Dean's List Read online

  "You know," Bri said, her bright eyes widening, "that's a fantastic idea. Who's up for a trip to the spa? Cara would love that."

  "I could use some pampering," Lydia said, smiling. But then she remembered the credit cards, and her severe lack of cash. "But I think I left my wallet at home."

  "No worries," Savannah said. "I owe you from dinner a few weeks ago, remember?"

  Relief flooded Lydia. "That works."

  Less than twenty minutes later, they all pulled up in front of the Ross house.

  "Her car isn't there," Lydia pointed out. "Just Ethan's."

  "Probably in the garage," Bri said, flipping some hair behind her shoulder. "Let's go."

  "Doesn't Ethan keep the garage full of crap that annoys Cara?" Lydia asked, but her two friends were already walking toward the front door.

  Lydia caught up just as Savannah rang the doorbell.

  Ethan opened the door, looking annoyed. "Didn't Cara tell you guys that she doesn't live here anymore?"

  All three of them gasped, and asked surprised questions.

  "I don't know where she is, and frankly, I don't care."

  "But she's carrying your baby," Lydia said. "Don't you care about that?"

  Ethan gave her a disgusted look. "It's not my baby."

  "What?" Lydia asked. Was that why Cara had been acting strange lately? She looked over at Bri and Savannah, noticing that neither of them appeared as shocked by the news as she did.

  "She hasn't returned our calls," Bri said. "You don't have any idea where she would have gone?"

  "Try asking her boyfriend." Ethan closed the door.

  "Did you two already know?" Lydia asked. "You don't seem surprised that it's not his."

  Savannah gave her a saddened look. "Well, you haven't been around as much over the last week, and yeah, she told us."

  "You guys didn't think to clue me in? I feel like everyone is hiding things from me."

  They both looked uncomfortable. Bri spoke up. "Sweetie, I thought—"

  "Don't 'sweetie' me, Bri." Lydia glared at her best friend.

  Bri frowned. "We just thought it was something she should probably tell you herself."

  "Why? Is there more to the story than you're telling me?"

  Savannah and Bri exchanged a look.

  Anger boiled up in Lydia's chest. "Fine. I have things I need to do today, anyway. If you figure out where Cara is, don't bother telling me. I'll find a way to figure it out myself."

  "Lyds," Bri said.

  "Wait," Savannah said, pleading with her eyes.

  "Catch you later." Lydia turned around and stormed to her car. Who could she trust? Not even her best friends. For whatever reason, they didn't think they could trust Lydia with Cara's issues. They were all so close. If some of them knew something about Lydia that one of the others didn't, they would've told the one the outs. It just wasn't right.

  Everything was changing. Not just her marriage, but her closest friends, too. She unlocked her car, slammed the door, and for the second time in as many days, peeled away. Could she trust anyone?

  The only one treating her well was Dean, and he was the one person she really should trust least. He only started to be nice to her when she had given him back the news clipping he had dropped.

  That was it.

  He wasn't falling back in love with her. Dean was just buttering her up so she wouldn't suspect what she already knew. It was all a show to cover his butt. Fury built up.

  Lydia's entire life was a hoax. Her friends didn't trust her, and her husband only pretended to like her. In his fake shows of affection, he probably watched her like a hawk, looking for any small sign of her distrust. Dean was just waiting for her to figure it out.

  And she was dumb enough to fall for him each time. She'd fallen for him hard when they first met, and he knew exactly how turn the charm back on, wrapping her around his little finger.

  Obviously, he didn't know that she knew—or did he? Was he going to win back her love and trust just in time to get rid of her and any evidence she had? Or was it less sinister? He could be buttering her up just to keep her happy, so she wouldn't find out his secret.

  It didn't matter either way, because his affections were all a lie. It was all about him, and nothing to do with his love suddenly being rekindled.

  She pulled into a Park and Ride lot, and then parked in a shady spot away from the bus stops. What was she supposed to do now? Pretend to be oblivious to Dean's woos? Wait until he left again, and then pack what she could and disappear?

  Where to? Her family? That would be the first place he would look for her.

  Someone knocked on her window, and Lydia jumped. She looked up to see Bri and Savannah.

  "Go away."

  Savannah motioned for her to roll down her window.

  Lydia shook her head, and pulled out her phone, pretending to make a call.

  Both of her friends motioned for her window to go down. Lydia looked away, talking into her phone. Savannah and Bri moved to the front of her car and waved their arms back and forth.

  Lydia waved them away. They shouted her name, and others around stared at them.

  "Fine, you win." She shoved her phone in her purse, and then opened the door. "Can't you guys take a hint? I'm pissed, and don't want to talk to either one of you."

  They ran over and wrapped their arms around her. "But we love you," Bri said.

  "Then why keep things from me? I wouldn't do that to you—and you know it."

  "Can we sit down?" Bri asked.

  Lydia pointed to her car. "Have a seat."

  Savannah pointed to some benches not too far away. "How about over there?"

  "Are you afraid I'll freak out?" Lydia scowled.

  "Maybe," Bri said. The corners of her mouth twitched. "Sweetie, you know we love you. We need to talk."

  Lydia gave them both an exasperated look. "This better be good." She would hear them out, and then go. She just needed to get away from everything.

  Secrets

  Bri watched Lydia as they walked over to the bench. Every move she made showed Bri that her best friend was stressed out. She'd been acting strange for a while, but if she knew anything about Cara, she wasn't letting on. Something was definitely going on, but it was probably something else.

  They reached the bench, and Lydia sat, crossing her arms and her legs.

  Bri sat down, carefully considering her words. "Sweetie, we just want everything to be okay with you."

  Lydia raised an eyebrow. "That hasn't been the case for a long time."

  Savannah sat on the other side of Lydia. "Even so, usually, you walk around with a smile on your face. You're so confident, you make others jealous. But that's faded. Talk to us."

  "You're right. Nothing's okay, but I can't bring you guys into it. It wouldn't be fair."

  "We're your friends," Bri reminded her. "No matter what."

  Lydia looked conflicted. "That's just it. This is bigger than that, and it wouldn't be fair of me to bring you in."

  Bri studied her, trying to figure out what was going on. "Look, rain or shine, we're here for you. You kill someone, we're here to find you a place to hide."

  Lydia flinched. Bri looked over at Savannah, who gave her a curious look. Bri had struck a nerve somehow.

  "It's not like that," Lydia said.

  "Obviously," Bri said, forcing a wide smile. "You'd never kill anyone. The point is, we're here for you, and even if you did, we'd find a way to hide the body. We're your girls." Bri put her arm around Lydia and gave a squeeze.

  "Really?" Lydia asked, her eyes narrowing. "Friends? Is that why it feels like everyone is hiding something from me?"

  Bri and Savannah exchanged another look. She seemed to want Bri's permission to tell what they knew about Cara. Bri shook her head, eyes wide. She couldn't risk Cara spilling her secret. Of course, they'd have to find her for Cara to learn that they'd told Lydia. But given Lydia's recent closeness with Dean, she would likely freak out.

&nbs
p; Bri shook her head, eyes focused on Savannah. Bri put her hand on Lydia's arm. "You're right about one thing. Cara has dirt on all of us, and she won't hesitate to use it when she wants to."

  Lydia gave her a look that was a cross between exasperated, hurt, and angry. "So, you dragged me out here to let me know you won't tell me what's going on. Thanks."

  "It's not like that," Savannah said. "I don't know what Cara's holding over Bri, but I could go to jail if she goes to the cops with what she knows. I'm not sure she wouldn't."

  Lydia scowled. "Some friend we have."

  Bri's pulse picked up. She didn't even want to admit to her friends what Cara held over her, but at the same time, she couldn't keep the secret from Lydia. If she was falling for Dean again, she had to know what he and Cara had done.

  "What we need," Savannah said, "is to find Cara so she can tell you what's going on herself."

  "This whole thing is ridiculous." Lydia put her face in her palms, and then looked up. "We used to be so tight. Now we're falling apart. What happened?"

  Savannah frowned. "Too much."

  "What did you do?" Lydia asked. "You know we're not going to go to the cops with anything."

  "I'm sure you won't." Savannah picked at a nail, looking insecure. Bri wasn't sure she'd ever seen Savannah like that. She looked up from the nail, and then made eye contact with both Lydia and Bri. "You know what? Lydia, you're exactly right. Cara only knows because she saw me, and she made sure to hold it over me until she needed me to stay quiet."

  Bri's heart pounded so hard it sounded like it was in her ears. Her two friends looked at her expectantly. Bri's stomach lurched. Why had she ever told Cara what she'd done? "Corey would never forgive me if he found out." Bri took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. "I can't risk it. Not him."

  They all sat in silence for a while, the sun beating down. Were her friends plagued with the same guilt that ran through Bri? She hated thinking about what had happened. It was one stupid mistake, made when she was furious and drunk.

  "How long do we have to sit here?" Lydia asked. "I've got to get out of the sun soon."

  "Let's go over to the bench over there," Savannah pointed over to the left. "It's in the shade."

  They made their way over without a word. Bri's heartbeat had yet to return to normal. She didn't want to admit what had happened with Corey's brother that one awful night. It had been a mistake—a horrible, horrible mistake. He acted like nothing was wrong, but they had both betrayed someone they loved.

  Bri couldn't even look at him without remembering that night. Corey never suspected a thing, and for that, Bri was grateful, but she wasn't sure the guilt would ever go away. She feared losing Corey too much to even considering coming clean. Risking him walking away was not something she could deal with.

  They were meant to be together, and everyone made mistakes. His brother was hers, and she would have to live with that rest of her life. It had actually served to help their marriage in the long run. Bri always over-compensated for the guilt by treating Corey like a king, which had eventually led to him treating her like a queen.

  Before long, they went from a normal, bickering marriage to one everyone pined for. She loved being part of the Bri and Corey Stevens duo that everyone adored and envied.

  "Well," Lydia said, starting to stand, "if we're not going to talk, I've got things to do."

  "Wait," Savannah said. "Sit back down. I'll talk."

  Bri's eyes widened. If Savannah told Lydia about Cara, then Bri's secret was dangerously close to being used by Cara. For all they knew, she was hiding out, spying on them.

  Lydia sat, looking at Savannah.

  Savannah's face grew serious, and finally tears filled her eyes. "One night, when Tom and I had a really bad fight, I…" She took a deep breath. "I got in the car and drove. I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing, and I, I…." The tears spilled onto her cheeks. "I hit someone. They were jaywalking, and it was just like the movies. The guy flew up onto the hood of the car. He rolled off." Savannah's voice shook. "People came out from a bar, and I freaked out. I was afraid of going to jail, so I drove away." She looked up at the sky. "I don't even know if he lived or not."

  "Oh, Savannah." Lydia put her arm around Savannah. "You've been carrying that around?"

  "I'm scum."

  "No, you're not." Lydia sat taller. "It was an accident, and he shouldn't have been jaywalking."

  "It was also dark, and he was wearing all black."

  Bri nodded, feeling better about herself. At least she hadn't killed anyone. She wasn't sure how Savannah dealt with that kind of guilt. Bri reached over Lydia and squeezed Savannah's arm. "It doesn't sound like it was your fault."

  "But I ran. I could go to jail for that fact alone."

  "Wait," Lydia said. "Was that when you said you hit a deer?"

  Savannah frowned, and then nodded.

  "You've been dealing with that since then?" Lydia exclaimed.

  "Cara's evil for holding that against you," Bri said. "How dare she?"

  "What's she got against you?" Savannah asked, wiping her eyes.

  Bri's stomach twisted in knots. She looked away from her friends and stared at a leaf sitting on the bench. Bri picked it up and played with it. "One night—just one—when I'd had too much drink, and Corey and I weren't getting along…his brother, well, he…" Tears filled her eyes. "If I could take it back, I would. Corey would just die. He loves and trusts the two of us more than anyone else."

  She looked over at her two friends. Both of them were wide-eyed.

  "I always thought you two had the perfect marriage," Lydia whispered.

  "There is no perfect marriage," Savannah said.

  They all sat in silence for a few minutes before Lydia spoke up. "Look, I don't want you two to suffer more than you already have. Savannah, I don't want you to go to jail. Bri, you deserve your wonderful marriage with Corey. I don't want either of you to tell me Cara's secret. She'll tell me if she wants me to know. I'm sorry I didn't trust you guys."

  Bri squeezed Lydia's hand. "You have nothing to apologize for."

  "I feel closer to you guys," Lydia said, "but I'm still not sure about telling you what's bothering me. It's a horrible burden, and I don't want you guys to have to deal with it. Especially not with everything else."

  "It's your burden, not ours," Savannah said, taking Lydia's other hand. "We can help you carry it, but it'll crush you if you keep it to yourself. If anyone knows about that, it's me."

  "And me," Bri chimed in.

  Lydia didn't look convinced.

  "Let us support you, sweetie," Bri said. "You've always been there for us."

  "But this is huge, and it's not something you'll be able to forget."

  "Worse than killing someone?" asked Savannah.

  Lydia shook her head. "You know what? I remember hearing about a hit and run a couple towns over around the time you said you hit a deer. He walked away with a broken arm, and if I remember correctly, the police had been looking for him. You may have even done a good deed since he was arrested that night."

  Savannah's eyes widened. "Really?"

  Lydia nodded, though Bri had her doubts about the validity of Lydia's story. "Just tell us, sweetie." Bri smiled, encouraging her to talk.

  They sat in silence again, and then Lydia cleared her throat. "This is huge, and you can't tell anyone—not even Corey or Tom."

  "Obviously, I can keep a secret from Corey." Bri frowned.

  "Me, too," Savannah said. "You know, from Tom."

  Lydia took a deep breath. "I have reason to believe…." She shook her head. "I can't even say it. It's too crazy."

  "What is it?" Bri asked in her most soothing voice. She had perfected it with her daughters. "Our lives are full of crazy. Plenty of it."

  Her friend shook next to her. Bri wrapped an arm around Lydia. "You can tell us anything."

  Savannah nodded in agreement.

  "I think Dean's been killing people."

 
; Bri felt like she'd been hit. That had been the last thing she expected Lydia to say. She'd known it had to have been worse than the affairs. They had already known about those long enough.

  Savannah made eye contact with Bri.

  Cara.

  She was probably with Dean, and she carried his baby. If he was going to kill anyone, Cara and her smart mouth would be first on his list.

  "Someone say something," Lydia said in a small voice.

  "How do you know?" Savannah asked.

  "I found some news clippings he's been hiding. The dates and places match up with his work travels." She went into more detail about them. "Why else would he keep them?"

  "And he started…being nice to you after he knew you saw one?" Savannah asked.

  Lydia nodded.

  "Do you think he's killing women he he's having affairs with?" asked Bri. If Cara was in danger, they would have to tell Lydia everything.

  Relief

  Lydia looked back and forth between her two friends, trying to figure out if they really believed her or not. They both looked horrified, but they didn't seem to doubt what she said.

  "Lydia?" asked Bri.

  "I don't think he had relationships with the women he killed. He's not a suspect, and in most cases, the victims' friends and family didn't think they had been involved with anyone. None of them, from what I can gather, even were supposed to have had a date that night. I think he probably met them, took them out on a whim—or at least what seemed that way to the girls—and then he… he killed them."

  "You don't think there could be another explanation?" Savannah asked.

  Lydia shook her head. "I've tried to come up with anything else, but that's the only explanation. Why would he save—and hide—the clippings? Why would he act so suspicious when I gave him the one he was careless enough to drop?"

  They all sat in silence.

  "You believe me, right?" Lydia asked.

  "Of course, sweetie," Bri said, looking distressed.

  "We know you wouldn't lie about something like this," Savannah said.

  "Do you think I'm jumping to conclusions? I want to believe that I'm wrong—that there's some other explanation—but what else is there? Am I missing something?"