by Jolie Day
Matthew rolled his eyes and scowled when he opened the door. In the corridor behind him, Zoe could make out piles of half-packed boxes and a roll of packing tape on the floor. It looked like he was moving out. Matthew placed a hand firmly on his doorframe and stood to block Zoe’s view of his place, fixing her with a cold, hard stare.
“I don’t know where she is,” he snapped. “I haven’t seen Vicky in months. I haven’t kidnapped her or murdered her or even been anywhere near her. So please just leave me alone.”
Vicky’s ex went to slam the door in Zoe’s face, but the courageous young woman put her foot in the way. She could see Matthew getting more infuriated with the situation and he huffed loudly, before throwing his hands up in the air in anger and retreating back into his apartment, not bothering to shut the door. Zoe crept in behind him and watched in mute fascination as Matthew turned his back on her and continued to pack the boxes with his things.
“Are you moving out?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“No offense, but I really don’t see how that is of any concern to you.”
“It looks a lot like you are running away.”
“Yeah? Well, I don’t really care what it looks like. Ever since Vicky Saunders walked into my life, it’s been hell. The woman’s a compulsive liar and a manipulator. You can’t have known her that long or you’d know that for yourself.”
Zoe scoffed at his declarations of innocence and crossed her arms over her chest, flicking back her shoulder-length hair over her shoulder in a swift gesture of determination.
“All I know is that Vicky has had some stories to tell about you and now she’s missing.”
Matthew stopped his packing, took a deep breath and turned to face Vicky for the first time. His eyes traveled over her soft features set in a stubborn expression of purpose and took in the way her arms were folded over her chest in a way that said she wasn’t leaving without answers. Matthew gave a doleful shrug.
“All Vicky does is tell stories,” he said bitterly. “She makes a living out of it. All that public speaking and book deals and the sympathy she gets from followers online...she loves it. What did she tell you about me?”
The visitor felt her cheeks flush red and she began to stammer over her words. To her knowledge, Matthew was a violent man and now he wanted her to repeat what had been said about him? The thought made her shudder. But, then again, there was no malice in his dark eyes as he fixed his sharp gaze on her, only a mounting impatience.
“Well, she...she said that you were abusive. Violent. Controlling.”
“And?”
“That you ruined her life.”
“Sure I did. How long did she say we were together?”
“Two years.”
“We were together for two weeks,” Matthew said emphatically. “We’d known each other for a long time through mutual friends and then dated for two weeks, two years ago. That was before I realized what a psycho she was. Within a week of our first date she started telling everyone that I was threatening her and getting violent. She turned all my friends and family against me with her lies and nearly cost me a few good business deals.”
“So, you’re saying she just made it all up?” Zoe said skeptically. “Those are some pretty big lies. Your friends and family wouldn’t turn on you based on the words of someone they hardly knew.”
“No, they didn’t at first,” Matthew agreed, “but then she started publishing her stories in those magazines and doing those charity speeches about what she’d been through and word got around that I’m some sort of monster. People didn’t want to be associated with me after that. A two-week fling was somehow turned into a tragic story of one woman’s struggle with the devil. I think she told a couple of lies and liked the attention so much that she just kept it going. Who’s going to argue with a weeping woman when she says someone like me raised a hand to her? Luckily, I do have some good people on my side that helped me rebuild my reputation.”
Zoe took in a sharp intake of breath at his words. It sounded remarkably like a confession to her, but then Matthew saw her taking a step back and rolled his eyes again.
“If you’re worried about her, submit a report to the police,” he advised. “That’s all you can do. I guarantee that she’ll show up eventually. This is all for attention, just like it always is.”
“I went to her place and all her stuff had been thrown around,” Zoe told him. “It looked like something pretty intense happened. I’m just worried about her and am trying to find out what happened.”
Matthew sighed heavily again. “I’ll tell you what,” he said at last. “I don’t know where she is, but I can give you the numbers of some of our mutual friends. I think I’ve even got her Mom’s number somewhere. I don’t know where she is, but maybe you’ll find someone on that list who does and then you can tell all of them to stop showing up here, too. How does that sound?”
“That would help a lot. Thanks.”
“Great. Come back tomorrow around the same time and I’ll give you what I have, OK?” Matthew instructed. He paused when he saw the genuine worry on Zoe’s face and heaved another heavy sigh. His voice softened when he spoke again to comfort her. “Look, I’m assuming that I’ve known Vicky for much longer than you have and I can tell you from experience that this is just the sort of thing she does. She won’t be in danger. She’s just trying to be dramatic so that she’s got more to talk about in her speeches. Trust me.”
Zoe didn’t trust him, but as she’d met Vicky at the gym, she didn’t know any of her other friends and had never met her family. There were few people she could talk to aside from sending out some messages to people who were friends of Vicky’s online. So far that hadn’t turned up any results, so she guessed she’d have to take Matthew at his word and just hope that he’d be there tomorrow when she showed up.
“Alright,” she said at last, unable to quite keep that suspicious tone out of her voice. “I’ll be back tomorrow. Will you be here?”
“I’m not skipping town just yet.”
“Tomorrow then.”
...
♥ Available in Amazon Stores. Visit Jolie Day's author page on Amazon.
FREE for Kindle Unlimited Readers!
About the Author
Jolie Day’s favorite genre to write in is Romance, more specifically BBW romance stories, both contemporary and thriller/mystery. She lives in Miami, FL with her boyfriend and their golden retriever, Rosie. She enjoys snorkeling and water sports. When she is not writing her romance stories, she can be found on the beach reading and spending time with friends and family.
Jolie’s passion for reading extended to writing at a young age. After graduating high school she attended the University of Miami and majored in Journalism. After college she has worked as an editor for a few small publications, but is currently working full time as a freelance writer.
Visit her author page on Amazon for other stories.
Legal Information
Copyright © Jolie Day
First Edition December, 2015
In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.
The characters, places, and events portrayed in this book are completely fiction and are in no way meant to represent real people or places.
Warning: The author’s stories contain mature themes and language. They are intended to be enjoyed by an 18+ audience only.
Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.
Contact: [email protected]
Image rights: © Fotolia.com
Updated March 13th, 2016
r />
