Page 59 of Inseparable
The air is thick with tension. “I know this wasn’t you, but I also know something happened that night. What’s going on, Dev?”
He puts his coffee down, sitting up straighter. Propping his elbows on top of the table, he angles his body toward me, biting on his lower lip. “I don’t know exactly what happened. I took off in my truck and spent the night at Zach’s. Lucas was at Riley’s house. When I got back here, he told me about finding Becky, and calling nine-one-one. They won’t let me in to see her, so I don’t know what’s going on, only that my dad is gone, and that speaks volumes.”
“What do you mean gone?”
“He hasn’t been here since that night, and I got a call from the foreman at the plant today asking why he didn’t show up for work. I checked his closet and it’s cleared out. He’s left.”
I clear my throat. “You think… do you think he did this to Becky?”
Very slowly, Dev nods, averting his eyes to the floor.
Silence engulfs us for a bit.
“Have the cops been round?”
“I took Lucas down to the station yesterday to make a statement, and they hauled my ass in for questioning, but they let me go after checking my alibi with Zach.” He scoffs. “Typical they’d instantly think I had something to do with this.”
I eyeball him. “You can’t really blame them. She’s your ex, she was found near your house, and you’re regularly in trouble for fighting.”
“I don’t fucking assault women!” He slams back in his chair. “Nice to know you hold me in such high regard.”
I stretch out my hand, touching his knee. “I know you didn’t assault her, but you’ve got to see it from their perspective. It’s not a surprise they’d want to question you is all I meant.”
He rests his head in his hands. “I could just do without this shit.”
I knot my hands in my lap. “Is she badly hurt?”
His pained eyes meet mine. “I believe so.”
I clamp a hand over my mouth. “Did he… did he…” I can’t even form the words. The thought of that man’s hands anywhere near me makes me want to puke. If he did this to her, I can’t imagine what’s she going through right now.
Dev shakes his head. “That’s not his MO. He’s all about control. He likes beating on people so they know he’s the boss.”
I jerk my head up, as certain things slot into place in my head. “Did he—”
He goes rigidly still, and his face shuts down. “I don’t want to talk about him anymore,” he snaps.
“Why do you keep shutting me out?”
His jaw stretches taut. “You can’t fix this. You can’t fix me.”
“You’re my best friend. I want to help.”
He harrumphs. “Am I really your best friend? The two of you just cut me off with no trouble.”
I swallow the bile in my mouth. “There’s been nothing easy about the last few months, believe me.”
He cocks a brow. “Tell me, how does superiority feel? I wouldn’t know, because my entire life has been spent at the bottom of the food chain.”
“Don’t be like that. Ayden and I have never treated you like you were any less than us.”
He snorts. “You fucking pushed me aside without any thought to how that’d make me feel!”
“You screwed that slut and then went exclusive with her! How the hell do you think that mademefeel?”
His nostrils flare. “Why would you care? You’re fucking him now.”
I cradle my head in my hands, groaning as I draw a deep breath. A sharp ache prods me straight through the heart. Lifting my head up, I pierce him with an earnest stare. “I didn’t want for any of this to happen. And I miss you. So Goddamned much.”
