by LS Sygnet
"Unbelievable. Now you're defending something like a financial loss to the man who ruined your life?"
"You could've killed someone!"
"The place is practically automated. Nobody was there."
"Unfortunately, the law doesn't see it that way."
Johnny shook his head. "If you had told me the truth, none of this would've happened, Helen. I understand why you're upset. Take some time. Enjoy the fact that nobody's going to come knocking on the door about what happened to Rick. When you've calmed down and thought about this, you know where to find me."
I watched him leave and wondered what I could do to hasten my recovery. One thing was certain. There was no way in hell I could stick around and wait for this tenuous house of cards to collapse.
And if one thing was certain, it was the fact that now Johnny Orion and I were both living on borrowed time. Whether he intended to do it or not, his actions shattered the upright façade I've struggled so hard to maintain. He exposed the monster, the evil within me that lies beneath the cracks. How much longer would it be before the rest of the world glimpsed the real Helen Eriksson, the one that no amount of denial could hide?
I couldn't let that happen. Active avoidance is a girl's best friend. So began another delusion. I could vanish in plain sight. And when my wounds healed, the disappearance would be literal. What other choice did I have? The truth must be hidden at all costs, if there was any hope for a future that let me start over somewhere else as someone else.
It was an odd moment for Jerry Lowe's warning to ricochet through my mind. Some secrets aren't meant to remain buried... Then again, maybe it was prophetic.
Table of Contents
Beneath the Cracks
Midpoint