Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 86741 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86741 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
I went back for the rest of the pictures and there were more of them. Miley walking hand in hand with Calvin. Miley kissing Calvin on the cheek. Miley holding the camera in the air and smiling as Calvin lay beside her, asleep.
“What the hell is this?” I muttered. “None of this is making any sense.”
“You’re telling me. You think Melanie was the one taking some of these pictures?”
“Yeah—she had to be.”
“So why would she say he raped her? All of this looks like some kind of dirty little secret.”
“Maybe he was messing around with both of them and things got messy. He threatened to leave both of them, but Melanie took things too far. Same way she did with Miley and Dylan.” I cupped my mouth. “She never mentioned this in her journals.”
“Of course she didn’t,” Roland grumbled. “Melanie liked an audience. She wrote for herself and her therapist. I remember hearing her on calls with him, telling him how she had something she wanted him to read. He would read what she wrote and dissect it, whether it was lies or the truth. She was playing the victim. She always had to be the victim. That’s what narcissists do.”
I collected all the pictures and stuffed them back into the box. “I think we need to pay another visit to Calvin. If he’s still home, then it proves he doesn’t know much about anything and that I was wrong and maybe the chain is just a coincidence. But if he’s gone . . . well, then we’ll have our answer. Either he did something to both of them, and isn’t saying it, or he’s helping Melanie cover this all up so she can stay hidden.”
“Still doesn’t make sense why he would do that. He ruined that woman’s life.”
“Then she ruined yours, but you still loved her, right?”
Roland clamped his mouth shut and stared at me with wide eyes.
“Yeah. I thought so.” I stuffed the box back into the closet and shut the door. “She has that kind of pull on men, I’m realizing. Ropes you in. Mesmerizes you, takes advantage, and then finds a way to fuck you over.” I sighed and turned for the door. “We should go book flights.”
We headed downstairs, and as we rounded the corner, I noticed a shadow at the front door. I paused as the doorknob jiggled. Roland swiftly grabbed my hand and forced me behind him, probably thinking the same thing I was. Someone was trying to break in.
The silhouette behind the opaque glass didn’t look like anyone we knew. The doorknob jiggled again and then the door swung open.
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
“Dylan! What the hell, man?” Roland barked when he saw his cousin coming in. Dylan was wearing a blue hoodie with the hood over his head. He stared at us, confused, then reached into the hoodie, plucking out one of his AirPods. “What the hell are you doing, man?” Roland demanded.
“Yadira told me there were leftovers,” he said, shutting the door and walking deeper into the house. He looked at me and Roland oddly. “Why the hell does it look like you two have seen a ghost?”
Roland glanced down at me, then back at Dylan.
Dylan shifted his weight on his feet. “What’s going on?” he asked, his voice more hesitant.
“I know you’re the one Melanie cheated on me with,” Roland said.
Dylan’s smile immediately evaporated. “Wh-what?”
“I’ve known for a while now, Dylan.”
He stared at Roland, stupefied.
“Look, Roland, I—I didn’t mean for that to happen. I took things too far with Melanie and I’m sorry but she—”
“I really should punch you in the face.” Roland stepped closer to Dylan, and I worried that he really was going to punch him.
Dylan threw his hands in the air. “Roland, I’m sorry, man.”
Roland glared at Dylan for a long time, then he sighed and his shoulders sagged. “Trust me, I want to punch you . . . but I can’t keep losing people, man.”
Confused, Dylan looked back at me. I shrugged and pressed my lips.
“I forgave you a long time ago.”
“You did? How long have you known?”
“I suspected it back when Melanie was still here. One minute you two were talking and friendly and the next you weren’t. I figured she was upset that you went against your word about Miley. She told me she wanted you to stay away from her, but you didn’t. And when she told me she cheated on me, it became clear to me after a while. I didn’t want to think it was true but . . . now I know that feeling in my heart was real.”
Dylan’s eyes lowered regretfully.
“I don’t want to hurt you, but I will tell you that we need your help and you can’t say no.”
“Okay.” Dylan lifted his head again, his worry fading. “Help with what?”