Actually it was my best friend over the past few years. Her name is Heather and she was a friend to Mark since they had moved in, which was before I h...d met her. She says that he had come on to her and tried to get her in the bed, but he was married to Gina at the time and she doesnt play with married men. But she did admit to one time with him after Gina left before Rebecca moved in, but it had been consensual. One Friday in May, the rapist came out again. She would tell me the next day. I. . I sniffed, hearing Lara’s voice in my head, calling me Barnacle Man... I sat there helplessly as these two ideas fought with each other in my brain, somehow feeding two opposing feelings at once: Heather is coming back ... Heather is never coming back... My heart tightened at the echo of Mairead’s words. Sure, she had hope for us, but she also had been rather definitive, for that brief moment when she’d cracked open.And so, the tide shifted a little more to one side. ‘Hope springs eternal,’. ”At first, she didn’t get it, but then her face turned bright red, “You read the file.” She said flatly.When I nodded, she drained the last of her drink, then got up and took my empty glass and hers to the kitchen. A couple of minutes later, she returned with two fresh drinks. While she was handing me mine, she glared down at me for several seconds before returning to the sofa.“When is the last time you read it?”“Just that once.” I answered honestly.She surprised me by jumping up and almost. Zak shook his head and hefted Alluna into his arms. “This was all wrong,” Zak murmured, looking at the girl in his arms. “What are you going to do now?” Devon asked. For an instant, Devon’s eyes glowed a little brighter and Zak had the urge to sneeze. He shook his head to clear it and then looked suspiciously at Devon. Devon tapped his nose. “Fixed it for you,” he murmured. Zak wiggled it, feeling no pain. “Thanks.” Hefting the Arborian witch tighter in his arms, he gazed back down at her. “I’m.