Nightfall

by Douglas, Penelope

  For his twin.

  I swallowed the lump in my throat, unable to bear thinking about the details of what they might’ve done to her. My God.

  “He had a motive, but that doesn’t mean it takes a lot to set him in motion, either,” she told me. “Watch yourself. His mother is an ambassador to Japan, and his family is one of the biggest real estate developers on the East Coast, specifically in for-profit prisons. That killing spree wasn’t his only foray into crime. They certainly had it coming, but that doesn’t mean he’s done, so be careful.”

  I frowned. He was probably unlikely to ever get out of here. That meant he had nothing to lose.

  “Taylor definitely belongs in here,” she continued. “He likes to take weekend road trips to college campuses, set fires in dorms and sorority houses, and then molest girls as they try to escape. When he finally lets go, they’re so scared of the fire, they don’t stop to fight back or try to identify him.”

  The image of him with my panties flashed in my mind, and I winced.

  “And Aydin?”

  She’d told me to stay away from him, too.

  But she just blurted out, “Just stay away from him. He doesn’t get to win.”

  Win what?

  “How do you know all this?” I asked her.

  She twisted around and started walking, ignoring me. I guessed she must’ve done reconnaissance in her search for Will, but…

  I grabbed her, hauling her ass back. “You’re not telling me something.”

  She knocked my hand off her arm and glared. “I don’t know why you’re here or who arranged for you to be brought in,” she whispered, leaning in close. “But I came to get Will out, and you’re going to help me.”

  I stared at her.

  “I don’t mean to be cruel,” she continued, “but you better keep up and stop asking fucking questions. I like you, Em, but I’m not leaving without him, so don’t straggle.”

  Why the hurry all of a sudden? It had been days already.

  My breath shook as I raised my eyes again. “A year,” I said, hardening my eyes on her. “He’s been gone at least a year, and you knew that when we talked last summer.”

  “Well, what were you going to do?” she fired back. “Care?”

  What the hell did she just say to me?

  The urge to slap her hit me, but I balled my fists instead.

  “This isn’t my fault.” I stood strong. I was to blame for some things, but not everything. “You’re his friends. You saw him every day, and you knew what he was doing to himself. This is your fault.”

  Maybe she was a little right. Maybe I hated myself, because she’d come for him, and I’m not sure if I would’ve. Maybe it wouldn’t have changed a damn thing if I’d known about this place months ago.

  Or maybe she knew nothing about me and should shut her stupid mouth.

  She held my eyes for a moment and then dropped her head, sighing. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean that. I’m worried about Will. I’m scared, because I haven’t heard from my friends. I don’t want to be found here.” And then she shook her head as if clearing it. “I’m glad I’m not alone. I’m glad you’re here.”

  I chuckled despite myself. “I’m not,” I joked.

  She put her hand on my shoulder, giving me a reassuring squeeze. “Nothing is going to happen to us. I’m sorry I didn’t get you sooner.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  She hesitated, searching for words. “I didn’t know you were here until I saw you running for your life through the forest on our first night. I spotted you from a window as they gave chase,” she said. “We couldn’t get out until the crew got here, and you were already discovered, so...”

  So you stayed hidden.

  I had been sedated when we arrived because I was brought here against my will. She was smuggled in and probably awake when she entered the house. She had intel, blueprints, and supplies. She ran and found a place to hunker down, no doubt.

  “I…” she paused and then continued. “I kept an eye on the situation from my vantage points, ready to swoop in if needed.”

  I studied her. That made no sense. She wouldn’t have been able to stop anyone from hurting me at any moment. She could’ve dived in at any time, collected me, and hidden me somewhere. Why leave me in their care? Every moment that she did was a gamble.

  “What if Will doesn’t want to leave?” I ask her.

  He wasn’t even remotely content, but he’d given up. Suited to his lot in life of perpetual sidekick, whether it was to Michael Crist, Kai Mori, and Damon Torrance, or Aydin Khadir.

  Alex was quiet for a moment as she looked for the entrance to the next passage. “We just gotta wake him up.”

  Maybe.

  Maybe seeing Alex would snap him out of it.

  Another wave of jealousy rushed over me. He would listen to her.

  I heard a voice through the walls and some pounding, and I trained my ears.

  “Shh,” I told her.

  “Emory?” Another knock in the distance.

  I darted my eyes to Alex. Shit!

  Spinning around, I ran back for my bedroom.

  “Emory, no,” she whispered after me.

  I spun around, looking at her as I walked. “The chair is under the door handle,” I told her. “He knows I’m in there. He’s going to wonder how I disappeared if he breaks in and sees me gone.”

  He couldn’t find out about the passageways.

  I ran back to my room, calling behind me, “Go to Will. Come back for me.”

  Pushing the picture open, I leapt through, closed it, and ran to my door, scooting the chair out from underneath the knob.

  Opening the door, I saw Aydin standing there with a stack of clothes in his hand.

  I swallowed the heavy breaths pouring in and out, so he wouldn’t wonder why I was out of breath.

  “Why didn’t you answer the door?” he asked.

  “I was asleep.”

  His eyes thinned on me.

  But he didn’t argue further, handing the clothes out to me.

  I wanted to take them, since everything I had was wet, dirty, or ripped, but…

  In my clarity, I was a little pissed.

  “My brother used to bring me presents, too,” I told him. “After he made me bleed.”

  I moved to close the door, but he shot out his foot, stopping me.

  I looked up, seeing his eyes crinkle at the corners, and I’m sure he thought we bonded or some shit over that episode in the greenhouse, and maybe we did a little, because I wasn’t afraid of him anymore, but I wasn’t letting him off the hook. That was mean.

  And also, the more I distracted him, the more time Alex might have with Will.

  “What are you playing at?” I asked him. “What do you want from me?”

  He dropped his hand, still holding the clothes, and stalked for me, forcing me back into the room as he slammed the door behind him and never took his eyes off me.

  “The clothes aren’t an apology,” he said, tossing them behind me to the bed. “They’re respect.”

  He stared down at me, still dressed in his black pants and smudged white T-shirt, but instead of feeling backed into a wall or defensive, I…

  I couldn’t help the comfort I felt. I shouldn’t need his respect or admiration, but something about it made me feel stronger.

  Strangely, he hadn’t been exactly bad for me, had he?

  I grabbed the black sweatpants off the bed and slipped them on, fastening the tie and thankful these actually fit pretty perfectly, and then pulled off his dress shirt, aware of his eyes on me in my bra.

  I turned around and picked up the white T-shirt, slipping it on.

  I felt him approach.

  “Does he know about your brother?” he said, standing at my back.

  “Yes.”

  “And he’s still so cold?”

  I pulled the shirt down my stomach and fixed the neckline, straightening it.

  For a moment, Alex wa
s forgotten.

  “You see Micah?” I asked him in a quiet voice. “Kind of playful, prone to smile, happy to let others lead because he’s afraid of upsetting the balance in order to take his place?” I paused, feeling him pull my ponytail out of my shirt for me. “Because he’s afraid of failing?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That was Will,” I told him. “The joker. He never had a worry in the world. Happy, because he didn’t want to be unhappy. He was charmed.”

  I turned around, my mouth dry and so weary I just wanted to crawl into bed, almost as if I didn’t care Alex was here.

  “He hasn’t smiled since I’ve been here,” I said. “Not the same way anyway. He hasn’t laughed or played or cracked a joke.”

  “He never does.”

  I nodded, Aydin and I holding each other’s eyes. “I did that to him,” I told him. “I killed him.”

  Before I could stop it, tears sprang to my eyes, and I didn’t know what was wrong with me.

  At this moment, I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t want to hurt Will anymore. I didn’t want to face the world.

  Aydin took my face in his hands, wiping my tears with his thumbs.

  “Stop crying,” he said. “You’re in the company of killers now. You’re not special.”

  More tears spilled over, but I drew in a deep breath, hearing him.

  “Welcome to the tribe,” he told me.

  I broke out into a laugh as he wiped more tears, and I didn’t know what the hell was wrong with me, but it was nice to have someone to talk to.

  “Stop crying,” he said again. “Shit happens, and you did your best.”

  I stared at him, those words like a glass of cool water on the fire in my head. I wanted to believe them.

  And there was nothing I could do to change what I’d done.

  But if I’d done to Aydin what I did to Will, Aydin might not sympathize with me so much.

  I belonged here.

  Emory

  Nine Years Ago

  I licked my lips but then bit my bottom one to keep from smiling.

  It didn’t work. Heat rushed to my cheeks, and my mind kept pulling me back to last night at the Cove—the feel of him, his taste and smell, and his words.

  God, he was incredible. So much so that I probably wouldn’t have cared if he’d knocked me up last night, after all. I just wanted to be his.

  I shook my head, trying to clear it. We committed a crime at the cemetery. What was I thinking? We could’ve easily been seen. Jesus.

  I woke at four a.m. to find him gone, but I was tucked in tightly, and the house was locked up. My brother still wasn’t home from the night shift, so I washed out the dress, hung it to dry, and took a shower before checking on my grandma and making him breakfast.

  Minutes before he was due to be home, the nurse showed up, and I grabbed the dress and my school bag that Martin had left inside the front door, and then I left him a note before escaping the confrontation.

  Walking into the cathedral, I dug my key out of my pocket and hurried past the aisle. Rounding one of the columns, I hit something and stumbled back, looking up to see a dark-eyed girl, her mouth hanging open in surprise.

  She reached out and grabbed me before I could fall.

  “Sorry,” she breathed out, looking in a hurry.

  I laughed under my breath, tightening my arm around the dress. “That’s okay. Accident.”

  I hesitated for a moment, taking in her worn jeans, black sweatshirt, and the tattered pair of black Vans on her otherwise bare feet. A black ski cap covered her head, but I caught sight of a low, black ponytail hanging over her shoulder and down her chest.

  Pretty.

  Beautiful, actually.

  Definitely not Thunder Bay Prep, though. Too bad. Would’ve been nice to have another girl with my winning sense of style.

  “’Scuse me,” I said and continued past her.

  I headed toward the stairs, but threw a glance over my shoulder, watching as she opened the middle door of the confessional—the cubby for the priest where he sat to listen to sins.

  She looked around and then locked eyes with me, seeing me watch her. She raised her finger to her lips, telling me to keep quiet before she slipped inside with a mischievous smile and closed the door.

  I laughed to myself and turned back around, jogging up the stairs to the door in the gallery. Grabbing the handle, I glanced over my shoulder one more time and saw Kai Mori.

  He headed to the back of the church, and my heart skipped a beat as I watched him enter the confessional, the door to the left of the priest’s chamber to make his confession.

  Only it wasn’t a priest in there. I snorted. Oh, shit.

  I shook my head and opened the door, taking the hidden steps up to The Carfax Room. Not sure what she was up to, but who was I to ruin her fun? I had my own problems.

  Closing the door, I looked around the room—seeing everything exactly as I’d left it. The bed still held my dent from when I’d laid there yesterday after escaping Martin, and all the old makeup still laid about the floor in front of the mirror propped up underneath the stained-glass window.

  Walking over, I hung the dress up on a rafter and smoothed it out, looking at it with a flutter in my stomach, remembering last night.

  Who else had worn it before me? Did their night beat mine?

  Taking off my bag, I worked quickly, picking up the makeup, fixing the bed, and stuffing my clothes from yesterday into my school bag. My phone laid on the bedside table, and I took it, turning it on.

  Fourteen percent.

  The battery was almost dead, and I had umpteen calls from Martin.

  And a message from Will. I opened it.

  Morning! Smile.

  Or don’t. It’s completely your choice. Don’t let a guy tell you you’re prettier when you do. You don’t need to be pretty for anyone. Your value does not rely on my opinion. Damn the patriarchy.

  I laughed, shaking hard and my eyes watering. What a moron.

  The smile slowly fell, though, knowing he was too good to keep. I sure liked him, though.

  So much it hurt.

  I typed a message to Martin, letting him know I’d be home right after school and I’d have dinner ready. Heading to class now.

  Before I left the room, I walked to the window, peering through a wedge of clear glass and seeing two boys crossing the street to their cars.

  Damon to his BMW and Kai to his Jeep Wrangler. Damon was in here this morning, too?

  I kind of wondered what happened with Kai and that girl in the confessional, but I was going to be late if I didn’t hurry.

  I sighed, watching them take off and head toward school. It was Devil’s Night and time to face the music, I guess.

  I left the room, locking the door behind me.

  • • •

  “Devil’s Night!” someone screamed, racing down the halls and leaping into the air to snatch the Homecoming banner hanging over the hallway.

  I gripped the strap of my bag in both hands, the excitement in the air raising the hair on my arms.

  “Man, back off!” a girl yelled.

  I turned my head to see Rika Fane pushing some guy away who had crashed into Winter Ashby. She just laughed, holding on to Erika’s arm as they scurried away.

  “Did you see it?” Tabitha Schultz whispered to her friends as I passed. “David and I drove past this morning. It’s a mess!”

  I faltered in my steps, but I kept going.

  Was she talking about the crypt? My stomach churned, suddenly feeling guilty.

  But…I wasn’t sad. I was sorry for the McClanahans, but not for my brother.

  Please just let me get away with it.

  I turned, heading into first period, but a hand swiped under my tie, flipping it up.

  Will circled in front of me, a grin he couldn’t contain playing on his lips as he came down, ready to kiss me.

  I nudged him away, making sure the classroom was empty. “Stop it.”

&
nbsp; He grabbed my tie, pulling me in. “I can’t.”

  My thighs warmed, and the breath from his mouth tickled my lips.

  I licked mine, taking a deep breath and tasting him.

  “It was just once.” I walked around him, toward a desk. “That’s what we agreed to.”

  “I don’t remember that conversation. Was I present for it?”

  I arched an eyebrow, seeing other students enter the room as I set my bag on the floor next to a chair.

  He leaned down, his words tickling the hair by my ear. “It’s not enough,” he said in a low voice. “Not even nearly enough. All I think about now is how I want last night all over again, but this time in my car, in my bed, in your bed, in the shower, outside…”

  I exhaled, sweat cooling my forehead. Whipping around, I put a hand on his stomach, keeping him at bay.

  “And you want it, too,” he taunted, fisting my tie, “or you wouldn’t be carrying me with you.”

  Yeah, I was wearing his tie. So what?

  Have a little foresight. Come on. We liked each other. I loved last night, and I hoped he did, too, but life was more complicated than that. We wouldn’t make it, and at our age, it was ridiculous to expect anything more.

  I’d sneak out a few more times, we’d have fun, someone would fall in love, and then we’d both fall apart as he got tired of all the things I couldn’t do and constantly worried about helping me fit in.

  He would lose nothing.

  “Everything is a game to you,” I said, about to slide into my seat.

  But he took me and pulled me down into his lap as he sat next to my desk. “Not everything.”

  I pushed against him, seeing Michael stare at us as he took his seat in front of Will, turning just in time to hide his shitty-ass grin.

  “Will,” I muttered, pleading.

  He took my jaw softly in his hand, giving me pause.

  “I need to talk to you,” he said, his eyes serious now. “The bruises on your back. Did you have an accident or—”

  I wrenched my eyes away, seeing Townsend walk in. “It’s time for class.”

  I pushed out of his lap, but he pulled me back.

  “I need to talk to you,” he gritted out, “and it’s not waiting.”