Beautiful Elixir

by Addison Moore

  Kam lands a sweet kiss on the top of Kennedy’s head. “I’ve missed you so damn much.”

  “I’ve missed you twice that.” She pulls her into another embrace. “And that’s no lie.”

  My feet begin the slow trek over without my permission. It’s time. Kennedy and I have a lot we need to say to one another, and now that she’s made amends with her sister, there’s no time like the present.

  “But we’re about to make up for some serious lost time.” Kennedy raises her coffee in her sister’s honor, and Gavin and Demi do the same.

  “What are we toasting?” The words strum from me, deep and unfamiliar. I’ve never been good at putting up a front. My eyes feel heavy as I keep them trained on Kennedy. I can’t seem to move another step. That perennial smile I keep for her isn’t coming to the party. This is serious, the playful side I’ve shared with her is gone for now.

  “My freedom”—Kennedy gives a hard gulp as if swallowing down another lie—“from you.”

  “Kennedy,” Demi hisses from across the table.

  “Good Lord,” Kam sighs. “Let the fireworks begin.”

  Gavin gives a dark chuckle. “Lighten up, dude, we were toasting her sister. Take a seat. What’s your ugly mug doing out of your cave? Did the legal system spit you out for good?”

  I can’t find it in me to offer even a thin smile to his good-natured ribbing. But I take him up on the offer and find a seat at the head of the table, my eyes still poised on Kennedy.

  “Your results came back from the polygraph.” I give an idea of a smile. “It’s true what you said about the videos.” Just a few minutes prior to her admission, I already knew the truth. But hearing her say those words, it was mind-boggling. I don’t get it. I don’t know if I ever will.

  Kennedy glances to Demi and Gavin, her lashes lowered just enough to show remorse. “I did it,” she whispers. “I uploaded those videos.” Her cheeks fill with color. “I lied about not knowing that Keith ever made them.” She looks to me. “But the rest? All those stupid idiotic pranks? What did the polygraph have to say about that?” Her intense gaze matches mine. Baby steps—that’s how we’re getting to the finish line.

  “Inconclusive.” My brows rise. “Only you know the truth.”

  “The truth is a slippery bitch”—she doesn’t miss a beat—“just like me.”

  Kennedy and I enter a standoff. This is it, the moment that makes or breaks us. If I hold strong to my lie—if she holds strong to her newfound hatred of me—we could knock this out of the park. It’s all some longstanding curse that’s been ravaging my life, and it looks like Kennedy might have been infected, too.

  “Why are you doing this?” My voice is steady, but you can hear the anger rippling underneath like a current about sweep us off to sea.

  “I thought you were all about the truth, Caleb. Isn’t that what you want to hear?”

  “You’re spewing out more lies, Kennedy.” I jump to my feet, plucking the drink from her hands and hurling it at the wall.

  The room pulsates around me as my sanity unlatches, unhooks from my good judgment. I’m coming unhinged for all to see. There has to be a limit to this misery. There has to be a way to stop it.

  Kennedy rises to meet me where I’m at, all rage and turmoil.

  “I didn’t lie on that test, Caleb,” she screams it in my face. Her voice vibrates over me like a hurricane. “I don’t know why that test showed inconclusive. Maybe it’s because I had a rough morning—with my sister, my father both popping into my life that day after four long years. Maybe it’s because I wanted so hard to pass I couldn’t tell you how to spell my own damn name!” Tears spring from her eyes like a fountain. She presses her lips together hard for a moment. “I didn’t want to lie anymore in your office, Caleb. I don’t want to lie to you or anyone else again for the rest of my life.”

  Her sister rises to her side as she glares over at me. “But you lied, Ken. Tell him how you lied in his office the other night.”

  Kennedy closes her eyes briefly.

  “One secret I tell you, and you spill it within a day,” she hisses.

  “Is it true?” My voice thunders through the small shop. All patrons have ceased their conversations. Their heads craned shamelessly at the two of us.

  “It’s true,” she whispers. “I didn’t have anything to do with extorting information from your brother. After I heard that recording”—she shakes her head—“okay, I did say those words, just not in that order. Someone spliced two conversations together. And I don’t even know who that was speaking in the beginning. Don’t you see?” Her voice cracks as Demi comes up alongside her. Gavin rises next to me as if he were about to break up a fight. “If they could be that dubious, make Keith disappear, there’s no stopping them. They have already taken away too much from me.” Her hand floats to the side of my face. “I couldn’t let them hurt you anymore. I needed to let you go—to protect you the only way I know how.”

  Kennedy. I bury a kiss in her palm before meeting her teary gaze once again. “You lied to protect me.” I close my eyes a brief moment. “Come here.” I pull Kennedy into my arms and lose it. All of the false armor she’s been wearing, for weeks, years, slowly melts away, and she’s a girl again in my arms. My special summer girl.

  “I am so fucked, Caleb.” She buries her face in my neck.

  I land a hard kiss to her temple. “We’re going to get you out of this. And I think I know a way.”

  * * *

  Loveless in summer is nice. In autumn it shines like cut amber, but dressed in a coat of snow, it is resplendent. Winter has always been the crowning jewel of the mountain.

  I take Kennedy back to the cabin and call Abel to meet up with us. I’ve also invited her mother, father, and sister along with Demi and Gavin to help us wade through the sludge of what’s become of Kennedy’s life.

  “It’s ironic,” Kennedy whispers, looking at the small crowd amassed at the dining room table.

  “What’s that?” I pull her toward the kitchen just out of sight of the others. I want to kiss her. To tell her that everything will be all right, but I don’t have the facts to back that up.

  “That in my darkest hour never have I felt so much love in one room.” Her brows peak. Kennedy is a natural beauty both inside and out. “I was thinking we only have so many years left on the planet, and what kind of ending would I like to have? I want it to be a good one. I can’t control how other people act, react, around me, but I can control how I do it, and I want a good ending. I choose to be happy—and happy people aren’t liars. I need people, Caleb. I don’t want to push anyone else away.”

  “I’ll always be here for you.” I pull her body to mine and lose myself in her hair, her jasmine rich scent, and suddenly wish we were the only two people in the cabin.

  Abel arrives, and Kennedy seems shocked to see yet another doppelganger of mine. Solomon is a meaner, leaner version, covered with tats, cocky and reckless, but Abel is the exact representation, and I can see that this unnerves her on some level.

  “We know it’s a girl.” Peter shakes his hands in the air as we congregate in the dining room. “She’s about your age, so I’m guessing you know her.”

  “I do know her,” Kennedy offers, and all eyes settle on her, startled by the admission.

  I’m not sure I can handle any more surprises.

  Kamryn rolls her eyes like a hormonal teenager. “Please knock me off your suspect list once and for all. I’m not amused by the accusation.”

  “Check your ego at the door. It’s not you.” Kennedy smirks. “It’s someone in my sorority.”

  “How can you be sure?” I pick up her hand and kiss it in front of our family and friends, and her eyes tear up a moment as if that simple show of affection was more than she could bear.

  “I wondered from the beginning.” She links her arm through mine and leans against me for support. “Once the ridiculous incidences began—none of which I had anything to do with—I uploaded the videos. I want
ed to beat Keith at his own game. Then there were a few more cheap pranks that took place, all of which pointed to me, and, coincidentally they all rang like marking off a checklist. The things that were happening to Keith were the exact suggestions that my sorority sisters offered on ways to get back at him for cheating. That pretty much dissolved any notion that Keith had anything to do with this. I did wonder if he had a mole, some girl working on the inside. But I knew whoever was doing this was more interested in getting under my skin than Keith’s.” Kennedy takes a breath as she looks to her mother. I can’t imagine how difficult this must be for the both of them. “That’s why I went back to the sorority with Reese and Brylee. My sorority sisters welcomed me with open arms, and, yet again, they threw out suggestions on creative ways to get back at Keith. The very next week somebody went right down the list once again. Making Keith disappear seemed like a bonus.”

  Demi leans in, livid. “So why is this person tormenting Caleb?”

  My chest thumps with an aborted laugh. Demi and Gavin always seem to have my back.

  “That night at the sorority house, it sort of got out that I was into Caleb. It didn’t take long for them to switch gears.”

  Her mother clutches at her throat. “It’s simple. They want what you have. They’re just jealous. People have always been jealous of you.” She points an accusing finger as if it were all Kennedy’s fault.

  “No,” she’s quick to refute the theory. “I don’t think it’s that.”

  I give her hand a squeeze. “Then there’s the audio I’ve been sent.” I play the first voice recording—Kennedy’s confession to lying on the stand at her parents trial and she cringes. I play the second audio recording, which makes it sound as if she has it out for me, and now, it looks as if she wants to crawl into a hole.

  Demi looks at Kennedy as if she were trying to figure out what species she belonged to.

  This isn’t going over well.

  Abel spins the laptop toward himself and replays the second audio at least a dozen times. “There are three distinct breaks. That’s a good sign of splicing. Not to mention that the first female voice is coated with more static than the second. Kennedy comes in muffled, but there’s no static scratching up her voice.”

  Kennedy breathes a sigh of relief.

  Peter helps us compile a database on each of Kennedy’s sorority sisters, then Abel and Gavin run a rudimentary search on them. It’s nothing short of a CIA spy lab in here.

  Kennedy’s mother jumps up and puts on a pot of coffee while Demi and Kamryn become fast friends.

  “Charlie Goodman is having a birthday this Saturday.” Abel taps the screen with his pen. His announcement lacks the usual enthusiasm that goes along with one of those celebratory events. “I suggest you throw her a party. Invite your sisters.”

  “Who are you close to?” I shake my head at her, already discouraged the idea. Kennedy has almost eighty sisters.

  “I don’t know. Just Charlie and Mel, I guess. The other girls are sort of my minions.” She wrinkles her nose at the thought, mostly because it’s true on some level. “It’s hard to be queen bee”—she cuts an ironic glance around the room—“disliked by many, yet loved by all.”

  “What’s Mel’s last name?” Abel inquires, his fingers and eyes never leaving the keyboard.

  “Williams, I think.”

  “Are you sure it’s Williams? The search is coming up empty.” Gavin looks to Demi for a second. “Didn’t she introduce herself to us at the anniversary party? What did she say her last name was?”

  “I think it was a little longer than Williams. Williamson?” Demi licks a spoon, and her eyes invert. I spot a jar of cookie butter on the counter behind her. It was a gift from Demi and Gavin for helping her win her case. Suffice it to say, she’s a fan of the stuff.

  Peter shifts in his seat, tapping his finger in the air as if he’s just had an epiphany. “Could it be Williamsburg?”

  “That’s it!” Demi points the spoon in his direction as if threatening a launch.

  “I’m pretty sure it’s Williams.” Kennedy shakes her head. “In fact, I know it is. I stare at that damn in-house roster just about every week.”

  “Nope.” Abel spins the laptop in my direction. “It’s Williamsburg.”

  “Shit.” Peter’s face turns to ash. “See if her father’s name is—”

  Abel cuts him off, “Bruce Williamsburg?”

  Peter slams his palms over the table.

  “Williamsburg?” Kamryn glances up in a panic. “I remember that case. Wasn’t he that guy you helped put away? Your client was the one who nailed Bruce’s ass to the wall. The only reason I remember it is because Bruce seemed innocent, and your client should have fried.”

  Nobody says anything, nobody moves.

  The room fills with the heavy scent of coffee—Kam’s phone goes off, a ridiculously happy song, before she switches it to silent.

  Shit. “It looks as if we’re throwing a birthday party this Friday night.”

  “And then what?” Kennedy looks genuinely afraid of this Melanie girl. In light of the facts, can’t say I blame her.

  “And then you get her to incriminate herself.”

  Abel nods to Peter. “We’ll talk to Keith.”

  Demi comes over and offers Kennedy a hug. “Call Reese. We have a party to plan.”

  The Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth

  Kennedy

  Friday night comes far too quickly. Keith is coming to the party. Not only did this news blow my mind, but it should rattle Mel to say the least. Turns out, he was heavily sedated and turned up at Yeats. They found him in the basement of the biology building covered in filth, mumbling to himself. He’s spent the last week recovering in a detox center with no recollection of anything after we parted ways the night he went missing. I talked to Keith on the phone and shared the theory we have on Mel. Keith is more than a little pissed.

  Caleb wraps his strong arms around me and buries a kiss into my neck as we stare down at the swelling crowd below.

  “It’s almost show time. Reese and Ace are already there.” I point down to where the happy couple stands in an embrace much like this one. Reese has vowed to stay by my side all night. She couldn’t care less that I asked her not to. She said it would seem perfectly normal since we’re always together, since we’re sisters, and she’s right.

  I spin to face Caleb and lose myself in the cool blue of his eyes.

  “I want to have your babies one day.” My stomach pinches at the words that just flew from my lips. I mean it, true as God. This man is gorgeous inside and out.

  “I’m ready when you are.” He lands a kiss to my lips and lingers.

  “After law school. I think it’ll be good for the tiny tots to see their parents running a successful practice.” I bite down on my lip. “And, since we’re discussing the parenting portion of our relationship, I suppose that means you trust me. You no longer believe I’m the boldest liar in the universe?”

  “I never thought that.” He plunges in with another kiss. “I thought you were the boldest beauty in the universe. Still do.” Caleb pierces into my mouth with his tongue, pressing the blooming hardness in his jeans over my stomach. “You’re right.” He readjusts himself. “We’d better get down there.”

  The air outside is crisp, the storm passed, and we’re back to living in a frozen icebox, but that’s never stopped a good party at the lake. Demi and Gavin huddle with Neva and Warren. Zoey is knotted up between them, and, come to think of it, Neva looks as if she’s about to throat punch Zoey.

  “Those girls seriously need to get laid and not by Warren,” I whisper.

  Caleb’s chest rumbles against mine. “I’ve got a couple of brothers.”

  The court declared a mistrial in Solomon’s case. Turns out his ex-girlfriend had already found herself another sucker, aka a boyfriend trying to gift her an alibi. Nevertheless, her trial will be underway soon. It’s getting twice the press coverage because of what the media
has dubbed Solomon’s Sacrifice. Not sure what will become of Solomon, though.

  “Well, look who’s here!” Reese lunges at me, her arms wrap tight around my body, and she gives an extra tight squeeze. “I’m glued to you tonight,” she whispers straight into my ear. “Don’t even think of getting rid of me.”

  “I wouldn’t dare.”

  Ace offers a quick hug and knuckle bump to Caleb. “Where’s Gavin?”

  “Down by the fire.” Caleb gives me a kiss. “Let’s head over.”

  “Why don’t you guys go ahead. I think I’ll get twice as much action if my boy toy isn’t around.” I wink at Caleb. It’s true. I let Caleb know back at the cabin that Mel would only come around if I were alone or with other girls. Otherwise, she prefers to stalk from afar.

  Mel. I still can’t believe that sweet, mousy girl could be responsible for so much mayhem.

  “Speak of the devil!” A girl’s voice shrills from behind, and I turn to find Mel, herself, Charlie and Brylee with her. I’ve chosen to leave Bry in the dark. And, judging by the alcoholic breeze streaming from her lips, the Solo cup in her hand with a bubbling brew, it was a very wise move.

  “What’s up, bitches?” I bump both Mel and Charlie hard with my hip. “Who’s the birthday slut?” I pull Charlie into a playful embrace. “How old are you now? Sixteen?”

  “Very funny.” Her blonde head is crowned with a blinking tiara that reads Birthday Princess, and she’s accessorized with dozens of plastic beaded necklaces. “I’m none of your business from this point on. Isn’t that right?”

  “You know it.” That’s exactly what I said at my last party. I give her hair a gentle tug. “And what’s new with you?” I swing my shoulder playfully into Mel. “Any hot guys on your radar? I feel like I’ve missed so much. I really can’t wait to get back to campus next semester.”

  “Your throne awaits.” Charlie touches the top of my head with a scepter that seems to have miraculously appeared in her hand.