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He crawls away from me and disappears into the schoolyard beyond, into the crowd of students as if he didn’t just take my entire heart with him.
It takes at least two minutes to physically remove my hand from the spot where he kissed me. It’s another five minutes before my racing heart calms down, and by then, I realize I’m late for class.
REMINGTON
THE DAY OF THE JENKINS MURDER
Tommy takes off toward his house at the fork in the path close to our houses. He’s salty because I beat him, but he should have known I would never let him win that bet.
I jog the rest of the way home until I turn a bend on the path and halt as I come upon the shadow of someone standing in front of me. I freeze, processing what I am looking at as the sun casts long shadows along the path.
Something ain’t right… The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end as I watch Talia—wearing the same platform shoes, red blouse, and tight bell bottoms from last night—peer down at someone. Even in the dull mist, something flashes in her hand.
I move closer, and that’s when I see blood dripping from her hair and face as she peers down at him, almost in a trance-like state, unaware of my presence behind her.
A snap of a twig beneath my feet alerts her and she turns her head slowly toward me, almost expectantly, like she knew I was going to come. Her eyes crazed, wild.
The usual sounds of birds and insects are replaced by a harrowing silence, the wind barely hitting the branches. Only a small ray of sun breaks through, shining a light upon her.
My sister, two years older, is my world. She’s all I have. Even though I’m taller than her, she dominates everyone by merely existing. I never thought Daniel was good enough for her.
And now Daniel is in pieces beneath her feet.
“Talia,” I warn, and she stares at me, her eyes twitching.
Her voice is sweet. “Yes, Remy?”
I take a careful step toward her. “You have to put the knife down. Daniel’s dead.”
She glances down at him like she forgot he was there. Her boyfriend and lover for four years, shredded apart, barely recognizable.
She gouged his eyes out.
She displays zero emotion beyond a hint of irritation, as though this is a minor inconvenience. She shows no affection for the boy she'd been madly in love with since she was sixteen. The one who helped her get over her trauma.
“Oh,” she says, staring down at him. “I suppose he is.” I knew this was coming…I just didn’t know when. She drops the knife and falls to her knees. I rush over and steady her shaking.
She’s in shock…and I need to be strong—I can’t show any weakness.
She looks up at me, her dark eyes flash. “I…I finally did it, Remy. I’m one of them now.”
I swallow hard and lift her up, leading her away from his body. The severity of his wounds makes my stomach hurl. He had no idea it was coming. She could have killed him with one stab to the stomach…she didn’t need to do this.
She’s outta her damn mind.
She stares back at him with a blank expression and leans into me. “I loved him,” she breathes. “I really did.”
I squeeze her shoulder. “I know, Talia.”
Damn. This is a mess—one my father won’t be happy to clean up. Talia wasn’t always like this; she was innocent once. That horrific day when she was sixteen broke her, and I’ve been trying to put her back together ever since.
She angles her head. “Can you help me bury him?”
I let go of her and stumble back a step as I realize what she’s asking. She planned this. She knew I’d be running at this time of day.
“Leave him here, you go home and shower, then go to church and pray. I’ll go tell father. He’ll have his guys take care of it. They will clean this up.”
“Remy, please.” Her voice breaks, breaking my heart right along with it. “My life will be over if anyone else finds him before Father does. We can’t leave him like this.”
