Page 85 of Little Bitter Truths
Mia looked at me.“You’re going to talk to him now, aren’t you?”
“I sure am.”
“Should I go with you?”
“Why don’t you go inside and grab your things?I think it would be best if I spoke to him alone.”
“You sure?I’m worried.What if he’s dangerous?”
“He’s angry,” I replied.“There’s a difference.Once I speak to him again I’ll have a better sense of who he is and whether he poses a threat.”
Mia went inside the house, and Adrian’s front door opened.He walked back to the truck, grabbing what looked like a stack of papers off the passenger seat.He rolled them up and turned toward me again, staring.I stared back, our eyes fixed on each other.
Something about him felt wrong.
Not necessarily murderous.
But there was no denying the tension that lived inside him.
He cupped a hand to the side of his mouth and shouted, “Can I help you with something?”
Why yes, Adrian.
You sure can.
33
“Ineed to speak with you,” I shouted.
Adrian frowned.“About what?”
I crossed the street, taking in the property as I approached.Adrian’s yard was polished and meticulous.There wasn’t a blade of grass out of place and not a single weed in the flowerbeds.It was the kind of yard maintained by someone who either liked order or needed it.
“Your yard is nice,” I said.
“If you say so.”
Tough crowd.
He crossed his arms, staring at me, but he said nothing.He looked exhausted, and there were dark circles beneath his eyes.
“You look tired,” I said.
“You walked over just to tell me that?”
“I’m here to talk to you about Mia.”
A breeze moved through the street, stirring the leaves in the trees overhead.
“Let me guess,” he said.“She told you about Moose.”
“She did.”
“Then I guess you know that he kept getting onto her lawn, which I apologized for, more than once.”
“You may have said sorry, but it continued to happen.”
“I’m not sure what you expect me to say.Dogs aren’t perfect.”
