After that discovery, I couldn't bring myself to do any more digging just yet; I was truthfully scared of what I'd find. Instead, I binged Gossip Girl on Netflix for the third time and waited for Andrew to get home.

By the time Andrew was due to be home, I had fallen back to sleep with Millie curled up at the foot of the bed. I woke to fingertips gently brushing the hair out of my eyes, soft lips kissing the corner of my mouth. I opened my eyes slowly and gasped. 

Liam.

I screamed, jumping out from under the covers into the corner of the bed, against the wall. I was kicking, trying to push him away, but it was no use. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them again, it wasn't Liam. It was Andrew.

"Charlotte! Charlotte! Calm down, baby, it's me!" he was saying, holding both of my wrists, trying to get me to stop struggling. I was breathing hard, my chest heaving up and down, my cheeks soaked with tears.

"Andrew, oh my God...I'm so sorry!" I whispered, leaning into him. He wrapped his arms around me tightly and rubbed my back hard.

"Shh...It's okay, baby. You're safe. You must've had a nightmare," he said, kissing my temple.

"God, Drew. We have to get to the bottom of this and get that psycho off the streets before I go insane," I said, leaning back against the wall and pushing my hair back over my shoulders.

Andrew nodded. "Agreed. Hey, did you have any luck with your investigation this morning?" he asked, nodding at my laptop.

Suddenly I remembered everything I had seen on Julia's Facebook page. After I filled him in, Andrew looked as horrified as I felt. When I stopped talking, we just looked at each other for a moment, both at a loss for words. Andrew spoke first.

"Charlotte, what if this is actually true? What the hell are we going to do? It's bad enough having to watch for Covington over our shoulder every minute, now Julia?" He lay back against the headboard, stretching his legs out over mine.

"I know. I never thought I'd suspect Julia of purposely hurting me. It's foreign to even think it. But all of this couldn't be coincidence—could it?"

"I don't think so, Char. I would say to talk to her, but we saw how well that went the other day," he said.

"Ugh. Is it time to go to Florida yet?" I whined.

Andrew pulled out his phone and tapped the screen a couple times. "Thirty-seven days," he replied, leaning over and kissing the tip of my nose. "We'll make it."

I grinned and squeezed his hand. "Of course we will."

When I woke up the morning after Easter, the sun was already glaring through the blinds. I rolled over to look at my alarm clock. 10:46 am. I hadn't meant to sleep this long, but I guess I needed it. 

I threw my legs over the side of the bed and stretched my arms over my head, my tank top rising halfway up my stomach. I looked over at my iPad and once again remembered everything I had figured out about Julia. I had to confront her. There was no way in hell I could just let this go. It all added up too well, and I was no longer on a dangerous cocktail of Zoloft and Zomig, so I couldn't blame it on paranoia. 

Something happened between her and Liam. But what? And why would she push me to date him if she already had? The whole thing was bizarre, to say the very least.

My phone chirped, breaking my thoughts.

Andrew's name was on the screen. I exhaled loudly and unlocked my phone, reading the message: Hey baby, I'm getting off early today. Meet me at Centennial Park in an hour?

I quickly replied: Yes. Meet you in front of the Parthenon. xoxo.

When I got to the park a few minutes later, I walked up to the Parthenon and didn't see Andrew. I glanced at my phone and didn't see a text from him, so I just milled around in the field opposite the building. I had been standing there for about three minutes when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"And—" My voice choked in my throat as I looked into my best friend's face.

I couldn't breathe. Julia was glaring at me, her grey eyes icy.

"Hello, Charlotte," she said coolly.

"Julia. What are you doing here?" I asked, crossing my arms.

She looked around and spread her hands out, palms up. "It's a public park, Char, I'm pretty sure I'm allowed to be here."

I rolled my eyes. "Right. You know what I mean. Why are you here at the same time as me, Julia? I'm pretty sure this isn't one of your regular hangouts," I said sarcastically.

She laughed, and something in her laugh sounded maniacal. "Just a happy coincidence, sweet cheeks," she said, reaching out and pinching my arm.

I felt myself starting to get angry; my cheeks heated up. I didn't know how long I was going to be able to hold my tongue. "Come off it. What do you want?"

She leaned against the tree trunk behind her, crossing one leg over the other at the ankle. "I want to know where we went wrong, Charlotte."

In that instant, I lost control and unleashed everything. "You have got to be kidding me. You're asking me where we went wrong?" I leaned in toward her and pointed my finger, fully realizing I looked like a parent scolding a child. "You tell me, Julia. Why don't you start with this—when were you going to tell me that you dated Liam before I even met him?" 

A look of terror flashed across her face but was gone as quick as it came. I withdrew my finger and put my hands on my hips, waiting for her answer.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she lied, cutting her eyes away from me.

"Don't lie to me, Julia. I already know you dated him last March. Maybe next time you try some shady shit, don't post clues on Facebook," I hissed. Her eyes widened. "Yeah," I continued, "your 'green-eyed god'? Pretty fucking obvious, genius." I was being an asshole, but I didn't care; she deserved it.

Recognition crossed her face, and her shoulders drooped. I had her. There was no way she could talk her way out of this now. I looked past her and saw Andrew walking in our direction. I shook my head slightly and he stopped, jumping onto the stairs of the Parthenon and disappearing behind one of the enormous columns. Julia stayed silent, so I continued speaking.

"What were you going to do, Julia? Just pretend like you never knew him? Pretend that you didn't send me in his direction on purpose. Jesus. Why, just why? Why would you do that?" My voice was rising, and people were watching us.

Julia pushed herself off the tree and stepped closer to me. "Please lower your voice, Charlotte." 

I let out a wild laugh. "Lower my voice? Why? So these complete strangers won't hear what a terrible friend you are? That you set me up with your boyfriend—but why? Julia, tell me why!" I demanded. I glanced over her shoulder, and I saw Andrew creeping toward us but staying out of her line of sight if she were to turn around.

"How did you—" she started.

"How did I know? After the conversation you and Andrew had the other night, I knew something was up. So I got on your Facebook page and started scrolling back. I saw the check in at Virago with your 'green-eyed god' and I knew. I had given up Facebook for Lent, and you knew it. You never thought I'd see that. I'm not stupid, Julia," I finished, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Listen," she began, and when I started to speak, she pantomimed my gesture and held one finger up. "Uh-uh. It's my turn. Yes, I admit it. I did date Liam. And I started dating him in the same way you did—as his patient." My eyes widened, and she kept speaking. "Obviously I have some mental issues. Anyway, I needed a new doctor, and Liam was the psychiatrist my insurance referred me to. Of course, I thought he was hot, because who wouldn't, right?"

I considered this and nodded once. I couldn't deny that.

She went on. "He charmed me, just as he charmed you. I fell for him—and I fell for him hard. And for everything he is or isn't, he is an excellent psychiatrist. He made me realize how many things that had happened in my life that I needed to deal with. And one of those things? My friendship with you."

I gaped at her. I was trying to process everything she just said, but those last two sentences really had me shook. "Excuse me? You needed to deal with your friendship with me? Just what in the hell does that mean?" I asked.

"Come on, Charlotte. Since we were sixteen, I've lived in your shadow. 'Charlotte is so smart, Charlotte is so talented, Charlotte is so beautiful, Charlotte has the perfect family, Charlotte, Charlotte, Charlotte,'" she said in a sing-song voice. "I've never been able to shine. You've always gotten what you wanted. And I was sick of it."

I could hardly believe what I was hearing; her words sounded like a foreign language. "Julia, I never intended to make you feel that way," I whispered, feeling foolish for pitying her at all.

"Maybe not, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions," she said.

"I still don't understand. What was the point of telling me to go to Liam for therapy? What did you get out of that?" I asked, confused.

Julia just looked at me for a moment, and then spoke. "I wanted you to fall for him, Charlotte. I knew you would. I wanted him to get you to like him and then break your perfect little heart."

Oh my God. "How could you do that to me? That is so beyond fucked up. I had sex with him. I was pregnant. I had a miscarriage because of him!" I started crying despite myself.

Julia's eyes filled with tears at that moment. "Jesus, Charlotte. I never meant for that to happen. I had no idea what he was going to do. I didn't mean for him to actually fall for you...and I never would have thought he'd do anything to actually hurt you. But I loved him," she whispered, a tear falling from her eyes onto her cheek. "I thought when you and Andrew got together, he would stop the game and come back to me. But I never intended for any of this to happen, you have to believe me," she pleaded, her eyes watery.

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions," I said flatly. With that, I strode past her, past the tree, and Andrew stepped out next to me. I could feel her eyes cutting into the back of my head as Andrew wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulled me close to him, and kissed the side of my head.

I didn't look back.