by Taylor Hale
“I’m okay,” I say. I love Keely, but if I tell her what really happened, she’ll look at me the same way everyone in the hospital did.
“You know what happened at our house, right?” Keely shivers. “So creepy. But Liv, my dad questioned Miles. Miles. Why would he think it was him?”
I gulp. “Who knows who it could have been? Did Miles have an alibi?”
“Apparently he was in the forest behind his estate, but no one can actually vouch for him. But there’s no way it was someone we know, right? I mean, I’ve been hanging out with Miles and he seems totally normal. Personally I think it was just some random creep.”
Miles and the others walk toward us. I peek over my shoulder, where West is still lost in a conversation with his dad.
“You and West look cute,” Faye says. She wears a long-sleeved pink blazer and shorts, scars completely hidden. “Whatever happened to you leaving town?”
“I’ll be gone tomorrow,” I say. “How are your feet?”
“Just peachy. My recital went perfectly, of course.” There are still silver sparkles on her cheeks. The performance was yesterday and she must not have gotten all the costume makeup off.
“You hear what happened with Old Man Jenkens?” Shawn asks.
Behind Shawn, Miles’s blue-green eyes drill into me, and I can’t help but cower away from his gaze. I picture the hooded man from the security tape unveiling himself to be Miles with a sinister smile.
“Mr. Jenkens is innocent,” I say. “The police let him go.”
“No way.” Miles crosses his arms and shakes his head. “He has to be guilty. I’ve been saying it since the beginning. Didn’t your dad tell you what happened, Keely?”
“Not really, he doesn’t tell me much.”
“That stupid story you told was never funny, Miles,” I say, anger taking over my trepidation about him. “It’s because of you that some jerks vandalized his home, and it really affected him.”
“I already told you that wasn’t me, Liv,” Miles says.
Shawn kicks at the grass. Dean shoves his hands in the pockets of his jacket and rummages for something, probably cigarettes. I narrow my eyes, before it hits me: I’ve been so stupid and blind.
“It was you two, wasn’t it?”
Shawn opens his mouth to respond, but he just stutters our gibberish.
“Obviously it wasn’t us.” Dean laughs and glances at Miles. “At least it wasn’t us alone.”
Miles’s face goes red.
“What are they talking about?” I ask. “Miles? You did vandalize his house, didn’t you?”
“No!”
“He actually didn’t,” Keely says. “He was with me at the party all night.”
“He might not have been with us,” Dean says, “but he sure as hell had no problem helping us cover it up.”
Damn it. I knew Miles had something to do with this, but I chose to believe in him. If I’d known the truth back then, the whole day he tried to kiss me could have been avoided. I could have avoided everything that had to do with him.
“You lied to me, Miles. You said you didn’t know.”
“Liv, I—” He reaches out, and as soon as his fingertips graze my arms, I jolt away.
“Don’t touch me!”
“Just give me a chance to explain myself!”
But I’m already hurrying away. No one tries to stop me, not even Keely.
If there’s one thing I have to look forward to when I leave Caldwell Beach, it’s never having to see Dean, Shawn, or Miles ever again.
The next several hours are spent at my parents’ side while West is busy with his family. By the time the sun sets, I leave Mom and Dad to walk alone around the property. A banditry of chickadees cheeps and picks sunflower seeds out of the grass, but they scatter when I move along the side of the house. This place is practically a castle grounds, a maze of hedges and fountains. With everything that’s happened this summer, it’s hard to believe Miles, West, and I ever played together here.
I follow the path between two bushes shaped like flamingos, where a cast-iron bench is placed in front of a colorful garden. I text West and tell him to meet me here, and he replies moments later saying he’ll be a few minutes.
Taking a deep breath, I stretch out my legs, just as footsteps squish over the grass behind me. I stand, expecting to see West. But it’s Miles. We’re trapped in by bushes. I’m completely alone with him.
“Hey, Liv,” he says like everything is normal. Fear freezes over me as he sits on the bench. “Can we talk now?”
West will be here any minute. If Miles tries anything, he’ll be there to stop it—so I sit down, too, a good distance away. Miles leans his elbows on his knees and shreds a leaf apart, just like West always does.
Miles sighs. “All right, I knew Shawn and Dean had left the party. I knew Dean had a history of pestering Jenkens, so it wasn’t hard to put two and two together. But when they told me the truth, they begged me not to tell anyone. I need you to understand that at that time, they were my only guy friends. I felt obligated to keep the secret.”
“But didn’t you feel any kind of guilt about Mr. Jenkens?”
“Sort of? I don’t know. The old man’s always given me the creeps.”
“That doesn’t give people the right to harass him.”
“They were just messing around.”
I think back to that night we found Jenkens on the bridge, how close he was to death, and it infuriates me.
“You’re unbelievable, Miles. A man almost lost his life and got in trouble with the police, and you’re passing it off as ‘just messing around’?”
Miles stands, and instinctively, I do, too, but back away from him. The anger is back in his eyes, so I try to duck past him, but he blocks me off.
“Don’t walk away,” he says. “Listen, I’m done protecting other people. I need you to talk to me. There’s something important I want to tell you. As I’m sure you know, Keely’s dad questioned me about the guy outside of their house.”
I stagger back again.
It was you, wasn’t it, Miles?
“I think I know something about it,” he says, “but I don’t know what to do, because someone I care about could be in serious danger.”
Something about the way he said that feels like a threat. I try to run past him, but he blocks me off again, just as West’s voice reaches my ears.
“Hey, what are you doing?” West puts himself between Miles and I.
“Oh great,” Miles says. “Of course you’re here.”
“You’re freaking her out, man,” West says. “What’s your problem?”
“I’m trying to talk to Liv, West. Mind your own business.”
“It’s my business if you’re making her feel unsafe. She doesn’t want to talk to you, Miles. Back off.”
“Unsafe?” Anger contorts Miles’s face. “She was my best friend. You didn’t even wait five minutes before you pounced on her and turned her against me!”
“You turned yourself against her. She’s not your property, you selfish brat.”
“You’re my brother—you’re supposed to have my back.” Miles pushes West’s shoulder. West regains his balance, his nostrils flared and his fists balled.
“Do that again, Miles,” he warns.
Miles pushes him. West shoves him back so hard he trips and falls into the grass. Miles scrambles to his feet and dives at West, but West dodges his fist. West grabs Miles’s shirt and throws him on the ground. West kicks Miles in the gut and causes him to retch in pain.
“Stay the fuck down,” West says.
I hate seeing them like this. In this moment, I hate everything that we’ve become.
“West, stop.” I tug at his arm as he kicks Miles again. “Please, stop hurting him.”
I pull on West harder, and his eyes
snap to me. It’s like he isn’t even in there—the West I know is gone, but only for a moment. When I beg him to stop again, he looks down in horror at what he’s done.
“Oh shit. Miles, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hit you that hard.”
“Get away from me, West,” Miles spits.
West tries to help Miles up, but he shoves him away, so West holds up his hands in peace and backs off. I’m paralyzed as Miles struggles to get up, but falls back down again. Looking at him now, as a crying mess on the grass, I can’t help but wonder if Miles is even capable of the things I’ve accused him of.
“Miles,” I squeak out and try to lift him by his elbow, but he shoves me away. Once Miles balances himself on his feet, he clutches his torso as he storms off, leaving me alone with West.
“Why did you do that, West?” I say. “You’re way bigger than him, you didn’t need to kick him!”
“I just wanted to put him in his place. I didn’t mean to hurt him that bad.”
“You were completely out of control!”
He wrings his hand along the back of his neck. “I don’t know what to say. I lost my temper.”
My phone buzzes in my purse, and I take it out. Mom texted me. “I have to go find my parents,” I say.
West chases after me. “Olive, wait. Why are you mad at me? You don’t even like Miles.”
“Because it’s about more than Miles. I don’t like this side of you that thinks it’s okay to hurt people.”
“Seriously? Come on, guys fight sometimes. We’re brothers, you think that’s the first time we’ve gone at it?”
“You kicked him while he was down!”
“Yeah, it got out of hand, but I do feel like shit about it.”
He looks at me like I’m ridiculous, but I can’t just tell him it’s fine because he’s my boyfriend, or because he feels bad now.
So when I keep walking, and he stops following, I don’t care anymore—I just want to be alone.
20
Darkness takes over the world through the window of my room. I’m lying in bed, the smell of the barbeque still embedded in my clothing. Before West showed up, Miles said he knew something about the guy outside of the window, but . . . part of me still believes he was the one who did it. If Miles was guilty, it would make sense for him to try to distract me and point the finger at someone else.
But who?
When my phone chimes, I check it right away. It’s just Keely.
Hey, I heard what happened at the BBQ. It’s messed up that West hits his own brother.
I know. Things got way out of hand.
Can we meet up?
What for?
Talk about things one more time? I feel like I don’t know anything that’s going on with you.
It’s true; I’ve hidden more from Keely this summer than ever before. Besides, we need to talk one-on-one, without Miles watching us. I sneak over to the bedroom door and peek through it. My parents are sound asleep on the couch, even though it’s only 9:00 p.m. I hurry back over to my phone and text Keely.
Okay, but can you meet me here?
Yup, be there soon!
The floorboards creak as I move through the living room and scribble a quick note—BRB, meeting Keely—and leave it next to my parents. They’ll be upset I left without telling them first, but they’ll try to make me stay if I do. Mom’s head rests on Dad’s shoulder, and the magazine they were reading together has fallen to the floor. This entire trip is aging them.
Maybe I shouldn’t go.
Keely texts and says she’s outside.
I’ll be right back, I remind myself. Everything will be fine.
Throwing my denim jacket on, I head out. The smell of rain hangs in the air. A storm brews over the horizon, thick black clouds that crawl across the dark sky as smoky wisps of fog waft over the coastline. The wind whips Keely’s hair all over the place, and she hugs herself over her yellow dress and black jacket.
“I think we still have some time before the rain starts,” she says. “Want to go for a walk? I’m seriously craving a soda right now.”
The cottage isn’t far from downtown, so a short walk leads to the gas station. Silence sweeps over us as we head down the street.
After a while, Keely says, “What really happened to you the other night? I was worried . . .”
“It’s hard to explain, Keel. I’m pretty sure the animal killer found me and was messing with me, but everyone else is saying I imagined it.”
“Whoa. Was it like, another one of your nightmares?”
“No, it was totally different. It was like he was really there.”
“Oh.”
More silence. A low thunder grumbles overhead, raising the hairs on my neck.
“I don’t like this weather,” I say. “Let’s just grab sodas and get back to the cottage.”
Keely picks up her pace. “Sounds like a plan to me.” She pauses. “So hey, look, about Miles . . .” I stiffen. Keely goes on. “Covering for Shawn and Dean was wrong, but I get why he did it. I mean, this town is so small, we sort of have no one but each other. I don’t blame Miles for wanting to keep his friendship with Dean and Shawn intact. I still hang out with them because I don’t want to be alone either.”
That makes sense, but I stay quiet for a few moments. “Why are you defending him, Keel?”
“Because I get where he’s coming from. That’s all.”
As much as I don’t agree with it, in a way I do understand why Miles would want to hold onto some of the only friendships he has, but still. “All right,” I say.
“What are you going to do about West?”
“I don’t know. He knows I don’t like that side of him. It just sucks—I have to leave tomorrow, and I don’t want to go on bad terms with him. Maybe he isn’t perfect, but I really love him, Keely.”
“Whoa, the L word? I didn’t know you were that far gone.” She laughs. I do, too, just as a crack of thunder explodes above our heads. Rain slams from the sky in an instant and drenches us. “Shit!” Keely shouts.
Up ahead, the gas station’s fluorescent lights are blurry through the rain. “Come on,” I yell, “this way!”
Our feet splash through puddles until we crash into the store. It’s dry in here, but an oscillating fan sputters cold air at me, and the goosebumps on my skin are purple. The old man behind the counter looks up from this newspaper and gives us a funny, grumpy look. Keely and I share a laugh and run to the soda fridge as the storm lives on.
Just as we’re paying for our drinks, a vehicle rolls outside of the gas station. Even through the heavy rain, I’d recognize Dean Bowman’s van anywhere. Lightning flickers. Dean parks under the overhang and starts filling up his tank. There’s no way Keely isn’t going to notice him.
“Oh hey, it’s Dean,” Keely says as if she read my mind.
Outside, the rain pounds my shoulders like bullets. Keely and I take shelter under the overhang. Dean finishes pumping his gas as we walk up.
“What’re you two doing walking around?” he asks. “Lovely storm, isn’t it?”
Thunder booms and we both shiver from the cold. I cower farther under the overhang. Please don’t let me get hit by lightning.
“Is this really the right time to be getting gas?” Keely shouts over the rain.
Dean glares at her. Sometimes, I swear there’s hatred in Dean’s eyes when he looks at Keely. Then again, he always looks like that. “My tank won’t fill itself, Keely.” A sudden, unnerving smile twitches at his lips. “Hey, you want a ride? Get in.”
“You sure?” Keely asks.
“Yeah, it’s no problem. You too, Olivia. In the van.”
“No thanks,” I say. “I’m staying not far from here. Come on, Keely, I’ll wake my dad up and he’ll drive you home.”
“No way am I walking in this!”
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Before I can protest, Keely gets into the van. Dean stares at me. “Well? You coming or what?”
This is giving me bad vibes, but I don’t want to leave Keely alone with him. Miles is almost certainly in the van, too, but I can’t see through the tinted windows. Everything in me screams don’t go. I crawl in after Keely anyway. Sure enough, Faye’s in the passenger seat, and Shawn and Miles are in the very back. I slide into the empty spot next to Keely in the middle row of chairs. As soon as the door traps me in the dusty, ketchup-smelling van, regret forms inside me. Dean gets in the driver’s seat.
“Oh great. You.” Faye looks back at me, her face malicious in the uneven light. “Did West kick your ass, too, or just his own brother’s?”
Gulping, I glance back at Miles. He gazes out the window, into the empty parking lot. “West would never hurt me,” I say and buckle my seatbelt.
“How do you know?” Faye says. “He hurts Miles.”
“Has he ever hurt anyone else?”
Everyone is quiet, and Faye eventually says, “Probably.”
“What West did wasn’t okay no matter what,” I say. “But to be fair—Miles, you did attack him first.”
“Whatever, Liv,” Miles mumbles. “Obviously you’re taking his side. He’s your boyfriend.”
“I’m not taking anyone’s side. What West did was awful, but I’m even more mad at all of you for what you did to Mr. Jenkens.”
Dean scoffs and starts driving through the storm. Rain pounds on the windshield, and the sky is almost a shade of green. “This again? It was weeks ago, Olivia. And he’s the animal killer. Why do you care?”
“He isn’t the animal killer, they let him go.”
“Why do you defend him so much?” Dean asks.
Faye juts out her bottom lip. “We all know Olivia likes to fix battered, broken things. Like my piece of shit brother.” She clicks her tongue and sings, “You picked the wrong one, Liv.”
“Shut up, Faye!” Miles snaps. Everyone flinches.
“Whoa, Hendricks.” Shawn shifts away from him. “Calm down, man.”
Keely and I exchange an uncomfortable-as-hell look. This is weird. As we cruise down a dark street, my seatbelt grows heavy and constricts my ribcage.