Emily gasped, squatting and bending toward the contents. “What is this?” she asked, her hand hovering over what I could now see were baggies of pills and powders. Oh shit. Charlie had brought the drugs I’d heard him discussing aboard this flight. And the shocked look on Emily’s face answered any questions I might have had about her knowledge of Charlie’s drug use.

Charlie had finally leaned forward to see what all the commotion was, and when he caught sight of the baggies, I saw the panic that altered his features. “What is this?” Emily asked, waving her hand over the scattered contents.

I met Charlie’s eyes just as he masked the panic that had quickly flared. He tilted his head, appearing very suddenly baffled. “Tuck,” he said, “answer her question. What is this? Are you dealing?” he asked, gesturing to the baggies still littering the floor.

I jerked my head back and then came to my feet. “Are you kidding me? You know very well those are yours.”

“What?” Emily said, her voice rising an octave as she too rose. “That’s not possible. Charlie isn’t into drugs. He’d have nothing to do with them.” She looked so distraught, clearly very upset by the mere idea of her perfect boyfriend having anything to do with illegal substances. As she should be. But he wasn’t only a drug user, he was a blatant liar.

Charlie stood up and put his hand on her arm. “Emily, babe, you know I’d never be involved with drugs in any way. I don’t even drink alcohol.”

I reached up, massaging my jaw. Charlie shook his head as he regarded me, the look of disappointed sorrow on his face almost making me question his guilt. He was an actor after all. “Tuck though, well, his history speaks for itself.”

“You piece of shit,” I said, taking a step toward him as I realized he was really going to go with this angle.

Emily reached up and placed her palm on my chest. “Stop it,” she said. “You are not going to physically intimidate Charlie.”

“Physically intimidate? He’s lying about me.”

Charlie made a sound of disgust in his throat. “Please. I have no reason whatsoever to lie about you.”

A scorching flame of anger ignited inside me. His lies sounded sincere. The innocent expression on his face looked genuine. And worst of all, even I knew that it made more sense that someone like me was involved in drugs.

But Emily knew me. At least she’d known me once.

But she also knew what I became.