He shook his head, muttering, “It couldn’t be
Ashley. My mom loved her.”
“Riley, are you lying to me?”
“Is this a setup with Annie? Are you helping her
get away?”
“Don’t even think about it, Riley. Tell Annie even
if she dies, she belongs to me.”
I lowered my gaze, pushing down the knot in my
chest.
It didn’t matter, I was already dead.
And whether Jake believed the so–called truth
or not didn’t matter either.
1
12:02
He couldn’t hurt me anymore.
I was stuck following Jake as he left Riley’s
house.
As we left, I felt Riley look at me.
His eyes locked with mine and started to fill
with tears, his mouth formed one word.
“Annie.”
I froze for a moment, my eyes warming.
84
When the silent “Annie” came again, I was sure.
Riley could see me.
My throat tightened and I wanted to run to him,
but I was pulled further away.
I sat in the car, feeling the heavy air, my hands.
were shaking.
く
Riley was my childhood best friend.
We knew each other’s deepest secrets.
I was excited to share it with Riley, but when I
told him, he gave me a complicated look.
“You really like him? Or is this just a game?”
“I like him. I want to spend my life with him.”
Riley didn’t say much after that.
Later, he applied to study abroad and I felt the
pressure of my family rejecting the relationship
with Jake.
Riley and I slowly lost contact.
