Page 80 of Rich Little Liars

He’s pinned beneath a section of flooring that came down with us. I can see his face – grey with dust, twisted with pain – and one arm reaching towards me. His legs are trapped under timber and debris, a pile of destruction that must weigh hundreds of pounds.

‘Help me.’ His voice comes out strangled. Desperate. Nothing like the man who held a gun at me moments ago. ‘Kelly, please. I can’t move. I can’t⁠—’

Another groan from above. Something cracks like a gunshot, and more debris showers down on us. A chunk of brick lands inches from my hand, close enough that I feel the wind of its passage.

The house is dying. Whatever precarious balance kept these ruins standing for so long has finally tipped, and everything is accelerating towards collapse.

I should help him.

That’s the thought that surfaces first, unbidden. He’s trapped. He’s hurt. He’s Daniel’s brother, and I’ve already let one Reynolds man die in this house. The pattern of it – the terrible symmetry – makes something twist in my chest.

But then I think about Richard. About the blood pooling on my hallway floor while Harvey stood over us, weapon in hand. About the weeks of terror. The notes. The ring returned like a curse. Everything he’s done to destroy the new life I was trying to build.

He wanted me scared.

He wanted me suffering.

And now he’s lying in the dark, begging for help, and I could just… walk away.

I get to my feet. The movement sends fresh pain lancing through my shoulder, makes my vision swim with grey static. But I stay upright. Stay standing. My legs are unsteady but functional – nothing broken, nothing that will stop me from climbing out of here.

From leaving him behind.

‘Kelly.’ His voice cracks. ‘Don’t. Please. I can’t feel my legs. I think something’s broken. You can’t just⁠—’

‘Watch me.’ The words come out flat. Empty. ‘You were going to kill me. You terrorised me for ages. You put Richard in hospital.’ I take a step towards the far wall, where the rubble piles high enough that I might be able to climb. ‘Why should I help you?’

‘Because you’re not like me.’ He’s struggling now, trying to shift the timber pinning him down. It doesn’t move. ‘You said it yourself – you couldn’t save Daniel, but you wanted to. You wanted to be the kind of person who would have tried. Don’t let me die down here. Don’t become someone who watches people in their final moments.’

The house shudders. Somewhere above us, an entire section of wall gives way with a roar of falling brick and splintering wood. The sound is enormous – apocalyptic – and the vibration travels through the floor beneath my feet like an earthquake. More dust cascades down. I throw my arm over my face, coughing, eyes streaming.

When I can see again, Harvey is still trapped.

Still reaching for me with that one free arm.

‘Please.’ The word is barely audible. ‘I’m sorry. I know that doesn’t mean anything now, but I’m sorry. I was wrong. About you. About everything. Just don’t let me die.’

I should keep walking. Every survival instinct screams at me to move, to climb out of this collapsing tomb before it buries us both. Harvey made his choices. He chose obsession. Revenge. He chose to spend months destroying my life rather than accepting that his brother’s death was a tragedy without a villain.

He doesn’t deserve my help.

But I can’t stop thinking about that night. About standing in the kitchen doorway while flames rose between Daniel and me. About the relief I felt – that horrible, shameful relief – as I watched him burn. I didn’t choose that feeling. It came from somewhere deeper than choice, some dark place inside me that I’ve been trying to pretend doesn’t exist.

But I can choose what happens now.

I can choose to be someone different.

The thought hits me with surprising clarity, cutting through the fear and the pain and the building roar of the house coming apart around us. I couldn’t save Daniel. Maybe I couldn’t have even if I’d tried – the fire was too hot, the flames too high, the path between us already impassable. But I never even tried. I just stood there, frozen by hatred I didn’t know I was capable of feeling.

I don’t want to be that person any more.

I don’t want two brothers to die because of me.

‘Damn it.’ The curse scrapes out of me as I turn back. As I stumble through the debris towards where Harvey lies trapped. ‘Damn it, damn it, damn it.’

‘Kelly…’

‘Shut up.’ I reach the pile of timber pinning his legs and wrap my hands around the nearest piece. It’s heavier than it looks – fire-hardened wood, dense with char – and my injured shoulder screams in protest. ‘Just shut up and let me work.’