"Well, if it isn't Tommy Q's new main squeeze. Tell me, do you love him enough to marry him too because if we really wanted to, I bet we could start a fad." Justine replied sarcastically as she shrugged before leaning against the brick alley way in a gesture resembling anything but friendliness. I winced at her nasty tone as I strode over to her with a frown.
"I'm not anything to Tommy, Justine, so just back off. I don't know you well enough to knock you out on your ass so do me a favor and disappear." I remarked snidely as I tried to walk past her nonchalantly only to have her place her hand in a restraining gesture against my chest. I looked down at it menacingly before glancing up at her in warning.
"He's good in bed, isn't he? Makes up for that nasty side you never see. Really it does. Makes you forget all about the history he brings with him." She stated vaguely as I just stared at her in wide-eyed ignorance. She must have taken my clueless hint because she stared at me with loathing as she backed me against the wall of the alley—perusing me in disgust before laughing as if she found my very appearance amusing.
"You don't know, do you?" She asked as I just kept staring at her, trying my best to keep my temper under wraps as she laughed gleefully.
"Oh boy! How I love being the bearer of bad news!" She said with a small, maniacal dance before stepping up to me with a look of pure delight.
"You're not squeamish, are you?" Justine asked as she looked down at me imploringly. I just pushed her away from me forcefully, watching as she stumbled against the pebbled pavement before righting herself in indignation.
"I don't care what you know, Justine. I just want you to leave." I replied coldly as I brushed past her toward the door, trying my damndest to ignore her continued giggles.
"He chose a fiery one this time. Bet when you two are together, you explode." She remarked jovially as I glanced back at her scathingly before placing my hand on the doorknob. Big mistake. Her expression had fallen into a look filled with thoughtfulness as I started to turn the knob.
"He killed a man." Justine stated suddenly, and I felt my fingers go instantly cold as her statement registered in my head—slipping off the doorknob unheeded as I stared numbly at the brick wall in front of me. He what?
"What?" I asked haltingly as I turned around slowly, trying my best to hide my shock as another voice invaded the small space that, for me, had become a suffocating prison.
"I killed a man." Tom stated flatly as I turned around to find him leaning casually against the end of the alley—watching the whole scene with hard, cold eyes.
"Go on, Justine. Fill her in on all the juicy details since you seem to be so very well informed." Tommy declared in a voice so flat that it even made me shiver. And in that moment, I felt my whole world being condensed into a single minute filled with shock, curiosity, and anger. But never doubt. Because there was one thing I knew without question. There was no way Justine was telling the truth.