Everything That Follows

by Meg Little Reilly

  “Yeah, it was.” Kat knew where he was going with this.

  “That’s Ashley. Fuck! That’s Ashley.”

  “Your Ashley?”

  “She’s not mine! But yeah. What is she doing with Sean?”

  “They were just walking together. They were going to his house.”

  Hunter folded and unfolded his arms. “To his house? That’s weird. Did she seem, I don’t know, interested in anything strange to you?”

  A burning panic rose up in Kat’s esophagus. She tried to think. “Well, she said she’d been talking to Orla. She’s looking at our waterfront. But that’s her job, isn’t it?” Kat realized then that she had met Ashley before. On the morning of the buckling. She’d been hovering around their lives for weeks, apparently.

  “I don’t really know what her job is. She’s a doctoral student. But she was so focused on Kyle when we talked. It seems weird that she just found Sean out of nowhere, doesn’t it?”

  “Maybe... But not if she’s really just looking at our cliffs. That wouldn’t be weird.” But it did seem weird. “Wait, you were supposed to be keeping an eye on her. Did you take her out?”

  “No, I didn’t.” Hunter was not interested in apologizing for this oversight. “I was going to—despite the fact that she seems kinda nuts—but I just haven’t yet. But Jesus, I didn’t know she was going to get to Sean. What does this girl want?”

  Kat chewed her lip. She’d forgotten entirely about the awkwardness just minutes before. “I don’t know. Do you think she knows something?”

  “I guess she could have gone to the cops with that theory about the currents.”

  “I don’t know, Hunter. That feels like a stretch. There’s nothing weird about her studying the cliffs.”

  “Jesus, I don’t know.” Hunter scratched his scalp, searching for clarity.

  “Maybe we should call them.”

  “What? Why?”

  “To get a read on the situation. What if I just called Sean and asked him about a bunch of stuff, really normal stuff, and tried to feel around for anything strange.”

  “I guess you could do that.”

  “It can’t do any harm, right?”

  “Not unless they already know something and are just looking for suspicious behavior. It might seem suspicious to someone looking for suspicious behavior.”

  Kat thought about this. She truly couldn’t tell anymore where rational thinking ended and paranoia began. Sean had met an attractive young scientist who was here to study a real phenomenon. Nothing strange about that... Except for the fact that this scientist was preoccupied with the story of Kyle and she claimed to be an expert on local tides. If she wanted to get closer to the truth, she certainly could.

  “Let’s call them,” Hunter said.

  Kat went for the phone.

  Chapter 8

  “That was weird.” Sean returned the phone to its wall mount in the kitchen.

  Ashley looked up from her magazine. She was sprawled out on the couch in the living room of Sean’s small carriage house. “What?”

  “That was Kat. She just wanted to chat.”

  “So?”

  “So, it was weird. I don’t know. We aren’t really doing that lately. She asked about the boathouse and my old back injury, and about my mom, even though she sees her more than me. It was very...I don’t know...polite.”

  Ashley stared at Sean, unclear on what made this story noteworthy. She always froze up a little when Kat’s name was mentioned. She’d been trying to avoid the topic ever since the two of them started hanging out almost a week earlier.

  Sean still couldn’t tell if Ashley annoyed the shit out of him or he wanted to kiss her. It was a little of both.

  She went back to her magazine.

  “She asked about you too, actually.”

  The magazine came down again. “What did she say?”

  “She was wondering if you’d learned anything new about our cliffs. Oh, and she asked if there was anything else you were investigating.”

  Ashley raised her eyebrows. “Investigating?”

  “Yeah, weird word, right?” Sean was still standing in the doorway to his galley kitchen.

  Ashley sat up straighter. “That is a weird word.”

  “I don’t know. Maybe it’s not that weird.” Sean turned and opened the fridge.

  “Hunter used the same word, investigate.”

  He walked back into the living room, rubbing an apple against his shirt. Sean hadn’t explained to Ashley that he suspected Kat and Hunter of cheating. It wasn’t a secret, but it felt disloyal to discuss Kat too much with her. Plus, Ashley seemed dangerously prone to drama, which made him nervous.

  “Kat and Hunter spend a lot of time together these days,” Sean said.

  “They do?” She had the same conspiratorial look in her eyes as when Kyle came up. It had something to do with secrets. She wanted to know everything, it seemed. “Is something going on there?”

  “Maybe. I confronted them about it last week. That’s how all of this weirdness started with Kat. But I have no real evidence.”

  Ashley got up and fetched herself an apple. “So the two of them are hanging out, talking about how I’m investigating something.”

  “Well, we don’t know that...though she was definitely there with somebody. I could hear sounds in the background.”

  Ashley nodded, like she’d expected this. “Yep. She and Hunter called you to ask what I’m investigating. Hunter called me a ‘citizen investigator’ when I brought up Kyle. I think this is all about that guy Kyle Billings.”

  “Whoa,” Sean said with a full mouth. “That’s a stretch.”

  Ashley rolled the apple around in her hands. She was getting excited. “So these two are together, they’re probing you for more info and they’re both being cagey. Something is happening here.”

  It made Sean nervous to see Ashley enjoying this little breakthrough. He’d only been hanging out with her for six days and the full scope of her intensity was starting to come into focus. Still, even accounting for her intensity, something did seem to be going on with Kat and Hunter. There was no denying that now.

  “We should talk to them!”

  “No,” Sean said. “I can talk to Kat, but this isn’t your problem.”

  “But I’m the one they’re talking about! Of course it’s my problem. And I think they might have some connection to Kyle Billings’s death. I really do. Why else would they be asking about this? Why would they be concerned about an investigation?”

  “Ashley, this isn’t an investigation, and you’re not an investigator. Something might be going on with them, but that’s my problem. None of this has anything to do with you.”

  “Hunter is a selfish prick.” Ashley took a large, loud bite of her apple.

  “Is that what this is all about? You want to get back at him for hurting your feelings?”

  Her face fell. “No. I am pissed off at him, but that’s not what this is about. It’s not only what this is about, anyway. I think those two are hiding something more than just an affair.”

  Sean sat down and studied the apple core in his hand. “There was this one night...”

  “What? Tell me.”

  “A couple days before they found Kyle’s body, there was one night when I left them at the bar. I never really got the story about what happened that night. Everything started to fall apart after that.”

  Ashley’s eyebrows went up again. “They were together?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe.”

  “That’s interesting.”

  “We were all at The Undertow.”

  “Kyle’s bar.”

  Sean nodded. He didn’t feel good about this. Whatever was going on with Kat and Hunter was—he had assumed—something that could be explained or apologized away. He’d
been sick over the state of things and was beginning to approach the stage at which he would take her back no matter what the story was. She’d need to grovel, of course, and beg for his forgiveness. He’d be done with Hunter for good. But after enough apologies, Sean believed he could take Kat back and they could be as they were. But this theory was...this was something else entirely. And while he wanted to dismiss it as the wild ideas of an imaginative woman, it carried an element of plausibility.

  “C’mon.” Ashley threw a coat at Sean and slid into her own. “We should find them.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t like this.”

  She pulled her wool hat on—the same one she’d worn the first time Sean saw her. Ashley was a real challenge for Sean. She was simultaneously too young and adorable for his comfort, but also whip-smart and dogged. She was more emotional than he preferred—erratic even—but that emotion also made her knowable. Ashley required no distance from him and made no attempt to hide her vulnerability, which was nice for a change. He did want to kiss her, but he was a little afraid of her too. He wanted to kiss Ashley; and he knew she was trouble; and he missed Kat so fucking much. These feelings were all related, but he couldn’t quite figure out how.

  “We’re just going to pop in,” she said. “We’re not going to do anything crazy. Just, you know, make a surprise visit to catch them off guard and see how they react. If everything seems normal, then it will just be a normal visit.”

  “So if it’s normal, you’ll let all this go?”

  Ashley smiled. “Sure.”

  There would be nothing normal about Sean and his new friend dropping in on Kat and Hunter. It was confrontational by definition. But as they walked toward Island Glass, and Ashley talked about her theories, Sean felt himself growing angrier and more convinced of them. Something real was happening between those two. He was sure of it now, and he deserved an explanation.

  Orla greeted them outside the glass shop. “Hi, love. Hi, Ashley. What are you guys up to?”

  “Is Kat upstairs?”

  She shook her head. “No, she went into Boston for supplies. I thought she’d be back by now, but I haven’t seen her.”

  Ashley looked at Sean.

  He avoided her eyes.

  “Okay, thanks, Mom.”

  Orla gave his arm a squeeze and went back inside.

  The sun was almost down and the temperature was dropping. Ashley stuffed her hands in her pockets as she led the way toward Hunter’s house. Sean followed. They didn’t even need to discuss the next stop. They were on a mission now.

  “This isn’t like her,” Sean said as they walked. “She wouldn’t normally just leave my mom hanging at the shop.”

  Ashley made a face that Sean understood to mean she didn’t think much of Kat.

  “What if she’s not at Hunter’s?” he asked.

  “I think they’ll both be there.”

  Sean did too. And now he wanted Kat to be there with Hunter. He wanted to catch them, and have all his suspicions and resentments validated. He wanted to plant it on them, to assign most of the blame to Hunter and a significantly smaller portion on his misguided girlfriend. If they weren’t there, this anger would continue to eat him up.

  They banged the brass knocker on the front door over and over, but no one came. The door was slightly ajar and lights were on throughout the house, which made it seem like they were hiding inside.

  “This is pretty weird,” Ashley said, stoking Sean’s ire. “I mean, they’re obviously here.”

  He scratched his beard three times. “Well, screw this. If they’re not coming out, I’m not going to stand here all day.”

  Ashley looked around. “Wait, did you hear that?”

  They stood with their eyes locked on each other. It was beginning to get dark. Not a soul around, but Sean could definitely hear the distant laugh of a woman’s voice over the soft lap of water. It was Kat’s.

  “C’mon,” he said, and he headed back down to the road. Sean knew where they were.

  With Ashley behind, he crossed the street and started down the steep stairs to Hunter’s private waterfront dock. Their boots clomped loudly on cold wood and Sean felt an anger mounting with each step.

  And there they were. Hunter was hunched over the motor of his boat and Kat was in the cockpit staring intently at the controls. They looked up when they heard the descending footsteps.

  Kat made a noise, almost like a gasp.

  Hunter bolted upright, then waved. “Oh, hey, man.”

  They both stood stick straight.

  “What’s going on out here?” Sean said as he approached them. He wanted to sound casual, at least at the start. He didn’t really know what he was there for, so he wanted to go slow and be cautious. But there was a catch in his throat that made his voice sound pinched. His fists were clenched inside the arms of his coat.

  “Did you guys see the weather alert?” Kat asked. “Sleet tonight.”

  “I must have missed that,” Sean said through his teeth. He looked up at the sky, then at Hunter at the stern. “You gonna put the boat in the boatyard for the winter?”

  Hunter folded his arms across his chest. “I don’t know. Might sell it before then. I hardly ever use it.”

  “So that’s why we’re covering the boat,” Kat inserted. “Because of the sleet.”

  It didn’t look to Sean like they were covering the boat.

  No one spoke for a moment.

  Ashley stood behind Sean, watching him. Why was she there? It suddenly seemed strange to have her in tow. No one had greeted her, though they seemed to acknowledge her presence.

  Hunter climbed out of the whaler and walked right up to Sean on the dock. “Yep, thought we should get out here and cover things up.”

  “The two of you?” Sean asked. Every muscle in his back stiffened.

  They were just three feet apart. Kat and Ashley watched from behind each of the guys. Salt water lapped gently at the hull.

  Hunter took one more bold, unnecessary step closer to Sean. “Well, we’re all friends, right?” It was a challenge.

  “Anyhow,” Kat cut in. “He needed two people because the motor seems a little jammed up. It’s probably nothing. I was just here to turn the ignition while Hunter checked the motor.”

  She was rambling; trying to distract or delay what was happening between Sean and Hunter at that moment. Sean hadn’t heard a word of what she said and he didn’t fucking believe it anyway.

  “What are you guys really up to?” Ashley said from behind.

  Everyone turned to her.

  Sean wished he hadn’t brought her.

  “Why are you here?” Hunter asked coolly.

  Ashley glared. “Fuck you, Hunter.”

  He nodded in agreement. “Fine, yes, fuck me. But really, what are you doing here, Ashley? On my dock. On this island.”

  “Don’t be an asshole,” Sean said. He may not have known for sure what Hunter’s crime was, but he did know that Hunter was famously promiscuous and known for disappearing on women. And Sean may have had mixed feelings about Ashley, but she didn’t deserve this.

  “Ohhh.” Hunter stepped back and smiled at Sean. “I see what’s going on here. You two... That makes sense. It’s cute, actually.”

  “Hunter, stop,” Kat said from behind him.

  Sean stepped closer. “No, Hunter. You’re wrong. Because, you see, I’m not like you.”

  Hunter leaned in. “And what does that mean, Sean?”

  “I’m a good person.”

  Hunter clenched his teeth and watched Sean. Their faces were inches apart.

  “I would never do what you do.” Sean went on, “What you’re doing right now, with Kat...”

  “Sean, I told you it’s not that,” Kat said.

  Hunter said nothing, but he smiled tauntingly.

  T
he fury rose up in Sean’s chest, turning every fiber in his body on high alert. Kat said they weren’t sleeping together, but the look in Hunter’s eyes said the very opposite. The smug, satisfied grin of victory was all over his expensive face, and Sean couldn’t bear to look at it anymore. He couldn’t stand there for another minute feeling helpless and unsure about what the fuck was going on, and so he had to do something.

  Hunter relaxed slightly and laughed, like he’d won the standoff.

  Sean felt his arm pull back before he could think to stop it, and then the skin around his knuckles was tightening, and with one furious swing, his fist exploded into the side of Hunter’s left eye.

  Hunter’s hands rushed to his face just as his knees buckled and the blood around his cheekbone started to pour. “Fuck, man!” He fell to the dock.

  Kat ran toward him.

  Ashley ran in after her.

  This wasn’t how it was supposed to go down. Sean looked on in horror as the women tried to pry Hunter’s fingers from his face so they could examine the damage. They looked at his busted eye, and then back at Sean, and then back to the eye. This wasn’t what he’d intended to do. It wasn’t Sean’s plan.

  “Fuck, man!” Hunter yelled again as he stumbled up to his feet. He let his hands drop to his sides and everyone took a good long look at what Sean had done.

  It was hard to make out the injury in the moonlight, but not impossible. Hunter’s eye was red, the socket soon to be bruised and the broken skin beneath it was a bloody mess. But it was a standard punch, probably no permanent damage incurred.

  Sean was relieved to see that he didn’t seem to have broken anything, but was no less ashamed. He hadn’t thrown a punch since ninth grade, and even then—after he caught Bryan Alpo trying to steal his bike—he couldn’t believe he had it in him. There may have been times in life when a punch was justified, but that didn’t mean all men possessed such an impulse. Sean always thought he wasn’t the punching type.

  Hunter stared at Sean, and everyone held their breaths. Would he punch back? If he wanted to, Sean wouldn’t block it. That wouldn’t be right. He would let Hunter take a big, premeditated swing as he stood there. He wanted it now because this was almost worse than a punch. Hunter just stared in anger, like he was considering every revenge possibility, and the longer he stared, the more violent his busted eye looked.