Let Me Know Read Free Page A

everybody else does.”
    The corner of her lips curl into a smirk though her eyes hold an edge of sadness. “When we were younger, Trent quickly figured out your habit of taking the blame for everything. Your brother knew it too. You made it too easy for them. You’re not responsible for what the psychopath did to them or to you, and you’re not responsible for the reporters. All they want is a story.”
    “Have your parents talked to them?”
    Emma nods. “They issued a statement that we’re looking forward to closure in Trent’s...” I can practically hear her throat close up. “In Trent’s murder. And the trial can’t come soon enough for us.”
    Wish I could share those sentiments. I’m freaking over the trial and having to speak in front of everyone, and how everyone I know will find out details I’d rather keep secret. The only person I want there with me, other than my mom and grandma, is Marcus. I don’t want Emma and her family to hear everything Paul did to me, beyond what’s already public knowledge from the original news stories and the details I did share with her. Marcus knows. They don’t.
    “Have they contacted you?” she asks.
    “All questions have to be directed to the D.A,” I say, sounding like a spokesperson from the D.A.’s office.
    “How come?”
    “They don’t want me accidentally saying anything they’re saving for the trial, you know, to prove Paul’s guilt.”
    Emma pulls her gaze from the road and narrows her eyes at me. The stark coldness in them causes me to shiver. “Why do you call that sick psychopath by his name?”
    I look away, unable to take the pain in her eyes. “Because before I knew what he was, he was my friend.”
    “And after everything he did to you?”
    I shrug, the movement mechanical. “Habits are hard to break, I guess.” Even when he turned into the monster everyone knows him as, there were still moments when I thought my old friend would return and he would realize how much he was hurting me. It was in those rare moments when he did show compassion, doing things for me that under other circumstances would be considered sweet. Like bringing me my favorite magazines to read.
    Emma nods slowly, as if reasoning her way through everything I said. “You mean like Stockholm Syndrome?”
    “Yeah, something like that.”
    We spend the rest of the trip singing along to the pop station as we drive along Interstate 80. Already I miss the classic rock station Marcus and I love listening to. That Trent loved listening to. Emma, not so much.
    “Things between you and Marcus seem to be going well,” Emma says as we turn off the interstate and head along the main road toward our hometown. Considering her brother was my boyfriend, whom I loved, I’m surprised at how casual she sounds. There’s no pain in her voice, only curiosity.
    A grin sneaks onto my face, despite my attempts to prevent it. Thinking about Marcus always has that effect on me. “They are. What about you and Liam?”
    Her grin matches mine. “I like him. A lot. He knows how to make me smile. Something I’d almost forgotten how to do.”
    Because of me
.
    “Hey, can we stop at the mall first?” she asks. “I need to buy Liam a birthday present so I can mail it to him before the weekend.”
    “Yeah, okay.” As long as we don’t bump into anyone I know.
    Once we reach the mall parking lot, we drive up and down packed rows of cars, searching for an empty spot. We eventually find one in another time zone.
    Emma scoots out of the car. I remain seated, frozen on the warm car seat for a minute, until I realize I can’t stay here forever. I can’t keep hiding.
    The biggest benefit of living in Chicago is that most people have long since forgotten about the stalking and kidnapping. I’m not Amber, the victim. I’m a nameless face in the crowd, like everyone else. In Chicago, I can escape the sympathetic looks that were all too common after the firefighter found me in Paul’s burning