“The cabin on Lake Travis …” I start.
“Yeah?”
“His parents own it.”
A long silence follows my words.
When he finally speaks, he sighs. “Hang on. I’m gonna call and wake up Shane. We all need to be in on this conversation.”
DEMI
Sophomore year
I pace my bedroom at my father’s house. I’ve called Eli a hundred times by now, but it keeps going straight to voicemail. And I don’t know why he would turn his phone off. His Facebook says he hasn’t been active in over thirty minutes. I dial it again.
“Come on … pick up. Pick up.”
“Hey, you’ve reached Eli. Leave me a message …”
I yank the phone from my ear and scream out of frustration. I told him not to do it. That it was fucking stupid! He should have listened to me. I hope Deke didn’t catch them …
My bedroom door flies open, and I spin around to see my sister running in. Her blond hair is a tangled mess. Her crop top and shorts are covered in dirt and blood. Her makeup is streaked from tears.
“Becky? What the hell?” I ask.
She’s sobbing. Her bottom lip trembling. I stay where I am, not sure what the hell is going on. “Where’s Eli?” I ask, looking behind her. Is this some trick she talked him into? It can’t be. He wouldn’t do that to me. He may be ignoring my phone calls, but at least I know she’s here and no longer with him.
“Help me.” She sobs, falling to her knees in the middle of my room.
“What the hell happened to you?” I ask, watching the blood and dirt get on my white rug.
“There was an accident.” She swallows. “The car flipped. Cole …”
I fall to my knees before her. “What?” I grip her tear-streaked face and force her to look up at me. “What do you mean an accident?”
“I … I think I killed them.” She begins to rock back and forth. “He told me to run.”
“Who told you to run?” My hands begin to shake.
“Cole.” She bends over, cradling her stomach. “I told him I was pregnant, and he told me to run.”
I know she’s not pregnant. She was in my bathroom just last weekend borrowing tampons. My eyes look over her body, and I see scratch marks on her thighs and arms. I blink, running a hand through my hair. “Who do you think you killed, Becky?”
“Landen.” She sobs. “Maddox and Eli.” My heart stops. “Cole kept hollering for them, but none of them answered.”
I fall back onto my ass, trying to comprehend what she just said.
“I went back.” She nods to herself. “Cole was sitting in the ditch with Eli in his arms … He wasn’t breathing.” Her shaking hands grip her cell. The screen is shattered. “I called the cops.” Dropping the phone to my floor, she buries her busted face in her hands.
It begins to ring, and I pick it up to see David light up the busted screen. “Why is David calling you …?”
She snatches it from my hands.
Present
I open my eyes and roll out of bed. I trip over a pair of shoes but manage to make it to the bathroom door. Turning on the light, I blink rapidly and then decide to just pee in the dark. Once done, I wash my hands and pick up the mouthwash to try to get rid of this god-awful taste in my mouth. And it’s not the vodka. It’s cinnamon. That damn Fireball Austin had me drinking.
I exit the bathroom and make my way back to Deke’s bed. It’s still dark out; the clock on his nightstand says a little after three a.m. He lies on the right side, closest to the door. The covers sit low on his hips, showing me his smooth chest and impressive six-pack. His right hand lies on his chest while his other is behind his head.
