Uncovering You 8: Redemption Read Free

about how things are playing out?”
    “Yes!” I emphasize. My emotions are starting to get riled up again. I know I should keep them under control. But it feels like we’re just going in circles here.
    There’s still the lingering anger I feel toward Jeremy for lying to me, for deceiving me. The most frustrating thing is that I can’t let that show. The act I have to put on for Fey and Robin has to convince them that everything is perfect between Jeremy and me. “I’m concerned that you’ve taken such a vested interest in my life. I’m concerned that you thought you needed to fly across the country to come look for me. I’m concerned that you—“ I jab my finger at Robin, and wave it in the air to include Fey. “—are taking too much of an interest in my life. Robin, you saw me earlier. What was I doing? I was driving. By myself. If I wanted, I could have turned onto the freeway and driven all the way to Canada. Nothing’s holding me here. Nobody’s forcing me to stay. Can’t you see? Can’t both of you see that whatever might have led Jeremy to me, at the start, has lost relevance now?”
    “So you do believe it!” Fey jumps in.
    “I don’t know,” I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter what I believe. That’s the assumption we’re approaching this topic with. Right? So what if Robin’s investigation is correct? Even if it is—I’m telling you again, I’m telling both of you again: I am not in any danger from Stonehart!”
    “ Stonehart ?” Fey blinks. “I thought you called him Jeremy?”
    Shit! I think. That’s what I get for speaking in the heat of the moment.
    In my mind, any and all danger I feel from Jeremy comes only from when he’s Stonehart.
    I brush over it, running a hand through my hair. I’m feeling more and more flustered by the minute.
    Shit, this is not going the way I planned.
    “Same thing,” I say quickly. “And anyway—”
    “Lilly,” Robin cuts me off. He seems hesitant to do it. I recall what Fey told me once about my being intimidating to him when we first met. However, he’s grown more confident in the time that’s passed since we first saw each other at Yale. “Listen to yourself. You’re all over the place.” He directs a hard look at me—nothing, of course, compared to the looks I’ve gotten from Jeremy. Still, it makes me uncomfortable. Maybe it’s from the guilt, the cognitive dissonance I feel for having to lie continuously to my friends. Maybe it’s from the uncertainty surrounding this situation. Maybe it’s from the fear that my phone has actually stopped ringing since I told Jeremy not to call. I have a chilling realization that he’s actually listened to me.
    I don’t know. All I know is that internally, I feel worse right now than if I were put in front of the harshest judges and prosecutors. I hate lying to my friends.
    Robin takes a careful step toward me. “Are you sure,” he begins slowly, “that there isn’t something you’re not telling us?”
    My defenses come rocketing back. “Yes, I’m sure,” I snap. “What type of convincing do you need? Fey, what more do you want? Is my word not good enough for you? You can see that I’m safe, that I’m fine, that I want to be left alone. Why can’t you respect that?”
    “She’s too deep in the rabbit’s hole,” Fey says to Robin. “You were right. She won’t listen to us.”
    “I’m right here!” I all but scream. “Talk to me directly!”
    “Fine,” Fey turns on me. There’s fire in her eyes. “You know what I think, Lilly? I think that you’re full of shit. I think that you know what Robin found is true, deep down. But you’re unwilling to admit it to yourself. I think you’re too proud to admit to us that you’ve made a mistake. That you misread the type of man that Stonehart …” She emphasizes his last name, while glaring at me. “…really is. I think you’re tied so closely to him that there is nothing we can tell you that will make you