Page 27 of A Violet Obsession

Neither do I. The thought surfaces before I can stop it.

I hope Lily’s ghosts aren’t as bad as mine.

“Look, I’m going to work while she’s resting. I’ll have her call you when she wakes up.”

“Finn.” Emma’s voice changes. “Be nice to her. I mean it. I know you think everyone has an angle, and I know you think you’re protecting me, and I love you for it, even though you’re a paranoid weirdo. Lily has been through some shit. And no, she hasn’t told me about it, but I can tell. She’s been my best friend since kindergarten, and I can see the differences in her. Underneath those walls she’s built, she’s still the girl I love.” She takes a breath. “I trust her. You should, too.”

I don’t need to say anything because the word tsunami continues.

“She’s been alone for a really long time. So, just… You’ve had a glow-up, okay? Don’t make me say it again.”

I didn’t know that rolling eyes could be a sound.

“And Lily is lonely. If she seems weird around you, it’s because⁠—”

“I’m not interested in your friend, Emma.”

Even as I say it, my traitorous lizard brain flashes to copper hair spread across a pillow and my lips finally on that butterfly.

“Riiiight.” Emma draws the word out, dripping with sarcasm. “My best friend is a literal smoke show, not to mention she’s kind and too good for your weird, secretive ass… but sure… You’re not interested.”

“Not all men are that simple.”

“Uh-huh.” She’s not buying a word of it. “Have her call me when she wakes up. And keep your hands to yourself.”

The line goes dead. I stare at the phone for a second before pocketing it and turning back to look at my monitors.

I need to find out what Lily’s hiding.

But somehow I’m still standing in the doorway, watching a woman who apparently can’t sleep without headphones and a guided meditation—but who fell asleep peacefully, while waiting for me.

10

LILY

I watch the two men cross the room, Vincent’s hand briefly on Finn’s shoulder. They must think they’ve gone far enough, but I can still pick out some of their words.

“Friend or foe?”

Vincent is asking about me.

Shocker.

I can’t hear the next exchange, but then Finn’s voice comes through, clear and exasperated.

“I don’t need this kind of problem in my life.”

I hate how much the words hurt.

“Are you going to help her?”

“I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

That’s not what I want to be. A problem. An obligation. And it’s not what the people in my life deserve—not Emma, not Dawn, not anyone who has already spent too much energy worrying about me. I tuck my legs up beside me on the sofa and turn my face away. If they see me right now, they’ll know I heard.

The ache in my chest burns. I need to leave, because even though he’s acting like an ass, Finn’s right about one thing—I am a problem. Every minute I sit on this sofa, I’m dragging these people deeper into something they know nothing about.

The police. Joey. Voss.