I wipe the foggy mirror with a washcloth and try to see my reflection, but the steam in Jera’s bathroom is too thick. The second I arrived at my sister’s house, her hairdresser whisked me away to get highlights and a cut. Now it’s the next day and I’m trying to figure out how to style it.
I open the small window to try to let out some steam so I can see my new look. Well, not my look. Jera’s look.
I comb through my wet hair, one of Jera’s expensive oversized towels wrapped around me. It’s like being wrapped in fluffy clouds. It goes all the way down to my knees. The shoulder-length cut suits my heart-shaped face and I smile at my reflection.
My phone rings and I quickly pick up. “Hello?”
“How’s everything going?” Jera asks.
“Fine.” I slide my feet into a pair of white slippers that Jera had sitting by her jacuzzi tub. This is luxury. “When will you get here?” I’d been surprised she wasn’t home yet.
“Oh, I’m staying at an exclusive spa until I heal. You have my house all to yourself.”
“What?” I thought we’d get quality time.
“Don’t worry, they’re taking great care of me here at the spa.” The mirror is now clear so I go to close the window but it’s a bit stuck. I tug at it while I try to collect my thoughts. I was really hoping for some sister time.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come here—” I stop tugging at the window when I notice someone in the backyard next door. He’s dragging something heavy. What in the world? It looks like a person.
“I’ll be fine, Mackenzie. You get some needed relaxation at my house. I don’t want anyone knowing about my surgery, so I told my PA and most of my staff to take a vacation. I’ll text you the details about the party, my hairdresser’s number, and everything you’ll need. I promise the party won’t be a big deal. It’s a charity gala for the sea turtles. You’ll love it. It’s tomorrow.”
I’m staring out the window like a stalker on steroids, not even paying much attention to what Jera is saying anymore. “Uh, huh. Turtles.”
The neighbor sets the person down, but then he kneels and the fence blocks my view. Is that someone passed out? Or is he… I stick my head out of the window so I can see what’s going on better.
“You can wear anything in my closet,” Jera’s voice continues. “If you wear my clothes, no one will notice you’re not me. Remember when we’d switch as kids? No one found out.”
“Okay,” I say, absentmindedly. I crane my neck.
The neighbor presses his ear to the man’s chest. Is he checking to see if he’s breathing? My heart pounds in my ears. What is happening at the neighbor’s house?
“And I’ll send you my driver’s number.”
I’m pretty sure I’m not even breathing as I watch the neighbor drag the body once again, and now I can’t see a thing. I worm my shoulders out so I can lean further. The top half of me is now out the window and I’m on my tiptoes, but at last, I can see him fiddling with the man’s head. What the heck is going on?
“I’ll text you everything! I have a busy schedule, so don’t stress if you don’t hear from me for a few days. I’m going to go off grid. If you have questions, ask my driver. He’s super helpful. Thanks a ton. I’ve gotta go. Bye.” Jera hangs up, but I don’t even care. I’m pretty sure there’s a dead body next door!
My phone slips, and I lunge for it, forgetting I’m half out a window. My foot loses purchase and I screech, the world suddenly tilting at a crazy angle. My fingers push my phone out just enough for it to plummet into the pool.
No! I need that!
I wildly kick my legs as I try to grasp anything to keep me from falling, but there’s nothing to grab. Luckily, my hips are too big to fit through the window or I’d be a pancake.
But even as I thank the heavens for not falling to my death, I panic because I can’t lose my phone. It has important things on it. Plus, that’s how Jera’s going to tell me everything I need to do. I need to fish it out of the pool…now!
I try to wiggle my way back indoors, but I’m stuck. Oh, no. This can’t be happening to me. Squint scratches at the bathroom door and I can hear his little whine. He must have heard me screech.
The neighbor must have heard me too, because he stands there, staring right at me with his piercing blue eyes. Dang, this dude has some serious Tall, Dark, and Handsome radiating from him. I desperately try to worm my way back inside, but my hips are stuck tight. Oh, why do I have to love Oreos so much?
I suddenly remember I’m in a towel and I tug on it to make sure I’m still covered. Thankfully, I am. Yay for oversized towels.
The neighbor steps around the dead guy to get a better look at me, and I’m still wiggling like crazy trying to get my booty back inside. The sill is starting to cut off my circulation.
“What are you doing?” Mr. Handsome calls out, and I realize I recognize him from somewhere. Have I seen him on a wanted poster? Is he really a murderer? My throat tightens.
He’s still staring at me, waiting for me to answer. “Nothing,” I call out, acting like it’s absolutely normal for me to hang outside of a window while wearing a towel.
A puzzled look crosses his face. “Do you need help?”
“No,” I say as nonchalantly as possible. “I’m fine.”
I’m not fine. The window sill is now cutting me in half, and I’m going to pass out at any minute. I can’t get a good breath in.
“You look a little…purple. Are you sure you’re okay?”
I grunt as I desperately flail around to get back inside Jera’s bathroom. It doesn’t work. I’m hopelessly stuck. But I don’t want to admit it to the murderer next door. “I’m okay.”
He watches me struggle for another minute before he shakes his head and calls out, “I’m coming over.”
“No!” I scream. “Don’t.”
He ignores me. I try not to panic as I watch him scale and then jump the fence that separates his property from Jera’s. He walks around the pool to the sliding back door. The back door I didn’t lock, because I was too excited to have two stinkin pools to swim in. My palms grow sweaty as I hear him enter Jera’s house.
My hips are screaming at me now, and at any moment my legs are going to fall off from lack of circulation. But no matter which way I try to wiggle, I can’t get out of the window. Footsteps squeak rapidly down the hallway, then are muffled by the carpet in Jera’s bedroom, and the bathroom door opens. I pray that this towel is covering my entire backside. I do not want to moon the murderer!
Squint barks as Mr. Handsome grabs me and pulls, and I feel like I’m about to be ripped in half, but whatever he does works because I pop out of that window like a cork. Unfortunately, the force knocks us both down and I sprawl on top of the man. I roll off him, desperately grabbing the towel so it doesn’t fly off me. Squint licks my face, his whole body wagging.
I lay on the tile floor staring up at Mr. Handsome, kneeling beside me. His dark hair falls to his forehead and he’s trying to catch his breath as he examines me. “Are you okay?”
My heart beats a million times a second. I stare into his face, and suddenly I recognize him. He’s Dustin Sawyer. A famous movie star. And he’s staring at me while I’m lying on Jera’s bathroom floor…in a towel.
I gasp and manage to scramble up as I hold onto the towel for dear life. “You…you…” I can’t seem to get any intelligent words out. Squint thinks this is a fun game. He dances around my slippers, merrily barking at me.
Dustin’s forehead wrinkles as he puzzles over my incoherent mumblings. “Me?” he asks as he stands, wiping his hands on his jeans.
“You killed a man!” I blurt out as I point at him.
Sᴇarch the FindNovel.net website on G𝘰𝘰gle to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report
