Free The Confession by Sierra Kincade

blinked rapidly, eyes watery. Amy wasn’t much of a crier; I hated seeing her so torn up.
    â€œIt’s not your fault.” My voice was raw.
    She scoffed pitifully, as if this was a joke. What happened wasn’t her fault, and I needed the subject changed ASAP.
    â€œDid you know Alec and Janelle were . . . a thing?” Dating? Together? I didn’t know.
    She peeled back the cover on the broth, refusing to look up.
    â€œI didn’t know how to tell you,” she said. “It was different with him. I knew it wouldn’t be as easy as us eating brownies and throwing a pity party. It was going to wreck you, and I . . .”
    She covered her mouth with her hands. “That’s why you went to that bar, isn’t it? Alec said the bartender saw you there drinking alone before you hooked up with someone.”
    â€œI didn’t hook up with anyone,” I said, wondering if this bartender had seen who had taken me. “I don’t even remember going.”
    Amy handed me the spoon. The idea of eating made me even more ill, but my growling stomach disagreed.
    â€œIt was in the news,” she said. “The woman he’s seeing was the FBI agent working his case. She got demoted or something when their affair went public a month or so ago.”
    I couldn’t help but feel a little validation at that, but it still felt like a betrayal. If Alec had to date someone, I wished it was someone that one, I didn’t know, and two, wasn’t such a ball-busting bitch.
    I leaned forward, and Amy propped a pillow behind my back. “Is it too late to try brownie therapy?”
    â€œNever.” She picked at her fingernails.
    â€œI have so many questions.”
    â€œI’m sure.”
    â€œDoes anyone have any idea who did this?” I tapped the tray with my spoon, not totally sure I was ready to try eating yet.
    Amy shook her head.
    â€œYou’re dad’s been raising hell with the local PD trying to figure it out, and Alec’s using his resources at the FBI.”
    â€œYou mean Janelle, his girlfriend.”
    She nudged the tray in my direction. So they were together.
    â€œWhoever thought orange Jell-O was a good idea?” she said. “It tastes like cough syrup. Twenty bucks for an Advil, but they can’t spring an extra fourteen cents for strawberry or cherry.”
    I looked across the bed at my best friend, sitting there like she had ten years ago when our biggest concerns involved boys and parties. I hoped in ten years she was still sitting there. I hoped in fifty years I could still count on her to be the one holding my hand and crying the tears I couldn’t cry.
    I leaned over the tray and hugged her. “I love you, Amy.”
    She sighed and squeezed me as tightly as she could. The soup sloshed up against my knees, probably soaking the sheets.
    â€œI know,” she said. “I love you, too.”
    â€œCan you do me a favor?”
    She sat back. “Anything you want.” Her eyes darted from side to side. “Want me to take a hit out on the girlfriend?”
    I smirked. “She carries a gun.”
    â€œWell, I carry sharp scissors, so she can kiss my skinny ass.”
    I laughed, and it felt like ice chipping away inside of me. I tried a sip of the broth. The second it touched my tongue, my stomach started grumbling for more.
    â€œCan you hold off my dad for a while?” The momentary lightness was doused in shame. “I know he’s probably freaking out but I just . . .” I bit down on my lower lip, trying to keep my voice from trembling. “I can’t see him right now.”
    I was sure by now he knew that they’d found roofies in my system. Alec had probably told him they’d done an exam to see if I’d been raped, as well.
    I was his little girl, and I wasn’t ready to see the way he looked at me now.
    My mind shifted to Alec, and where he was. He probably