Chapter 43
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
“I told you I don’t need to go to the hospital,” I say to the paramedic for the third time, my voice hoarse from smoke inhalation.
It’s been about forty-five minutes since it happened. Forty-five minutes since my entire shop went up in flames. I sit in the back of the ambulance as the sirens flash around me, casting eerie red and blue lights across the scene. The firefighters work their hoses; water sprays over the building with a hissing sound.
The once cheerful striped awning that framed the front is half burnt and flapping in the wind. The beautiful display windows are completely blown out, shattered glass glittering on the sidewalk. There are a few flames still licking the edges of the brick and limestone, but most of the fire has gone out. The roof has caved in, and it’s now just a husk of what it was before.
I’m numb. Even as the paramedic next to me holds an ice pack on the side of my head, which has numbed the pain for the most part, it still feels as though my entire body is in shock. I can’t quite put the thoughts together.
I watch Tucker standing in his tux, talking to the police. He was there at the very last minute, when it counted, when my mother and I needed help to get those last few steps outside the front door.
And he’s here now, talking to the police, and checking on my mother, who sits in another ambulance across the street. They separated us for treatment when they arrived and I haven’t had a chance to properly thank her for what she did. My mother, of all people, is the one who saved my life. How she beat Tucker to the shop is a story I hope to hear later. In the meantime, I am just incredibly grateful that she was here when I needed her. Sure, there have been many times in my life when she wasn’t. But after today, I think I can let it slide.
Tucker suddenly turns to face me, his tuxedo tie hanging loosely around his neck. If anyone can help me rebuild the shop, I know it’s him.
I just hope he can handle the news I’m about to tell him.
Despite my throbbing head, I smile. He nods to the police officer in front of him and then heads in my direction. A few seconds later, he’s next to me, his arm wrapped around me as I sit on the stretcher in the back of the ambulance.
“I’ll give you a few minutes,” says the paramedic, stepping out of the back and walking around the side.
“How are you holding up?” Tucker asks, his voice gentle.
“I’m…I’m fine. Just…” I struggle to find the words. “It’s just the shock of it all. It’s just hard to believe that Amanda wanted me dead. That she burned down my shop.”
I hold back tears. I gave Tucker the abbreviated version right before the ambulance arrived, but there is still so much more I have to tell him. I’m still having trouble matching up the thoughts in my head with the words that are coming out of my mouth, but the more I talk, the easier it seems to get. The paramedic said I didn’t show any signs of a concussion, but I was to be monitored just in case.
“I know it’s hard right now,” he says, squeezing my hand. “The police want you to give a full statement, but I’m trying to give you as much time as I can. I told them you were still feeling lightheaded and confused.”
“What about the wedding? Is everyone there waiting for us?” I ask, suddenly remembering the hundreds of guests we’ve left in limbo.
Tucker shakes his head. “Actually, Monica stepped in and took charge of the whole situation. She told everyone that there had been a fire at the bakery and you ran back to help. She’s coordinating with Elsa, so you have nothing to worry about. I’ve been getting a few updates from her here and there. She promises that she’ll take care of everything for us.”
A little part of me relaxes. If anyone can handle this situation, it’s Monica. It gives me a whole new appreciation for her.
“There’s something I want to tell you,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper.
He looks at me, his big eyes open and caring. I wish we weren’t here in this moment. I wish instead I was looking at those eyes when we say our vows in front of a couple hundred friends and family. I lick my lips, tasting ash and smoke. I guess today wasn’t meant to go like that.
“It’s about Charlotte,” I say.
In the past, he would’ve shut me down, gotten angry, or turned away. But in this moment, he sits there, his eyes still open. He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “What is it?” he asks.
“Amanda told me what happened to Charlotte.”
He raises his eyebrows. “Okay…”
I take a deep breath, steeling myself for what I’m about to say. “The night before the wedding, Charlotte was in her condo. And…” It’s hard for me to say the next few words. I don’t know how he’s going to react, but I know he needs to know this now before anyone else finds out. “She committed suicide. She got in her bathtub and slit her wrists.”
First, his eyes grow wide, and then narrow again. I see what appears to be tears creasing the corners of his almond-shaped eyes. He looks away from me for a few seconds. I place my hand on top of his.
He looks back at me, and I can see that he’s emotional. He doesn’t say anything, but he doesn’t need to. His expression says it all.
“There’s more,” I continue softly. “Her mother found her in the bathroom. And Amanda was so worried, so ashamed, so concerned about what people would think…she covered it up. She called Zach, and he helped her get rid of the body before anyone knew what really happened.”
I see his Adam’s apple bob up and down as he swallows hard.
“Wow,” he says quietly. “Zach? And Amanda told you all this?”
I nod. “She told me everything. She was planning on burning down the entire bakery with the two of us inside.”
“And all those messages from Snaptalk? The spray paint on your shop?”
“Amanda and Zach.”
Tucker’s face suddenly darkens, his jaw clenching. “I’m going to kill him,” he growls, his hands balling into fists. “How dare he put you through this?”
I place a calming hand on his arm. “Tucker, please. It’s not worth it. The police will take care of him.”
He takes a deep breath, visibly trying to control his anger. “Why would Zach help her?”
“He was angry that I cheated on him with you. But more than that, I guess he still loved Charlotte. After all this time. And he blamed me for what she did, killing herself. They both did.”
Tucker shakes his head. “Reese, that was not your fault. You did nothing wrong. We didn’t?—”
“I know. But…they didn’t see it that way.”
Tucker shakes his head and wraps his arm around me. “I can’t believe that she covered up suicide…that Zach helped her. Why would she do that?”
“Like I said, she was worried about what people would think.”
Tucker rubs his chin. “I know that Charlotte had some problems, that she had seen a therapist, but she assured me that everything was fine. She was on medication.”
I nod. “Amanda told me the same thing. She also told me that Charlotte had stopped taking her meds a couple of months before the wedding.”
He shakes his head again, taking his thumb and forefinger to rub his eyes and the bridge of his nose. “I can’t believe that. I can’t believe after all this time I thought that she left me at the altar out of spite, out of some hatred that she had for me because…” He pauses, letting his voice drift off.
“Because of what?” I ask gently.
He looks me in the eyes again. “Because she thought we were having an affair. And to be honest, I did have feelings for you, but I would’ve never done that to Charlotte. I loved her—not in the way that I love you, but what I thought was enough at the time. I dropped her off at the condo that night. She confronted me about you, and I tried to break things off. But she broke down, begged me to reconsider.” Tears well up in his eyes again. “I thought maybe she was right, maybe I just had cold feet. And despite my growing feelings for you, nothing had happened between us yet. I did love her at one time. Maybe I could again. I agreed to go through with the wedding, even though I knew it was wrong. She must have sensed it, that it was doomed from the start. And then… I didn’t know she would…”
I lean into him and wrap my fingers around his. “You couldn’t have known, Tucker. You couldn’t have known what she was going to do.”
The two of us sit in silence, watching the lights blink and flash around us. In the time that we’ve been talking, all of the flames have disappeared from the bakery, and now it’s just smoke and steam rising up into the early evening sky. I take the ice pack that I’ve been pressing against my head and set it down on the gurney.
I stare at the group of police standing on the sidewalk, waiting for my statement. The gravity of Amanda’s confessions and Zach’s involvement presses heavily on my conscience. Part of me yearns to spill everything, to finally bring the truth about Charlotte’s death to light. Amanda and Zach should face the full consequences for their actions, right? But doubt creeps in. Will the police believe me? Without concrete evidence, it’s my word against theirs.
Then I think about Charlotte, how she never received a proper funeral. How her friends never had a sense of closure about her disappearance. It’s not my secret to bear. Taking a deep breath, I make my decision. I’ll tell the police everything. It’s time for the secrets to end, for the truth to come out, no matter how messy or painful. Whatever happens next, at least I’ll know I did the right thing.
“I think I’m ready to talk to the police now,” I say. I squeeze his hand. “Will you be all right?”
Tucker looks me in the eyes. “As long as I know you’re okay, I’ll be fine,” he says. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”