Obsession Falls - Page 147

It was terrifying.

Max wagged his tail but it was tentative. I could see the nervous tension in his furry body. He was glad to see me, but he knew something wasn’t right.

I reached out a hand, trying not to let Hayden see how much I was shaking. “Can I have my dog, please?”

He pulled what looked like a dog treat out of his pocket and held it out to Max. “Your dog is an idiot.”

Max didn’t take it. He whined and shifted on his feet.

Hayden tossed the treat to the ground. “Your loss.” His eyes lifted to meet mine. “Walk.”

He turned and led Max down the bank. I had no choice but to follow.

“Where are we going?”

Hayden didn’t answer. Max walked beside him, glancing back at me. I wanted to reassure him that he’d be okay. But I had no idea what Hayden was planning to do.

The noise of the waterfall grew. I could see where the cliff began up ahead, the crumbling drop-off I’d seen from below on my first date with Josiah. I tried not to think about how high the waterfall had looked or what Hayden leading me and Max to the edge probably meant.

“Did you hit Marigold’s car today?” I wasn’t sure why I was asking that question, when I had so many others, but I just hoped he’d stop before he got to the drop-off.

He paused and glanced over his shoulder. “Yes.”

“Why?”

“To get her out of the way. But is that really what you want to know?”

“Maybe this is a stupid question at this point, but has it been you all along?”

“That is a stupid question.”

“But why?”

He turned to face me. Max looked back and forth between the two of us. “You really don’t know, do you? You’re that self-centered, you don’t even know who I am.”

He’d always looked slightly familiar, but so did a lot of people in Tilikum.

“My first name is Jeffrey. Jeffrey Hayden Silva. I started going by my middle name after high school. Specifically, after I found out the sperm donor picked my first name.”

“You’re Jeffrey Silva?”

Max tried to come to me and he jerked the leash, making Max whimper. “I wasn’t allowed to use the Young name. Not that I ever wanted to.”

“I didn’t know.”

“Obviously.”

“No, I mean I didn’t know you existed. They never told me, so if you’re mad at me for not acknowledging you, it’s not my fault. I had no idea.”

“Of course you didn’t.”

“So this is all a big misunderstanding.”

“I haven’t misunderstood anything.”

“But why?” I wrapped my arms around myself, my stomach churning with fear. “Why do you hate me so much?”

“Another stupid question.”