Chapter 6
The first thing Lucas said was not an answer.
It was, “I can explain.”
I almost smiled.
Of all the sentences available to him, he had chosen the one guilty people always seemed to choose.
“Then explain.”
He stood.
I stepped backward automatically.
Not because I thought Lucas would hurt me.
He never had.
But because suddenly I didn’t know the man in front of me as well as I had believed.
Lucas noticed.
His face tightened.
“I’m not going to…”
He stopped.
“I know.”
“Then why did you move?”
“I don’t know.”
That was true.
He ran both hands over his face.
“I should have told you.”
“Told me what?”
“I needed a day.”
“A day?”
“Yes.”
I stared at him.
“You dressed for work, left the house carrying your laptop, spent fourteen hours somewhere, and texted me all evening pretending Warren was making you redo numbers because you needed a day?”
“It sounds bad.”
“It sounds impossible.”
“It isn’t.”
“Then where were you?”
He looked toward the window.
There was nothing outside except our dark backyard reflected in the glass.
“Lucas.”
“I drove around.”
I felt something cold settle in my chest.
“All day?”
“No.”
“Where did you go?”
“I just needed space.”
“Where?”
He shook his head.
I could feel myself getting calmer.
That scared me too.
Anger would have been easier.
Anger burns.
This felt like ice.
“You’re still lying.”
“I’m not.”
“You left at seven thirty this morning. It is after ten at night. You did not spend fourteen hours driving around.”
“I stopped places.”
“What places?”
“Coffee. A park.”
I waited.
He looked at me.
“A bookstore.”
That was almost insulting.
“A bookstore.”
“Yes.”
“For fourteen hours.”
“Not fourteen hours.”
“Then tell me the hours.”
His jaw tightened.
I pointed at the kitchen table.
“Sit down.”
“I don’t want to do this like an interrogation.”
I laughed once.
“Then you should have come home with the truth.”
Lucas sat.
I remained standing.
“What time did you call Daniel?”
“Around seven.”
“So before you kissed me goodbye.”
He closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
“You were already lying when you left.”
“Yes.”
The answer was quiet.
At least it was true.
“What were you planning to do?”
Lucas looked down at his hands.
“I don’t know.”
“Yes, you did.”
“No.”
“You called your boss before leaving. You wore a suit. You took your laptop bag. You promised me dinner. Then you spent the entire day pretending to be at work.”