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“Look what they did,” I cry into her neck, my whole body shaking as I grip her coat tightly in my fists. “How could anyone do that to another person? He’s a monster, Allie. He’s a monster,” I scream.
“I knew you were putting on a brave face up there. You should have let me come alone,” Allie whispers, her voice breaking.
“I needed to. I needed to see. None of it seemed real, and then hearing what happened to them, seeing their faces… it made it all the more real. He’s evil. I want to kill him for what he’s done,” I admit. I want to wrap my hands around his neck and choke the life out of him. I want him to suffer the same way I have suffered, and like all the girls he’s hurt have suffered at his or Jamie’s hands.
“You’re not a murderer. Plus, killing him would be too kind,” Allie comments.
“True,” I agree, wiping away my tears and the rain from my face.
“Come on, let’s get out of the rain before we catch a cold,” Allie says gently, helping me to my feet.
Her phone rings, and I grab the umbrella from under her arm and put it up so that she can answer her call without getting her phone wet.
“Hey, Alex. Um, no, I didn’t forget.” She laughs nervously. Whatever it is she’s supposedly not forgotten, it’s a lie. She has most definitely forgotten. Her nervous laugh and stutter give her away. She really can’t lie to save her life, and Alex would know that right away if he were standing in front of her right now.
“I’ll cook. No! Honestly, I’ve got it covered, and she’ll like you. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Bye.”
“What did you forget?” I ask, moving closer to her.
“Alex coming for dinner tonight. If you want me to cancel, though, I will. It’s fine,” she rushes out.
Not likely. She’s stayed by my side through all of this and has even cuddled me at night when I’ve woken up from a nightmare. Plus, I want to meet this famous Alex who has stolen a part of my best friend’s heart.
“No, I want to meet him.” I smile, reassuring her.
“Okay. Now, we need to go to the store to pick up something for dinner because I totally forgot that too.”
“Okay,” I snort. “Want me to invite the lads over?”
She squirms whilst trying to dry her glasses with the sleeve of her jumper. “Can we not? Just this once,” she rushes out to explain. “Alex isn’t really a lad’s lad and I want him to feel comfortable meeting you for the first time. We can introduce them to each other another time. Is that okay?” she asks, biting her bottom lip worriedly.
“Of course it is. Now, let’s go. You can cook spag bol for dinner.” I feel lighter when she links her arm through mine. She keeps telling me I’m strong, but she’s stronger. She’s been my support through all of this.
“Whatever you want, bestie,” she replies.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
A dishevelled Allie rushes around the kitchen trying to clean up after herself. She’s already cleaned the entire flat three times today. Once this morning before we went out, again when we got back, and just before she started dinner.
“Will you just bloody relax?”
“I just want the two of you to get on,” she stresses, throwing the dish cloth on the side.
“We will,” I vow. “Are you sure that’s what you’re really worried about?”
“Yeah. Why else would I be worried about him coming here?”
“Do you like him, like him?” I ask hesitantly, not wanting to overstep my boundaries. Last time I mentioned this she kind of bit my head off and it made me wonder if she was too embarrassed to tell me. She had mentioned he wasn’t all that good looking.
“Of course not,” she snaps, wrinkling her nose. “I… Look, he’s really nice, yet nerdy. He’s nothing like Cole or CJ. I like him as a friend. I understand what it’s like to have no one, and from what I’ve seen, he doesn’t have many friends or any at all really. I just want you two to hit it off so that we can all hang out together without it being awkward.”
“Oh, Allie. If you like him then I’m positive that I will,” I assure her.
Someone knocks at the door, and my smile widens. Jumping down from the kitchen side, I rush towards the front door with excitement. Allie’s quicker, getting to the door first and opening it, making me snort.
“Alex, hey,” she greets, opening the door wider to let him in.
She was right about one thing: he does look like Harry Potter. He’s got on a pair of silver-rimmed glasses that are far too big for his face. His brown hair is messy, the front falling into his eyes haphazardly. Instead of a Hogwarts outfit, he’s wearing jeans that reach his ankles and an old, ratty Adidas hoody. He’s much taller than I expected him to be and a lot skinnier, but I have to admit, the resemblance between him and Harry Potter is uncanny.