She stands there by the open door with her eyes narrowed on me and her hands on her hips. This is it. There will be no going back if I leave here without making it right.
“What about Kellan?” she asks with an arch of her brow.
Fuck! I run my hand through my hair. “What about him?” I try to play stupid.
She’s not buying it. “What did Shane mean when he said disappear?”
There’s a lot I haven’t told Becky. She knows we do stupid dares, but she’s not like Austin. She has no idea that I’ve recently become a murderer. And if she knew, she’d walk away from me without a glance back. I can’t lose her over this. Over them. They all deserved to die.
“I spoke to him earlier today,” I lie.
She tilts her head to the side and eyes me with suspicion. I hate when she does this, acting like she can see through me. She can’t. She can pretend all she wants, but we both know the truth. She’ll never know the real me because I won’t allow it. “Becky …”
“Leave, Deke,” she says with a heavy sigh.
I walk out into the hallway and turn to face the door, trying one last time. “Becky …” She slams it in my face.
A door opens to my right, and I see Demi walk out of her room. She looks at me with disgust. “Never tell someone how you feel twice. That bitch heard you the first time.” Then she walks past me before walking down the stairs.
I slowly make my way out of the house and to my Range Rover. I sit there for a few minutes, wondering if I can do anything to make it better and what the fuck Demi meant.
CHAPTER NINE
COLE
DEKE, BENNETT, BECKY, and I all occupy Austin’s small room. Shelby told them they could visit for an hour since she’s doing so well. She’s been awake for most of the day now. Shelby allowed me to stay in the room earlier this morning while she brought Austin out of sedation. Then after Shelby did her assessment, she gave us a few minutes alone.
“Sweetheart?” I ask softly.
Her eyes close, and she whispers, “Cole.”
I swallow the knot in my throat. Now is not the time to be a little bitch. She’s been so strong. I need to be too. “It’s me, sweetheart.”
“Where …? What …?”
“Shh,” I tell her when she opens her eyes again. “You’re okay, baby.”
Her eyes meet mine, and they instantly fill with tears. “Cole …” She chokes on my name. “I’m … so sorry.”
“Hey.” I drop her hand and take her face in both of mine. “Don’t apologize, Austin! Do you hear me? This was not your fault. None of it was your fault.” I place my forehead against hers. “It’s all mine. And I’m so sorry,” I whisper. “Please forgive me.”
She begins to sob.
I pull back and rub the tears from her pale and bruised face with my thumbs. “Tell me you forgive me, sweetheart. I need to hear you say it.”
She shakes her head, and my chest tightens. “You didn’t … do this.”
“But I did—”
“It was Kellan.” She interrupts me, then looks around the room quickly as if she feels his presence. Like his ghost is here to haunt her. He won’t. That fucker is burning in hell. “Cole.” Her wide and watery eyes meet mine again. “Cole, he told me—”
“I know.” I interrupt, giving her a soft smile to calm her fears. I don’t want her to be afraid of anything anymore.
“But he …”
“Shh,” I tell her. “It’s okay, Austin. I know.”
She licks her wet lips and takes in a shaky breath. “Where is he?”
“Never coming back,” I answer, and she closes her eyes as fresh tears run down her face.
She’s doing great. She did eat too many ice chips this morning and ended up getting sick, but Shelby said that was normal. She was able to have soup for lunch and kept that down. Progress. I’ll take it.
“What day is it?” she asks no one in particular.
“The twentieth,” Becky answers, sitting next to her bed.
Austin’s face falls. “What is it?” I ask, pushing off the wall by the window.
Her eyes meet mine. “Why are you here?”
I frown. It’s like her birthday all over again. Maybe she has memory loss. I need to ask Shelby about that. “Why wouldn’t I be here?”
She looks up at the clock on the wall. “It’s almost six. Graduation started three hours ago.”
The room falls silent. I go to open my mouth, to tell her some bullshit lie like the school burned down, but Becky beats me to it. Only she tells the truth. “We didn’t go.”
“What?” Austin gasps. “You can’t miss graduation.”
Deke shakes his head. “It was already decided, babe.”
She glares at Deke for calling her babe, and he just smirks at her. Then she looks at me. “Cole, you can’t be serious.”
I nod, crossing my arms over my chest. “Of course, we are.” I don’t think the school expected us to show anyway, considering I was accused of murder just four days ago. And the fact that Austin is in the hospital recovering from a gunshot wound and Kellan is still missing. Pretty sure they would escort us out if we even stepped foot on school property.
Her green eyes well up with tears, and she sniffs. Shelby told us this would happen. That the drugs they have been giving her would make her extremely emotional. She was not joking. She cried earlier when she applied some Chapstick to her lips while thanking me. You would have thought I was God bringing her lips back to life.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Deke tells her.
“Why would you guys skip graduation?” she asks as if she isn’t important to us. Like we would just leave her. I haven’t left this hospital since I got here, so why would I leave now that she’s awake?
“Because …” Deke answers. “You’re our little sister. Plus, we already put in all the work. We’re getting that diploma whether we show up or not.”
Fresh tears roll down her face.
There’s a knock on the door, and Shelby walks in. “Hey? How are you feeling?”
“A little sore,” Austin answers, wiping the wetness from her face.
Shelby walks to the end of her bed. “I’ll bring you something for the pain. I just wanted to let you know that a couple of officers were just here wanting to talk to you.” Austin’s eyes go big. “But I told them you need your rest and to give you until at least tomorrow.”
“What do they want?” she asks.
“They want to go over what happened and see if you have any information on Kellan’s whereabouts.”
The room falls silent because even though the guys and I haven’t spoken it out loud, the girls suspect we killed him.
She just nods once. Shelby leaves, letting her know she’ll be back soon with those meds. Austin lays her head back and sighs heavily. She’s tired. She made a lot of progress today and needs some rest.
“Not that I care, but has anyone heard from my father?” she asks. “Does he know that Celeste is dead?”
Silence fills the room once again.