Unbroken

by A. J. Matthews

  Kiera was stunned by what she heard. It was obvious that Ariel believed what she had said, but that wasn’t what had happened. On some level, though, maybe Ariel was right. It could have happened that way. Unconsciously, she raised her hand to her forehead and rubbed the bandage above her eyebrow.

  “I don’t remember everything that happened that night,” she said. “I banged my head on the dashboard, and I—”

  Before she finished, another thought hit her. It was crazy. Impossible. But on some level it made perfect sense.

  “Do you think . . . that night . . . two things could have happened?”

  “What do you mean?” Ariel asked.

  Kiera took a few steps closer to Ariel until she was less than ten feet away and held her hands out to her, beckoning her to come closer.

  “I don’t know what happened,” Ariel said in a soft, wounded voice. “I have no idea what’s real and what isn’t anymore. I have memories of my life, but they . . . they’re all so distant now. So vague. Like my whole life was just something I imagined.”

  “I feel that way, too,” Kiera said. She shivered. “I don’t know what happened that night . . . not everything.”

  She was still rubbing the spot on her head just above her eyebrow. As she applied more pressure, her mind seemed to clear. She became more aware, more perceptive. The night filled with a hazy blue glow that illuminated the area under the trees. She wasn’t surprised to find herself staring at herself. It was like looking into a mirror.

  “So who’s right?” she asked. Her voice was thin, but it didn’t break. “Did I create you, or did you create me?”

  Ariel stared at her with a blank expression until she finally said, “I have no idea.”

  “Or could it be that both of our lives are real? Maybe I just thought I made you up. Maybe you were real, and when I was younger, I thought of you as my imaginary friend. But if you’re real, maybe what happened that night set you free. And everything both of us experienced in our lives really happened.”

  While Kiera was talking, Ariel looked at her with a perplexed expression. Her skin was translucent in the darkness, and Kiera thought she might be talking to a ghost . . . a ghost who had memories of a life that never was . . . at least in the world Kiera knew.

  “Because in my life,” Kiera said, “that night, I never told the police or anyone else that Jon killed Billy.”

  Ariel’s eyes widened with shock. Her mouth opened, but she didn’t speak.

  “Jon dragged Billy down to the river and rolled him into the water. His body was never found, and Jon . . . Jon never went to prison. He graduated from high school and went to college, and he got married and lived in Colorado for the last twenty years.”

  Ariel was shaking her head slowly from side to side as though she couldn’t or didn’t want to believe what she was hearing. Her expression gradually shifted until she looked absolutely terrified. Kiera knew how frightened she was, because she was just as scared. In ways neither of them could understand, they had a deep connection.

  “You think that explains . . .” Ariel said, but then she paused and, raising her hand to her left eyebrow, massaged her forehead. “Is that why I’m here and why I feel so threatened?”

  “What do you mean?”

  Ariel looked at Kiera with the most pathetic expression she had ever seen.

  “I have no idea how I got here,” Ariel said. “I think I remember my life before now, but since I found myself back here, my life seems more and more distant, and I have this feeling of danger, of impending doom that just keeps getting worse and worse. Once I realized who you were, I did everything I could to contact you because . . .” She paused and took a shuddering breath. The air whistled through her teeth. “I thought I was the one in danger, but I realize now it’s you.”

  “Me?” Kiera was unable to stop the chill that gripped her. “What do you mean? What danger?”

  She knew it wasn’t just the disconnect she felt with Nate and Trista; it wasn’t just the worry of having brain surgery; and it wasn’t just the grief she felt over Liz’s death. It was the feeling that someone was actively trying to scare her. Someone was using her fear and insecurity to manipulate her.

  In a flash, it hit her. She knew exactly who it was.

  “That son of a bitch,” she whispered.

  3

  It took a few seconds, but eventually Kiera realized the glow in the surrounding night was getting steadily brighter. At first she thought the light was coming from Ariel’s face, which shined with a bluish luminosity.

  She’s a ghost or something I made up . . . She’s not real.

  When she heard the sound of an approaching car, she realized the increasing light was a car’s headlights, shining through the foliage.

  Ariel tensed, her eyes wide as she scanned the road. Kiera was praying the driver would drive past and not even notice her car parked a short distance down the narrow dirt road. A spike of fear went through her when she saw the car slow down and then turn down the road.

  “Quick! Hide!” Ariel said.

  Needing no further prompting, Kiera ran down the slope toward the river and ducked behind a thick clump of brush. Ariel was right beside her, and both women crouched on the mulchy forest floor as they watched the approaching headlights.

  “You think it’s the police?” Kiera asked, glancing nervously at Ariel, still not believing she was real. It amazed her how much she looked like her twin. Even the way Ariel craned her head forward and bit down on her lower lip reminded Kiera of herself.

  “It’s not the cops,” Ariel said breathlessly.

  “Who is it?” Kiera asked, her voice almost breaking with tension.

  Moving slowly so she didn’t disturb the brush, Ariel pointed toward the car as it pulled up beside Kiera’s. Once again, Kiera had the impression she was seeing double, because the car was a dark-colored Volvo just like hers.

  The driver, barely visible behind the windshield, sat there for a long time with the engine idling. The headlights were aimed toward the river, the beams just missing Kiera and Ariel where they hid. Strands of mist rose from the water into the cool night air. This close to the river, Kiera could hear the wind in the trees above and smell the warm, resinous scent of pine. The faint gurgle of the water as it rolled over rocks and reeds filled her ears.

  After what seemed like several minutes, the driver stopped the engine. After another tense moment or two, he finally opened the car door and got out. After slamming the car door shut, he walked to the front of the car and stood there, blocking the headlights.

  Kiera couldn’t see who it was, but she was suddenly positive it was Jon O’Keefe.

  It had to be him.

  She couldn’t help but flash back to the last time she and Jon had been out here more than twenty-five years ago. Time telescoped crazily, and she held her breath, almost expecting to see Billy Carroll.

  “I see your car’s here, so you must be,” Jon called out. His voice boomed in the night and echoed from the opposite shore, making him sound closer than he was.

  “Come on, Kiera. This is no time to play games.”

  Kiera cast a furtive glance at Ariel, who was watching Jon with intensity. Her lips were moving as if she was silently rehearsing something. Kiera tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention, surprised that she felt contact with a real body. She asked with a shrug of her shoulders what they should do.

  For a moment or two, Ariel didn’t respond. Then she leaned close to Kiera and whispered, her breath warm on Kiera’s ear.

  “Stay right here. Don’t move or make a sound, no matter what happens.”

  Kiera started to protest, but she cowered back when Ariel suddenly stood up and walked quickly up the river bank from their hiding place.

  “Hi, Jon,” she said. Her voice was low and controlled, but Kiera caught the fear in it. “What are you doing out here this late?”

  Jon laughed, a deep, rolling laugh that filled the night.

  “I could ask
you the same question,” he said.

  He didn’t move from where he stood, but Kiera watched as Ariel came closer to him. Her shoulders were hunched defensively, and she moved at an angle, shuffling to the right as though looking for a chance to run.

  “I asked you first,” Ariel said, sounding like a little kid.

  Again, Jon laughed, and then he said, “Your husband called and asked if you were at my place. I knew you’d come here.” He took a breath and exhaled. “It’s pretty late to be out driving around, don’t you think? Especially someplace as lonely and isolated as this. There might be some dangerous people hanging around.”

  “I’m not breaking any laws, am I?” Ariel asked, still sounding like a wise-ass kid.

  Kiera tensed as she watched Ariel getting closer and closer to Jon. Was she going to try to fight him, or was she going to make a break for it in hopes of drawing him away from Kiera’s hiding place?

  “Nate said you were really angry when you left the house. So you’re finally leaving him?”

  When Ariel hesitated, Kiera knew she didn’t know who Nate was. How was she going to fake Jon out by pretending to be her if she had no clue what her life had been up to this point?

  “I just went out for a drive,” Ariel said simply. “I needed some time to think.”

  “Time to think . . .” Jon sniffed with laughter. “About what?”

  Kiera caught the edge in his voice. He still hadn’t moved away from the front of the car. He was keeping the headlights behind him so she was illuminated, but she couldn’t see him in the glare.

  “I think you know what I was thinking about,” Ariel said. The firmness in her voice surprised Kiera. “About what you did out here, and how you still haven’t paid for it. Not in this life, anyway.”

  Kiera caught the double meaning but wasn’t sure Jon did. He chuckled again and then, clenching his fists at his sides, took a single step forward. His feet crunched in the gravel.

  “For killing Billy, you mean? Is that still bugging you?”

  Instead of laughing again, he snorted and spat onto the ground at his feet. In the harsh glare of the headlights, Kiera saw the glob of spit raise a little cloud of dust when it hit.

  “You know why I did it.”

  Ariel stopped moving, turned, and faced him directly.

  “Do I?” she said.

  “You know goddamned well why I did it!” Jon leaned his head back and looked up at the night sky for a moment. The tendons in his neck stood out in sharp relief as though he were in agony. “Don’t you get it? I wanted you! And I had to get him out of the way. He was . . .” The sudden rush of passion seemed to ebb, and he finished more calmly, “He was bothersome. But I wanted you then, and I want you now.”

  Kiera froze at his words, tensing as a slight whimper escaped her. Jon apparently heard her because he suddenly turned and looked in her direction. Fortunately, the headlights weren’t shining directly on where she was hiding. Leaning forward, he peered into the darkness.

  “You don’t get it, do you?” he said, not looking at Ariel. “You don’t get that I would do anything for you.”

  “Even murder?” Ariel asked, her voice a high-pitched blend of fear and barely disguised outrage.

  “You think Liz’s death was an accident? You think it was a botched robbery like the cops think? How naïve are you?”

  As Kiera listened to him, a chill gripped her, squeezing her. A wave of dizziness swept over her, and she almost fainted.

  “You want the truth?” Jon asked, sounding mocking now. “The truth is, I did it. Of course I did. I wanted Liz dead so I could have you.”

  “Well, you can’t,” Ariel said simply as she started inching her way again toward the road. Kiera wondered if Jon was too distracted to notice she was getting ready to bolt.

  How far can she get before he catches her? Kiera wondered. Can she outrun him? . . . She can’t outrun his car.

  “You never could have me,” Ariel said. “Not after the things you did.”

  “But I did them for you. Don’t you understand that?” He raised his hands, pleading with her now. “I was through with Liz. You’re the only person I’ve ever wanted. My whole life. I got rid of my wife. I got rid of that creep who was hanging around your daughter. I even did in that little high school slut whose mother—”

  “What—?” Ariel shouted.

  Kiera knew Ariel had no idea what Jon was talking about. Cold fear took hold of her heart and started to squeeze.

  He’s crazy! . . . He’ll say and do anything!

  “You don’t know? You didn’t even guess?” He leaned back and roared with laughter so loud it echoed across the river. “He was screwing around on you behind your back with that girl’s mother.”

  “So you killed her?” Ariel said.

  Kiera knew just from her tone of voice that she had no idea what Jon was talking about, but she did. Jon had killed Robbie Townsend and Katie Burroughs as well as Liz, all in an attempt to win her affection.

  “Don’t you get it? I did it all for you!” Jon’s voice rose higher with a frightening waver that convinced Kiera he was teetering on the edge of sanity. “Once I realized good ol’ Nate was screwing around on you, I followed him out to the Burroughses’ house. I was afraid he saw me, but that wouldn’t have mattered. The mother wasn’t home, but I killed the girl, figuring they’d pin it on Nate and maybe . . . just maybe that would finally drive you to me.” He paused and took a deep breath, panting heavily. “Let me show you something.”

  He walked back to the driver’s door and opened it. Leaning inside, he fished around until he found what he was looking for and straightened up. In his hand was a tangled red . . . something. He wasn’t standing in front of the headlights, so at first Kiera couldn’t make out what it was. When he lifted the object and, using both hands, pulled it down onto the top of his head, she understood.

  It was a red wig.

  Are you out of your mind? she wanted to scream, but fear kept her silent as she watched with mounting horror.

  “Jesus Christ on a crutch! You still don’t get it!” Jon sounded deranged as he raised his arms above his head and waved his hands wildly. “The dark car like yours? The red wig? It was all so if someone saw me in the parking garage or driving around town or whatever, they’d give the cops a description that matched you.”

  Ariel stopped moving and stood there, staring at him in amazement. The headlights lit her from the side, and once again, Kiera had an overpowering feeling of seeing herself as if in a dream. It was like being in two places at once.

  “Why . . . why would you do something like that?” Ariel asked, her voice trembling to the point of breaking.

  “Jesus Christ, Kiera. I wanted to keep you off balance. Keep you scared. I never really trusted you to keep your mouth shut about what happened to Billy. I’m surprised you lasted as long as you did.” In the glare of the headlights, Jon’s eyes glistened with a frightening, insane glow.

  Ariel regarded him with a steady stare and, in a low, calm voice, said, “How do you know I haven’t reported you?”

  Jon froze, but then he snorted derisively.

  “I’m not in jail, am I?” he said, his voice rising. “Okay, so I killed Billy, and I killed my wife and that loser Robbie Townsend and that Burroughs girl. Who fucking cares? No one can prove a goddamned thing. Now that I know I can’t fucking trust you . . .”

  As he turned his head slowly and stared at Ariel, he slipped his hand into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small revolver. He gave her a thin smile as he aimed it at Ariel.

  “You don’t know how sorry I am, Kiera,” he said, sounding genuinely disappointed. “I was hoping I could scare you enough so you’d see me as your only hope. I realize, now, that I’m going to have to give you up, too . . . forever.”

  Kiera stopped breathing, and time seemed to stand still as she waited to see what would happen next. She wanted to help Ariel, but she was too frightened to move. With the headlights shining directly on
her, Ariel cringed like a frightened animal. She glanced over her shoulder toward the road as though estimating how far she could get before he shot her, but then she squared her shoulders and faced Jon.

  “If you shoot me, they’ll know it was you.” She was obviously struggling to keep her voice low and steady. “The cops will connect you to it, and even if they don’t, even if you throw the gun into the river, they’ll eventually put it all together.”

  “Like they did with Billy?”

  Again, Jon laughed, but there wasn’t a trace of humor in it.

  “They won’t investigate if it’s ruled a suicide,” he said.

  Before he finished what he was saying, Ariel wheeled around and started to run. She was heading for the brush out of the range of the headlights, but she tripped on something on the ground and went down.

  Jon ran over to her, covering the space in a few long strides. Still wearing the red wig, he stood over her and aimed the gun at her head. In the brush, Kiera shifted her position so she could see what was happening. She watched in horror as Jon cocked back his arm and smacked Ariel on the side of the head with the gun.

  Kiera covered her mouth to stifle a scream as she watched Ariel slump to the ground without a sound. A gash on the side of her head started bleeding.

  “You stupid fucking bitch! I warned you, didn’t I? Didn’t I? But, no. You wouldn’t listen.” Jon straightened up and, wiping his face, scanned the deserted parking lot. He looked foolish with the red wig, but the crazed fire that lit his eyes terrified Kiera. She cringed and hunkered down in the brush, clasping the earth.

  Please don’t let him see me . . . Please don’t let him see me . . . she kept repeating in her mind. She lay on the ground as flat as she could get, positive Jon knew exactly where she was. It was just a matter of time before he came and got her.

  Convinced that Ariel was already dead, Kiera couldn’t decide if she should try to make a run for it now or if she should stay where she was and hope Jon didn’t know she was there. She had to get out of this so she could report him to the cops.

  Bending over, Jon picked up the unconscious—or dead—woman and settled her on his shoulder with her head hanging behind him. Moving slowly and struggling with the weight, he carried her toward the car. At first, Kiera thought he had finally come to his senses and was going to take her to the hospital, but he walked past the car and started down the path toward the river.