Sebastian scoffed, shaking his head. “You know, maybe she got what she deserved.”
Eleanor winced. “You don’t mean that.”
“Maybe I do. All the hell that she’s put us through these past few years . . . maybe she just got what she deserved. She finally got what was coming to her. Maybe we need to stop walking around mourning the dead.” He pushed his coffee away and stood from the booth.
“Where are you going?” Lilia turned to watch him saunter away.
“Home.” He shrugged, slipping on his jacket. “See you guys around.”
“This is just typical Sebastian, isn’t it? You’re just going to leave?” Augustus called after him. “Our friend is dead.”
“What does that have to do with me?” His hand curled around the pack of cigarettes in his coat pocket. “Willow’s been dead to me for a long time.”
They watch as he walks out of the diner, the cool air from outside filling the space. Delilah shook her head, pursing her lips as she leaned back against the booth.
“Someone should go after him. It’s late.” Eleanor glanced nervously out the window.
“Let him go. Going after him is only going to make things worse.”
They all nodded in silent agreement.
“Do you guys remember that night?” Augustus asked.
“I try not to.” Delilah loosened her braid.
“It was the week after she found out her parents were separating,” Lilia added. “She just wanted to forget everything. I remember she wore that dress that her dad hated just to piss him off.”
“She got so drunk that she fell in the mud and she didn’t even care.” Augustus let out a haunted laugh.
“We should’ve stopped her,” Lilia whispered, “We should’ve never let her drive home that night.”
The memory of that night was seared into their minds, a haunting specter that lurked behind every conversation and shadowed their every thought. It had been a frigid, starless night, the kind where darkness felt impenetrable. They had been returning from a party, their laughter and music spilling out of the car windows as Willow insisted she was fine to drive. The alcohol had made them all bold, invincible in their youthful arrogance. The winding roads outside the town were deserted, the headlights cutting through the inky blackness as they sped along.
Lilia sat in the front passenger seat, her nerves frayed as she watched Willow’s grip on the steering wheel tighten and loosen with a careless rhythm. Delilah, Sebastian, Eleanor, and Augustus were crammed into the back, their drunken banter a dull roar in Lilia’s ears. She wanted to say something, todemand that they pull over, but the words stuck in her throat. She didn’t want to be the killjoy, the one who always worried too much.
The events unfolded in a blur. One moment, they were speeding down the empty road, taking the neck, when a figure emerged from the shadows. Jacob Finley. He had stepped out, maybe to cross, maybe just too lost in his thoughts. His form was barely visible until the last second. His face, illuminated briefly by the headlights, was a mask of terror as he realized the car was barreling toward him too quickly to stop.
“Willow, look out!” Delilah screamed, her voice a piercing cry that through the din.
Willow’s hands jerked the steering wheel, her foot slamming on the brake, but it was too late. The tires screeched in protest, the sound shrill and deafening. The car skidded, the momentum throwing them all forward as they braced for impact.
The collision was sickening. The thud of the car hitting Jacob’s body was a sound none of them would ever forget. It was a dull, heavy impact, followed by the sickening crunch of bone and the shattering of glass. Jacob was thrown onto the hood, his face a frozen mask of pain and shock, before being flung into the air and landing in a crumpled heap on the asphalt.
The car skidded to a halt, the smell of burning rubber and metal filling the air. There was a moment of stunned silence. The only sound was the rapid, panicked breathing of everyone inside the vehicle. The world outside seemed eerily still, as if holding its breath in the aftermath of the disaster.
Willow was the first to react, her hands shaking violently on the steering wheel. “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,” she repeated, her voice rising to a hysterical pitch. “What have I done? What have I done?”
Augustus was the first to move, unbuckling his seatbelt with trembling hands and pushing the door open. The others followed suit, their movements sluggish and disoriented. They tumbled out, their senses overwhelmed by the smell of burning rubber and the sight of Jacob’s lifeless body sprawled on the asphalt. He lay in the middle of the road, his body twisted at unnatural angles. Blood pooled from beneath him, a dark, spreading stain that seeped into the crackle of the asphalt. His eyes were open, staring blankly at the sky, his face pale and lifeless. Willow collapsed to her knees, her hands shaking violently as she reached out, then recoiled from the sight.
“Oh my God,” Eleanor whispered, her voice barely audible over Willow’s sobs. “Oh my God, what have we done?”
“We have to call for help,” Lilia said, her voice shaking. “We can’t just leave him here.”
“Call for help?” Sebastian echoed, panic rising in his voice, “Willow is drunk! We’re all drunk, we’ll go to jail!”
“We can’t just leave him!” Delilah cried, tears streaming down her face. “We have to do something!”
Willow was the one who made the decision, her face damp from her tears. “We have to bury him,” she said, her voice trembling. “We can’t let anyone find out what happened. We have to. We need to protect ourselves.”
