Page 68 of The Getaway

“Magdelena is with Candice already,” Marley said. “Who’s Lily going to pair off with?”

“I’ll stick with Josh,” Lily said.

“And Hazel?” Gemma asked, just as Hazel returned, without the baby.

“And Hazel what?” she asked, looking both exhausted and suspicious.

“We’re doing a buddy system to get through the night,” Marley explained. “Lily’s with Josh. So you . . .”

“I’ll stick with Tini and the kids,” Hazel said. She seemed relieved, if not comforted, that they weren’t all fleeing down the service road. “We need to be near the kitchen to warm bottles, so we’ll stay down here.”

“I’ll stay with Cole,” Daisy offered. “And maybe we could have an actual bedroom?”

Hazel rolled her eyes. “Fine. Take whatever’s free.”

Everyone looked at Suzy. She felt anxious and itchy and about ready to scream, but with everyone looking at her, she found she couldn’t fight back. It would be easier to see on the roads in the morning, anyway, she told herself. And maybe the wind would have died down by then.

“Fine,” she said. “But I’m calling the cops again. If they can’t get out here by midday, I’m leaving.” She looked at Sean. “With or without you.”

35

Marley

“Are you sleeping?” Marshall asked in the darkness.

They were both lying on top of the made bed, flat on their backs.

“I may never sleep again.”

He let out a long loud sigh. His index finger tapped an erratic rhythm on his ribs. “I can’t believe they’re gone.”

Instant tears welled inside Marley’s skull. “I know. I can’t believe any of this is happening.”

“Do you think that Lily . . .”

“What? That she could have killed them?” Marley’s thoughts were such a swirl she could hardly get ahold of a single coherent one. “No. I mean, of course not. She wasn’t even here.”

“If you believe her and Josh,” Marshall said.

An inadvertent laugh escaped Marley’s throat. “Not this again, Marshall. Lily and Josh didn’t plan some elaborate plot together.”

Marshall exhaled sharply. “You’re right. It’s insane. But then again, all of this is insane.”

Marley couldn’t have agreed more. When Josh and Sean had brought Juliet’s body inside, she had thought she might actually break down. Josh had carried her with Sean clearing a path, and her head had been resting on his shoulder when he’d stepped inside, as if she’d passed out in the sun and he was taking care of her, making sure she didn’t burn. His face had been stoic as he walked through the room and took her down to rest on the second couch, across from Lincoln. Hazel had brought him another sheet, and, as far as Marley knew, Josh was still in there with her, sitting on the floor, holding her hand. He hadn’t even gone to check on Beckham, not that she was surprised. Josh had never taken much of an interest in parenting. He’d once joked to Juliet that he’d take the grade school years, when the kid could tell him what was wrong and catch a ball.

Something spattered against the window. “Ugh . . . Is it raining again?” Marley said.

The only response was a groan. She flopped back on her back again, wondering what time it was but not wanting to check, in case only two minutes had passed since the last time she’d checked. What she wouldn’t give for a sleeping pill. Something tiny and fast and thorough. But all she had in her bag was ibuprofen.

“It wasn’t out of malice or greed or anything, you know,” Marshall said.

Marley stopped thinking about drugs. “What wasn’t?”

“Lincoln. Him suggesting we give up on adoption.” There was a brief pause. Marley held her breath. “He was worried about you.”

“About me?” she asked.

“Well, and me. He saw how ill you made yourself after . . . after Caroline, and he saw how worried I was about you. It was killing us, Marls, getting our hopes up all the time and then being disappointed again and again. Lincoln felt like he needed to say something. He said we needed to decide to stop. Together. Because otherwise we’d just keep trying forever. And the longer we kept trying, the harder it would be to stop trying because then all of that effort would be for nothing.”