The Inmate

Sometimes people do exactly what you think they’re going to do, and they still manage to disappoint you.

If someone truly wants to reach you, there’s always a way.

I look like I’m in college, and I feel like I’m fifty. Story of my life.

I had to do what I did. After all, I would do anything for my mom.

I love you, Brooke. That was what he said to me just a few hours before he tried to kill me.

I don’t quite understand how you can love somebody so much, yet so frequently want to throttle them.

My mother would say that boys don’t do anything nice for you if they’re not expecting something in return.

Ugly men are good in bed, you know.

After all, ten years ago, he saved my life.

Sometimes people do exactly what you think they’re going to do, and they still manage to disappoint you

After all, he had been deprived of this for ten years. You can’t say no to giving a glass of water to a guy who has been lost in the desert for ten years.

woman is waiting for me. She is roughly in her sixties, with close-cropped gray hair and a sturdy build—there’s something vaguely familiar about her, but I can’t put my finger on what it is.

I didn’t have a clue what made him a target. Until I found out the name all the other kids were calling him: Bastard.

He loves telling me he loves me. And I can’t say I don’t love being loved.

love your aftershave,” I murmur. “It’s sandalwood scented.” I frown. “What’s sandalwood?” “I don’t know. The wood you make sandals from?” “So basically, you smell like feet?” He laughs. “Hey, you’re the weirdo who likes it…

Does Tim have a mannequin wrapped in a tarp in his basement? Don’t kid yourself, Brooke. You know exactly what you’re looking at. Her scarf is lying on the coffee table upstairs.

Hey, it’s Tim Reese. I got your number from the parent directory. Hope that’s not too creepy.

As the prison doors slam shut behind me, I question every decision I’ve ever made in my life.

I love you too,” I breathe. He leans in toward me. “And I’m going to show you how much.” And he does.

Sometimes people do exactly what you think they're going to do, and they still manage to disappoint you.

The truth is, I still don’t believe it. There was something else that happened that night—something important I’m missing. Something tugging at the periphery of my memory. I feel like if I could think hard enough, I would figure it out. But the harder I try to remember, the more it eludes me.

When he leans forward and kisses me, I don’t stop him.

But he lopes me. And that’s almost better than love. “I lope you too,” I say.

Shane is Josh’s father. He won’t let anything happen to him.

Be careful.

It’s because of one of the inmates in this prison. Someone I knew a long time ago, who I am not eager to see ever again.

Shane is staring at Tim as a bolt of thunder shakes the room. Tim raises his eyes, and a look passes between them that I can’t quite identify. We all sit there, our hands frozen on our paper cups. Tracy Gifford is the girl who was found dead over the summer. Obviously, none of us have been on a date with her. But then Tim raises his cup. And he takes a drink.

Tim is in love with me.

Shane was behind bars at that point, for the rest of his life. There was no way he could get to me. I was safe from that man. And I still am.

And it’s only when I’m in Tim’s arms that I notice another smell. Something extremely familiar, but not nearly as pleasant as garlic and butter. It’s sandalwood.