The Boyfriend

by Freida McFadden

And I’m terrified that the moment I get her alone, I will wrap my fingers around her pretty, white neck and squeeze the life out of her.

How fun! Big fan of a nice dramatic twist as the last sentence in a chapter!

I begin to protest that he doesn’t look anything like the photo, but the words sound so superficial in my head. Okay, yes, Kevin looks vastly different from his profile photo. But does that really matter? We have been texting through Cynch and he seems like a nice enough guy. I should give him a chance.

Oh no. I can’t believe she’s trying to justify staying. Not that I haven’t done this, but it’s so so wrong. He lied. Should be an immediate disqualification.

“Well,” he adds, “except for your arms.” “My arms?” “They’re kind of flabby.” He wrinkles his nose. “But other than that, wow. Like I said, you’re the perfect woman.” Wait. My arms are too flabby? Did he really just say that to me? Worse, now I am straining to surreptitiously examine my bare arms. And why did I wear a sleeveless dress tonight? I have only two sleeveless dresses in my closet. I could have worn something with sleeves that would have concealed my apparently hideous arms, but no, I chose this.

Why do we women fall in this trap? A man will literally insult us, but instead of writing them off, we become insecure and blame ourselves instead.

But he has a determined look on his face, and I’m starting to suspect that the easiest option would be to just let him walk me home. Not that I am actually going to let him walk me home. I live about ten blocks away, and I figure after three or four blocks I’ll just point out a random building and tell him it’s mine. Then I’ll be free of Real Kevin forever. “Fine,” I grumble. “Let’s go.”

I HATE THIS SO MUCH. This is the dumbest thing ever. Like she is making it so easy. For him.

He looks at me again, as if for permission, and I shake my head. That is not how I want this evening to end. I just want to go back home and soak in my bathtub.

WHY. Report this creep. I know that women are not often believed, but she’s not even thinking about that. She has a witness, even! She could get him off the street…

Mystery Man is hot, to say the least. He has thick black hair and coal-black eyes, with a level of intensity that sends yet another lightning bolt through me. His strong jaw makes him seem utterly in control and confident. His face has that pleasing textbook symmetry. He’s wearing a black T-shirt that shows off his lean build and makes his dark hair and eyes seem even more intense. There’s also no glint of a wedding band on his left hand.

Definitely Tom then.

And then he walks away.

Yeahhhh, that’s his game. Gain her trust and STALK. I wonder how his obsession developed, did it become a game for him, or does he truly fall in love with his victims. Best case scenario maybe he curbs his appetite by killing bad guys, buuuuut. Okay, but also… could Kevin actually be Slug? And what if he and Tom team up to do this?

and next to that is a black-and-white photo of a teenage girl with the word “MISSING” underneath. I recognize the face of Brandi Healey from our class, who ran away from home way back at the beginning of the school year, which is why the flyer is now crumpled and weatherworn.

He definitely killed this girl.

That’s Alison—Daisy’s best friend. I’ve got Slug and she’s got Alison. Both of us could probably do better. “Daisy,” she murmurs. That’s all she says. Daisy. Which makes me think she’s said a lot of other things about me in the past. And now that one word is a reminder of whatever awful things she said about me when I wasn’t standing right here. Alison doesn’t like me. She’s made that really clear. And it isn’t that she doesn’t know me and doesn’t understand me. Alison knows me. We are, in fact, lab partners in biology this year. We have spent plenty of time together. And every minute we spend together, she likes me a little less.

Alison knows something. But considering that he is alive and not in prison in the future, it’s telling me that Alison either ended up dead or nobody believed her.

Truth be told, I’ve only kissed a girl once, and I didn’t even want to do it. She kissed me. Except the only people who know about that are me and her. And now just me.

He definitely killed Brandi.

I have something called von Willebrand disease, which basically means that if I get a papercut, I’m going to leave a trail of blood behind me.

Wait, will that be a turn on for him or a turn off?

“Yes, actually. He just walked me home.”

Ummmmm, is her date Tom? OMG. Will Bonnie die? And then Sydney will solve the case? But he and Sydney did have a moment…

“The thing is,” she says, “he’s a serious guy. He doesn’t seem like a player. Honestly, even though we mostly just hook up, I don’t think he’s hooking up with anyone else. He’s super nice, and he’s smart, and he’s funny. He’s actually a doctor.” A hot, single doctor who just hits her up for booty calls? She’s got to be out of her mind if she thinks this guy is settling down anytime soon.

Definitely the same guy, definitely Tom.

“Craigslist?” Bonnie shakes her head. “Do you want her to get murdered?”

lol the irony

I can’t get Slug a girlfriend. I would if I could, but I can’t. He’s actually a really good guy, but something about him makes girls nervous.

Okay, this makes me think that Kevin IS Slug.

“Nothing wrong with killing someone if he deserves it.” “Actually, there is.” “Not really.” “It’s illegal. I would go to jail.” “Only if you get caught.”

Okay, maybe Kevin is not Slug. BUT maybe Tom becomes like Dexter? Kills the bad guys? Maybe Tom will kill Kevin?

But you’re making a mistake.” His eyes darken as they bore into me. “A big mistake.”

Ummmm, I feel like he’s going to kill Bonnie. Though that feels very straight-forward. Bonnie is in the middle of a murder sandwich now. Considering she is dating Tim and now has been threatened by Kevin.

“I don’t want to be alone with Randy. He gives me the creeps.”

Either all three girls are going to end up dead, or one will end up dead and there will be three suspects. Because damn. Is there not one single non-murderer man in NYC?

Randy’s spidery fingers fly to the oversized key ring hanging off his jeans.

Randy could be Slug. Using “spidery” could foreshadow it. Plus, both are described as tall and super skinny. And considering Tom noted that all the girls thought Slug was creepy in school and both Bonnie and Sydney think the same of Randy…

And the truth is I was so jealous of her newfound happiness that I didn’t push her too hard for the details.

At least she’s self-aware. Because she’s such a shitty friend. Didn’t even ask to see a picture.

“Mr. Muncy has an alibi for last night. His girlfriend was with him the entire time.”

Could Gretchen be lying?

I swear, five seconds after he shaves, his beard instantly grows back. It also hides some acne scars left over from his teenage years, although it’s hard to imagine Jake ever being a skinny teenager.

Oh MY GOD. IS Jake actually Slug? He definitely grew out of his awkwardness. Because Slug’s acne kept getting mentioned.

Gretchen seems willing to accept this assessment of the situation. Bonnie wouldn’t have let me drop it this way—she’d probably have marched me down to the police station to find out about a restraining order. But she’s dead.

This character is so impossibly stupid.

I hate her. What the actual hell. She literally does nothing to help and then acts defensively because someone cares.