Open House(27)

Brad left the side of the Subaru and came toward them. “Brad Aarons,” he said, putting out a large hand for Dean to shake.

“Dean Walters,” Dean said, and Haley imagined herself saying Haley Walters for the rest of her life, but it left a funny taste in her mouth. Maybe she wouldn’t change her name after all.

“Freezing today,” Dean said, his voice low and unfamiliar.

Brad nodded, and then he glanced over his shoulder at the Subaru, looking a little desperate.

The car door finally opened, and a petite woman emerged. She was fine-boned and beautiful, but she looked a little off, too. She wasn’t dressed right for the snow, for starters, in her light jacket, jeans, and clogs, and her face was drawn and nervous. Haley tried to sound warm as she introduced herself, wishing she were one of those people who put others at ease.

“Hi,” the woman said, raising a bare hand with long, skinny fingers. Her voice was nearly inaudible in the cold gusts of air, but Haley heard her say, “Priya.”

So it was her. “I take anatomy with Brad,” Haley said. Priya blinked, and Haley wanted to kick herself for referring to him so casually in front of his wife. “With Dr. Aarons,” she added awkwardly, making it even worse.

“How nice,” Priya said, and then she tried to shut the car door against the storm, but it wouldn’t close all the way. She was the kind of thin that looked a little weak, and Haley found herself wishing Brad would just jump in and slam the door for her. The wind was picking up speed, whistling through the trees and making the branches sway.

Dean introduced himself to Priya, and then to Haley he said, “We should go in,” but he didn’t wait for her. He took off toward the house before she could say anything, and Haley felt paralyzed—it seemed like she should be friendly and wait for Brad and Priya, but Priya was still struggling with the car door, and every second Haley stood there waiting and watching her felt painful.

“I’ll get it,” Brad said, slamming the door with a thud, and the three of them followed Dean along the snowy walk. Josie must have attempted shoveling, because they could almost see the stones beneath. A branch cracked overhead, and Haley flinched. She glanced up to see it dangling over them, kept from falling by two other branches that cradled it in midair. She hurried to catch up with Dean. “Be careful,” she said as he climbed the front steps.

“I got it,” Dean snapped, but then he turned to help her. He reached out a strong, solid hand, and in that moment, he was hers again, her beloved fiancé, the person she loved and trusted above almost anyone else. Why was it that when they fought, she fantasized about leaving him? Was that normal?

Priya and Brad silently climbed the front steps behind them. Dean knocked on the door, and when there wasn’t an answer, he rang the bell. Haley turned to exchange a sheepish look with Priya, who was tugging the sleeves of her denim jacket over her hands. She had to be freezing. Dean rang the bell again, and when there was still no answer, he turned the knob. The door opened easily into a wide foyer. Gleaming gray hardwood covered the floors, and an entry table covered with flower arrangements sat beneath a crystal chandelier. It was lovely, and Haley greedily, instinctively pushed inside past Dean, relieved to be out of the storm.

“Josie?” Dean called out. He followed Haley inside, with Priya and Brad on his heels. Brad slammed the door behind the four of them, and the house was eerily quiet without the sounds of the storm. It was also far too chilly, as though Josie had forgotten to turn on the heat. “Josie?” Dean called again. “Hello? Is anyone here?”





NINETEEN

Priya

Priya listened to the echo of the dark-haired man’s voice as he called for Josie. Dean—that was his name. On any other day Priya would try to make small talk, but she was too focused on how fast her heart was racing, and the way Brad was trying to catch her gaze. She couldn’t even bear to look at him—she couldn’t piece together how or why he was here. He’d been waiting in his car when she arrived, so clearly he hadn’t followed her. Had he seen her text exchange with Josie? Priya had memorized the location of the open house and deleted her texts, and she’d kept her phone on her all day yesterday and this morning, too, just to be safe. But she’d been so hazy with the medication, maybe she thought she’d deleted the texts but hadn’t, or maybe there was some way to retrieve deleted messages?

“Hello!” Dean called out again. His wife (or had he said fiancée?), Haley, exchanged a sheepish glance with Brad.

Priya wished she could say something casual, but she couldn’t come up with anything that would make sense. Should she pretend she was here at the open house with Brad to see the home as a potential purchase? She turned to watch Brad fidget with the zipper on his down jacket. He overheated so easily, and normally he tore his coat off as soon as he stepped inside any house, but this one was freezing.

On the entryway table was the typical sign-in sheet real estate agents use to record guests’ attendance at open houses, and Priya moved toward it, trying to seem like everything about her being here was normal. “I’ll sign us in,” Priya said, still not looking at Brad.

“Maybe Josie’s upstairs?” Haley suggested, her voice echoing through the high-ceilinged foyer. Priya turned to stare. Haley looked young, probably in her midtwenties, and with her cropped dark hair, leggings, and black bomber jacket, she seemed a shade too punk rock to be looking at such a classic suburban home.