“You ready?” I hear Austin’s voice on the other end of the phone.
“Yeah, give me one minute,” Demi answers her.
“What are you girls doing?” I ask. It’s a little after seven here. That makes it past nine there.
“Austin and I picked up Lilly earlier, and she asked if we could have a girl’s sleepover tonight since you guys are gone. So we’re gonna make a pallet in the living room, pop some popcorn, and eat our weight in chocolate while we get drunk off cherry Kool-Aid.”
I laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“Just remembering when we were at Silence standing in line to get popcorn and you told me that you admired my lack of empathy,” I recall. She stays silent, and the smile drops off my face.
“I still do, Deke.” she says in a soft voice. “I never once wanted you to be or pretend to be someone other than who you are.”
I hate how much I needed to hear her say that. Deke Biggs doesn’t need permission to do anything. I always kept Becky in the dark regarding what I did with the sharks. She would have hated it, bitched about it, and made me out to be the bad guy. Which I am, don’t get me wrong. I know where I stand in the world of good versus evil. The one drowning in blood and full of hate. But look what she did. Look how far she went to hurt Demi. Or what she did to her back when they were younger. She’s tried to have her raped twice now. She deserves to pay for that. And that’s what the sharks do. They make you pay. In blood.
“I gotta go,” she says.
But how would she feel if I said those words to her? Her imagination isn’t nearly as dark as our actions are. “Demi—”
“I’ll be here when you get back tomorrow.” She interrupts me. “Waiting on you.” Then she hangs up.
I drop the phone from my ear and walk over to the door of the clubhouse. Cole stands over at the table, leaning up against it. Shane sits on the couch typing away on his phone, and Bennett is standing in the small kitchen area looking down at a piece of paper in his hands.
“What’s that?” I ask him.
He looks up at me and lets out a long sigh. “There’s something I need to tell you guys.”
“What is it?” Cole asks, pushing off the table.
“I received this right after you guys moved to Texas.” He hands me the paper.
“This glass can break as easily as your promises. What would you do to keep them both intact?” I read the typed letter out loud.
“What the fuck is that shit?” Shane asks, jumping up from the couch.
“I don’t know.” Bennett shrugs. “Another cryptic letter.”
“And you’ve had this the entire time?” Cole growls.
“I didn’t say anything because it didn’t have my name on it. It could have been to any of us or all of us.” He sighs. “I honestly thought it was for you, Cole, since you own the place. I figured it was someone who knew what you did to Kellan.”
“It was just sitting in here. Waiting on you?” I question.
He nods. “It was in the glass bowl. On the table.”
“Fuck!” Cole growls.
“So why tell us about it now?” I rip the fucker to pieces and throw them in the trash.
“Well, ’cause now I think it was Becky who gave it to me,” he answers.
Cole shakes his head. “She didn’t know anything. And why leave it in the bowl? People knew we did dares but not specifics.”
“That’s not true,” I argue. “He said he received it after we left for Texas. Becky got Austin’s journal while Austin was still in the hospital. We waited three months after she was shot before we moved.”
Cole nods once and growls. “So the bitch has been playing us for six months now? And none of us saw it?”
