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With my bare feet on the sidewalk in front of the house, I stopped and looked back. In the front window, I saw Ray standing, frowning at me. He would watch me go. He was letting me go, though I knew this wasn’t the end of it. This was merely a temporary respite, a quick getaway from my original monster.
It’d be enough. It was time to come clean.
Chapter Seven – Will
My body ached something fierce. I knew it would take a long time for me to heal and feel one hundred percent better—if I ever did; the doctors told me there could be lingering stiffness in the muscle tissue. At least I was alive, though. At least I’d lived through it and hadn’t croaked on my bedroom floor, bleeding out after some unknown assailant attacked me.
There were too many things I needed to do still. Too many things that I’d been sitting back on for a while. I knew the truth about who killed Sabrina, but the world didn’t. The Salvatores either thought she hung herself or blamed Declan. The law dictated her death a suicide, so even though they brought in Declan and questioned him about her and his relationship to her, he wasn’t a part of it.
Declan didn’t know the truth. Declan was…such a kind, loving soul. I wanted to protect him, shield him from the truth. I didn’t want the truth to hurt him, but I knew it would. This truth was not something anyone expected, which was why it hadn’t been investigated.
But I had Sabrina’s other journal. Her true journal. The journal she wrote all of her secrets in. That suicide note she’d written wasn’t the whole truth; it was pieces-parts, lies sewn together to look like truths. I had it, had kept it safe all of this time, waiting for the perfect moment to use it.
I didn’t want to be a drama queen, but I wanted it to be public. I wanted the truth to come out and shock the community. Not everyone in Hillcrest was a good person, and some sterling reputations were merely polished and coated brass.
This…stabbing would put me behind, because I’d planned on doing it soon.
Hell, it wasn’t even the stabbing, if I was honest with myself. Ash had put me behind. Ash was someone, a part of the game I didn’t anticipate. I knew Hillcrest was opening up its campus to girls, and I knew our father had pushed to test it out first, to have a single female student enroll, and I knew why he pushed so hard, too.
I knew why it had to be Ash. It wasn’t because her grades were good or that she was poor. Her looks, her spunk, they were both reminiscent of Sabrina, and Daddy Dearest knew that. He knew that, and it was why he pushed for her to be the one, to room with Declan. It was his way of atoning, but it was too late.
A girl was dead. Someone had to pay.
Though Ash was blonde, though she had an attitude similar to Sabrina, she wasn’t like her. No, Ash was different. More reserved, even if she was prone to lashing out. Stuck inside her own head, whereas Sabrina said what she thought with no filter. Sabrina had her highs and lows, a steady stream of them, and they were even worse when she went off her meds. Declan had told me all about it, and I honestly didn’t see the appeal.
But Ash? Ash was different. I knew it that night, when she was calm at the sight of my brother’s blood. Something was off about her, different. She wasn’t freaking out, not really, not as much as she should’ve been, given the fact that Declan nearly died and her thumb was dislocated. Ash was a riddle, and it seemed she drew a bunch of suitors who all hoped desperately to unwrap her particular tune.
Including me.
I included myself in that number, even though I knew it was wrong. I shouldn’t care for Ash, shouldn’t dream of her, but I did. I did, even though I knew I shouldn’t. It was like she was forbidden fruit, so tempting, so appealing, I couldn’t help but fall for her instantly. She was captivating, beautiful, interesting, and everything a girl should be. There was nothing I’d change about her.
The worst part about it was that Declan cared for her too. Two brothers in love with the same girl. Surely nothing could go wrong there. Surely no drama, no plotting or scheming. There weren’t movies about this particular thing before, no books to detail just why two brothers fancying the same girl was a terrible, awful idea.
Sarcasm. That was all sarcasm, because I could already see this ending in disaster.
And surely it would. Disaster for me, disaster for Declan…disaster for Ash. I didn’t want Ash to hurt, I didn’t want to force any choice on her. It was unfair to do so, to expect her to choose when faced with so many options. I didn’t expect her to just know, at the drop of a hat, who she would choose if she had to.
Of course, if she chose, I wanted her to choose me. The selfish part of me did, anyway. The less selfish part of me wanted her to choose Declan, because I thought she could be good for him, if she stuck around.
Moving around my apartment, it was hard to do things that I normally took for granted. Showering while not caring where water got, even sitting down on the toilet. Yeah, too much information there, but being stabbed in your gut and surgically stitched back together kind of affected your body in a lot of ways.
I was sitting on the couch, staring at the TV across from me. It was off. Nothing was keeping my attention. I was surprised Declan and Ash weren’t over, visiting me, checking in on me. Dad would do his best to try, but I’d push him off and push him away as much as I humanly could. I didn’t like seeing his face. I prayed that once I transferred to Hillcrest next semester I wouldn’t have to.
Grabbing my phone, I dialed Declan’s number. He picked up on the second ring, which seemed awfully quick, almost like he’d been staring at his phone and expecting it to ring. “Will, what’s going on? Are you okay?” he asked, not even giving me a chance to say anything.
He sounded…freaked out, which instantly made me feel sick. Or maybe that was my stomach, since, you know, stabbed.
I said nothing as Declan added, “Shit. You’re at home alone. How are you feeling? I…I’m sorry. There’s a lot going on. I completely forgot. I’m a terrible brother.”
My eyebrows furrowed—it was about the only movement my body could make without me feeling the need to wince. “You’re not a terrible brother. What’s going on? Do you need me?” I wasn’t sure how much help I’d be at this point, but for Declan, I’d do anything.
“You…you should just rest. I don’t want you worrying,” Declan spoke into the phone. “I’m doing enough worrying for the both of us.”
I knew I couldn’t let it end there. I had to know what was going on. “What’s happening, Declan? Tell me.”
I heard him sigh on the other line. “It’s Ash. She’s…gone.”
My back straightened, and I leaned forward, temporarily forgetting about my injury. Pain coursed through me, and I had to lean back slowly, silently cursing myself for moving like that. “What do you mean, she’s gone?” Gone? Gone as in, disappeared? Kidnapped? My mind went through so many possibilities it wasn’t funny.
