“That in my darkest hour never have I felt so much love in one room.” Her brows peak. Kennedy is a natural beauty both inside and out. “I was thinking we only have so many years left on the planet, and what kind of ending would I like to have? I want it to be a good one. I can’t control how other people act, react, around me, but I can control how I do it, and I want a good ending. I choose to be happy—and happy people aren’t liars. I need people, Caleb. I don’t want to push anyone else away.”
“I’ll always be here for you.” I pull her body to mine and lose myself in her hair, her jasmine rich scent, and suddenly wish we were the only two people in the cabin.
Abel arrives, and Kennedy seems shocked to see yet another doppelganger of mine. Solomon is a meaner, leaner version, covered with tats, cocky and reckless, but Abel is the exact representation, and I can see that this unnerves her on some level.
“We know it’s a girl.” Peter shakes his hands in the air as we congregate in the dining room. “She’s about your age, so I’m guessing you know her.”
“I do know her,” Kennedy offers, and all eyes settle on her, startled by the admission.
I’m not sure I can handle any more surprises.
Kamryn rolls her eyes like a hormonal teenager. “Please knock me off your suspect list once and for all. I’m not amused by the accusation.”
“Check your ego at the door. It’s not you.” Kennedy smirks. “It’s someone in my sorority.”
“How can you be sure?” I pick up her hand and kiss it in front of our family and friends, and her eyes tear up a moment as if that simple show of affection was more than she could bear.
“I wondered from the beginning.” She links her arm through mine and leans against me for support. “Once the ridiculous incidences began—none of which I had anything to do with—I uploaded the videos. I wanted to beat Keith at his own game. Then there were a few more cheap pranks that took place, all of which pointed to me, and, coincidentally they all rang like marking off a checklist. The things that were happening to Keith were the exact suggestions that my sorority sisters offered on ways to get back at him for cheating. That pretty much dissolved any notion that Keith had anything to do with this. I did wonder if he had a mole, some girl working on the inside. But I knew whoever was doing this was more interested in getting under my skin than Keith’s.” Kennedy takes a breath as she looks to her mother. I can’t imagine how difficult this must be for the both of them. “That’s why I went back to the sorority with Reese and Brylee. My sorority sisters welcomed me with open arms, and, yet again, they threw out suggestions on creative ways to get back at Keith. The very next week somebody went right down the list once again. Making Keith disappear seemed like a bonus.”
Demi leans in, livid. “So why is this person tormenting Caleb?”
My chest thumps with an aborted laugh. Demi and Gavin always seem to have my back.
“That night at the sorority house, it sort of got out that I was into Caleb. It didn’t take long for them to switch gears.”
Her mother clutches at her throat. “It’s simple. They want what you have. They’re just jealous. People have always been jealous of you.” She points an accusing finger as if it were all Kennedy’s fault.
“No,” she’s quick to refute the theory. “I don’t think it’s that.”
I give her hand a squeeze. “Then there’s the audio I’ve been sent.” I play the first voice recording—Kennedy’s confession to lying on the stand at her parents trial and she cringes. I play the second audio recording, which makes it sound as if she has it out for me, and now, it looks as if she wants to crawl into a hole.
Demi looks at Kennedy as if she were trying to figure out what species she belonged to.
This isn’t going over well.
Abel spins the laptop toward himself and replays the second audio at least a dozen times. “There are three distinct breaks. That’s a good sign of splicing. Not to mention that the first female voice is coated with more static than the second. Kennedy comes in muffled, but there’s no static scratching up her voice.”
Kennedy breathes a sigh of relief.
Peter helps us compile a database on each of Kennedy’s sorority sisters, then Abel and Gavin run a rudimentary search on them. It’s nothing short of a CIA spy lab in here.
Kennedy’s mother jumps up and puts on a pot of coffee while Demi and Kamryn become fast friends.
“Charlie Goodman is having a birthday this Saturday.” Abel taps the screen with his pen. His announcement lacks the usual enthusiasm that goes along with one of those celebratory events. “I suggest you throw her a party. Invite your sisters.”
“Who are you close to?” I shake my head at her, already discouraged the idea. Kennedy has almost eighty sisters.
“I don’t know. Just Charlie and Mel, I guess. The other girls are sort of my minions.” She wrinkles her nose at the thought, mostly because it’s true on some level. “It’s hard to be queen bee”—she cuts an ironic glance around the room—“disliked by many, yet loved by all.”
“What’s Mel’s last name?” Abel inquires, his fingers and eyes never leaving the keyboard.
“Williams, I think.”
“Are you sure it’s Williams? The search is coming up empty.” Gavin looks to Demi for a second. “Didn’t she introduce herself to us at the anniversary party? What did she say her last name was?”
“I think it was a little longer than Williams. Williamson?” Demi licks a spoon, and her eyes invert. I spot a jar of cookie butter on the counter behind her. It was a gift from Demi and Gavin for helping her win her case. Suffice it to say, she’s a fan of the stuff.
Peter shifts in his seat, tapping his finger in the air as if he’s just had an epiphany. “Could it be Williamsburg?”
