Burned

by Kelsey Cheyenne

  BURNED

  Kelsey Cheyenne

  Burned Copyright © 2018 by Kelsey Cheyenne. All Rights Reserved.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  Cover designed by Just write. Creations and Services

  Editing by Anja Pfister at Hourglass Editing

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Kelsey Cheyenne

  www.facebook.com/kelseycheyenneauthor

  Printed in the United States of America

  First Printing: November 30, 2018

  CONTENTS

  CONTENTS

  DEDICATION

  PREVIOUSLY IN BETRAYED

  KENNEDY

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  CAROLINE

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  LEXI & SAGE

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Epilogue

  THE END

  A LETTER FROM KELSEY

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  CONNECT WITH KELSEY

  MORE FROM KELSEY

  DEDICATION

  This book is dedicated to everyone who’s invested in this story and loves (or hates) these characters.

  PREVIOUSLY IN BETRAYED

  - KENNEDY

  Thought she was pregnant but wasn’t

  Her daughter, Eve, had an accident with Lexi and needed stitches

  Had her gun stolen by Sage

  - CAROLINE

  Accused of being the ‘betrayer’

  Called up the reporter to write a smear piece on Lexi

  - LEXI

  Was cheating on her husband, Grayson, with Sage’s husband, Taylor

  Got pregnant

  - SAGE

  Was pregnant but miscarried

  Figured out Taylor was cheating on her with Lexi

  Spilled her and Lexi’s history to everyone

  Murdered Taylor

  Left the scene to go after Grayson

  KENNEDY

  Chapter 1

  I feel like Lady freaking Macbeth, scrubbing away at the invisible blood and dirt on my hands without ever getting clean.

  I was trying to catch one of my best friends in the act of sleeping with another one my best friend’s husband. Well, maybe not in the act. That would be creepy. But I just wanted to catch Lexi with Taylor. I didn’t expect to find him dead. I didn’t expect to find Sage there either and, obviously, neither did Lexi or Taylor. I didn’t think my quick trip to Cape Cod would result in disposing of a body.

  I’m an accomplice to murder. How did I get here? Everything I’ve worked for as a NICU nurse completely contradicts being an accomplice to murder. I save lives; I don’t help end them. Even if I wanted to turn Sage in, I’d get arrested too. Rock, meet hard place. I’m not cut out for prison. I cannot be a prison wife! Ah, fuck.

  I can still smell the salty sea air mixing with the roaring bonfire where we burnt all of our dirty, destroyed clothes. The clothes we killed a man in. Well, the clothes we wore to dispose of the body. The clothes I was wearing when my life permanently changed.

  Do you know how hard it is to dispose of a body? This is why people don’t get away with murder. The more I think about our ill-thought-out plan the more I start to panic. We loaded him down with rocks and threw him into the ocean. I mean, really? There are an innumerable amount of flaws in that plan. How many rocks do you need to weigh down a person so they’re not discovered? I don’t know the answer, yet I probably should. Did we drive the boat out far enough? Will the waves take him to shore anyway despite our efforts? I’m praying a hungry shark was lurking nearby and opted to have him as dinner. Okay, that’s vulgar and unnecessary, but I digress. It’s too late to go back and change anything now. Instead, I just have to sit and wait to get fitted with handcuffs.

  Caroline and I got the hell outta dodge as fast as possible, staying the night at the first hotel we found that wasn’t completely booked for Memorial Day weekend. I don’t know where Sage drove off to or what Lexi did after we left, but frankly, I don’t care. I can still hear Sage’s threats – or promises – hours later, as I’m in the shower scrubbing off as many skin cells as I can manage.

  “We don’t want anyone to get suspicious of anything, and of course I’ll need my friends for moral support in this trying time. Let’s do brunch on Saturday. We can…see how things go until then. Don’t worry, ladies, I have a plan. I’ll see you all soon!”

  She drove away without another glance in our direction. Sage plans to report Taylor as ‘missing’ – that he just drove off one day and never returned, leaving without a trace. We are so fucked.

  I hear a knock on the bathroom door and jump, banging my arm on the shower wall and nearly falling. I’m more skittish now than I ever was. It’s not like I was the world’s biggest horror movie fan, but I could watch them and still sleep fine at night. I just never expected to live in one and witness it firsthand.

  “Ken, are you okay in there?” It’s just Caroline. Duh. Breathe, Kennedy.

  I brace myself on the side of the shower to steady my shaking hands. I try to move out from under the direct spray of the shower before realizing tears streaming heavily down my face, not water.

  I turn off the shower and wrap myself in a towel. I sit down on the side of the tub and let the sob escape. Apparently, my lack of an answer worries Caroline because she enters the bathroom before I am able to control my emotions.

  “Oh, sweetie.” She wraps me in a hug as I clutch the terrycloth towel to my chest, and we sob together.

  Caroline is not typically one to cry or to enable my crying. She’s quite possibly the strongest person I know so to witness her falling apart in my arms is telling. She’s putting on a brave face, but it’s obvious she’s struggling by the way the sobs wrack over her body.

  It’s time I’m her rock. I need to support her through this just as much as she’s supporting me, maybe more. I don’t know what she’s thinking. She completely closes herself off when shit hits the fan and is determined to handle every situation on her own. And she manages, of course she does, but she doesn’t need to do it alone. She has me – she always has.

  I just don’t know if she’s planning to tell Parker. Is it a stipulation dependent on whether or not I decide to tell Logan? Is she more afraid than she’s letting on?

  At this moment, I’m actually jealous of her for one reason, and it’s something I never in a million years would have thought I’d be jealous of. I’m envious that Caroline doesn’t have children to consider. Not only am I putting my husband’s life in jeopardy by telling him, but I also have my two kids to worry about.

  I already know my thoughts and indecision will keep me up all night. And despite being two women upwards of thirty years old, I’m glad Caroline and I are sharing a bed. It’s just like old times, when we’d have sleepovers as kids and cuddle together to protect each other from the
invisible monsters lingering in the dark.

  Now, however, the monster isn’t invisible. It’s lingering around every turn and corner, waiting to pounce. Or shoot us.

  *****

  I wake up screaming literal bloody murder, considering that’s what my nightmares consisted of. Caroline shakes me awake as she screams my name, attempting to yell louder than my nightmares. I glance around at my surroundings in a panic, looking for answers and yet my eyes don’t seem to register anything.

  Once I finally realize I’m safe, and Caroline is the one beside me, not Taylor’s lifeless body from my dream, I begin to calm down. I take a deep breath and lean against the headboard.

  My attempt to forget the vision of Taylor’s dead body is futile considering the image is forever embedded into my retinas. I take repeated deep, shaky breaths in an effort to calm my racing heart. Though, those efforts are useless as well.

  I look over at Caroline and her facial expression shows a horrible combination of both worry and fear. I’m sure it’s a look that matches my own. “What’re we going to do, Care?” I don’t know if I’m being rhetorical or praying she miraculously has a solution.

  From the moment we met, Caroline and I have been inseparable; always conquering life’s journeys and hardships side by side. Even now, as we’re stuck in a no-win situation, we’re together. And selfishly I wouldn’t want it any other way. There’s no way I could live through this without her. Or keep it a secret for that matter.

  We’re mirror images of one another, from our expressions to our unkempt bedheads. “I’m sorry.”

  She looks at me like I’m crazy with her head rearing back in shock and her eyes squinting in confusion. “What on earth do you have to be sorry for? You’re not the one who went bat-shit and killed a man.” Her words are flippant, but I know it’s merely a defense mechanism and one Caroline uses often. If she were to sit here and analyze our situation and every word she said, it would be unproductive and then we’d potentially both end up spiraling.

  “If it weren’t for me you would never have even met Sage and wouldn’t be tangled in this web with me.” I can’t help but feel guilty. This is my fault. She has to see that, and I have to apologize for it. As glad as I am that she’s here with me, she shouldn’t be here. I wish she weren’t.

  “Yeah, I really should have steered clear of you that day at recess.” She rolls her eyes and smacks me playfully. At least she still has a sense of humor.

  Our easy conversation is brief as we recall why we’re even here, stuck together in this hotel. Tension permeates the air surrounding us and a heavy, dead weight settles on our shoulders. We may not be carrying the weight of the world, but it’s the weight of each of our lives, of Taylor’s life, of Lexi’s and her baby’s, and that guilt – that reality – is gut-wrenching.

  We sit side by side, allowing the night to overtake us. Hopefully the sun will bring us clarity tomorrow.

  Chapter 2

  How apropos is it that I am jolted awake once more by the sound of booming thunder outside the hotel window? The rain is hard, loud, and relentless, pelting the glass window with a dangerous fierceness. I don’t know how Caroline is sleeping through the noise.

  She and I were planning to make the trek home today, but with our nerves being completely shot I think we’ll wait out the storm. I’m actually thankful because this gives me more time to think. I need to decide what I’m going to tell Logan, if anything. What if he doesn’t believe me?

  I glance at the bedside table where an old-school analog clock rests and the vibrant red numbers read 8:12. No wonder I feel sluggish and foggy from lack of sleep. Grabbing my phone, I see a missed call from Logan and a corresponding text from him.

  Just checking in. Call me.

  I shoot him a brief reply, explaining we’ll be stuck here until the storm clears. I make sure I tell him I miss him and I love him and to give the kids hugs and kisses from me. Nothing makes you cherish life quite like facing death firsthand.

  I brew a pot of the provided hotel coffee – it will have to do – and sit on the couch facing the window. I watch the storm and realize it mirrors the tumultuous emotions running through me. My mind repeatedly wanders back to the agreement we all made, or rather, what Sage forced us to agree to.

  “I’m going to call the cops Monday to report him missing.” Sage flips her hair over her shoulder, seemingly careless despite what she’d done hours prior.

  “Why Monday? Shouldn’t you, like, give him time to actually go missing?” I don’t know why I even ask – I really don’t want to be the cat that curiosity killed.

  “Well, considering he was only supposed to go away for the weekend, and I haven’t heard from him at all, it would be more suspicious if I didn’t call it in right away. Don’t you think?” Sage is talking to me like I have an IQ of about 7 so I snap my mouth shut and keep it that way. Better not to anger her.

  “It’ll never work.” Apparently Lexi doesn’t care about poking the bear.

  “Oh trust me, sweetie, it’ll work.”

  “Do I smell coffee?” Caroline asks, waking from her slumber and effectively pulling me out of my own wandering thoughts. I bring her a cup of joe and clamber on the bed to join her. We sit in silence for a while, knowing we have a lot to talk but also not wanting to face reality.

  I turn, angling my body so I’m sitting cross-legged on the bed to face her. “I have to tell Logan.”

  She nods but remains silent and thoughtful for a concerning amount of time, if I’m being honest. “But you heard Sage – ‘Tell no one.’ Aren’t you afraid…?”

  “Of course I’m afraid, Caroline! I’m fucking terrified. But I’m waking up screaming in the middle of the night because of nightmares; I’m jumping at the slightest noise. He’s not blind – he’s going to notice something is up. Plus, you how I am with secrets! What am I supposed to do?” My frustration is barely being contained. I’d throw my hands up to make a point, but I don’t want to spill hot coffee all over myself. While I’m not necessarily being rhetorical, Caroline refrains from answering. I guess she doesn’t have the end-all be-all solution I need.

  “Do you think the storm will uncover the body? Like, push it ashore or something?” The change of conversation is abrupt, but it’s a thought I had as well. That’s just another issue on our plates we can look forward to – living in constant fear that the body will be discovered.

  “I can’t think about that right now. I can only handle one major problem at a time before I totally lose my shit.” Despite what I say, my mind is circling through a million and one different thoughts and scenarios. I can’t even determine what is best and worst case scenario – hell, I don’t even know if there is a best case scenario. Everything is too entirely fucked up.

  What are we going to do about Sage? We can’t continue to allow her to have all this power over us. And what about Lexi – do we cut her off? Sure, she cheated, but she didn’t pull the trigger. And she’s pregnant. I can’t even wrap my head around it.

  “Care.”

  “Yeah?”

  “What about Lexi…?” I don’t know what I’m even trying to convey with my question at this point. It’s a combination of so many things I can’t decide what to ask first. Luckily, Caroline and I have lived on the same mental wavelength basically our entire lives, so I know she understands what I mean.

  “I’m still pissed at her. I know she tried to explain in a half-assed bullshit attempt, but…I mean, she lied to all of us, went behind our backs, and tried to blame it all on me. I’m still not over it and how flippant she was about the whole thing. Right now, the only person I feel any sympathy for is Taylor.”

  She makes a good point. There’s so much with Lexi we have to hash out, but truthfully, I don’t know if we’ll ever really get a chance. “But…she’s pregnant. I can’t imagine Grayson will support her.”

  “So she’ll be a single mom. People have been doing it for years and she’s more well-off than most people. She’ll be fi
ne.” She rolls her eyes and her tone of voice indicates case closed, end of discussion. I want to keep pushing, but I know I shouldn’t.

  My heart reaches out to Lexi. I don’t know if or when Caroline will come around, but I know that I’ll be there to support my friend at this time. I’m hoping Caroline will come to her senses and that the two of them will be able to hash out their differences and soon. I don’t know how much time we’ll have or what’s going to happen to all of us. Plus, I know Lexi is going to need all the support in the world to tell Grayson everything. Whether she wants us to be there with her physically or just later to deal with the aftermath which is bound to be messy. I won’t let her down again, not like I’ve let everyone down throughout this entire fucked up situation.

  I know I have to tell my husband – there’s no way around that. And if I tell him then inevitably Parker will find out. Whether Caroline decides to tell her husband herself or if Logan reaches out to his brother first – who knows what will happen.

  I just have to get through today and get home so I can tell Logan everything.

  Chapter 3

  Caroline and I already paid for the room for an extra night so we tried to make the best of it. We really did. We make dinner plans and tried to do everything we could think of to take our minds off of everything but nothing worked. With a situation of that magnitude, I suppose nothing will successfully distract us.

  In reality, we never left the room and instead we allowed the tension to engulf us. I wanted to talk about things; she couldn’t. We had the local news on the TV all day as we watched with our breaths held, just waiting for the breaking news story to appear.

  Finally, after hours of being holed up within the hotel room walls, the storm clears so we say fuck it and head home.

  I’ve never been so simultaneously anxious to get home while feeling so violently ill at the thought. What will Logan think and say? What if he divorces me? I’m sure he doesn’t want to be married to a fugitive. What if he takes away the kids? Or thinks I’m a danger to them? God-damn it.