Chapter 69
CHAPTER 69
Fifteen Years Ago
2:38 a.m.
Jason
“Something bad happened to Sarah,” Jason said, his voice low and shaky.
Panic and anxiety swirled through his veins, making him dizzy and strange, like he was floating outside his body.
Alex frowned, staring at him. “What the fuck does that mean?”
Jason bristled at Alex’s tone. He hated how Alex talked to him, like he was a stupid child, an ignorant idiot who didn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground. Alex was a fucking malignant narcissist who believed he was smarter than everyone else and could get away with whatever he wanted. The truth was that Alex was bold and manipulative. He took risks and wasn’t scared of shit. He could fool you into thinking that he knew what was best for you even if what he thought was the worst thing in the world.
But, still, Alex was a good friend.
Jason could trust him with the truth and so he said, “We … were together. Me and Sarah.”
Alex asked, “Together? What do you mean?”
Jason blinked back tears, biting down on his lip so he wouldn’t sob, shouting his guilt and shame. “We had sex.”
Alex laughed. “How is that bad? Wait. Was it good? Did she like it? Did you like it?”
“Sarah wasn’t … “ Jason hesitated, struggling to get the words out.
“Wasn’t what?”
“Sarah was sleeping.”
“Sleeping?”
“Unconscious,” Jason whispered, the words spilling from his lips. “Sarah was unconscious.”
“How did you have sex if Sarah was unconscious?” Alex demanded.
Jason looked away, repulsed with himself, revolted by his actions.
Alex said, “Don’t feel bad, okay?”
Shocked, Jason stared at him. “But I?—”
“Trust me,” Alex said. “She wouldn’t have said no.”
Feeling somewhat less pathetic, Jason said, “I think somebody drugged her. That’s why she was stumbling. That’s why she couldn’t walk and Grace had to help her upstairs. So, then I followed them, like you told me to, into one of the bedrooms. I hid in a closet and then Phil came?— ”
“Phil?”
Jason nodded. “Phil slapped Sarah. Hard.”
“Wait.” Alex stopped him. “Are you serious? About Phil slapping Sarah?”
Jason said, “Yeah.”
“And you saw Phil in the bedroom with Sarah?”
“He was sitting on the bed next to her …” Jason said, rage filling him once again at the memory of Phil caressing Sarah’s cheek. “And then … Phil hit her … and then … ”
“Don’t say another word,” Alex warned. “Just let me think.”
“What’s going to happen?” Jason asked, worried.
“I’m going to fix this,” Alex said.
The panic returned, liquefying his limbs. “How?”
“Don’t worry.” Alex smiled, a sinister grin that matched the malevolence in his dark gaze. “I’m going to make this work for us …”