“I don’t see her.” Gavin is the first to stoke the flames of this guilt that’s been coating me for the last half hour. I promised Kennedy I wouldn’t take my eyes off her, but she’s been dodgy, and, as soon as Melanie showed up, it was like I was afraid to jinx the show by watching too closely.
“She’s with Reese. She’s standing in the back, talking to some guy.”
Ace leans in. “You sure that’s not her sister?”
“Shit.” In truth, I had forgotten all about Kennedy’s lookalike wandering around the party. I thread through the crowd, and, sure enough, it’s not Kennedy I’ve been tracking. I race over to Reese just as Ace beats me to her.
“Where is she?” My eyes dart around the crowd trying desperately to find her, or, at the least, that psychotic bitch with an ax to grind.
“She’s right here with Brylee and her sorority sisters.” Reese spins with a look of horror. A scream curdles in her throat as if she’s lost a small child in the crowd. “Kennedy?” Her voice rises.
I push past the masses until I spot Brylee and speed over.
“Where is she?” I pant, my hands holding onto her shoulders as if to steady myself.
Something about this feels staged, dramatic, hellish as the music amps up, the lyrics move quicker, the crowd grows in girth and spins around us in a dizzying blur.
“Relax.” She flicks me off her shoulders. “She’s around. I just saw her with Mel.” Her lips curve with a devilish grin. “I would never have pegged you for the possessive type. I kind of like that.”
Gavin appears between us, out of breath, the perspiration running down the sides of his face. “Where’s Kennedy?” he barks at her. “Mel’s the one that’s been fucking with her.”
“Oh my, God.” The drink slips right out of her fingers. “Last I saw them they were headed toward the lake.” She points west, and we bullet through the crowd, the icy air spears through my lungs like a knife.
“Kennedy!” I roar into the night, hearing my own voice come back to me as an echo.
“Fuck.” Ace points to the shoreline in the distance.
At first, I don’t see anything then the last thing I expect takes form—Keith’s body lies over hers in the sand, his sturdy frame straddling her legs, his mouth fused over her lips.
Are they together again? My heart jolts right out of my throat. A rusted terror grips me. Maybe this is the fiery climax. Maybe Kennedy has been fucking with me the entire time.
Her knee rises lazily over his back, and I can feel the vomit in my throat as we come upon them.
“Kennedy,” my voice rips into the night, unsure of what its intention is. I only know she’s here, and he’s with her, their faces still very much intact.
Keith pulls back and wipes his mouth over his shoulder before he helps her into his lap.
Kennedy is weak. Her head bobs over his T-shirt leaving a heavy stain. I touch the back of her hair, my fingers coming away damp and glossy.
“She’s bleeding,” he says handing her off to me.
“Kennedy?” I take her into my arms and press my lips to hers.
“Caleb.” My name croaks from her in less than a whisper. Her fingers rise to touch my mouth. “Love you.”
My heart jackhammers back to life. Just seeing her with him—thinking the worst was enough to kill me.
“God, I love you.” I rock her slowly in my arms as I try to sift through what just happened, what’s still happening.
Gavin leans in and examines the back of her head. “I’m calling an ambulance.”
Ace offers Keith a hand and he groans as he rises as if he’s injured himself.
“She’s still out there. She did this.” He pinches his eyes with his fingers and relays how she doused him with pepper spray while knocking Kennedy down and splitting her head on a rock. “She tried to kill her. She held her under, but I was able to knock her off. I was trying to save Ken, breathing for her and shit.”
Kennedy gives the impression of a weak smile, but I can see she’s struggling to hold on.
A howling lake patrol vehicle makes its way over.
