Page 50 of Traces of Her
Thirty-One
GRIFFIN
MY EYES FOLLOW ROWENA as she quietly exits the room and direct my attention back to Lydia.
“Who is she?” Lydia asks as she slowly pulls herself up, sitting with her back against the wall
Rowena exposed herself and she shouldn’t have.
“Who?” I ask, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
Lydia narrows her eyes at me. “The girl.”
Plastering on a puzzled look, I glance around the room, searching for another person.
“There’s no girl here,” I declare, slightly shaking my head.
Lydia stares at me, her eyebrows drawn together.
“She was just in here…” Her voice trails off. “The one with the white hair. She was just in here,” she repeats again.
Fuck. She needs to let this go and stop with the damn questions. The last thing I need is for Rowena to be involved in this and I won’t question whatever I need to do to keep it that way.
“Lydia,” I say sternly. “There was no one else in here.”
Confusion swirls in her eyes as she looks back and forth between me and the bottle of water.
“But the water,” her voice shakes. “She brought it to me.”
Staring at her, I fight the urge to wrap my hands around her neck and squeeze them until her face turns purple. Blood or not, she’s pissing me off and her talking threatens everyone.
“No,” I retort, shaking my head, “I brought it. No one else has been in here.”
“I know what I saw,” she argues, the panic evident in her voice. “I’m not crazy,” she whispers.
She’s right, she isn’t crazy, but the less she knows, the better.
“Enough with the questions,” I bark in an effort to drive my point home. “She was not in here. Do you understand?” I demand.
Lydia nods quickly as tears begin to pool in her eyes. Laughter falls from her lips and she begins sobbing at the same time.
“Lydia,” I say quietly. “This will all be over soon. Just hang in there, okay?”
She continues to laugh and cry as I stare at her, unable to mask the sorrowful look on my face. Humans can withstand physical pain easier than emotional. Everything Lydia has been through has consumed her entire being and has now come after her mind.
As her laughter and sobs fill the space, I slip out of the room, unable to stand and watch her any longer, not when I know that I’m to blame for some of this.
She put her trust in me and I may have just stolen what’s left of her sanity.
I’ve played my part in this fucked up game.
And now I’m no better than Jared.