Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 93312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
“Thayer, stop!”
I know what he did is wrong and fucked up in so many ways, but all I can think of when I see Christian like this is the scene in the parking lot where his dad doled out the same abuse. I look over to Holden and Baker, but neither one of them moves to help, so I insert myself between them right before Thayer’s about to send a foot into Christian’s stomach. He stops himself, looking at me like I’ve grown three heads.
I stand on my tiptoes, bringing my hands to his face, forcing him to focus on me. His nostrils are flared, his jaw set hard. “This isn’t going to help anything. Hurting him isn’t going to bring Danny back.” His eyes squeeze shut as if he’s in pain. “We’ll make it right,” I promise him. “But not like this.”
“We were fucking around, daring each other to jump like we always do,” Christian says, pulling himself up to sit against the wall, clutching his stomach. “He was being a pussy, talking about how it was too cold. We started wrestling, trying to push each other off, but I got the upper hand.”
He stops, leaning his head back to look up at the ceiling as tears roll out of the corners of his eyes. “I fucking laughed. I laughed as he fell. And then I looked over the edge, waiting for him to jump out of the water and flip me off, but…he never came up.”
“Finish your story so I can fucking kill you,” Holden says, his eyes glassy, arms folded over his chest.
Christian nods, resigned to his fate. “I panicked. I couldn’t think, so I called my dad as I ran for the shore. He told me not to call the cops and said he was on his way. I jumped in, looking for him. Then he showed up,” he says, flicking his chin at Baker, who’s sitting there with his hood on, staring blankly ahead. “He was there doing some shit for his photography class. He saw the whole thing, then jumped in to help me. Eventually, we found Danny. I don’t know how long, but it felt like hours.”
He inhales deeply, pressing his eyes with the heels of his palms. Shock has all of us paralyzed. I don’t even think we breathe, waiting for him to finish.
“We pulled him out, but I could tell…” he trails off, his hands balling into fists. “I could tell he was dead. I didn’t know Grey had texted Danny, or that he told him to meet us there. I heard him calling Danny’s name, and I looked up, seeing him on the cliff. I panicked. Again. So we ran. The next thing I know, Grey’s yelling. He must have seen Danny on the shore. My dad came and got rid of Grey. Made it seem like he’d take the fall if he didn’t get out of there.”
Hot tears roll down my face, hearing him describe Danny’s last moments and what followed.
“He threatened me,” Baker chimes in, pushing his foot against the table leg until his chair teeters on the two back legs. “He saw the camera around my neck and smashed it into pieces. Told me he’d kill me if I ever spoke a word of it. My dad had some legal troubles, and he offered to make them go away in exchange for my silence.”
“I wanted to go to the police. I wanted to turn myself in, but he wouldn’t let me. He said I wasn’t throwing college and basketball away over an accident, but we all know it’s because he didn’t want that kind of scandal to reflect on him. He covered it up and had the records sealed, and that was that.” His eyes slide to mine. “Until you came back.”
I shake my head, batting the tears off my cheek. “What do I have to do with any of this?”
“Come on, Shayne. You’re smarter than that.” His head lolls to the side. “They suspected Grey. Grey was gone and your parents split. He was the perfect fall guy. But the second I saw the way they acted with you, I knew it was only a matter of time before they let you back in.”
“You knew they’d eventually find out Grey didn’t do it.”
He nods. “I tried minor shit at first, trying to scare you away, or at the very least, make you switch schools. But that night in the parking lot, you saw something you shouldn’t have. And that put you on my dad’s radar. I told him I had it under control. That I’d handle it. Because believe me, Shayne. He’d do much worse.”
A chill licks its way up my spine. I believe that. Without a doubt.
“He controls everything and everyone around him. If someone steps out of line, he doesn’t handle it well. But I’m not playing his game anymore.” He stands, wobbling on his feet. “So here’s my proposition.”