Free Incriminated by M. G. Reyes Page A

president of some snotty college or whatever, but your mom sure knows how to curse.”
    â€œI guess I knew how to get under her skin,” Lucy admitted ruefully.
    â€œHow’re you two getting along, now that you don’t see her?”
    Lucy opened the cupboard and found the pancake mix.She noticed that Ariana already had eggs and oil standing by. Casually, she reached across her for an egg and broke it into the bowl, pouring in milk afterward. “We don’t talk much. I mostly text her a few times every day. Just checking in, letting Mom know what I’m doing, asking about her and Dad. She replies, tells me something about her day. The main thing is, she doesn’t get too nosy. It’s like I’m away at college or something. It’s cool.”
    Ariana rinsed the cloth she’d been using to wipe down the surface, then poured two glasses of orange juice. “You think it’s changed your relationship with her, being out here in LA?”
    â€œI think, yeah, maybe. It’s like, out of sight, out of mind. Which, knowing my mom, is a good thing. She’s got to have so much of her life under control; if I’m part of that then it’s like, I have to fall in with all those other performance measures.”
    Ariana shook her head in sympathy. “That’s no way to live.”
    â€œIt’s just how Mom is. That’s why she’s so successful. I think, after a while, she didn’t even want to be that way, but she just couldn’t stop herself.”
    Lucy whipped up the batter for about one minute, thinking about what she’d just told Ariana. They’d skirted around these types of topics during their phone calls. But it’d been a while since they’d last had a really long talk. And it was nicer to have Ariana actually in her kitchen, sharing past history.
    Ariana must have picked up on this, because she gave Lucy a wry smile. “Face it, honey, you’ve missed me. Get over here, gimme a squeeze.”
    Lucy endured yet another hug before moving over to the stove to heat up the griddle. Ariana leaned back against the countertop, juice glass in one hand, observing Lucy in her element.
    â€œYou know something, you’ve really grown as a person.”
    Lucy scowled. “Ugh—can we ditch the rehab talk? You always gave it to me straight, Ariana. C’mon, now, I can take it.”
    â€œYou want me to call you out on something?”
    â€œNo,” Lucy replied. “I just don’t want any bull. Out here, I got away from all of that. The housemates, they’re my friends, all of them. I didn’t think it would be like that. We’re all so different. But you know what? It really is that way. We’ve been through some stuff and, yeah, okay, I only told them very recently that I was on Jelly and Pie . Then you showed up. Which meant that anyone in the house who hadn’t already Googled me, found out about me being in rehab, too. I don’t want to be defined by my past. I don’t want to be that girl anymore.”
    â€œIt was sorta careless,” Ariana admitted. “I’m sorry, hon.”
    â€œIt’s all out in the open now. No one seemed too freaked out about it. Candace isn’t running to her mom to tell her that one of her tenants is a raging junkie. It looks like everything is okay.”
    Ariana didn’t speak for a moment, which surprisedLucy a little. Instead, she took the pancake batter from Lucy’s hand and poured a measure onto the hot griddle.
    â€œYeah,” Ariana said eventually, when three pancakes were cooking. “Your only problem now . . . is me.”
    It was true—almost—but Lucy had tried to conceal it. Either Ariana was being super-sensitive, or Lucy wasn’t playing the role of “hospitable friend” very well.
    â€œYou’re not a problem.”
    Ariana nodded without looking at Lucy. Softly she said, “Oh, yes I am. Lucy,