Page 135 of Secret Baby for My Brother's Best Friends

Maybe I can talk her out of this.

First, I should make sure she doesn't use that gun on me. Follow her instructions, and while I wait for an opening, I’ll try to talk her down.

How do I talk a crazy person down from shooting me?

Wait, why does she want to shoot me in the first place?

She jerks the gun to the side again and says between her teeth. "Walk.”

“Okay.” I keep my hands up, swallowing, and start shuffling toward the forest.

I realize with a glance up that she was not in view of the security cameras. There’s supposed to be one on every lamppost, but a few of them don’t work. Eric knows that. God, did he tell her?

Is that why she’s here?

"What’s going on?” I ask as my feet crunching on the leaves leading into the woods. She’s behind me, and I can still feel the cool metal pointed at my back. I can imagine the explosion of force, a bullet piercing into my back. “Why are you doing this?”

“Why?” She scoffs. “Are you really going to ask me that after you lured him here?"

“Who? Eric?” That’s the only person she could be talking about, and I’m guessing she followed him here. “I didn’t lure him here. I didn’t even know he would show up.”

“Lies. I know he called you. I saw your number on his phone."

"Yes, but it was only once, and I didn't pick up. I swear, Eric and I haven't spoken to each other for weeks."

"Then who has he been calling?"

"I have no idea."

"Liar."

"I'm not lying to you, Claire." We finally stop somewhere in the middle, and I take the risk and turn around, hoping she can observe my honesty even in the dim night. "If he’s cheating on you, it’s not with me."

“He’s not cheating on me!” The anger breaks her tone, pain exploding from her mouth. "He wouldn't!"

The sheer hurt almost makes me pity her, if not for the fact that she's currently trying to shoot me. I acutely remember everything she told me about her family. Her father and what a cheating asshole he was, and how her family fell apart due to his infidelity. She probably thought Eric was different. It's why she chose him, because he has a way of pretending to be all nice and reasonable, unlike her father.

I fell for the same lies.

I swallow as I hope that I’m not making a mistake.

“Claire,” I tell her, but she shakes her head.

“We were fine,” she says. "He was falling in love with me. But you just could not stand me having anything, could you? You just had to have him too. You take everything from me.”

“I haven't taken anything from you. What are you talking about?”

"Yes, you have," she said. "The marketing job, you know I applied for it right? Eric didn’t think I had what it takes. That’s why he made me a PA instead.” Tears well in her eyes as she adds, “Then you took him too.”

“I…” I trail off because that’s not how I remember it. I never even knew she had feelings for Eric. They were friends before we were, but I thought it was just a close friendship because they were from the same hometown. I also never knew that she wanted my job. Had she been in this strange competition with me the entire time?

"There’s nothing between Eric and me,” I tell her. “I swear I haven’t contacted him since we broke up, and the only other time I’ve seen him is when he came to get his things. I didn't take him from you. If anything, he picked you over me. You won."

I'm hoping that will be enough to placate her. If she sees this as a competition, then my admission of defeat should help calm her down.

The ensuing silence gives me hope that maybe I can reach her. Maybe we can survive this.

When she speaks again, her voice has a quiet devastation rippling through it. "But he still loves you, doesn’t he?”