The One Girl Read Online Free Page A

down to business. I’m sure you been hearin’ rumors and some of ‘em are probably true.” Talie moved to me and put her arm around my waist, so I slid my arm along her shoulders and curled her to me. God, it felt so good to feel her still here with me. Everything felt better with her close to me, and I had been worried that it would be harder to convince her to stay. Thankfully, things had finally gone my way.
    “Long story short, Talie was livin’ in New York with Drew. She faked her death in order to get out from under him, and by some twist of fate, ended up here. In his hometown. Livin’ with me.”
    I felt her stiffen beside me and I figured she probably took what I was saying the wrong way, so I turned to her and gave her just a little bit of what she needed by whispering, “Couldn’t be happier that you ended up here with me, Babe. I just mean that that’s either one hell of a coincidence or fate has one hell of a sick sense of humor.”
    Jace cut in with a question that was the beyond obvious one to ask, but it absolutely burned me up to think about. “What about Jenny?”
    My stomach churned, and it felt like someone had ripped my chest open and had a choke hold on my heart. I spoke through a tight throat, while Talie tucked her face into my body. “Talie knew Jenny. It doesn’t look good. And I’m not really prepared to talk about it yet. As far as what we need to do right now, she’s not a part of the plan we need to worry about.”
    Jace’s face was tight, but he was accepting my explanation, for now.
    Unfortunately, Ruthie couldn’t let it go as easily. “Oh my God, Nattie. She fell down the stairs didn’t she? After I fell down the stairs and you freaked out, you kept saying her name. I didn’t make the connection at the time.”
    Jesus, that was new information. I hadn’t been ready to hear exactly what happened to Jenny, and Talie hadn’t been ready to say it. When Ruthie went down the stairs, I knew Talie freaked out, but I had been too preoccupied with kicking Bobby’s ass to witness the specifics.
    Talie’s face came away from my body and with a shaking, angry voice she whispered, “Jenny didn’t fall down the stairs, and neither did you. You were both fucking pushed.” Her head fell like there was a weight attached to it as she looked down at the floor. “And both times, it was my fault.”
    Huh? Ruthie and I immediately jumped in, talking over one another.
    “Babe, how in the fuck was it your fault?” At the same time Ruthie shrieked, “Nattie! It was not your fault at all!”
    She shook her head and murmured, “Look, I know I didn’t push either of them. But I was a catalyst to both situations that played out. You know what happened with Bobby, but the situation with Jenny was remarkably similar.”
    I really didn’t want to hear this, but it seemed like Talie needed to say it, so I listened. I knew I would do anything for this woman. She needed me to be strong for her in the face of my sister’s death, and I would be. I knew she would do the same for me.
    “I showed up at her house ranting, wanting answers, and not even checking to see if Andrew was there. Things spiraled out of control and the next thing I knew he was calling someone to come ‘take care’ of her. He told them to make it look like she took off. I actually told him to kill me that night, and I thought he would. But in the end I didn’t want him to come anywhere near Kayla. So I chose the life I led.”
    I was getting pissed. She didn’t choose that life. She didn’t have a fucking choice. “Talie. You did not choose that fuckin’ life. You didn’t have a choice. A lesser person would’a put themselves first. Left Kayla to her own fate. Not you though. Never you.” I shook my head as I marveled at how deeply she loved other people.
    She went to speak but I spoke over her. “Not to mention, you weren’t the catalyst, Babe. You were the only chance of a solution . For Ruthie, it worked out.