Chapter 44
Ansley had a hard time concentrating. Pete was droning on, saying some shit about Craig that made no sense. The man was telling lies about Craig, building him up to be something he wasn’t.
She felt sad that Craig had died, but he wasn’t a great man. He had issues, and there’d been a lot of stuff that kept them from having a good enough relationship to stay together.
She'd tried, but she couldn't make him be a nice person, or even listen to her. She'd walked away before Craig had gone out onto the pier. He was being an asshole, and she wanted nothing to do with him. It wasn't the first time he'd been a jerk. That had happened time after time.
She'd left him because she was done with him. Of course, that sounded bad if she said it like that, but she ended their relationship, and it had made Craig angry. When he was angry, he acted like a jerk. It was one reason she had no desire to stay with him.
“And now, the woman who murdered Craig is here to tell you how she killed him. You’ve seen the video, and you know she did it, but why? Now she will tell us why.”
Pete stepped over and then realized the camera wasn't tracking him, so he rushed forward but knocked it over. She almost laughed, but her head hurt too much to laugh.
She wasn’t going to say she killed Craig, because she hadn’t. Pete could do whatever he wanted to do to her, but she wasn’t going to agree to his insanity.
Pete moved to her, his hands clenched tightly into fists. “Tell us how you killed Craig. You pushed him, right?”
She shook her head. “I wasn’t there. That video is a fake.”
"No!" Pete's face went red, and his eyes bugged out.
Ansley almost wanted to laugh at him, but everything seemed muted. He had to have given her drugs.
"I wasn't there." Her voice was weak, and her words slurred. "I had nothing to do with Craig's death."
His hand connected with her cheek, causing her head to snap back. The hit made her feel like her brain was sloshing around in her skull. That probably wasn't good.
When she turned back to him, it was almost like there were two copies, both of them a little fuzzy around the edges. The room tilted to the left, then right, or maybe she did. Ansley wasn't sure if the room was moving or if it was her.
“Tell them the truth!”
Pete's voice echoed in the room, and she flinched. Her eyes closed as bile rose in her throat.
She tried to pull away, but her body was moving at a different speed than her brain, and it made it impossible to escape. She wanted to tell him to go to hell, but she was having trouble forming the words.
Suddenly, he had her hand spread out on the table in front of her, a knife raised. She knew it was bad, but wasn't sure what she could do to stop him.
“Are you cutting off my finger?” Her words came out slurred, and she wasn’t even sure she’d said it out loud.
"Tell the truth!" His voice bounded around the room, but was interrupted by the door flying open and bouncing off the wall. Then there was someone in the doorway. The phone on the tripod filming her was knocked to the ground. It all seemed so ridiculous.
Laughter, or what she thought was laughter, bubbled up because Pete stepped back, stumbling over something on the floor. The knife pitched from his hand, coming down on the floor so it stuck in the dull carpet like it was part of some weird cartoon physics.
It all seemed so ridiculous with people yelling as they rushed in. Pete stumbled forward, but his balance was off, so he landed on the floor.
Then Link was there, his face huge in front of her, or maybe he was just close. That had to be it. He was super close, so close she could touch his face with the hand Pete had been holding against the table.
“Are you real?” Had she said that out loud?
“Yes, I’m real. Let’s get you out of here.”
Link undid the handcuffs holding her other hand and the bindings on her legs. She was free, and floating, or he was picking her up. That had to be it. He picked her up and carried her outside.
Red and blue lights flashed, creating a kaleidoscope of colors on the buildings. Link had saved her. How had he saved her? It didn’t matter, she could get the answers later. Right now, she was safe and that was all that mattered.
She glanced over, seeing Pete glaring at her from the back of a police cruiser. It was over.
Link had saved her. He’d made it home and came looking for her.
Her throat closed as emotions rose. It was too much to talk, but she squeezed his hand, and he squeezed back.
She could tell from the expression on his face that he understood what she meant with that squeeze.
She loved him, and not because he'd saved her.
He inspired her and brought a lightness to her that no one else ever had.
This was her future, her life. She was so in love with this man it was painful.