“Am I dreaming?”
“Nope, you’re not.” Benny sounds like a patient dad dealing with a toddler. “Bree is visiting for a few weeks?—”
“Weeks!” Mrs. Rhodes shrieks.
“—and she doesn’t want anyone to know she’s here.” The edge of warning in his tone is clear. “You can’t tell anyone.”
“Very well.”
“Not asoul, Grandma. Including Rose.”
She hesitates. “Fine. I promise.” Nancy shifts her gaze to me. “You’re in hiding.”
“I am.” A slimy feeling makes its way into my stomach. Part of me is glad I’m meeting her now, because after my diss track lands tomorrow, she’s not going to respect me anymore. This meeting would’ve gone so differently. “Can I trust you?”
“Yes,” she says on a breath. “Don’t worry. The jig isn’t up.”
Okay, that’s a thing people say. “My family doesn’t know where I am. The minute my location is leaked, it’ll become dangerous for me to be here and I’ll have to leave.”
Nancy sits up, swinging her legs to the floor, a seriousexpression falling over her face. “Is someone trying to hurt you?”
“No, nothing like that.” I shake my head vehemently. “I didn’t bring any bodyguards, so I’m not…I’m in a vulnerable position.”
She takes this in. “You promise you aren’t running from a dangerous situation?”
I swallow. “Far from it. I did something…stupid. It’s going to bite me in the—uh, in the butt soon.”
She gives a nod, like she’s thinking while following along. “But you went to the BBQ today. To Costco. To heaven knows where else.”
“My disguise actually works pretty well.” I look at Benny to corroborate my claim. “It helps that people aren’t expecting to see Bree Belacourt, though, so if I look familiar, they probably brush it off. My face is half covered and surrounded in the wrong hair color to trigger recognition, anyway.”
“We told everyone at the BBQ she has a concussion and needs to keep the shades on,” Benny explains.
Nancy looks between us, her hands gripping the edge of her floral sofa. It’s unclear what she’s thinking, only that she’s trying to make a decision. “So long as no one knows you’re here, you’ll stay?”
“She’s Colby’s short-term tenant,” Benny explains. “She has the place for a month.”
There’s a gleam in Nancy’s eyes that makes me slightly nervous and a little wary. “I’ll grab that water.” I leave the room, opening cupboards until I find the right one and pull down a glass to fill from the tap. If I blew up my escape plan right before all the crap in my life hits the fan, I’m going todie. I can’t run again. Where would I go?
Here, I found an unexpected ally. Benny’s proven extremely helpful getting me out of the house and driving me to the store.Little things…but he’s made it possible for me to settle in here, to get comfortable.Toocomfortable?
I drain the glass of water, then look at the empty cup and realize what I’ve done. Instead of reaching for a new one for Nancy, though, I set mine on the counter and drop my head in my hands.
I didn’t intend to come here and find Benny and spend all this time with him. He’s supposed to be living in Montana. This is supposed to be the smallest town in California, one that would be really easy to escape to at the heart of tourist season when random people are walking the beaches and one extra random person would go unnoticed. I’m supposed to be living in solitude, considering my brash actions and how I’m going to survive the fallout.
Now that I’m here and have seen him, I’m not prepared to sacrifice him so soon. I feel panicky and jittery, which isn’t crazy given my high-stress situation, but I know it has nothing to do with that.
It has everything to do with Benny.
Now that everyone in the house knows who I am, I don’t have to hide anymore. I pull wig clips from my hair and slip them in my pocket. The wig comes off easily once they’re out. I peel off the wig cap, shaking back my long, dark hair that is probably kinked and messy, and feeling sweet relief as I run my nails over my scalp.
Benny comes into the kitchen. I can sense the motion, but I don’t move. “She promised not to say anything.”
At this, I turn around. Benny leans against the open doorway, blocking the view to the living room, where his grandma is still waiting for her water after fainting becauseshe recognized me. His blue eyes are fastened on me, deeply concerned. There’s also something in them I haven’t seen before now, but I can’t tell what it is.
I want to guesslonging, but this isn’tPride and Prejudice.
Does Benny want me to stay as much as I want to? I’ve been pushing myself on him since the moment I got here, ignoring his reluctance and forging ahead.