Chapter 5

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.

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.

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.

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.