“The packet has four capsules missing.”Chad murmured.
“Yeah.That sounds about right.”
“I didn’t take them.”
“No,” Ally replied.“You didn’t.”
“Fine,” Chad’s voice shook, “But there was still LSD and—”
“Stop.”Josh snapped.“You were going through a lot, maybe the thought of coming back Bardhum was too much, and you ...did what you did to escape everything that’s happened.You tried to kill yourself and it’s not because of what was detected in your hair.You made that decision that day.You did.”
“No.”
“Chad...”
“I promised.”
“Promised what?”Ally asked.
“I promised I wouldn’t kill myself, not ...not like that, never like that.”
“Promised who?”
Romeo’s heart skipped.
“Myself.”Chad answered.“I promised myself.”
“Well, you lied.”Josh replied.
“Josh,” Ally said in warning.
“Well, he did.He lied to you, he lied to me, he lied to himself, and the thing is, I’m not even upset with him about it because I understand.I couldn’t last ten steps in your shoes, let alone a mile, Chad.You’ve gone to hell and back several times, but this...You’ve got to let it go.”
“I can’t.”
“You’ve got to.You’ve got to start looking to the future, not searching for the unanswerable in the past.Some asshole, at some point, spiked you, and thankfully nothing sinister came of it, but it didn’t lead to you jumping from that bridge.”
“You need to look for the link between me and Alexandra.We both jumped.We both had these substances—”
“I can’t do this anymore.”
The front door opened.
Romeo heard someone leave.
“Josh,” Chad said, going after him.
“Merc!”Josh bellowed from outside.
Romeo released Mercutio’s collar.“Go on.”
Mercutio bounded away, thundering down the stairs.He yipped as he rushed outside.
Romeo sighed, leaning his head back on the wall.
He straightened when he heard the bottom step creak, then the next.
Someone was coming upstairs.
