“Yeah. It was, like, seven in the morning where he was. He was still up from partying. Even sent a video he took at a club he went to earlier that night.”
“Let me see.” I hold out my hand, demanding his phone.
Joey looks at me, my hand and then down at his phone. I wait. He finally taps the screen and passes it over.
A WhatsApp conversation is displayed on the screen. Instead of playing the video, I scroll up and scan their previous chats. Mostly meaningless crap. But then I see my name and stop. It’s an exchange the day after my birthday.
I can feel Joey watching me.
Vic: Whatever happened between you and that girl in the car?
Joey: Which girl? Lana?
Vic: Whatever her name is. The bitch.
Joey: LOL Yeah she’s a handful. Nothing happened. She wanted my brother. Used me to get into the party.
Vic: Stay away from her. You don’t need that bitch fucking with your life.
Joey: He can have her. She’s not worth it.
I tilt my head at Joey’s choice of words. I know he was just placating Vic, but there’s bitterness in his last sentence, like he really meant it. I mean, I did pretty much reject him the night before that message. But not for his brother—for Grant.
Dismissing it, I scroll down to last night’s messages.
Joey: Hey, you still in Europe?
Vic: Yeah. In Berlin. Insane night. Check this out.
There’s a video. The still image is of his face with red lights behind him. It was sent at 2:17 a.m. My finger hovers over the play button, but I can’t make myself watch it. I can’t stand to see or hear him. Instead, I toss the phone back to Joey.
I could have sworn it was Vic in the woods. But … maybe it wasn’t. It all feels distorted now, like … I was drugged. Because I was.
He studies me for a second. “Are you okay?”
I take a breath to collect my thoughts. “I guess. I just need to see Ashton.”
As I reach for the doorknob, an envelope shoots out from under my door and across the floor. I open the door quickly, wanting to finally catch the psycho before they disappear. A girl stops short in front of me with a stack of books in her arms. Another girl stands beside her. They stare at me curiously.
“Did you just slide something under my door?”
“No,” the girl replies like I’m crazy.
“Did you see who did?”
“Um … there was some girl in the hall, but I wasn’t really paying attention.”
The girls walk away without giving me a second to ask them more. When I come back into the room, Joey has the envelope in his hand.
He offers it to me with a baffled expression. I tear it open. Inside is a picture of Brendan leaning against a doorway, watching something … or someone. On the back, in linear red letters, is written:
“What does that mean?” Joey asks, looking over my shoulder. “What’s he lying about? And who gave it to you?”
I stuff the picture back into the envelope without a response. The message isn’t exactly shocking. Brendan is a liar. Except I don’t know what he’s lying about.
“Lana?” Joey waits for an answer, but one doesn’t come. “Did someone send you the group picture on Nantucket too?” He pauses in thought. “Was there a message on the back? I don’t remember there being one.”
That’s because Brendan made a copy, so Joey wouldn’t see the message. How many more lives will she destroy with her lies? The messages are the one secret that only Brendan knows.
“Don’t worry about it,” I say casually. “I gotta go.”
Before I can leave, Joey grabs my arm. I look at his hand in warning. He doesn’t let go. “How many of these pictures have you received? Is someone watching you?”
“It’s not like that.” I yank my arm away. He releases me. “I don’t think I should tell you anyway. You’re already way too involved with this Vic thing.”
He inspects my face, trying to decipher what I’m not saying. “You don’t think I should be messaging him,” he concludes, his voice flat.
“You’re pretending to be friends with a psychopath! You don’t think that’s a problem? Joey, you don’t need to keep lying to him, or anyone else. I’m not worth it.” My words come out with force. I can’t hide the bitterness. But why should I care what he said to Vic, even if he did mean it?
Shock flashes across Joey’s eyes, which quickly transitions to regret. “You know that’s not how I feel.”
“Do I?” I grab my campus phone and walk out the door, knowing he can’t follow me.
My reaction was harsh, and I instantly regret it. Joey searched for me in the woods last night and stayed with me overnight to be sure I was okay.
I shouldn’t be upset about the messages. It’s actually smart of Joey to pretend he doesn’t care about me so Vic will confide in him. Maybe the hurt comes from not wanting to believe Joey had it in him to pretend. To lie. To deceive. It’s like that night on the golf course all over again.
Maybe everyone’s lying, and I can no longer sense the difference between the lies and the truth. Or I’m still too shaken from last night to know what to believe.
I walk to the end of the hall and gently knock on Ashton’s door. The door cracks open and then widens, Brendan on the other side.
I brush past him wordlessly and move directly to the ladder leading to her loft bed.
“She’s asleep.” The quiet pain in Brendan’s voice stops me.
I slowly turn toward him. His eyes are bloodshot. His hair is a mess, like he’s been trying to tear it out of his skull. And dark circles frame his haunted eyes. He looks like he hasn’t slept in a month.
I move closer to him and whisper, “Did she say anything about what happened?”
Brendan’s jaw tenses as he deliberately blinks, like the words themselves ignited the rage roiling beneath his skin. I can sense it, like muscles flexing. I’m familiar with what it feels like to cage that much anger behind the thin veil of control. Not knowing what will finally set it loose to wreak havoc and tear everything apart.
“No,” Brendan replies in a barely controlled growl.
“Did he”—I don’t even want to ask—“hurt her?”
“I found her on a rock ledge over the lake. I don’t know if she fell or he pushed her. She hasn’t said anything. She’s been throwing up all night when she’s not sleeping.”
“Should she go to the hospital?” I glance up at the form concealed beneath the blankets, my chest aching.
“No. I know how to take care of her.”
There are empty bottles of water and electrolyte packets strewn on the counter and her desk. I want to ask how he knows what she needs but decide not to question him.
If she’s not better later today, I’ll take her to the clinic myself.
“How did you find her?”
Avoiding my gaze, Brendan walks across the room to stare out the window. “Same way Joey found you.”
“Ashton has a phone too?”
“Yeah.”
A quick rap on the door traps the next question in my mouth.
Brendan answers in the same way he did when I arrived. Lance slips in quickly, glancing behind him as if to confirm he wasn’t followed.