by S. Massery
His lessons involved making me hate my best friend.
We get home in time for me to slip back downstairs and steal another kiss from Margo, make sure she’s awake, and then head to school. My stomach churns the entire day. Eli must say something to Liam and Theo, because they don’t ask. If anything, they double their efforts to keep people away from me.
Savannah comes up to me at lunch. Well, she tries to.
“Your girlfriend is fucking crazy,” she spits.
Theo chuckles, and she takes a step back. She’s a dog with a lot of bark, but no bite.
Easy to rule her out as Unknown.
That, and she’s not Theo’s biggest fan. Never has been, probably never will be. Thanks to Amelie’s sister…
Still, I perk up. “What did she do?”
“She threatened me!” She tries to push past Eli, but he won’t budge. “What? I can’t have a conversation with him?”
“You’re an evil bitch,” Eli retorts. “So… no.”
“Wonder how fast Amelie would come back if we called her up and told her the whole school had forgotten about her little… incident?” Theo asks. “We could call her and find out—”
“Ugh!” Savannah shrieks.
I smile, and she storms away.
“Two peas in a freaking nuthouse,” Theo says, shaking his head. “Not sure which is worse—Amelie or Savannah.”
“Where did Amelie go, by the way?” Liam nudges Theo and grins.
Theo just glowers at him. “Away, I’ve heard.”
“The pretty little princess couldn’t handle the shitty rumors.” Eli laughs. He grabs his lunch tray. “She’s finishing the semester at home.”
I squint down at the table. The headache hasn’t gone away, and the fluorescent lights aren’t helping. “Amelie knew where Amberly was,” I muse. “How?”
Eli shakes his head. “You’re just thinking about this now?”
“Been a little preoccupied, if you haven’t noticed…” I cover my eyes with my hand.
“What’s Amelie’s relationship with Amberly? Or, better yet, your mother?” Liam asks.
I shrug. “No clue.”
“She was fucking Ian,” Theo says suddenly.
I drop my hand and narrow my eyes. “Thanks for the reminder.”
“I’m just saying, Ian’s mom and your aunt are cousins. There’s your connection. We all know those old bats gossip more than schoolgirls.” Theo looks around, eyeing the cheerleader table. “Honestly, it’s not such a stretch to think Amelie overheard something she shouldn’t have.”
“So, what, Amelie and Matt?” I groan. “Impossible. She was already… wherever.”
“Yeah, but she might’ve been tempted to do whatever it took to get you back,” Liam points out. “Psycho, remember?”
Fair point.
“We’re in agreeance that Matt was the one to hit Margo and take her from the accident,” Eli says. “And that the car, which belonged to Tobias, was either stolen or… loaned out. Tobias and Lydia have history, and Lydia also knows Matt.”
“We’ve been over this eight thousand times,” Liam grumbles.
“But we’re nowhere closer to solving this puzzle, now are we?”
“What are they hiding?” I ask. “Mom’s apartment was broken into, and she now claims Amberly was taken. Refused to call the police. Why?”
“Because…” Liam shrugs.
Eli and Theo both shake their heads.
Because, because…
“Because Margo saw Amberly.” I stand. “Which means whoever took Amberly very well might be targeting Margo, too. The room, the bird, the—”
They stand, too, quickly grabbing their things. “We’ll cover for you,” Theo says. “Take my car.”
Eli catches the keys he tosses, and then we’re gone. Through the athletic hallway, into the locker room. Someone has already propped open the emergency exit with a pencil, barely keeping it from closing, and we slip through it.
“You don’t think Margo’s in danger, do you?”
“She’s at home, and normally I’d say there would be no way, but…”
Eli nods. “Happy to assist, man. Let’s just get out as quietly as possible.”
It has been rather quiet, now that he mentions it.
And that’s never a good thing.
29
Margo
Caleb glances at me. We drove Eli home and took Theo’s car, so here we sit. In the prison’s visitor parking lot, staring at the entrance.
It’s just as nerve-racking the second time.
“Do you think they told him what happened?” I ask.
He lifts one shoulder. “I don’t know.”
“He hasn’t called or anything.”
“I don’t—”
“Know, yeah. Got it.”
He reaches over and laces his fingers with mine. “Nervous?”
“How’d you guess?”
“Because you’re not really breathing. And you’re snapping.” He smiles reassuringly, but it doesn’t do much to calm the buzzing in my veins.
I force myself to take a deep breath. “Right. Okay, let’s go.”
We walk into the prison shoulder to shoulder, and he visibly shudders once we pass through the gates. I take his hand and squeeze. It’s hard to believe Detective Masters wanted Caleb to end up somewhere like this.
The paperwork with the guard is faster this time, and after we hand over our IDs, we go to a corner of the room and sit.
“You’re not going to interrogate him, right?” My leg bounces.
“Interrogate him? No. I have some questions—”
“Some nice questions, since he doesn’t have to tell us anything—”
“Relax,” he says, putting his hand on my knee.
I stop jigging.
“I’ll be on my best behavior,” he promises. “We just need to find out about Tobias…”
“Imagine telling him his lawyer was a filthy rotten—”
A buzzing sound cuts me off. Here we go, I tell myself.
We stand with the few other people in the waiting room. Mid-week, it isn’t busy. The woman I met at the first visit isn’t here. Not that I expected her to be, but it would’ve been nice to see a friendly face.
Caleb walks a step behind me, letting me lead. Down the hall, to the door a guard is holding open. We pick a bigger table in the back corner, as far from the others as we can manage.
This time, we don’t have to wait long for another long buzz, and then, “Inmates entering.”
Dad appears in the doorway. His head swings around until he finds us, and then he frowns.
For an instant, I wonder if he’ll turn around and go back to his cell without seeing us. Without talking to me.
But that fear dissipates, because he moves toward us.
I rise, stepping past Caleb, and throw my arms around my dad. Dad’s arms come around me tightly, crushing me into him. One hand cups the back of my head, and I’m ashamed that the action reminds me of Robert.
“My girl,” he whispers in my ear. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
So they did tell him.
We separate, and Dad regards Caleb.
Dad extends his hand, an odd look on his face.
And Caleb… he’s white as a ghost.
I squint at him, but he seems like he’s in a trance. Finally, he blinks and reaches out, clasping Dad’s hand. The two stare at each other for a moment, the handshake suspended between them.
Maybe this is how Dad would’ve reacted to all of my boyfriends, if we had managed to stay a family long enough for me to get there.
Maybe I never would’ve had a boyfriend—just Caleb.
That thought warms my cheeks, and I quickly push it away. No use pondering what might’ve been.
“You taking care of my daughter, Caleb?”
Caleb winces. “I’m trying to now, Mr. Wolfe.”
Dad releases his hand and barks out a laugh. “‘Mr. Wolfe?’” he repeats. “Jesus.
You never called me that.”
“Well, we never figured on being here, so…”
I snort. “Can we sit?”
Around us, everyone else has settled down. We’re the only ones still standing, and the guards are eyeing us.
Dad motions to the table, and we all take our seats.
“Margo, a detective came to see me after you left. Said—”
I take a deep breath. “Yeah, we have some… explaining to do.”
He motions for me to continue, and I tell him what happened. The quick version, anyway: car accident, abduction, Caleb finding me and taking me to the hospital, his interrogation.
Dad is gripping the edge of the table by the end of it. His gaze goes to the scar on my forehead. “Is that…?”
“Glass from the accident, I think,” I say. “And I still get headaches from the concussion…”
Caleb grunts. “Same.”
Dad raises his eyebrows.
“Caleb’s uncle hit him in the back of the head for standing up to him,” I tell him. “I found him in a room… which actually brings us to our visit. We’ve been uncovering some strange things.”
He rubs at his face. He’s sporting a bit more scruff than I remember, and while the hair on top of his head is still dark, the beard is peppered with gray.
“They don’t have any leads?” he asks through his hands.
“They don’t,” Caleb answers.
Dad drops his arms and glares at him. “What the fuck does that mean?” His gaze goes to me. “Tell me you haven’t been pulling any cowboy shit.”
I shift. “Well…”
“We have.” Caleb pats my leg under the table. “And we found something which led us here.”
Dad’s eyebrow goes up. “I’m almost tempted to walk away, just because you put my daughter in danger—”
“Caleb saved me, Dad.” I reach out, taking his hand. “He found me.”
Dad touches the bracelet on my wrist. “I didn’t recognize this the last time you were here, but this is the one you made, isn’t it? One for each…”
Caleb shows him the bracelet on his own wrist.
“Inevitable,” Dad murmurs.
“You think so?” Caleb slides his sleeve back down.
I check Caleb’s expression. He’s thoughtful, and not… not as judgmental as I would’ve expected.
“What happened between you and my dad?” he asks.
And there goes that ‘not as judgmental’ thought.
“Norah told us that you used to be friends,” I blurt out.
Dad’s eyes widen, then he chuckles. “So, you’ve been playing detective?”
I shrug. “Had to figure out the truth somehow.”
“Okay, Margo,” he says, nodding. “Ben, Josh Black, Phil Mardzen, and I were best friends in high school.”
“Wait,” Caleb interrupts. “You were best friends with Coach Mardzen?”
Dad smiles. “Is he coaching now?”
Caleb crosses his arms over his chest.
After a second, Dad shakes his head. “I moved away to go to college in Massachusetts, which is where I met your mother. When we moved back to Rose Hill, I was… significantly different. Unfortunately, I wasn’t the only one. Ben and Josh had split from Phil just after graduation. He wasn’t even in Rose Hill when I moved back. Ben and Lydia were dating, and things were pretty serious. Norah and Josh had gotten together, too. Everyone was shocked when I brought Amberly home, newly engaged.”
I tilt my head to the side. “What about you being disowned?”
A laugh bursts out of Dad’s mouth. “Yes, that’s true. My mother was not happy with my pick of a wife.” He sobers quickly. “She died a few months after our wedding. I only just found out about it after I was put in here.”
I sober, too. “I would’ve liked to have met her.”
He smiles sadly. “The last letter I sent her that she would’ve received was the one in which I told her Amberly was pregnant with you. I sent more after that, pictures and stories, but… The letters were never returned to me, so I assumed she read them.”
“How was my parents’ relationship?” Caleb asks.
Dad levels him with a look. “The adult perspective?”
“They argued a lot,” Caleb says, attention fastened to the table, “late at night, when they thought I couldn’t hear them.”
“They had some trouble,” Dad allowed. “Obviously, Margo’s mother didn’t help the situation any.”
“You say it with such ease,” Caleb says, finally raising his head. He leans forward. “You say that your wife was cheating on you like it doesn’t even bother you, when in reality, you’re in here for murder.”
“Let it out, son,” Dad says, motioning for Caleb to give him more.
“How do you live with it? I found Dad in his room—” Caleb sucks in a ragged breath. “When I look at you, all I can see is my father’s blood.”
“We were friends. I’ve never laid a hand on him, and I certainly didn’t kill him.”
It’s about as serious of an admission as… well, as admitting to murder. He’s already in prison. He doesn’t have anything to lose.
Caleb stares at the ceiling, blinking rapidly.
I hate that he’s so bothered by this.
“Dad, when did you first meet Tobias?”
“After I was arrested. Amberly had just…” He shakes his head.
“Mom had just what?”
“We received a suspiciously large deposit in our shared bank account, so the police froze it. I had nothing after I was arrested. I met Hutchins after they read me the charges and I asked for a lawyer.”
“You hadn’t seen him… at the house?”
Dad squints at me. “What are you saying?”
“We’re definitely not accusing Lydia of paying him off, convincing you to get a shitty plea deal, right?” I lift my chin. “And we’d never insinuate that the person who hit me and Robert—and then abducted me—borrowed the vehicle from Tobias.”
Dad closes his eyes. “You cannot talk about this.”
“Why not?”
“Margo,” he warns.
“Five minutes,” the guard by the door calls.
Breath hisses past my teeth. “You can’t tell us to drop this. I have a stalker, and every fucking piece of it is connected.”
“The Ashers—” Dad stops, glancing at Caleb.
Caleb’s jaw muscle jumps, but he doesn’t say anything.
“Ben lost his wife the minute he invited mine into his bedroom,” Dad murmurs. “And everything that resulted from it is on his shoulders.”
Caleb locks up next to me. “Mom knew?”
Dad gives Caleb an odd look. “Have you forgotten? She knew… everything.”
Well, then.
30
Caleb
Past
I was supposed to be sleeping, but there was a weird noise coming from downstairs. It was like…
Laughter.
There was never laughter around here anymore, not unless it was coming from Margo.
I crept to the first floor, inching down the hallway. It was completely dark except for a light coming from the kitchen.
Giggling.
I twitched, but curiosity drove me all the way to the threshold.
Dad and Margo’s mom were on either side of the counter. She was cutting strawberries. And Dad… he had his sleeves rolled up, stirring something in a bowl. There was white powder caught in his beard.
Mom appeared silently beside me, raising her finger to her lips. When she held out her hand to me, I took it.
She guided me down the hall, into the library.
“You should be in bed,” she said, kneeling in front of me. “Why are you awake?”
“I heard…” I glanced toward the door.
She frowned. “Never you mind them.”
“Why is he happy around her and not us?”
“Because she’s something new.” She rose to her feet. “And because she’s no
t his. Not yet, anyway.”
Present
The memory of witnessing Amberly and my father, then what my mother said about it, snaps to the forefront of my mind.
Not yet, anyway. What did that mean?
“Caleb?” Margo touches my arm. “You okay?”
I wince. It’s too bright in here, and my eyes sting.
“I do remember,” I say to Margo’s dad. It’s hard to look at him, but I force myself to meet his gaze. “I had just… forgotten.”
“You remember Lydia knowing?” Margo asks.
“I went downstairs because I heard a noise, and Mom pulled me away. She said he laughed around her because…”
Keith clenches his jaw. “Go on and say it, son. You won’t hurt my feelings.”
I let out a sigh. “Because she was new and not his. Not yet.”
He nods. “Your father always did like to have the best toys.”
“She said that? Not yet?” Margo asks, latching on to the important part.
I knew she would. She’s whip-smart when she wants to be.
“Right. Implying…”
“That she knew her husband,” her dad finishes sourly. “Shocker. I knew the bastard, too.”
“Dad!”
He presses his lips together. “I’m sorry. I know what you believe, and how long you’ve believed it. But I did not kill your father.”
He sounds sincere.
That’s the most dangerous part. He could be telling the truth or he could just be a fantastic liar.
“If you didn’t, who did?”
He drops his head into his hands. “I swore I wouldn’t speak of this, especially not to—”
Margo leans forward and yanks his hands away, trying to get him to look at her. “Dad. Please.”
“Okay.” He lets out a ragged breath. “Caleb… your mother orchestrated the whole thing.”
My stomach drops into my shoes.
I let out a laugh. “She what?”
“Time’s up!” the guard yells.
Around us, people rise and say their goodbyes. Margo and her dad do, too. She hugs him while I sit there dumbly.
