An hour later, Harper remained on her front porch. Bryant was beside her, his arms still around her as he continued to hand her bits of the toast he had made. Her stomach was upset, for obvious reasons, and even the medicine for her morning sickness didn’t seem to be helping.
The flames had finally been calmed, though the house had collapsed completely into a pile of rubble in the process. The street was lined with cop cars and police tape as the officers worked to keep people away while the firemen continued to spray charred wood. It was just…gone. All of it. Everything that had once made their neighbors’ home so beautiful had disintegrated in a matter of minutes.
They were the only ones allowed on this side of the tape, the only ones who could see what was happening, thanks to the proximity of their house to the disaster. They’d been watching carefully for the body bags, the ones Harper knew would be coming, but so far, there’d been nothing.
The men were still searching through the wreckage, and though she knew they still had a long way to go, she couldn’t help but hope that they’d see Tori and Jason pulling down the driveway, devastated about their loss, but alive nonetheless.
“Here, eat another bite,” Bryant whispered, taking one for himself as he pinched off a piece of toast and handed it to her.
“Thanks,” she said, taking the bread cautiously. She couldn’t take her eyes off the house—or lack thereof—next door. Where were their neighbors?
A fireman approached their house, his face covered in soot. “Do you have a way to contact your neighbors?” he asked. “See if they maybe went out for the night?”
“You still haven’t found anything?” Harper asked.
Bryant pulled out his phone, scrolling through his contacts. Of course he had Tori’s number.
“Not yet,” he said. “But we’re not done searching.”
“Do you know what caused it?” Harper asked.
“We won’t know until the fire marshal does a full investigation. Did you guys see anything suspicious?”
“No,” Harper said. “By the time I noticed, the house was already up in flames.”
Just then, a police officer appeared from behind the fireman, and Harper recognized him instantly as the officer who’d taken the cameras from their house just a day ago.
“Mr. and Mrs. Page, how are you?”
“Fine, Officer,” Harper said, trying hard to remember his name.
“This is tragic, isn’t it?” he asked.
“It really is,” Bryant said. “Here’s her number. Tori’s.” He held out his phone to the fireman.
“Could you call her?” he asked.
Bryant nodded, placing the phone to his ear. They stood, watching him as he listened to the line ringing. After a moment, he put his phone down. “No answer.”
“Thanks for your help, guys. Just…let us know if you hear anything back,” the fireman said, turning to walk back toward the house’s remains.
After a minute, the officer frowned, watching the fireman leave and then turning back to Bryant and Harper. “Could I, um, could I get you guys to come with me for a bit?”
“Come with you?” Harper asked, standing up as the officer motioned for them to. “What for?”
“We just need to ask you some questions down at the station.”
“About what?” Bryant asked.
“About the fire,” he said calmly. “We know you’ve been having problems with your neighbors…so you can understand why this might seem suspicious.”
“You think we started it?” Harper asked. “Why would we? We were the ones being threatened and stalked by them!”
“We just need to ask you a few questions, Mrs. Page. Just as a formality. Right now, we don’t even know if the cause was arson.”
“Of course,” Harper said obligingly, trying to calm her racing heart. Where were the neighbors?
Fifty-One
Harper
A week later, the news announced that the Fullers’ bodies still had not been located, and since no one had heard from them, they were officially labeled as ‘missing.’ The house next door still lay in a blackened heap surrounded by police tape that was beginning to split in the wind. They had to be dead, right? Their cars were still there. No one had seen or heard from them since that night. Somehow, deep down, Harper just knew that their bodies were going to be discovered soon. As tragic as it was, she couldn’t help hoping it would be sooner than later, ready to be rid of the anxiety that had been gnawing at her continuously.
She texted Bryant at work, letting him know the news. She wasn’t sure how she should feel about it. Relieved because they could stay in Lancaster Mills now without worry about their neighbors, sad because their lives had been ended unnecessarily, scared because the cause of the fire still hadn’t been determined, or worried because if the fire was ruled arson, the police had made it incredibly clear that they would be the prime suspects. It was why she was still in Lancaster Mills in the first place. If she left now, she’d look even more suspicious.
When she didn’t receive a response back from Bryant, she wasn’t immediately worried because she knew it was sometimes hard for him to check his phone. Two hours later, when her phone rang and the number wasn’t one she knew, she slid her finger across the screen apprehensively. “Hello?”
“Harper?” he asked, his voice low.
“Bryant? What number is this?” She had the school’s number saved in her phone.
“The police station,” he said. “I’ve been arrested.”
Her heart plummeted at his words. “Arrested? What do you mean? Why?”
“Because of what happened with Tori and Jason. The fire. I’m in big trouble. I need you to ask your parents to borrow money. I’m going to need a lawyer. Can you please come?”
She took a breath, hearing the words she never expected in a thousand years. “O-okay. Let me call them. Are you okay?”
“I’m okay,” he said. “Please don’t leave while I’m in here. I know you’re supposed to be going to Chicago once the investigation is over, but…I need you.”
“I’m here,” she said softly.
“I love you,” he told her.
“You too,” she said. “I’ll be there soon, okay?” With that, she pressed the button to end the call, going to the search engine on her phone to look up a lawyer in town. She’d never needed to hire a lawyer and wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. How much money would she need? Would her parents even be able to help her? She looked around the too-empty house, feeling incredibly alone and hating how far away from her family she was.
As she clicked on the first listing, she heard something above her head. She froze, lifting her ear toward the ceiling to listen closer. After a moment, she heard it again. Someone was upstairs.
She stood. She could hear them. Moving. Pacing. Something was being shuffled around. She dialed 911, holding her finger above the button to place the call as she walked up the stairs carefully, her toes cold on the hardwood flooring.
She kept her breaths short and quick, trying not to make too much noise as she rounded the corner and came face to face with her intruder.
She let her phone drop to her side. “It’s you.”
Fifty-Two
Harper
“I—I don’t…understand,” she said, pacing the room frantically. “How are you here right now? How are you alive? What are you doing in my house?”
Jason shook his head, setting down the stack of papers in his hand. “How did you know about me?” he asked.
“What are you talking about?”
“The other night…you said ‘Jason or whoever you are.’ What did you mean by that?”
She took a step back as he moved closer. “What do you think I meant?”
“What do you know about me?” he demanded, his voice growing angrier.
“I was right, then, wasn’t I? You aren’t Jason Fuller,” she said it with a confidence she didn’t entirely have. “Who are you? And where is he?”
�
�How could you possibly know that?” he asked, scratching his head as he looked out the window to where their house had once stood.
“I…I found an article online. The picture wasn’t you. I’m sorry…why are you in my house right now? And why haven’t you told the police you aren’t dead yet? Where is Tori? Bryant was just arrested for your murder.” She felt relief hit her stomach as she realized this was just all some mistake. Everything was going to be okay. As long as Jason wasn’t there to kill her—she pushed the thought from her head. She didn’t feel threatened around him, even now. Somehow she just seemed to know she was safe.
When Jason looked away from the window and met her eyes, he looked truly shocked. “I’m sorry, Harper. That was never our intention. None of this.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I can’t stay. I’m sorry.”
“How did you even get in here, Jason? Why do you keep breaking into my house?”
“The back door was unlocked,” he explained. He glanced at the watch on his wrist. “Look, I don’t have much time. Tori’d kill me if she knew I was here. I just…I wanted to apologize for everything. I wanted to tell you—to beg you—never to tell anyone what you know about me.”
“But I don’t know anything about you. And you can’t leave now. You have to go tell the police that you aren’t dead. Otherwise Bryant won’t be able to come home.”
He patted the air with his hand frantically. “I’m sorry. I really am, but I can’t do that. The police can’t know that I’m alive. I died in that fire, Harper, just like I died in a fire fourteen years ago.”
“What are you talking about?” she demanded, stepping in front of him as he moved to leave. “You need to tell me the truth. You have to help me fix this.”
“I don’t have time for that,” he said. “I—look, I truly am sorry. I came here to tell you—to warn you, to forget whatever you know.”
“What were you looking for?”
“I was trying to see if you had proof about who I am. I wanted to know what you knew.”
“But I don’t know anything…except who you aren’t.”
“You don’t know anything, Harper. You can’t.” He touched her shoulder, his lips pressed into a thin line of regret. “I wish I could tell you more, but I can’t. Tori would be furious.”
“She controls you, doesn’t she? Just because she’s beautiful, you do everything she says? You let her sleep with whoever she wants? You let her get pregnant by another man? A married man?” Her lips curled in disgust.
He glanced at his watch again. “I’m sorry, Harper. I’ve really got to go.” He let go of her shoulder, darting past her. She let out a heavy breath, shaking her head. When she turned around, he was still there, staring at her from the hallway. “I know you want to help Bryant, but…meet me tonight, okay?”
“Meet you? What are you talking about?”
“Meet me tonight at seven by the Fourteenth Avenue pier in Myrtle Beach. I’ll tell you everything.” Before she could answer, or even think about her answer, he was walking away. And with him, her hope disappeared. She needed to help Bryant…but first, she needed to know the truth.
That evening, she walked across the sand, its warmth heating her skin as she made her way toward the pier. She’d worn a casual white dress, unsure of whether she should be dressed up or down. Not that it should matter. Her hair danced in the wind, blowing into her eyes as she searched for him.
She grew closer to the pier, watching as tourists and locals alike ran past her, everyone captivated by the beautiful evening in front of them. Everyone except her. Because she had a mission. And as she reached the pier, her target stood in front of her.
“Hi,” he said softly, running a hand over his blue shirt nervously. He’d chosen khaki shorts and a button down shirt—so, it seemed he was having the same dilemma she had been. Not too dressed up or down. But it didn’t matter. “I, um, I didn’t know if you’d come.”
“If I’m being honest, I probably shouldn’t have.”
“I’m glad you did,” he told her. Before she had time to process his words, he turned away from her, beginning to walk along the shore. He waved over his shoulder for her to follow. She took off her sandals, carrying them in her hand so she could keep up.
“So, what are you going to tell me?” she asked. The salt water splashed against her ankles, and she realized it was the first time she’d ever been at the beach with so much stress built up in her—any stress, really. The ocean tended to bring her peace, but tonight was different.
“I don’t really know where to start,” he said, looking straight ahead with a stern expression. They continued to walk as she contemplated what to say next. “Well, I guess the first thing you should know is that Bryant didn’t start the fire. And he certainly didn’t kill me or Tori. We’re both alive and well.” He cleared his throat. “Well, alive at least.”
Harper looked over her shoulder. “Where is she?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know, honestly. We went our separate ways. We both needed…space.”
“What? You’re going to get divorced?”
“Dead people can’t get divorced, Harper.”
“I don’t understand.”
He nodded. “I know that. And…even once I explain it, you probably won’t. But, I want to tell you anyway. Because I think you deserve to know the truth. Even if you use it against me.”
“The truth about the fact that you aren’t Jason Fuller?” she asked.
He paused before shaking his head firmly. “No. I am not Jason Fuller.”
“So who are you?” she asked.
He turned, facing the water and stopping their walk suddenly. His hands went into his pockets as he began to speak. “My name is—was—Roy Breeland.”
The name struck her, and she tried to remember why it seemed so familiar.
“When I was fifteen, the foster house where I lived burned down. Eleven people died. My foster parents and my foster brothers and sisters.”
She gasped, though it was something she realized she should’ve probably already pieced together. “You were in foster care with Tori.”
He nodded. “I was. But, when the fire department came, and the police asked my name…Tori didn’t give them mine. She said I was Jason.”
“But why?”
He kicked a bit of sand out in front of them. “See, I was only fifteen at the time, which means Tori and I would’ve gone back into foster care after the fire. But…Jason was eighteen. He was legally an adult. An adult who was dead. They were all dead. We saw our way out, after a lifetime of horrible foster homes. The Fullers were the first decent people we’d ever lived with. I mean, they were a little odd, but we were getting food regularly, they weren’t beating us or molesting us. They were good people. The fire…well, it took that tiny sense of safety from us once again. So, we acted impulsively and, somehow, we got away with it.”
“Didn’t anyone know what Jason looked like? Relatives?”
“The Fullers’ parents had already passed, and they were only children. So, no aunts or uncles. They were all homeschooled, so the kids—Jason included—didn’t have many friends. Our social worker had just retired, and we were in the process of getting transferred to someone new. It shouldn’t have worked…honestly, it was a stupid plan, but somehow it did. All of our stuff burned up in the fire. So, I just had to ask for a new birth certificate, social security card, driver’s license…all of it. And, by some miracle, I was handed a new life.”
“So, you took Tori in?”
He nodded. “I did. I petitioned a judge to let her stay in my custody until she turned eighteen. We just had a little over a year to go. After that, we moved here, far away from the only place we’d ever been known, and started over. So, when you said you knew I wasn’t Jason Fuller, it freaked us out. Tori panicked. She said we had to disappear. Like before.”
“Wait…are you telling me…did you start the fire?”
He looked at her then, his
eyes filled with grief. “We had to make you think we’d died. We couldn’t chance you telling anyone what you knew.”
“So, if that was the reason…why are you telling me the truth now?”
He bit his lip. “Partially because you caught me in your house.” He paused. “And partially because I can’t seem to stay away from you.”
She inhaled sharply. “You couldn’t just tell me all of this? I would’ve kept your secret.”
“Tori doesn’t trust you,” he said simply. “She…she finds it hard to trust anyone, honestly, and with the life we’ve lived, I can’t say that I blame her.”
“But she just left you? Disappeared? After all you did for her?”
He closed his eyes, grimacing. “Look, there’s one more thing…and it’s going to freak you out.”
“More than everything you’ve already told me?” She scoffed.
“Tori and I aren’t just foster siblings…we’re…sibling, siblings.”
“What?” she asked, her jaw dropping. Her lips curled as she realized what he was telling her. “You married your sister?”
“We never legally got married. She changed her name to keep up pretenses, but we never wanted to do too much to draw eyes toward us. We pretended to be married because we needed each other. Our whole lives we’d only had each other, and it was terrifying to think about starting over in a whole new place all alone. It was just…easy.”
“I don’t understand how that could possibly be easy.”
“I know,” he said. “I really do. But it was. It was simple and the best arrangement we could’ve hoped for…until you and Bryant moved in next door.”
She sucked in a breath. “What are you talking about?”
“Look, Lancaster Mills isn’t exactly a dating hub, and Tori stayed with me because of everything I’d sacrificed for her and for us. I could never legally get married for fear that someone would find out who I really was, so she didn’t marry, either. She protected me just as much as I protected her. Then…this beautiful woman moved in next door and I…I found myself going crazy over her.” He reached up, moving a piece of hair from her eyes and sliding his palm down her arm. “Tori saw it…she knew I liked you. She knew I would never act on it, but she saw an opening with Bryant and she went for it. For me, but for her, too. She’d always wanted the real deal someday. Real marriage. Kids of her own. She could never have that with me. We talked about fostering, but do you know how much digging they do into your background? Too much. Adoption, too. It was risky. I know you may not understand it, but you guys were our way out. You were the happiness we’d been waiting for. Tori wasn’t trying to hurt you, Harper. She just wanted me to be happy. She deserved to be happy, too.”
The Good Neighbors Page 16