Chapter 93 What Rent?
What Rent?
Tessa
Oh, so now I was a liar? Even from Delaney, this seemed a bit much.
I told her, "I'm not lying."
She gave a brittle laugh. "Oh, please. Like you'd pay your own rent."
My own? But then, understanding hit hard and fast, making me feel nearly nauseous. I had used the earring money to pay rent to Maisie. But obviously, Delaney meant rent for my place in Chicago.
Even worse, she was right. Someone else had footed the bill, and I was talking to that person right now.
My mouth opened, but the only thing that came out was a strangled little groan that had Delaney saying in her most sarcastic voice, "Sorry, what was that?"
"Delaney—"
"What?" she snapped.
When I'd asked Mom for help with the rent, I'd had no idea she would steal from Delaney to get it. "I'm so sorry. I didn't ask her to do it. And I'll pay you back, I promise."
Delaney hesitated. "What are you talking about?"
"The rent, like you said."
"Rent for what? A shoebox?"
Okay, now I was really confused. "Sorry, what?"
"You do know they were fake, right?"
I blinked. "The earrings? No they weren't. I remember Mom telling us—"
"That they were real? Yeah, well, they weren't."
I didn't believe it. "How do you know?"
"Because the day after Christmas, I tried to sell them."
"You did?"
"Oh, yeah." She gave a humorless laugh. "You should've seen the pawnbroker's face. The guy thought I was trying to swindle him."
My head was reeling, and I hardly knew where to start. "But why would you sell them at all? Were you that desperate for money?"
"No, I was desperate to get rid of them."
"But why?"
She made a sound of disbelief. "That's your question?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, here I tell you that Mom lied about the earrings being real, and all you can do is ask why I'd sell them?"
"Well maybe I'm confused."
"Yeah, me too," she said. "Because your story's impossible – unless you sold those earrings to some poor sap who didn't bother checking."
"Oh, my God." I felt the blood drain from my face as I considered the very real possibility that I'd swindled someone out of a thousand dollars – money I would need to pay back. Unless… "Are you sure both of us got fakes?"
The moment the words left my mouth, I knew I'd screwed up. "Sorry. Stupid question."
Delaney scoffed. "It can't be that stupid. I asked myself the same thing... which is why I took yours in later that same day."
What the hell? "You mean…to sell them?"
Sounding insulted, she said, "I'm no thief. I was just curious, that's all."
Delaney had always been curious, maybe too curious, which went a long way in explaining why she always ended up in hot water. But now, I was just as curious. "And…?"
"Yours were fake, too." Her voice grew quiet. "I was so surprised, I almost fell over."
I felt like falling over now. To think, I'd committed a crime without even knowing it. Somehow, I'd need to make it right.
Delaney was still talking. "And as far as your rent, we both know it's paid by someone else."
With a fresh wave of guilt, I suddenly realized that I still hadn't explained what happened with her bank account. "If you mean the thing with Mom—"
"Forget Mom." She sighed. "I meant Ryder Vaughn."
The name hit like a thunderclap, and I nearly dropped the phone. "Wait…who?" Yes, I knew who Ryder was. Obviously. But hearing his name tied to my rent made no sense whatsoever.
Delaney said, "So you're what? Denying you know him?"
"No. I mean…I do know him, but he's not paying my rent." The idea was ridiculous. "Why would you even think that?" And why was Delaney mentioning Ryder at all?
Here on Mackinac Island, I'd worked really hard to keep our relationship private – even now, when keeping quiet felt like the worst kind of punishment. And I'd done all of it because of Delaney and the rent.
I told her, "Sorry, but you're wrong."
"And you're full of it." Her tone held more hurt than heat. "Ask me how I know."
I didn't. Instead, I clamped my lips shut and waited.
And then she said it. "Because I have the receipts."