Page 91 of Little Bitter Truths
Before the conversation could continue any further, Mia’s phone rang.She picked it up, looked at the text message, and swallowed—hard.
“What is it?”I asked.
“Nothing.”
“Doesn’t look like nothing.Mia?”
“It’s Jeremy.”
“What did he say?”
She hesitated, but by now she knew me well enough to know I wasn’t about to drop it.
“He said: ‘I know you hate me right now, and maybe I deserve it.But please, give me a chance to talk to you in person so I can explain things better.One conversation.If you still don’t want to talk to me after that, I’ll never bug you again.’”
“Is this the first time you’ve heard from him since everything happened?”
She shook her head.
“What else has he been saying?”I asked.
“Things like he never wanted to hurt me, and he knows he handled everything wrong.He also said his feelings for me are genuine.”She shook her head, setting her phone down on the counter.“I don’t know what to do.”
“You do nothing, for now.You ignore him.He’s a suspect.Seeing him is out of the question.”
“It’s not that simple when feelings are involved.”She took a shaky breath.“Simon—I meanJeremy—listened to me.He made me laugh.He remembered things I told him, even small things.And now every memory feels contaminated.”
“That’s what deception does.”
“I know, so why do I still want to see him?”
There it was, the confession beneath the confession.
“He inserted himself into your life under false pretenses,” I said, “during a time when he knew you were grieving.Even if he had nothing to do with Wren’s murder, what he did and the way he went about it is still messed up.”
“I get it.I just?—”
I raised a hand.“Look, Mia, I can give you the same advice all day on this subject if you want, and I can warn you not to see him, but you have to decide for yourself.I’m telling you it’s not a good idea because it isn’t.”
“Part of me wants a better understanding of why he did it.”
“So let him tell youafterthe case is solved.”I leaned against the counter.“Listen to me.Right now, you are vulnerable.I’m concerned he’s trying to take advantage of that.”
“I am too.”
“Your entire life has imploded in a matter of weeks.You lost your sister.Someone tried to break into your house.That makes it easy to latch onto anyone offering comfort.”
“That’s not fair.”
“No, but it’s true.”
She picked up the phone again, staring at the messages.“What do you want me to do?”
“Stop communicating with him until this case is over.”
She looked miserable hearing it, which told me everything I needed to know.
If she did what I asked and stayed away from him for now, I’d be shocked.
