Run, Girl (If You Can)

The news broke the following day that Graydon Meyer confessed to the murder of Lacy Knighton and would be receiving a sentence of 15 years to life. Alice couldn't believe it. Aaron had been right!

She should have known better; he was always an excellent judge of character. It was unbelievable that she had ever been attracted to a murderer. But Alice's judgment of others had always been poor. If her judgment was half as sound as Aaron's, she never would have married that jerk Brock Kelly.

A jerk who was currently trying to weasel out of giving her enough alimony to live on. Her lawyer was doing his best but it was going to take a while to negotiate the terms. The optimistic estimate she had been given was six months. The pessimistic one was two years.

She didn't want to be married to that creep for another two years! If she had things her way, she wouldn't be married to him for another two minutes. But she needed something to supplement her meager income or she wouldn't have enough to eat once her savings ran out.

They were dwindling faster than she expected. Getting new furniture, clothes, and a used but dependable car Roger helped her pick out had already burned through quite a bit. Alice needed that alimony or she would be back in the Hales' guestroom before she knew it.

She felt she had already burdened them enough but she also couldn't bear to endure that lovefest again. It was too much for a lonely, unwanted woman like herself.

Alice's phone buzzed. It was Roger.

'Did you hear the news?'

'Yes'

'I can't believe he confessed so quickly. He was only arrested yesterday. Poor Aaron'

Alice didn't think Aaron had a problem with it at all, considering how much he disliked the man. He was probably thrilled Graydon was going to be locked up and out of his hair.

Did Aaron have anything to do with the arrest? It would take an awful lot of work finding a new lead on a cold case simply to deliver an anonymous tip. He didn't personally have the capability to hack into things but that didn't necessarily mean he didn't have someone in his pocket who could.

Was he really that petty? Or was he worried about a murderer being around his children?

She shouldn't be thinking this way. Someone had died, albeit a nasty and unpleasant woman that nobody truly liked. It was only fitting that the murderer be punished. If Aaron was involved in this, he had done the right thing.

'Somehow I think Aaron doesn't mind. He's not a huge fan of his half-brother' she texted back.

'Even so, the news will still affect him because they're related. I hope Hale Investments' stocks don't dip because of this'

Alice highly doubted that would happen since Graydon wasn't affiliated with the company in any way. The stocks hadn't been affected when the scandals about Keeley or Alistair Hale's illegitimate child hit the stands.

If anything, the stocks became more valuable once Aaron took over because he had shown his capabilities in front of the whole world. Hale Investments would be fine.

But that didn't necessarily mean that Aaron wouldn't be affected in some way. Keeley hadn't so much as been able to leave the house when the spotlight was focused on her. Would he have the same problem?

'I hope people leave him alone. He deserves a break'

Roger replied a minute later. 'Speaking of breaks, when is your next day off? I've been meaning to go to the beach but it would be more fun with friends. I'll see if I can find other people to come too'

A group outing? When was the last time Alice had been involved in one of those that didn't involve shopping? She honestly couldn't remember. It might have been in high school.

A smile bloomed on her face. That sounded really nice. If Roger's friends were anything like he was, she was in for a good time.

'I'm free next Tuesday. Kind of random, I know'

'I can call in sick if necessary. I never take my sick days. I'm sure Marissa would do the same. She's the boss though so she can close up shop whenever she wants. I'll talk to Kyle and see if he and his buddies are interested too'

'Sounds great!'

Alice leaned back on the couch and sighed contentedly. Despite her ongoing issue trying to actually get divorced, life was surprisingly good right now. Work was tiring and there were certain things she missed about her old life but the freedom was worth it.

Nobody was telling her how to dress, what to eat, how to talk, or who to kiss up to. She would never have to deal with that dragon of a mother-in-law ever again.

A vague flash of curiosity went through her mind. What kind of person was Roger's mother? Alice couldn't speak for all of the Clark children but the two she had met were lovely. She would have to be a pretty good person herself to raise such good people.

When she got married again, it would absolutely have to be to someone whose mother she liked and vice versa. She couldn't live through having two terrible mothers-in-law in her lifetime.

Her phone went off again and she was surprised that it was Roger again. This time he was asking her about her day.

Alice wasn't used to this. Her phone had always been used primarily to make plans and meet up with people. No one contacted her just for the sake of contacting her. So why would he?

Was this what friends were supposed to do? She supposed Keeley had checked in on her a few times but those exchanges were always only a few messages long because she got distracted by her children frequently. Alice didn't blame her for that at all; of course Kaleb and Violet would be the priority.

Still, it was nice being cared about. A simple "how was your day" turned into a two hour long text conversation. A smile was on Alice's face the entire time.