Chapter Fifteen

I watched the time on the bottom of my computer screen turn from 4:55 to 4:56. Which was odd because it felt like I'd been staring at it for ten minutes. I saw a pair of legs slide on top of my desk. I glanced up at Spencer.

"Get off of my desk."

"No." He lifted up the car and began tossing it into the air. "Almost time to go. Another Monday over."

"I thought you'd still be mad at me."

"What? I wasn't mad at you."

"You sure seemed mad at me."

"I was just disappointed. How could you hide something so big from me?"

"The being gay or the dating Ryan?"

"Both, dude."

"I didn't even know I was gay until Ryan kissed me one day. I barely knew him. And then I liked him."

"You could have told me, Bren."

"I know. I should have. I won't keep anything from you ever again." There I go. Lying to my best friend again.

"You'd better not." He hopped off the desk and punched me in the arm. "I'll be waiting for you out front."

"Thanks."

I went back to staring at the time on the screen. 4:59. A few more minutes and I would see Ryan again. I wondered what he was cooking today. I wondered what he was wearing. I should really get him some clothes. Mine are too big on him. Why is he so skinny?

5:00pm

I shut down my computer and grabbed my bag from beside my desk. As promised, Spencer was waiting for me in his car. I had no idea how that guy always got out of the office so fast. I'm pretty sure he left before it was time to.

"You want to hang out this weekend?" He asked me when I got in the car.

"Yeah, sure."

"Just you and me. No Jenna. No one else."

I glanced at him sideways. "You don't like Ryan?"

"I have nothing against him. I just want to spend a little time with my best friend. And only my best friend."

"Okay, Spence. Just the two of us."

Spencer looked satisfied. We didn't speak for the remainder of the drive. He stopped in front of my house but he didn't park the car. Good. He wasn't coming in. We said our goodbyes and I turned to walk in the house. Before I could open the door it swung open. Revealing a very mellow Ryan.

"Hey." He leaned down and kissed me. "Hi." I smiled into the kiss. My mood was suddenly ten times better.

"I uh, I have something to show you."

"Really?" I smiled. "A surprise from Ryan?"

"It's not a good surprise." He said slowly.

"What is it?" My smile disappeared instantly.

Instead of speaking again, he stepped aside to let me in the house. The first thing I noticed was the old, rusty smell. It made my stomach churn. And then I saw it. A woman's body on my living room floor. Covered in blood.

I stared at the familiar face for a few seconds. Sighing when I realized it wasn't Jenna. But it was someone I recognized. The lawyer! Jessica Hamilton! I turned to stare at Ryan. My expression begging him to explain.

"Don't freak out." He took a step towards me. I took a step back. His eyes narrowed.

"What. Did. You. Do?"

"I killed her." Obviously. "She walked into your house without knocking! She recognized me. You left the fucking door unlocked!"

"So this is my fault?"

"No! But if you would have just locked the door like I always tell you to-"

"You murdered a fucking lawyer!"

"I know that!"

"Do you have any idea how stupid that is? Now I have to call the fucking cops!" His face hardened. His lip twitched downward. I sighed. "You have somewhere to hide for a few hours, right? Stay in a hotel or something."

"Y-You're not going to turn me in?"

"What? No!" What the hell was he thinking?

He walked up to me. And before I could stop him, he pulled me into a hug. "Thank you so much for that." He whispered into my hair.

"How the hell can you make me dinner from jail?" I joked. Trying to lighten the mood. Trying to forget the dead body a few feet away from me.

He let me go. "I'm going to disappear for a bit now."

"Ryan, please don't kill anyone else. At least not while you're gone today."

He looked annoyed. "That's not something you need to worry about."

"Please." I grabbed his arm and stared up at him. "Just today."

He stared down at me for a few seconds. His eyes searching mine. And then he sighed. "No more today."