“You let us leave the party thinking you trusted him,” she said.
“You were both so sure I’d accept any excuse,” I replied. “You thought the kiss was harmless because you could call it a joke. You thought the photographs meant nothing because you had a story ready.”
Michael reached toward me.
I stepped back.
“Don’t.”
His hand fell to his side.
Rachel’s eyes filled with tears, though I couldn’t tell whether she was ashamed or simply frightened of what would happen next.
I remembered her standing in the backyard, smiling as she told me to relax.
Then I looked at both of them and repeated her own words.
“Just a joke.”
This time, nobody laughed.
