Never the Same

continue with Lexi

So why had he chosen that exact moment?

Why had he shown up knowing Nicole wasn't alone?

And why couldn't I shake the feeling that someone had been watching my apartment before everything happened?

The questions kept me awake at night.

One evening after work, I stopped by Nicole's hospital room.

She was scrolling through her phone.

"Look who's finally off work," she said.

"Some of us have jobs."

"And some of us have bullet wounds."

"Fair point."

I sat down beside her.

For a few minutes we talked about random things.

Reality television.

Hospital food.

Celebrity gossip.

Everything except what happened.

Then Nicole suddenly became serious.

"Lex."

"What?"

"I need to tell you something."

The tone of her voice immediately got my attention.

"What is it?"

She looked toward the doorway to make sure nobody was listening.

Then she lowered her voice.

"The day I broke up with Tony, he told me something."

"What?"

"He said if he couldn't have me, nobody could."

I frowned.

"That's not surprising."

"That's not the weird part."

"Then what is the weird part?"

Nicole swallowed hard.

"He said somebody paid him."

My entire body froze.

"What?"

"He told me somebody gave him money to keep tabs on people in the neighborhood."

My stomach dropped.

"What people?"

"I don't know."

"Nicole, this isn't something you forget."

"I'm serious."

She looked terrified.

"He was drunk and angry when he said it."

"Did he say who paid him?"

"No."

The room suddenly felt colder.

"What else did he say?"

Nicole looked down at her blanket.

"He mentioned Terrance."

The moment she said his name, every alarm bell in my head started ringing.

"Terrance?"

She nodded.

"I don't know if Tony was lying."

I sat back in my chair.

Confusion raced through my mind.

Terrance?

Why would Tony mention him?

Nothing about it made sense.

Yet that unsettling feeling immediately returned.

Stronger than before.

The same feeling I'd had standing on my porch.

The same feeling I'd had while driving to the hospital.

The same feeling that refused to leave me alone.

Maybe it was paranoia.

Maybe it was grief.

Or maybe my instincts were right.

Maybe Nicole getting shot wasn't the end of the story.

Maybe it was only the beginning.

And if that was true, then somebody in our neighborhood was hiding a dangerous secret.

A secret that could get more people killed.