“Hey,” she says, “I’ve just been on the phone with the mechanic. He’ll be out here tomorrow morning at nine. Luke offered Adrien his car to drive to the hospital, but he said there’s pretty much no way that thing is going to hold up for the hundred miles it takes to—”
“Where is she?” I interrupt. “Adrien.”
Ellery looks startled. “She went downstairs to try to get better cell service.”
I’m halfway down the stairs when the din of voices coming from the lobby stops me short.
“Thank you,” Adrien’s voice filters up to me. “For everything. Back then and now.”
I cling to the banister, hanging onto Adrien’s every word. I’m shocked by the voice that responds. The gruff Australian accent, softened for the occasion.
“Of course, honey.”
Luke.
Adrien knew Luke back then, somehow. The taste of betrayal sits heavy on my tongue, coppery and metallic like blood.
I knew enough not to fully trust the others, but this hurts too much to process. Sweet, kind Luke, who tried to protect me earlier from Nick Gould. This patient stranger who I immediately developed a fondness for.
I want to run back upstairs, to throw myself onto the bed and rip the covers up and over me. But I’m not hiding anymore. It’s time to confront the truth.
“What exactly did Luke do for you back then?”
My tone is cold, unrecognizable as I step from the stairs into the lobby. Adrien and Luke’s eyes dart up at me, guilt plastered on their faces. Two children caught red-handed.
“Seems like now is a good time as any to come clean.” My words turn into a snarl.
I expect Adrien to protest, to strike out once she realizes she’s backed into a corner, so I’m surprised to see her shoulders drop slightly, the fight leaving her.
“Fine, it’s about time anyway. Grab the others; I don’t want to do this more than once.”
30
Phoebe
Then
The program should have ended after Tomas’s accident. Any self-respecting company would have called it quits then, refunded our money. But not Hamilton College. It’s not enough that one of us died a horrible death while the rest of us watched. No, they had to make sure we pushed through. God forbid they lose a cent.
So on we trundled, our bus pulling away from Cullamonjoo National Park and on to our next destination. The scenery stayed the same outside our window for hours, the red of the dirt reminding me of the blood dripping from Tomas’s leg. And any time I closed my eyes, trying to block out the wasteland around us, I saw his dark eyes, his kind smile, the freckle above his lip that winked whenever he talked.
Sweet, decent Tomas. My friend.
“This is your fault!” Adrien had shouted on the bank of the lakeas Birrani drove off with Tomas in the buggy. “You were angry with him for telling me about your juvenile plan back in Cairns. And this was your revenge. To get him in that water, to get him killed!”
What could I say? She wasn’t wrong. It was my fault.
And maybe, just maybe there was a part of me that was bitter towards him for ratting me out back on the yacht. Is that why I did it? Am I really as horrible as they say?
Yes, you are.
There was no stopping the voice now. It had become my internal soundtrack, constantly blaring in my ears. And I could no longer argue with it.
***
I wake up to light filtering through the window of my room, illuminating Claire’s empty bed. We arrived at the Raven Inn late last night, a dump in the middle of nowhere that makes me long for the tents we used in the national park. No question, we had a lesser chance of catching bedbugs in those.
I wipe sleep from my eyes, the dreams from my fitful night still clinging to me. Unidentifiable screams mixed with the feeling of being underwater, the brush of something slimy against my skin. I shiver and look over at Claire’s bed. Empty. She must have slept with Declan last night. Unsurprising, given that she’s made no effort to say more than two words to me since Tomas’s accident. I didn’t think our relationship could get any chillier after her admission during the truth and dare game, but now it’s downright frozen.
