Dead Presidents (An Aria Raymond Thriller Book 3) by Thomas Ransom (that summer book txt) 📕

Before coming in for her appointment, Aria had made the wrong decision of switching on the news channel. She kept hearing the reporter in her head. David. The real murderer. It felt weird saying that name. He would always be Clark to her. The real murderer. She just couldn’t bring herself to believe that he would do such a thing. That he would let anyone hurt her like this. She was in prison for months! How can someone do that? Tanya and Diaz had told her that he wanted to protect Aria and had the chance to run but didn’t. She didn’t know what to think of that. Aria was questioning everything. She was scared to even go out of the house now. The only time she left the house was to meet her therapist. She looked up and saw her therapist watching her closely.

Aria cleared her throat. “No. Nothing. I just went blank for a moment.” She lied. She wasn’t a very good liar, and she was sure her therapist knew she wasn’t being honest. Thankfully, she didn’t say anything.

“How have you been feeling lately?”

Aria sighed, “Honestly? The same. I get moments when I want to leave everything behind and start living my life, and the very next moment, I would be sinking in bed thinking what’s the use.”

Her therapist nodded, “That’s normal. It will take time, Aria. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“Yeah, well…” Her voice trailed away.

“…the real murderer, known only as ‘David’, confessed to the crime, and Aria was released...”

She gave her head a shake again. Stop! She told herself.

Her therapist was looking at her with concern, “Are you still talking to your friends?”

Aria nodded, “Yeah, they do drop by every now and then. Tanya FaceTime’s me every day after she gets off work. My previous office has offered me my old job back, but I am unsure if I want to rejoin. Tanya keeps insisting that I should, but I don’t know…”

“Well… that’s up to you. If you feel you shouldn’t go back there, then that’s what you should do. If you want to join, go ahead.”

“Wow! That’s very helpful.”

The therapist chuckled, “That’s how this therapy thing works, Aria. I can help you deal with your emotions and make the decisions you think are right for you. I can’t tell you what to do and what not to do. You know what is best for you.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“So, the weekend is coming up. Do you have any plans?”

“Well, I am going to watch a movie with friends. I honestly didn’t want to, but they just wouldn’t take no for an answer anymore.”

“There you go. You made plans. It will be good for you.”

“Yeah, I guess. I am actually looking forward to it now.”

“See? That’s progress!”

After the hour was up, she made her way outside the building and blinked in the sun. Someone was honking at her.

“Over here!”

Aria looked at her left and saw Tanya waving from her car frantically. “Quick! The parking meter is running out.”

Aria chuckled and joined her friend in the car. Tanya started driving, “So, how did it go?”

Aria shrugged, “Same old, same old!”

“Well, I got some good news for you. There is an apartment I found that I know you will love. We are heading there to check it out right now. After that, we are going out for a nice dinner at that new Italian restaurant near my house! You can’t protest. It’s my treat.”

Aria rolled her eyes and smiled, “Fine! You win this time.” She relaxed back in her seat, trying hard to block that news reporter’s voice from her head.

She checked her cell phone, and there were unread messages from both Sanjay and Diaz. She smiled. Aria was grateful for her three friends. They were constantly by her side, and she never felt like she was alone. Even though all she wanted to do was snuggle in bed and sleep all day long, she wanted to make an effort for these three. It would be a fresh start if she could move into a new place. She thought to herself as Tanya chatted along happily. Everything about her current house reminded her of Clark… David. She corrected herself. She couldn’t even leave her house without being forced to look at his now empty home right across hers. She couldn’t even stay in her kitchen for long because she could see his house from the window… the place she spent countless nights in. She wasn’t even sleeping in her room anymore. She was using the guestroom since everything in her bedroom reminded her of him.

Maybe it would be better if things didn’t remind her of him. A new house, a new area, and new neighbors would be so much better. All the neighbors in Aria’s street were aware of her wrongful arrest and conviction. They also knew David. The minute she arrived back in her house, her neighbors started pouring in… sympathizing with her, telling her how they always thought “there was something wrong with that guy.” She rolled her eyes as she remembered how everyone would be swooning over him and how everyone on the street had nothing but nice things to say about him… before he got arrested. Now they were all trying to tell her how they always knew. Sending her cooked meals that she barely touched and assuring her that everything will be okay, that she just had to forget about him and move on.

Aria didn’t know how to tell them that they were the ones who kept reminding her of what happened and how their presence and being on that street was also a constant reminder. She sometimes wanted to scream at them to leave her alone. However, she kept quiet and just nodded