by Trisha Wolfe
“The place where lovers go,” I say, walking my fingers up his chest. “Devil’s Bluff.”
His lips curl into a grin. “Lead the way, baby.”
The first time I came here, I had found the bluff by accident, and Carter had followed me. That was the first night we made love. It was beautiful and perfect and changed everything.
And I hate that I’m bringing this creep here now, tainting our place and memory, but it’s what has to happen.
As I drive through the branches and find a place to park, Sully finishes the flask. The cocktail works like a truth serum…right before it knocks you out. I just hope I didn’t dose him too hard.
Sully tosses the flask to the floorboard and turns toward me. “Come here.”
I cut off the engine and crack the car door. “Let’s go outside, where it’s cool and open.”
He blows out a long breath. “Christ. Whatever you want.”
I walk around to the back of the car, checking the vicinity for any other vehicles. “We’re alone,” I say.
The dark sky is blanketed with tiny white pinholes. The absence of stars along the mountain ridge shows the way to Devil’s Tooth.
Sully stumbles out of the car and gets as far as the trunk, where he leans himself and wipes a hand over his face. “So, are we going to fuck or what?”
Oh, how the girls must swoon over him. I smile to myself as I return to the car and scoot onto the trunk. “You don’t have a girlfriend?” I ask with a taunting tone. “You wouldn’t be a cheater, would you?”
He slides a finger under the tight hem of my dress and pops the material against my thigh. “Does it matter?”
My back teeth grind. They’re all the same. With a quick shake of my head, I clear the sudden surge of anger. “Come on. Tell the truth…” I urge, as I guide him between my legs. I reach around his waist in search of his back pocket, of his phone. “I thought you were into Addison—”
“Is that what Hensley said?” he snaps, his movements placing his phone out of reach. He rests his palms on the car, on either side of my thighs, his face inches from mine. “Fuck that asshole. I thought I taught him a lesson about talking shit he don’t know.”
“You mean the fight,” I say, leading him.
“Damn right.”
I ease back onto my palms, giving us space. “I recall Carter walking away from that…and you, well, not.”
He wavers, his jaw clenched tight. “What the fuck did you just say?”
I shrug a shoulder. “I was there, remember? I know you saw me. I witnessed the whole thing, Sully.”
He digs the heel of his hand into his eye socket as he teeters sideways. “You don’t know what you’re talking about…”
“I’ve heard the rumors, too,” I go on. “The ones you’ve been spreading about me and Carter.”
It took some time to deduce, but I finally realized Addison was behind Sully spreading the rumors. She has to be. A sweet, innocent girl like her can’t say such deplorable things herself, not about her best friend—but she can pull the strings.
Sully chuckles. “Oh, you are mental.” Gaining his bearings, he locks onto my gaze. “You know, Hensley said you were a hot fuck, but it was a shame you were so damn psycho.”
My heart stutters in my chest, the air snatched from my lungs. “Don’t call me that.”
He staggers as he reaches for his empty beer and knocks it over. The bottle rolls to the ground with a hard thunk. “Fuck it,” Sully mutters. Then he stares at me. “So that’s all this is. Some lame-ass attempt to get back at Hensley.”
A red aura pulses around my vision. “This was a mistake.” I shove his chest, trying to force him back.
Sully must take my ire as foreplay, because he laughs and grabs my hips. “That’s it, baby. I like it when you wriggle.”
I slam the ball of my fist against his chest. “Get away from me. I mean it.”
This really was a mistake. I have to get away from him. I can find another way to get the information I need.
With a grunt, Sully captures my wrists and tugs me toward him. “What’s wrong, baby? Don’t you want to play anymore?”
I hold his slack gaze. He’s fading, but it’s not fast enough. “Let me go,” I demand, my voice low and serious. “Or Carter will kill you this time.”
He glares at me a moment before tossing back his head and releasing a deep laugh. “You really are a crazy bitch.” Then he clasps my face. Hard. His fingers dig into my jaw. “He could give a fuck about you. Matter of fact—” he uses his free hand to unsnap his jeans “—let’s test that theory.”
I spit in his face.
He releases me and wipes at the spittle. “You bitch.”
I push myself down the trunk, but he’s there to stop my escape. He seizes my waist and restrains me against the car, then attempts to flip me over. I send my knee into his groin.
He chokes on a curse and doubles over to cup his balls. I take the moment to get away.
“Get back here, you cunt.” He trails after me to the driver’s side door.
A realization hits me, and I stop. Hand clutched to the car door, I gape at him. “Oh, my God. You’ve done this before.”
Sully advances toward me, his steps unsteady. “You’re all little cock teases.”
This guy is worse than I imagined. No wonder Carter beat the shit out of him.
“Tell me the truth,” I say, daring a step closer. “Did Addison tell you about me and Carter? What did she ask you to do?”
He slurs another curse, but doesn’t answer. Fury bites my nerves.
“Who’s idea was it to send the text messages?” I ask.
This gives him pause, and he shakes his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re crazy.”
“Give me your phone,” I demand.
He drives a hand through his hair. “Shit. It wasn’t my idea. All right?”
“Addison,” I say simply.
Sluggish, he sways and leans on the side of the car for support. “She was all convinced there was something off about you. I mean, you did bang one of your students.” He laughs.
“Carter and I are in love,” I retort.
“Whatever. Look, Addison knows I’m good with programs. She asked me to dig into you, do a facial recognition search. And holy hell—” he whistles “—you lit up the Internet. You’re one sick girl.”
Sweat beads along my brow; I feel hot and chilled all at once. “It’s not what you think,” I say. “You don’t understand.”
“I don’t give a shit,” he says. “Not my problem.”
“Then why did you do it?” I demand.
“Addison asked me to.”
I nod slowly. “And you’d do anything she asked of you.”
Sully laughs. “You bitches are all the same. Crazy as fuck.”
“Get up.” I’m not going to drag his passed-out body.
“When he found out how fucking loaded you are, though…that’s where it got interesting.”
My whole being ices over with dread. “Who? When who found out?”
His body gives up the fight and he slumps against the car. “Damn, what’d you give me? This is good shit.”
I take a hesitant step toward him as I mentally fit the pieces together. “So your plan was to send cryptic messages to me, to blackmail me. How’d that work out?”
“It’s fucking Addison’s fault,” he says. “She was all, turn her in—” he waves his hands in the air as he mimics her voice “—and shit. Whatever. I don’t know anything about any messages. Ask them.”
Them… You know who he’s referring to, don’t you?
“Shut up.” I claw a hand through my hair. I don’t want to hear any more.
“Hey, you asked,” he says, laughing. He groans and wipes his mouth; he’s starting to drool. “Hensley and Addison. Man, fuck them.”
I stop moving; my whole body freezes over. “He wouldn’t believe her lies. He loves me.” He trusts me. I trust him.
&nbs
p; Sully’s head lolls against the car. “Whatever. Doesn’t matter now anyway,” he says, finding a second wind to push to his feet. “Addison got what she wanted, lame bitch. They can have each other.”
No. No, no, no. “Shut the fuck up.”
“Sorry, psycho girl. The slut never gets the guy.” He swipes a hand out and grabs my hair. “Me? I don’t do relationships. I’ll just take some of that sweet-ass pussy instead.”
I fight against his hold. I hear the gut-wrenching sound of my hair ripping as I yank free. I drop to my hands and knees and scuttle away, then climb to my feet. I take off toward the mountain trail.
The path is jagged and my heels make it impossible to run as I trip over rocks. I lose the shoes and continue up the path with bare feet. I can hear Sully gaining on me, and I swipe at branches as I push my way up the rocky trail, getting closer to the pass.
Sully isn’t far behind. His hand circles my ankle and I’m hauled backward. The razor-sharp edge of rocks tear into my back and shoulders. He crawls on top of me and cages me in against the ground.
That fear of being trapped is a tiny white room with no escape, and it’s debilitating. I can’t breathe…I can’t move…
He uses his knees to wedge my legs apart. “Here’s some truth,” he says, his breaths coming hard. “Hensley said psycho chicks are the best fuck.”
There’s a loud snap inside my head. My vision blacks. Fear evaporates as I reach out in search along the ground until I grasp something solid—and slam it against the side of Sully’s head.
He stops moving, his eyes unfocused. Dark blood trickles down the side of his face. I use my knee and hand to shove him off, and he flops to his side. He groans and mumbles something incoherent.
I glance around the darkness. The ridge is empty and quiet, all but the sound of the howling wind. As I roll over and struggle to stand, I cough, catching my breath. I look down at Sully. Then at the large rock in my hand.
Psycho chicks are also painfully sensitive, you sorry fucker.
Hand still gripping the rock, I raise it above my head and bring it down on Sully’s head.
Blood mists my face. I feel his bones give beneath the stone; the soft cushion of his skin, the hard crunch of his skull as it caves.
I stand still and stare down at his limp, lifeless body, my head too full of frantic thoughts to catch just one. Maybe it had to happen this way. Two against one are not odds in my favor. One of them had to go down first.
Besides, he was not a good guy. How many other girls has he hurt? How many were to suffer because of him in the future?
Admittedly, the mind can justify almost anything; it’s designed to protect us. I’m not that out of touch with reality that I don’t recognize my attempt to do just that—but Sully really had it coming.
I drop the rock and use the hem of my dress to wipe the blood from my face. It’s spattered across my arms, shoulders. I give up on the task and pluck the phone from his back pocket. Then I use my bare heel to roll him toward the edge of the cliff. My hair clips my eyes as the wind batters the side of the mountain.
I remember the story Carter told me about Devil’s Tooth—how the ravine floor is littered with bones, how people disappear up here. How if someone had wanted to get away with murder all they had to do was toss the body into the ravine.
With a hard kick, I shove Sully over the toothed ridge. The sound of his body hitting the bottom never comes.
18
Fate
Ellis
Voltaire wrote: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.
In other words, be careful who you trust.
Sully said many unfathomable things—things that made me doubt, if only for an instant, not only Carter but myself. We have to be strong in our convictions.
It would be an atrocity to doubt Carter’s love for me.
Ever since Dr. Leighton failed me, I’ve been wary of allowing anyone to get too close. Carter was the first to break through my boundaries, and I love him for that, but he’s also naïve when it comes to people and their intentions.
Had he not surrounded himself with leaches like Sully and Addison, then I wouldn’t have been forced to take such extreme action. However, I can’t have either one of them filling his head with absurdities about me either.
I have to protect us.
As such, I collect the blood-stained rock and the discarded flask and beer bottle and toss it all into a black trash bag. Then I tug down my dress and toss it in the bag, too. It’s filthy and covered in droplets of blood.
After throwing everything into the trunk of the Honda, I pull on a T-shirt and jeans. I didn’t think far enough ahead to bring comfortable shoes, but at least I didn’t forget the most essential item.
I grab the knife from the console.
A little too late, I realize, but I improvised with the rock. I hadn’t planned to use the weapon on Sully; it was for protection, just in case. But after what happened, I can’t risk making another mistake. Everyone has become a danger.
I walk down to the waterfall’s edge and find a seat on a large boulder. With a deep breath, I swipe open Sully’s phone. Adrenalin spikes my blood as I scan his text messages, searching for the ones sent to me—but there’s none. No proof that the messages came from Sully. If his phone was used, the texts have been deleted.
Heart knocking painfully in my chest, I hover my thumb over a message from Addison. I click it open.
Addison: Stop dicking around. We need to make her go away. Now.
Hand trembling, I check the timestamp. The text was sent two hours ago.
Addison wants to make me go away. So she can have Carter. So she can be the only girl in his life.
I push my hand into my hair and grip at the roots. “She’s doing it all over again.”
She’s not Irina, Dr. Leighton’s voice whispers.
No, she’s not—she’s worse. Irina was cruel to my face. Addison is calculating. She’s been feeding Carter lies, and she’s been plotting with a vile piece of filth to extort me and force me to leave Black Mountain. All the while, pretending to be Carter’s best friend.
All I want is to protect Carter, and Addison is dangerous.
Carter and I were so beautifully happy before her deceit. “Do you know how hard it is to find love a second time?”
But does he love you?
“Yes,” I say, as I turn to stare into the white cascade. “Carter loves me.” I recall the look in his blue eyes as he gazed down at me in this very spot—the look of pure adoration. I want that look back.
Then you know what you have to do.
A chill skitters along my skin and I shiver. I place Sully’s phone in my lap and glare down at the dimmed screen. Dr. Leighton makes is sound so simple, but it never is. Loving someone from the depth of your soul is crushing, knowing what has to be done takes all of your willpower to see it through.
I take solace in the night; Carter’s dark energy is all around me. I can’t see it or feel it, but I have faith it’s real. I inhale deeply, and his distinct scent of aquatic cologne pervades my senses.
Yes, I know what I have to do to keep him mine.
I use Sully’s phone to type out a text to Addison and hit Send.
Sully: I’m ready. Meet me at Devil’s Bluff.
19
Twisted
Ellis
Have you ever heard your voice echo across an abyss?
The bass swallowed by the hollow void. The treble reflected back like an angelic song, the notes of a wind chime carried through the sea, a crash of a wave resounding, ending on a whisper as the notes fade into oblivion.
The sound is hauntingly beautiful.
I stand on a rocky embankment, listening as the last of my voice falls away.
Maybe it’s insane to shout into the darkness all alone. But I’ve always wondered about that strange metaphor—the one about whether or not a fallen tree makes a noise if no one is around to hear. And I was curious.
How many lonely souls lie at the bottom of the ravine?
Would any of them hear me? Would any answer back?
The lake that lies at the base of Black Mountain is that cavernous abyss. Tonight, with only a sliver of moon to light the trail, the lake top is a mirror reflection of an ink-black sky. Puffs of satin-gray clouds scatter across the glassy surface like the most inviting bed.
All I have to do is take one step forward…and I’d find that eternal sleep.
I toe the edge of the cliff, toying with fate. A familiar prickling sensation webs inside my chest. Adrenalin and fear. It’s like falling in love. So near the danger, so fearful of taking that last step.
A cool breeze kisses my bare arms, and I tuck them close as I teeter on the precipice.
No one survives the pass on Devil’s Bluff.
It’s one of the first things I learned after arriving at Black Mountain Academy.
I grip the hilt of the knife as I wait for the clock to strike nine-eleven.
It’s fortuitous, I think, that we should be here so close to that time—like this is all the universe’s design. All that cosmic, chaotic energy cycling down to the moment where it all comes together.
The sound of footsteps on the trail pricks my ears. The snap of a twig echos against the stone crags. A girl’s lilting voice caries as she curses.
I turn to face her, knife held behind my back. “Over here,” I call out.
The sounds suddenly stop, then Addison emerges from the trail, her face ashen. “What are you doing here?”
She is beautiful. I can admit that. I don’t fault Carter for falling for her lies. She has the face of an angel, all sweet smiles and innocent eyes.
“Where’s Sully?” Addison demands, as she looks around the cliff.
“He’s not here,” I answer simply. “It’s just us.” It’s the first time we’ve ever spoken to each other. I want to slow this moment down, breathe it in.
What it is about this girl that transfixes Carter? Why is she so special?
Why was Irina so special?