The Ex by Freida McFadden(77)

“I really like Cassie,” I say to break the silence.

Joel manages to lift his eyes. “So do I.”

I raise an eyebrow at him. “So what are you doing here?”

He sighs and rakes a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. The thing with Francesca… that was rough. I’m still not over it. Sometimes I think I am, but I’m not.”

“I think you are.”

“No.” He says it firmly, without room for argument. “That was… awful. My whole relationship with her was… well, tumultuous.”

I offer a smile. “You said you wanted something different.”

“Don’t remind me.” He rubs his temples with his fingers. “Things are getting really intense now with Cassie and… I…”

I squint at him. “Wow, you’re really in love with her, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” he admits. “I am. But part of me doesn’t want to be because… I can’t take losing someone else like I did with Francesca. I just can’t.”

“Why would you?”

“I don’t know.” He sighs. “Cassie’s been saying all these crazy things. She thinks some woman is stalking her. I don’t know where that’s coming from.”

“Here’s the thing.” I put my elbows on the table and lean forward. “I think she might be right.”

He narrows his eyes at me. “Who do you think is stalking her?”

I hesitate. “It’s Lydia.”

“Lydia?” Joel snorts. “She can’t be bothered to stalk someone. She’s too important and busy working and… I don’t know… teaching Violet to speak Mandarin or something.”

I pause, uncertain if I should reveal the next piece of information. But Joel should know the whole story. “Lydia and Pete are having a rough time, and she’s… she’s really missing Francesca a lot.”

He winces. “She still blames me, doesn’t she?”

“She does.”

“I can’t fault her.” He rubs his temples. “I still blame myself.” He frowns. “But that doesn’t mean she’d—”

“She told me she did it.”

Joel’s eyes fly open. “She told you…?”

“Yes. She told me everything.”

He shakes his head, unable to comprehend what I’m saying. “I can’t believe Lydia would do that.”

“You don’t know what’s been going on inside her head lately.”

“Yes, but…”

“Look,” I say. “I wasn’t going to say anything about it because… well, I thought maybe it was something she needed to get out of her system and she wasn’t hurting anyone. But now I’m not so sure.” I take a breath. “Cassie told me she thinks someone has been in her apartment.”

“Someone in her apartment?” His eyes widen. “Jesus, why didn’t she tell me?” He jumps to his feet so quickly that the chair he’s sitting in falls over backwards. “I’ve got to get to her. Now.”

But he waits a minute for me to gather my belongings and follow him. As we walk toward the exit of the restaurant, I feel Joel’s hand tug at my arm. “Hey, Anna,” he says.

I turn to look at him. “Yes?”

His smile is crooked. “I’m really glad we’re friends again.”

I return his smile. “Me too.”





Chapter 56: The Ex


The Uber ride to Cassie’s apartment takes under ten minutes. I debate whether I should give her a call to let her know Joel is coming, and in the end, I decide to shoot her a text. She doesn’t respond, but I figure she’s busy.

When we get out at the building, I find Cassie’s name on the intercom and wait for her to buzz us up. After about thirty seconds of waiting, I turn to Joel. “I don’t get it,” I say. “She told me to come over.”

“I’ve got a key,” Joel offers.

I step back and allow him to open the door, but it’s certainly not what we expected. My stomach is doing flip-flops on the way up to Cassie’s apartment. Something is going on. I can feel it in my gut. The same way I knew Francesca was up to something.

“I don’t get it,” I say again. “She said she was going to stay in the apartment and wait for me.”

“Maybe she’s in the shower?”

But I don’t think she’s in the shower. And I can tell from the look on Joel’s face that he doesn’t think so either. He presses the button on the elevator again, willing it to ascend faster. I think we’re both frightened of what we’re going to find up there.

When we get to the Cassie’s door, I nudge Joel. “Don’t ring. Just open it up.”

We exchange silent looks. He fits his key in the lock and opens the door.

Joel’s face blanches when he gets inside. I take a step back, my breath caught in my throat. Cassie is lying on the floor by her dining table, unconscious. Her dark hair is splayed around her and her face is colorless. Her eyes are open to slits.

And there’s Lydia.

Standing over her, an unreadable expression on her face.

Oh my God. It’s even worse than I had imagined.