What the hell? She was madly in love with him five minutes ago.
Lillian watches Kayla as if she’s some complicated puzzle.
It’s not complicated. Kayla is in full survival mode and it’s disturbing. I’ve never seen her like this.
“You’re just adding another secret to the one we’ve been carrying! We can’t do this. It’s Jake, Kayla!” I say.
I ignore Lillian’s smirk as she watches us disagree.
“What she had to do was our fault and this is what we deserve for not doing the right thing all those years ago.” Kayla stands and Lillian makes no move to stop her. “Now, let’s strip his clothes off and put them in the fire.”
“Stop! Do you hear yourself?”
“What’s the alternative, Esme?” Kayla snaps.
Lillian kills us. But how do we live with ourselves if we help hide her murder? How do we walk away from this? What is she going to do after we bury Jake? She’s never going to let us walk away.
“There has to be some other way.”
“You could die with him,” Lillian says. “Kayla is the one willing to do what’s necessary…but would she help me clean up and hide her bestie’s body too?”
Kayla eyes widen. She looks at me, pleading.
“Kayla?” I whisper.
“Don’t make me do that, Esme. We made a pact ten years ago to never talk about that night. We can do that again. We’ll help Lillian, and we can go home knowing that this is all over.”
My head swirls with conflict and confusion.
If we do this, would Lillian really let us walk away? We can’t do that to Jake or to his family.
Maybe this was Lillian’s plan all along. She could be setting us up for Jake’s murder.
“Kayla, this might not be what you think,” I say.
“What do you think it is, Esme?” Lillian asks.
Kayla’s face is red, like she wants to throw something at me. We are not going along with this blindly.
“I don’t know. What happens if we help you?”
Lillian’s lips curl, but her smile isn’t friendly. “You go home.”
“What, and we never hear from you again? Or are you now thinking that with Kayla’s offer comes an opportunity?”
Kayla looks at us both.
“I’m not stupid, and neither are you, Lillian. Eventually people will start asking questions, wondering who was terrorizing the camp, why an old cabin is on fire, and where Jake went….The cops will come looking. They might link it to you; after all, your DNA is all over this place. But if we help, our DNA is on his body too.”
With wide eyes, Kayla looks from Lillian to me.
She was never going to let us walk away. If we’re convicted of a murder she committed…
“I tell you what,” Lillian says to Kayla. “If we kill Esme too, we’ll bury her and Jake, and no one will ever know. If you refuse, you both die here today. Two bodies, three bodies, I don’t mind how many I get rid of.”
My stomach turns. She can’t be serious.
“No,” I say.
Kayla is my best friend; she would never do that.
Tell her, Kayla!
Why isn’t she telling Lillian to get lost?
“Kayla!” I snap.
Tears well in her eyes. “I’m sorry. I can’t die. I can’t.”
Her words punch the air from my lungs.
“Kayla, you’re my best friend,” I whisper as fear grips my throat.
She wipes tears from her cheeks. “I’m sorry, Esme, but I choose me.”
55
I know I should run. I should shove Kayla into Lillian and make a run for it.
Will my legs move? No.
“You can’t, Kayla,” I say.
Lillian’s smile grows. She is loving this.
Fire burns in my veins.
Turning us against each other is a bonus for her.
Kayla wipes her tears again.
“Kayla!”
She doesn’t look at me; instead she turns her head toward Lillian.
“How does that feel?” Lillian asks. “To have your best friend in the whole world turn against you so easily. There was barely any hesitation.”
Kayla may be petrified of dying, but I never expected this.
“That’s not my best friend talking,” I say.
Kayla cowers.
She’s consumed by fear. Lost.
I step closer to the sofa.
Lillian aims the gun steadily at my head but makes no move to pull the trigger. Instead she watches what I’m about to do with Kayla….
Kayla doesn’t meet my eyes, but she turns her head, showing me that she knows I’m there.
“Don’t, Esme,” she whispers. “I hate this.”
Lillian is a few feet from Kayla, and the fireplace is a step or two behind her.
I shove Kayla with every ounce of strength I have. She flies backward with a scream and into Lillian.
Get out.
I take off without looking back. Something slams against the wall. The thud sounded like a head, but I can’t be sure.
I yank the door open and sprint outside.
My legs burn as I try to get away as fast as possible.
Behind me, I hear Lillian shout.
Then I hear two sets of footsteps.
I look back, but the thick forest is dark. I can’t see them, but I know they’re coming. I take a path similar to the one I remember, but now I’m deeper in the woods.
I have not been out here nearly enough to know where I’m going without a map and compass.
I can figure this out. I can get away from Lillian—and Kayla—and get help.
Stay calm. Don’t overthink.
Stepping around a tree, I run to the next one and plaster myself against it.
I take a breath and listen carefully, willing that sense to take over. Lillian has a gun and Kayla is broken beyond recognition.
She’s scared right now. The thought of imminent death has made her lose herself. When she stops and thinks, even for a second, she will see what a monumental mistake she has made and beg for my forgiveness.