Minutes later I heard the squalling sirens of the ambulance and police vehicles speeding to the scene. The paramedics would rush into the house, the police would search for clues, the spotlight would shine on me. Was it worth it? It didn’t feel like it anymore.

The curtain fell, and suddenly I felt so very alone.

Chapter 35

Robin

SUNDAY MORNING

Ryan had woken up in tears—again—which led to Willow breaking out in hysterics over the police questioning her brother. Of course, Lucas saw all of the crying and felt the need to join in, which led to a house full of weeping children when Collette’s pink little face turned purple with empathy wailing.

“I’ve got to get out of here or I’m going to lose my mind,” I told Grant while I headed for the door. “I’ll pick up some Dunkin’ Donuts for everyone.”

“Wait, Robin! You can’t leave me here with four screaming kids,” Grant whined.

“Welcome to my everyday life.”

I handled it for hours each day. Grant could handle it for a few minutes. I headed out of the winding neighborhood plan, blasting Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s “Shallow.”

The lyrics gave me chills, because exactly like they said, I too was diving in to the deep end, not knowing if I’d ever surface again. But I’d be wearing a little black dress when I took the plunge. The secret “date” was confirmed for tonight, the dress hanging in my closet, the stilettos polished and shiny, everything in place for a night of marital self-destruction. By this time tomorrow I could be short one friend and one husband.

I’d thought about Mackenzie a lot over the past couple days. Not just because of the Aria-Ryan drama, but because she was the one I wanted to talk to about Grant. Whenever I brought the subject up with Lily, she grew withdrawn, which wasn’t like her. Lily had opinions on everything from politics to pasta. To now have nothing to say about my philandering husband? It was odd, but I tried not to overthink it. If I could count on anyone as my sounding board, it was Mackenzie. If I could count on anyone to man-bash for me, Mackenzie again.

Her house was only a couple minutes out of the way, so I decided to take a little detour. I don’t know why I wanted to torture myself by driving by, not that I planned to actually stop. We weren’t on speaking terms, and it broke my heart. But something about seeing her house, where I imagined her sipping coffee in her silky pajamas, brought her closer to me.

As I arrived, I realized why my gut had insisted on passing by. An ambulance was parked in the driveway, and two cop cars squatted crookedly along the street out front. Oh, God, no . . . please let my friend be okay.