Page 102 (2/2)
“He said that they’re the last of their nest; that she’d have nowhere to go, no one to turn to, and he doesn’t think she’d survive on her own He said he kept hoping she’d just let hiht be best to have her relocated”
I hummed “Do you think he’ll really ask that of Sam and Jared?”
Coop shrugged “I don’t know He was very convincing But then, so were Arlo and Beatrix”
“Well, at least one of the three is a bullshitter”
Coop rubbed at his nape “I don’t want it to be Arlo That’s why I don’t trust ment here I’uys I’ve been going over it again and again into stay impartial, but it was hopeless”
“What’s the gist of what Arlo said to you when he claimed you’d been betrayed by Derek?”
“Well, Arlo ca with himself about whether or not he should ‘do this,’ but that he couldn’t keep quiet because I deserved better Then he said that Derek had been sleeping with Beatrix behind my back Arlo said I really shouldn’t take the betrayal personally because ‘those two, as a couple, are so old that they don’t really see it as cheating on others whenever they get together for a night’ He told me they had a messed up dynamic and that it would be better for me to not be touched by it”
On the outside, that did in fact appear to be the case “I’ you then confronted Derek”
“I did He swore it wasn’t true, he looked so sincere, but I’d heard froedly betrayed them with Beatrix, so it was easy to believe he’d done the same to me And I couldn’t see why Arlo would lie about it”
“But now you’re not finding it so easy to believe that Derek’s the guilty party?”
Coop flapped his hands “I just don’t know A friend of irlfriend who lied to his partners that he was still fucking her She wasn’t a bad person, just struggled to let hio Beatrix isn’t bad …”
“But could be having the sale”
“Ortoo And I’ve met men who have such an unhealthy hold on a wo he’ll coood times’ I read somewhere that the effect on the brain is similar to when you play those slotet when it sporadically pays off” He sighed “I really don’t knoho or what to believe”