AUSTIN
Graduation is four days away, and I hate that it’s so close. For as long as I can remember, all I thought about was freedom. Now, I dread it.
I’ve got no mother. I never did hear from her after she and Phillip left my father’s that night. But I never expected to. Cole is good at one thing. And that’s making things disappear.
I’ve got no Cole. I catch sight of him at school in the halls and classroom, and he looks angrier than ever. Mad at the world. Mad at me. Like I did something wrong.
I still have Becky, so that is a plus. But I don’t see her very much. She spends all her time with Deke, and he is always with Cole, which leaves me alone.
Celeste is always crying. I found her last night in the kitchen sobbing over a bowl of ice cream. I ignored her because I don’t care what is wrong with her. My father hasn’t said anything else to me since he gave me the check almost a month ago. But I think he got the hint that I wasn’t going to take his money when he found it ripped to pieces on the kitchen island.
I don’t want anything from anyone. I just want out of this town. Out of this nightmare and out of everyone’s life.
A fresh start. A new beginning.
I want to go where no one knows me. Where I can be someone different.
I pull up to my father’s house and put my car in park. It’s late. The clock on my dash reads a little after ten. I went to another movie with Myers tonight. He wanted to come over afterward, but I shut that down. I’m not ready to jump in bed with anyone just yet. I hate to burst his bubble, but I’m not looking for what he is interested in. I’m using him to get to Cole. I hope all that anger I see means it’s working.
The worst part is that, once again, I haven’t gotten to see Lilly. We talk on the phone, but that’s it. And the conversations don’t last long. I think another thing that sucks is that I know Cole is going to be a part of my life forever. Because I’m not going to push Lilly out of my life. I’m going to talk to her. See her. Watch her grow up.
I get out of my car and make my way up the stairs to the front door. The wind blows my hair around, making it stick to my lip-gloss. Opening the door, I come to a stop when I hear Celeste crying down the hall. I sigh. What the hell is wrong with her?
“Please?” she begs. “Don’t do this.”
I head for the stairs but stop when I hear a male’s voice.
“It’s over,” Kellan growls. “It’s been over. But you refuse to believe it.” Just then, Kellan walks into the foyer. He comes to a stop, noticing me.
Celeste follows behind him. “You can’t do this …” Her voice trails off when she sees me. “Austin,” she says in surprise, reaching up to wipe her wet cheeks. “I didn’t expect you to be home so soon.”
I look at her. “I’m going to bed.”
“Have you told her?” he demands.
She shakes her head quickly.
“Tell me what?” I ask. He narrows his eyes on me, and I roll mine. “I’m tired, and it’s too late to play games with you, Kellan. What has she not told me?” Is she divorcing my father? Is that why he has been gone so much? Maybe he’s got some ass on the side as well? I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s ten years younger than Celeste.
“All her secrets,” he says simply.
“Kellan, don’t—”
“I don’t have time for this,” I say, running a hand through my hair, interrupting her. I’m exhausted.
I take the first step on the stairs when he speaks. “Why do you think you’re here?”
I pause. My eyes meet his. “Excuse me?”
He smiles, proud of himself. All of a sudden, I’m interested. “It’s ’cause I wanted you here.”
“What?” I ask confused.
“I was with Celeste when your mother called her and said that you were too much for her. That it would make Celeste look like a saint in this city to take in Bruce’s troubled teen. But she didn’t want you. She wanted Lilly.”
I look at her, and her eyes are narrowed on him. “What?” I ask, because that’s all I can say.
“So you still haven’t figured it out yet.” He smirks. “What she did. What she is capable of.”
“Don’t,” she growls at him.
His smirk just grows. “She can keep a secret, babe,” he tells her.
My brows rise. What could she have possibly done? It can’t be worse than what the guys have done.
“Celeste here”—he looks at her over his shoulder—“killed Betty, Cole and Lilly’s mother.”
My heart starts to pound at his words.
“It was an accident,” she says defensively.
“Don’t lie,” he growls.
“You what?” I ask wide-eyed. “Why would you …”
“At first, everyone suspected Liam or Bruce, but no one could figure out why they would kill her at nine months along. If they were going to do it, they would have done it the moment they found out she was pregnant. But when Celeste found out she was pregnant, she was pissed. She wanted a baby. She wanted to have Bruce’s child.” He looks me up and down with disgust. “But Bruce didn’t want kids. So, Celeste went over to her house and confronted her. Said that she wanted joint custody of Lilly, and when Betty said no, she pushed her down the stairs.”
All this time, Cole thought it was an accident.
“I told you all of this in confidence,” she barks at him.
He ignores her, staring right at me. “Then she called 911 and said she heard her fall down the stairs. As if she cared about her pathetic life.” He shakes his head.
“No!” I say slowly. “Cole said she fell and died in surgery due to complications.”
He laughs. “Cole only knows what Celeste told him.”
She had gone to his school and pulled him out of class. Told Cole that his father had called her and said his mother passed …
She grabs his sleeve and starts to yank on it. He doesn’t budge, and his brown eyes don’t leave mine. “She waited thirty minutes before she called for help. Lilly was delivered in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. Betty was dead by the time they arrived at the hospital.”
I look at her with wide eyes, hoping for her to give me some sign that he is lying. That he’s being the Kellan I know and trying to mind fuck me. But she starts pounding her fists into his arm. “You son of a bitch!” she shouts at him.
He reaches out and grabs her arm. “And now you’re gonna see history repeat itself.” He pulls her across the grand foyer, and I stay planted where I’m at, trying to wrap my head around all of this. He starts dragging her up the stairs, and when she cries out, it pulls me out of my trance.
I run up after them and grab her free arm. Kellan spins around at the top of the stairs and pulls a gun out of the back of his jeans and points it at me. My stomach drops as I stare into the barrel. I throw my hands up in the air, my breathing picking up.
“Back up!” he orders.
I take one step at a time, slowly descending the stairs backward and swallow. What the hell is he doing? I feel my phone in my back pocket and go to grab it, planning to call 911.
“Keep them up!” he snaps, and I flinch at his tone.