Page 151 of Creeping Beautiful

Good.

…

Good. OK. Let me think for a moment. There’s a lot to unpack here and I need to think. So just… don’t move.

…

All right. I think I know where to start. When you woke up this morning, Indie, what did you do?

I got Maggie from her bed.

OK. Then you made breakfast. But you were serving mimosas this morning. Do you remember that?

Mmm.

What did you put in the drinks, Indie?

Orange juice.

What else?

Champagne. That’s how you make a mimosa.

What else, Indie?

Nothing else.

That’s not true and you fucking know it! You drugged us! I know this because I just gave everyone a fucking dose of Narcan and suddenly we could all think again. What did you put in the drinks!?

I… nothing. I didn’t do it.

There was something else in there. I can tell. I still feel weird. Something that wasn’t an opioid. What was it?

…

Fuck. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

Where’s Nathan? Wasn’t Nathan here?

Oh, my God. Indie… I need you to remember, sweetie. I really do. I need you to remember what just happened because I can’t. I really can’t. I don’t want to do this anymore. This is way above my paygrade. I’m not equipped. Someone else needs to—

He saw us.

Yes! Yes. OK. He saw us, Indie. We were… Fucking A, man. Why me? Let’s just—

The tape stops and I look up to see Adam holding the player in his hands. “What?”

“Above your fucking paygrade?”

“What do you want me to say? I didn’t know what to do! I was twenty-fucking-five years old. I was still drugged! I didn’t finish my PSYOPS training. You know this. I kept telling you she needed someone else!”

“Just…” We all look at Indie. “Keep going. Press play, Adam. I need to hear the rest.”

—go back to that moment when Nathan appeared.

He was mad.

He was so fuckin’ mad.