Dont Blame Me

Chapter 21

Several emotions swirl in her eyes. Confusion, shock, maybe even intrigue. But not judgment. And that's only because I didn't confess to her about the gun incident. I don't think I'll ever be able to talk about that one.

I roll my lips. "Pretty much."

Without taking her eyes off me, she leans over and grabs the bottle of tequila we used to make the margaritas. She pours a shot into both of our empty cups and then hands one to me.
We take the shot, cringing at the taste, and then stare at each other in silence.

"I'm just not even sure what to say."

I groan. "Ashley, I don't know what to do. She didn't hurt me, I know I would've let her go farther had she tried. I'm so fucking confused. And I feel dirty and wrong, but when it was happening, it felt..."

I trail off with another groan, and this time I just bang my head against the granite countertop.

"Really good?" she fills in. "Amazing? Out of this world?"

"All of the above," I confess. "I have never come so hard in my entire life."

"Damn," she breathes, a note of awe in her voice. "Has she contacted you since then?" she asks gently, running her fingers through my hair in a comforting gesture.
I lift my head, a frown on my face.

"Yes. She just... she said she didn't want me to fall in love with something fake. She pretty much said she's showing me who she really is, instead of lying to me about it.  The fact that she thinks she can make me fall in love with her in the first place goes to show how deranged she is."

"That's... oddly nice? But really fucked up. There's something wrong with her. But we knew that from the chopped-off hands."

I snort. "Yeah, just a bit."

"Have you, uh, asked her about that yet?"

I nod. "Yeah, she basically played her usual macho act and said not to worry about it and that she'd take care of it." I roll my eyes, but in all honesty, I'm glad for it. If I can count on my shadow for anything, it's to fuck someone up.

She's made that more than clear.

I sit up and bring Gigi's journal back towards me. "Anyhoo, let's just focus on figuring out what happened to my great-grandmother."

It's not hard to put Ashley back into hacker mode. She slides her laptop towards her and immediately starts tapping away on the keyboard. The quickness of her fingers gives me a run for my money when I'm in a particularly good part in writing my book. She's been known to have to replace a few keys from how hard she types.

"So, time of death for Gigi was estimated about 5:05 P.M. Your great-grandfather claimed that he had run to the grocery store and when he came home, he found her dead in their bed. I found some witness reports claiming they did see John in Morty's grocery store around 5:35 P.M. But they didn't specify if they had seen him walking in or out of the store, or if they just saw him shopping during that time."

I nod my head, twisting my lips in contemplation. "In her last few journal entries, she was frantic and kept saying that he was coming for her. She never said who he is. But it has to be Ronaldo, right?"
"So, maybe he waited until John left and snuck in and killed her while he was gone. He stalked her after all, he'd know exactly when my great-grandfather would've left."

Ashley shrugs a shoulder, looking a little unconvinced.

"But don't the diary entries say that John was getting aggressive, and Gigi said she was going to divorce him, right?" she questions.

I frown. "Well, yeah, but I don't think he would've killed her. He loved her too much."

"Couldn't the same be said for her stalker?"