Chapter 25
One Month Later
All had been quiet in Key West over the past month. No more bodies were found by either myself or The Last Chapter Killer. Perhaps he left Key West. One could only hope. There wasn’t room on this island for both of us.
Alex and I had a romantic dinner and went back to his place for the night.
I awoke in the middle of the night, dying of thirst, so I climbed out of bed and went into the kitchen for a bottle of water.
I heard a ding. And another. With furrowed brows, I looked around the kitchen and noticed Alex’s laptop sitting open on the table.
I tapped a button, and the screen lit up, demanding a password.
“What is your password?” I whispered to myself.
I’d remember Alex telling me once that all his passwords were related to literary books.
It was the only way he could remember them all.
We’d just had a conversation the other night about Shakespeare.
I pulled out the chair and sat down, resting my fingers on the keyboard.
Tobeornottobe. Incorrect password.
2beornot2be. Incorrect password.
ToBeOrNot2Be. Bingo! The screen unlocked, and a message appeared from a girl who called herself DaisyMae22.
DaisyMae22
Are we still on for tomorrow?
I clicked the message, and all of their conversations came into view. Her profile picture was of her standing in a sunflower field, with her face partially hidden by the brim of a straw hat.
DaisyMae22
I had fun yesterday.
Alex:
So did I.
Yesterday? He told me he went out with a couple of the other professors from the university.
DaisyMae22
You always know what to say.
Alex
Occupational hazard, I guess.
DaisyMae22
Do you think I’m a terrible person?
Alex
No.
DaisyMae22
Not even after what I told you?
Alex:
People are more complicated than the worst thing they’ve ever done.
What had she told him? I frowned as I scrolled up. But all the previous messages had been deleted.
DaisyMae22
Thank you for listening. I couldn’t sleep again.
Alex
Read a chapter before bed. You know my rule.
Who the hell was this DaisyMae22? Was she a student of his?
Then I carefully looked at the timestamps of the messages.
They were all sent after midnight. Her username caught my attention again.
DaisyMae22. Twenty-two. The number stared back at me with a vengeance.
I clicked on her profile. Under her bio, it read: Every story deserves another chapter.
It sounded exactly like what Alex would say.
A knot formed in the pit of my stomach. Was he cheating on me with DaisyMae22?
He lied to me about his whereabouts last night.
He was with her. And what did she mean by “Are we still on for tomorrow?” It was already tomorrow because it was three a.m. I closed the laptop and went back to bed.
Alex stirred and wrapped his arm tightly around me.
A rage I couldn’t control soared through me.
If he were cheating on me, he’d pay the ultimate price—boyfriend or not.
I didn’t sleep a wink since seeing those messages. Alex was in the shower, so I went down to the kitchen and opened his laptop to see if DaisyMae22 had messaged him again. This time, it was Alex who messaged her.
Alex
Yes. We are still on for tonight.
That bastard. I closed the laptop, made a cup of coffee, and took it over by the sliding door. Rain was pounding Key West today, and it didn’t have any plans to stop.
“Morning, beautiful.” Alex stepped into the kitchen. He walked over to me and kissed my cheek. I froze. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Good morning.” I lightly smiled. “I didn’t sleep well last night.”
“No?” How come?” He brewed himself a cup of coffee.
“I don’t know. Just one of those nights, I guess.”
“I have a remedy for that.” He grinned.
“Oh yeah?”
“When I’m not around, read a chapter before bed. It always helps to calm the mind.”
Read a chapter before bed. That was exactly what he told DaisyMae22 to do.
“Maybe I will.”
“Man, it’s really raining. Is it supposed to let up anytime soon?” he asked.
“No. It’s supposed to rain all day. That new restaurant opened on Duval Street. I was thinking we could go and try it out tonight.”
“As much as I’d love to, I can’t. We’re having a faculty meeting tonight.”
“That’s odd. Why at night?”
“Well, we professors are all busy during school hours with our students.”
“We can go after your meeting,” I said.
“It’ll be too late. Those meetings can last for hours. But tomorrow for sure.” He kissed me. “I have to run. I love you.”
I didn’t respond.
“I said I love you.”
My lips formed a small smile. “I love you, too,” I choked out the words. I took my coffee upstairs and got ready for work.
After showering, I wrapped a towel around my body and wiped the steam from the mirror with my hand. Standing there, I stared at myself.
“So, now you know,” The Librarian said.
“I don’t want you right now. Go away.”
“I’m afraid you need me, Dahlia.”
As I stared in the mirror, I saw her standing in the doorway, a leather book clutched to her chest.
“He’s cheating.”
“You believe he is.”
“I’ve seen enough to know,” I snapped.
“What are you feeling?” she asked.
“Betrayed and humiliated.”
“And?” she asked.
“Angry. I’m very angry. He’s been lying to me this whole time.”
“I need you to listen to something important,” she said. “If you let this decide your next move, it won’t be out of certainty. It will be because you’re wounded.
“I trusted him, and now I can’t even look at him,” I said.
“I know. And because you trusted him, everyone knows the two of you belong together.”
“You’re making no sense. What does that have to do with anything?” I spat.
“It means every eye would be on you. Everyone who knows both of you knows you’re dating. The moment something happens to Alex, you’re the first one they’ll speak to. You’ll be discovered.”
“I hate him,” I said. “So what do I do? He needs to be punished for his sins.”
“You don’t know the full story yet. But when you do find out and let the darkness take over you once again, you’d better be prepared for the consequences. You will lead the police directly in your path, and there’s nothing more dangerous than that.”