock. I did what I thought was best.”

I walk to the bed and plop down. “Lydia… This is fucked-up.”

“You don’t think I know that? But what else was I supposed to do? I couldn’t let Carter get caught and sent away. He was only protecting me, Carmen. Me!” I look up and see her finger jabbed into her chest as more tears well in her eyes.

I stand and pull her into my arms. I’m not sure what the right protocol is for a friend confessing a murder to you. Do I call the cops? No. I can’t do that to her or Carter. Do I try and get her out of town? Is there a fucking handbook to tell you what to do? How to feel? Because I have my morals, and I know what’s right and what’s wrong, but this is Lydia, my best friend since forever.

I take in a deep breath as she sobs in my arms. “Okay.” I push her away from my chest and hold her at arm’s length. “Tell me what you need me to do.”

She nods, wipes her tears with the back of her hand, then straightens her spine. “I just needed to let it out. I can’t really confide in Carter with how he’s acting. I just needed my best friend.”

I return her nod like I know exactly what she means, when really, I don’t. I’ve never killed anyone or helped cover it up, for that matter. I don’t know what the fuck to say or do. I need her to lead me. “What do we do from here?”

“Nothing. We can’t do anything. We have to act as normal as possible.”

I raise a brow and tip my head. “Seriously? What if they start asking questions?”

“They won’t come to you with questions. If anything, they’ll want to talk to me, Carter, or my mom again. As of now, they’re investigating it as an accident, nothing else.”

“What happens when they figure out it wasn’t an accident though? There has got to be evidence of it being murder.”

Murder. I can’t believe I’m even saying that out loud like it’s just another day.

“If anyone, you should know how this town is.” She levels her eyes with mine.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Your tutor. What happened to him?” She gives me a knowing look.

Hugh Jackson. My old history tutor.

I knew at the time what I was doing was wrong, but I didn’t care, and neither did Hugh. He was too fine for his age and liked to flirt a little too much. I should have told my dad the moment it started, requested another tutor, but horny little sixteen-year-old me went with it.

It wasn’t until William found us fucking on the dining room table that our little rendezvous came to an end. He became the talk of the town, and everyone labeled him a pervert. Because he was an outsider, not one of the pillars in the community, people talked and harassed until he left town, and now, he’s not even talked about. People in Bexley Falls don’t want the name of their good town tarnished, so if they can handle shit alone without involving the cops, they will.

“I don’t see how that has anything to do with this.” I wave her off.

“If they find what’s on his laptop, I guarantee they won’t say anything. They’ll see him as a monster and drop everything, only they won’t have to run him out of town like they did Mr. Jackson. They’ll keep it quiet. You know damn everyone in Bexley will turn a blind eye.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Okay, you have a point, but what if it doesn’t happen like that? You need a backup plan, Lydia.”

“If the time comes, I’ll worry about it then. For now, let’s just act like everything is fine, okay? I need everything to be fine.”

“But everything isn’t fine.” I lower my voice to a whisper.

“Just—” She cuts herself off like she’s thinking. “Just stay with me for a bit. I don’t want to be alone.”

I exhale a breath. This could be my last moment with her. The cops could come banging on her door and haul her away within hours if they figure everything out. “Okay,” I finally reply, defeated.

She nods with a tight smile. “Thank you.”

I follow her as she puts her cigarette out and crawls into the bed, then flips on the TV. Heartbreakers starts to play, and all I can think is now I’m an accomplice.

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