Trail of Poison by Malcolm Richards

Author:Malcolm Richards
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Storm House Books

26

The antiseptic felt like acid against her scalp. Emily winced with each dab of the cotton swab and gripped the edge of the bathtub until her fingers hurt, too. The good news was that the wound was superficial. The initial nausea had passed and she didn’t seem to be showing any obvious signs of a concussion. What she did have was a dull, throbbing headache.

Done with cleaning the wound, Jerome handed Emily a foil strip of painkillers.

“Here, take two of these,” he mumbled.

They were the first words he’d spoken to her since she and Helen had shown up at Daniel’s house forty minutes ago.

Emily hadn’t wanted to come here, but it had also been the only place she’d wanted to be. Now here they were—Helen and Daniel drinking beers in the living room, while Jerome tended to Emily’s headwound.

“Thank you.” She swallowed the pills with a glass of water.

Avoiding her gaze, Jerome nodded, disposed of the cotton swab, and replaced the antiseptic in the medicine cabinet. He hovered by the door, clearly not wanting to be anywhere near Emily, and yet clearly not wanting to leave her alone.

She stole a glance at him and winced, this time not because of the head wound.

“Jerome, I . . .” She wanted to say more. She wanted to throw her arms around his neck and embrace him. Instead, she remained seated and stared at the floor tiles.

Silence filled the bathroom. Then in a quiet voice, Jerome said, “I’m sorry.”

Emily looked up. “I’m sorry, too.”

Words flooded from Jerome’s mouth. “I was horrible. All those terrible things I said . . . I never meant any of it. And I’m sorry I’ve been avoiding you. I’ve been so ashamed. You’re right—I should have asked about Helen first. But I was only trying to help. And I hate that we’re not talking. I hate that I let pride get in the way of our friendship.”

Their eyes briefly met, then went opposite directions. Jerome sidled over to the bathtub and sat down.

“It’s more than that, though,” Emily said at last. “You’ve been avoiding me ever since you told me you were moving out. Before that, even. I know you’re busy with Daniel but . . . have I done something wrong?”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

Jerome turned to face her. His mouth opened and closed, then he shook his head and looked away.

“Next week, you’ll be gone,” Emily said. “Off to the other side of the river. And then that will be it. We’ll see each other less and less. You’ll be busy with work, with auditions, with Daniel. I don’t want it to end this way, not with you hating me.”

Irritation flashed in Jerome’s eyes. “You think our friendship is going to end? You really believe you mean so little to me?”

“No. I . . .” She couldn’t look at him. “I . . . I’m scared of being alone. You and Harriet, you’re the only friends I have.”

She hated how she sounded. So pathetic and needy.

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