15. Veronica
CHAPTER 15
Veronica
A few days have passed since I had the honor of seeing Leo, and it went how I assumed it would. I knew he’d be angry with me, but I wasn’t expecting him to be so hellbent on revenge.
The look in his eyes after he threatened me showed he could have it in him. However, I don’t think he will follow through with it, and I will ensure he doesn’t. I wasn’t lying when I informed him of the reason for my return. I did come back for him.
I had been laying low in Seattle, making sure no one was following me and watching over his family. I’d follow them around town, and one specific night, Chloe and Myles had gone to dinner, and I invited myself.
Not with them, but I did sit at the table directly behind them.
The music in the restaurant was low enough for me to overhear their conversation. They were talking about Leo and how he would be released in the next few months.
That information piqued my interest since they had only been talking about her son and the upcoming wedding. Two topics I could care less about. But when they began discussing Leo, they had my full attention.
After that dinner, I inserted myself into Chloe’s life. She had been on a break from work, visiting the local coffee shop for her daily pick-me-up. I casually bumped into her as she left, her coffee dropping from her hand.
I apologized profusely, stating how horrible I felt that I wasn’t watching where I was going. She kept telling me it was alright, that it wasn’t a big deal. Even after that, I offered her a new coffee, which she accepted.
We began talking, and I played the part perfectly so that she would like me and for us to get along. It wasn’t long until she put my number in her phone and asked if I wanted to grab lunch someday.
Since that incident six months ago, we have become great friends.
While waiting for Chloe to show up for our lunch date today, I wonder how hard it would be to snatch her phone and steal Leo’s number. It shouldn’t be too hard.
Shit, I could most likely ask Chloe for Leo’s number, and she would gladly hand it over.
I slide out my phone, which is not the burner Slater provided, and open my contacts. I only have a few names on the list.
Lance, the stoner from my escape, wanted me to reach out if I ever wanted to meet up. Francesca, who I don’t plan on speaking to ever again, even if she blows up my phone occasionally, but I felt like I should add her to the list to make it seem like I have friends. In case someone takes my phone.
Slater is on there, but he rarely calls me on my personal. Sometimes, he forgets which number is which, though.
Then I have Chloe’s number, of course, and one other.
Stephanie’s name stares back at me on the screen. I’m not sure why I added my sister’s contact information to my phone. Do I plan on calling her? I don’t know. Maybe I only have her in there for the same reason I put Francesca’s in: to fill up the phone.
I wonder, though, if I were to call Stephanie, what would she say? Hell, what would I say? The idea of calling her has been festering in the back of my mind, but I always put it off. If I were to contact her, she would most likely get me sent back to the asylum.
And I am not going back there.
As I stare a hole into my sister’s name, a different image inserts itself into my mind.
The Polaroid photo I found in my apartment.
Someone had slid it under my door late at night. When I saw it and picked the photo up, my entire body froze. I stared at the image of me looking out of my apartment window, suddenly not feeling safe in my own home.
I hear the sound of footsteps growing louder as they approach. My eyes lift from my phone, clearing my mind of the issue I’m currently dealing with, and I find Chloe offering me an apologetic smile before saying, “I’m late. I’m sorry!”
“It’s not a problem,” I respond with a smile, locking my phone. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes.” Chloe hangs her purse on the back of the chair before sitting. “The doctor’s appointment ran longer than expected.”
My eyes drop to her growing stomach, concern lighting my gaze. “Is the baby okay?”
I may not like children or people, but I have grown to be okay with the presence of Chloe. And I may be a crazy lady, but I don’t want anything to happen to her or the baby. That would be terrible.
“Oh, yeah! Everything with the baby is okay!” She lets out a sigh of relief and opens the menu. “The doctors just wanted to do a couple of extra scans to make sure my baby girl is doing well. She’s growing like a weed!”
“That’s good,” I relax back in my chair. “Have you thought of any names yet?”
She rests the menu halfway on the edge of the table, the bottom of the plastic hitting her lap. With a nod, Chloe picks up the water glass and takes a generous gulp.
“Myles and I have talked about it. We aren’t set on a first name, but the middle name will be Jennifer. After my mother.”
My heart twists in my chest at the reminder of the woman she lost. Mainly the memories of when Leo found out their mother was sick. He was a mess—heartbroken.
“I love that.”
“Me too. I haven’t told Leo yet, but I think he will be happy about it.” Her soft smile widens as her eyes drop to the menu again. “So… you two had a good time at the party?”
I bite my lip, playing the shy role. “Yeah. He was nice.”
“He is the best,” she agrees, then continues, “I knew the two of you would be into each other. I wasn’t expecting to find you guys alone in the bathroom, though.”
A smirk plays on her lips, but she doesn’t meet my eyes. “We were only talking. The kitchen was crowded, and we wanted a quiet place to talk.”
“Mhm, if you say so,” she teases. “Have you two talked since? Maybe made plans to hang out?”
“No.” I shake my head with a sigh. Now is the perfect time to get what I want. “I never got his number.”
Chloe flicks her eyes up to mine. “I’ll text it to you!”
“Perfect.” I smile broadly at her before moving my attention to the menu, glancing it over as if I don’t already know what I’ll be getting until a man walks in and catches my attention. Blonde hair and blue eyes that are oh so familiar. “I didn’t know Myles was joining us.”
Chloe snaps her head up, her brows dipping in confusion as she peers over her shoulder to see her fiancé strolling toward us with a wide grin. “He wasn’t.”
We watch as Myles takes a chair from an empty table and joins us at ours, which is set for two. The pathway between tables is already tiny, but with how Myles positions himself, there is almost no room to walk. He wastes no time kissing Chloe and then gets settled, looking sideways at her menu.
“Myles, what are you doing here? And where is Carter?”
He waves her off. “He is spending time with his uncle. I thought it would be nice to surprise you.”
She quirks an eyebrow. “You never join on my girls’ dates.”
“Are you not surprised to see me?”
“No, I am. I just wasn’t expecting you.”
“Hence the definition of surprise!” He smirks, then looks at me. “Hello, Camille .”
I don’t miss the hostility in his voice. It makes me hold back my smile at his tone.
I’ve only met Myles once while playing Camille's role. It was brief and intentionally so. At the time, I didn’t want to be around him because I was worried he would see past the changes I’d made.
Luckily, he had no clue the first time we met, but now, I’m assuming Leo enlightened him about who I truly am. Given the heat in his eyes, my assumption is correct.
“Hi, Myles. It’s good to see you again.” Chloe smiles at my nicety, but Myles swallows hard at the innuendo. “You surprised me, by the way, and I am totally okay with you crashing our girls’ date.”
He hums as the waiter appears to take our order. Once the food is in, Myles brings his attention back to me, clasping his hands together and resting them on the table. We hold eye contact for a brief second before his mouth opens.
“Camille, tell me about yourself.”
“Myles!” Chloe almost chokes on the sip of water she’s drinking.
He tilts his head and smirks before he continues, “You’ve been friends with my fiancé for how long? I’ve only met you once, and you’re being set up with my best friend. I want to know more about you.”
Chloe huffs a small, embarrassed laugh and says, “Sorry about him; he’s very protective of his best friend.” She eyes Myles, letting him know everything is fine.
“Chloe, it’s okay. I get where he is coming from.” I look back to Myles and offer a smile. “Well, what do you want to know?”
“Where are you from?”
“I’m from a small town in Colorado. I used to work at this cute boutique in the town square. Chloe, you would have lov?—”
“You’re from Colorado, huh?” he interrupts.
“Born and raised.” I nod, lifting an eyebrow.
“Ugh, I’m so jealous! The only time I’ve traveled was for family vacations.” She pouts until an idea forms in her mind. “Myles, can we take the kids on family tri?—”
“Yeah, sure, that would be fun,” he snaps, his eyes never leaving mine.
Chloe exhales a breath of disbelief. I turn to her and see the steam rising from her head as she glances at Myles.
“What made you want to move?” he rushes out.
“I loved it there, but I wanted to see more of the world, and when the opportunity presented itself, I took it.”
“Yeah? How long have you been traveling for?”
“Mmm, about three years.”
“And what made you settle down in Seattle?” he follows up quickly, not a second to waste.
I love how he presumed I was here to stay rather than passing by on my travel journey. I guess now that Leo is back, I am settling.
“I was only visiting, but I ended up falling in love with this city. Thought I’d stay for a while.”
“That’s the only reaso?—”
“Myles!” This time, Chloe interrupts Myles, her eyes shooting daggers at him. “You aren’t going to invade our lunch to question her!”
He looks at her apologetically, that tough exterior immediately turning soft. She faces me and apologizes for his interrogation before saying, “I need to use the restroom. That is one thing I don’t miss about being pregnant. Myles, will you walk me over?”
“Yeah, of course.” He walks behind her, turning his head slightly to keep an eye on me.
Unfortunately for them, the bathroom is only a few feet away, so I can hear her laying into him. “What was that about?”
“Nothing. I was just trying to get to know her, you know, to make sure she is here for the right reasons,” he replies.
“Okay, well, don’t do that again. Now you will apologize to her for acting like a crazy person and behave while I’m in the restroom.”
“Of course. Sorry, Chloe, won’t happen again,” he reassures her, giving her a peck on the forehead.
Myles walks back to our table and sits down, smiling at Chloe. He whips his head around once she is out of sight, bringing his fiery eyes back to mine. “What are you really doing here, Veronica ?”
“It’s cute that you are concerned for Leo.” I pick at a piece of bread sitting on a small white plate.
“After what you did to him? Of course I’m going to care that your crazy ass is back in town.”
“You don’t have to worry, Myles. Leo and I already talked.”
“I doubt he had anything nice to say about you being here,” he spits.
I shrug. “He’ll come around.”
“No, he won’t. I told him to call the asylum or the police to lock you back up.”
I snap my eyes at him, pausing the movement of my picking out the center of the bread. “What did he say to that?”
“He said no. Told me not to call.”
“Good.” I resume my picking. “And Chloe? Do you plan on telling her all about me?”
“God, no,” he huffs. “She doesn’t need to stress about being friends with a psychopath.”
“Sociopath,” I correct him.
“Same fucking thing.” He rolls his eyes. “I swear to God, Veronica, if you lay a finger on Chloe…”
“I would never,” I assure him almost immediately, my eyes radiating sincerity that hopefully he sees.
“If you do anything to harm anyone that I love, I’ll call the asylum and have you locked up tight.”
His eyes are fierce, and he means every word he speaks. He will have to catch me before I go back to that fucking place.
Before I can respond, Chloe and the waiter grace us with their presence. The food in front of me looks appetizing, but I’m no longer hungry. I can’t sit here and not touch the meal I told Chloe I was super excited about, so just as I pretend to be Camille, I pretend to be starving and eat my food.
I sit silently, taking small bites of my food while she and Myles talk. My mind is running with thoughts of Leo; they are so loud, rattling around my brain, making it so that I don’t hear Chloe when she says something to me.
She says my name, pulling me from my thoughts. I glance up, slowly chewing on a piece of the burger. “What?”
“I told Myles it would be fun to do a double date! The four of us could go out to dinner and get drinks. Well, you guys can drink, and then we can do something fun after!”
The four of us.
My eyes slide to Myles, who is shooting daggers only I can see. He wants me to say no, to back off his best friend.
The voice in my head says, Sorry, Myles. That’s not going to happen.
I keep my eyes on him, and a smile crawls from my mouth. I say, “That sounds like a great idea!”