Page 2 of Wicked Little Secret
A smile just as hesitant as her head nod inched onto her lips. “Josalyn Webber. First year or second?”
“Second. Thankfully. But you’re first, right?”
“How did you know?”
“Wild guess. You still have hope shining in your eyes. Second years usually have dead stares. Case in point, myself.”
Her once-small smile grew, joined by an amused hum from her throat. “I guess I have a lot to look forward to.”
“There’s a reason I was sitting out in the rain. After a few manic episodes, you learn to embrace the chaos.”
“Is it terrible that that sounds amazing right now?” she asked, shaking wet curls out of her face. She turned to me as we finally reached the dry safety of the exterior hallway.
I did the same, reacting off her, shifting to face her. It was my first real chance for close study and I more than took advantage—the second in between that seemed like a blink-and-miss-it moment but it was really an eternity of drinking her in.
Her dark curls shone, dripping wet. Her cheeks rounded and her full lips parted to reveal a beautiful smile. Even standing where I was, I could smell the scent of fresh rain on her skin. A scent I already appreciated, making my pulse elevate. My heart beat faster.
Josalyn Webber was as perfect up close as she was far away…
“Well, I guess we part ways,” she said after a pause. “I can take my books now. Promise I usually carry them better than what you just saw.”
“Oh. Right. Here.”
We came together in an awkward dance of exchanging an armful of books. She stepped back once she had the heap secure in her arms and shot me her brightest smile yet.
“See you around, Theron.”
I watched her go, tracking her every step like I had across the sodden courtyard. “Yeah, see you...”
Soon she disappeared entirely out of view. She was headed home to her apartment, in the building a few streets away from campus where most law studentsattending Castlebury University chose to live. She would go home and spend the next two to three hours studying.
Because that’s what she always did on Tuesday evenings after class.
I knew all too well.
Josalyn Webber didn’t realize it, but today wasn’t the first time I had seen her.
And it certainly wouldn’t be the last.
1
NYSSA
GHOST IN THE MACHINE - SZA FEATURING PHOEBE BRIDGERS
TWENTY YEARS LATER…
If there’sone lesson I’ve learned in my brief twenty-two years on this earth, it’s that nothing tastes sweeter than revenge. Some feel an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind. Others believe the best revenge is moving on and living well.
I’m not one of those people.
Moving on is not an option until I’ve evened the score.
For Mom. For myself. In the interest of karmic justice.
Onlythenwill I live well.
It’s the promise I’ve made to myself. It’s why I’m doing what I’m doing…