The Boyfriend: A Psychological Thriller

Sydney,

Kevin won’t be bothering you ever again.

—Tom

I can’t help but remember the last words the two of them exchanged before they took off.

Nobody else dies, Daisy.

Even if they deserve it?

Well, that’s different, of course.

I’m giving Jake another chance. He desperately wants it, and I want it too. If there’s one good thing to come out of all this, it’s our realizing what we lost when our relationship ended. But it’s not too late to give it another try.

After all, if Tom and Gretchen can be happy together, why not me and Jake?

Jake was only a small part of this manhunt, which eventually included the FBI. But he took on a much more reasonable task. He appointed himself my official bodyguard, “in case they come back.”

When he told me that, I challenged him. Not that I didn’t want him around, but I reminded him about his busy schedule. He brushed off my concerns. I’m going to make time for what’s important.

And he has. He really has.

When my nurse saw that I was awake, she said to me, “There’s a detective who asked me to call him immediately when you woke up.”

That was Jake, of course. Even though there was a manhunt in progress, he dropped everything to race over to the hospital to see me. After all this time, several years too late, he had truly figured out how to make time for me.

At first, I’m certain he’s going to tell her to go to hell. He’s got a life here. A career as a medical examiner. He wouldn’t give that all up to go on the run with some psychopath who has already murdered God knows how many people.

But then I see the way he’s looking at her. And I realize what his answer is going to be.

“I can’t live without you either,” he says softly.

She stares up at him with shining eyes. “I…I can’t live without you, Tom.”

“We’ve been apart for twenty years, and it’s sucked. I’m sick of living that way. Aren’t you?”

“Tom, come with me.” She steps closer to him, her eyes shining with excitement and determination. “Come on. You know we’ve both been miserable alone for the last twenty years. This is our chance to actually be happy.” She takes his hand again. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to have a family with you.”

“A family? Daisy…”

“It won’t happen with anyone else but me,” she says, “and you know it. There is nobody else who could possibly understand you the way I do. With anyone else, your life would be a lie.”

No. No. I can’t say that, for God’s sake. I can’t say anything to Daisy Driscoll, it’d just be asking for trouble. No, it’s better to focus on Cindy, who is sweet and pretty and doesn’t like horror movies, just like any normal girl. And I like Cindy. I really do.

Okay, I’m not in love with her, but I could be. I will be.