Silas rolls his eyes and jumps out of the car the second I come to a stop.
Instead of driving straight home, I pull into Margaret’s driveway. I’m telling myself I just want to talk to her, but really, I’m not ready to face Mom. Mr. Everett had forwarded me an email this afternoon detailing the steps he plans to take for her next week. As soon as I sign my witness statement, Mom will be debt-free and entering a treatment facility where she will get help with her depression and the subsequent alcohol addiction born from it.
Margaret’s driveway is empty as expected, since her parents work weekend shifts and she doesn’t have a car. She had to borrow her friend’s car to come check on Silas yesterday. I knock and ring the doorbell but no one comes to the door.
It takes some effort to get through the overgrown shrubbery on the side of her house. I’ll be covered in scrapes and scratches from the branches by the time I get close enough to knock on the glass.
Luckily, her curtain is parted enough that I can see inside. She’s on her bed, an open laptop in front of her and headphones on, which is probably why she didn’t hear me knocking.
I wave my hands around and finally get her attention. Without meaning to scare her, I do just that.
Margaret takes her time coming to the window. Once it’s raised, she says, “Why are you here?”
I push her back just enough that I can crawl inside. “You climbed in mine so I can climb through yours.”
She turns around, grabs the blanket from the end of the bed, and wraps it around her shoulders.
“Just wanted to check on you. Make sure you’re okay.”
She rolls her eyes then drops down on the bed again, waiting for me to get to the point of why I’m here. “You’re checking to see if I’m going to keep Silas’s secret, which is now your secret since you’re covering for him. You don’t care about me.” She pulls the blanket tighter. “Did you hear the couple in that car died?”
My stomach flips. Shit. Silas will not handle the news well and now I’m thinking that’s why Mr. Everett didn’t want me to come inside when I dropped Silas off. I bet he’s doing damage control.
I feel bad but remind myself that there’s nothing I agreed to that would have stopped their deaths. This is on Silas. Not me.
Margaret bites down on her bottom lip while her eyes get glassy. “I didn’t think the wreck was that bad. We were barely hurt.”
“It’s okay to talk about it if you want. Obviously, I’m not saying anything.”
“Have you talked to the police yet?”
I shake my head. “No, Silas is talking to them right now. They’re supposed to come to my house later. Have you given your statement?”
“Foster came by yesterday.”
She picks at the material at the edge of the blanket. We’re silent again and it’s awkward.
“Well, if you’re okay then I guess I’ll go. But call Silas. He’s not handling this very well at all.”
“Okay, I will,” she says, then pushes her hair out of her face. “Mr. Everett went from trying to keep me away from Silas to calling me family. Did he call you that too?”
I lean back against her doorframe. “Yeah. Nicest he’s been to me since I first starting dating Camille.”
“Yeah, me too.” She plays with the ends of her hair, twisting it around her finger. “It feels different, doesn’t it. I’ve been hanging on to Silas by the tips of my fingers and now it feels like I’ve got a good hold on him with both hands. Mr. Everett will do whatever it takes to make us happy now that we’re keeping Silas’s secret.”
The same thought has been floating around my head for the last couple of days.
“But that doesn’t mean he won’t take advantage of the first opportunity to get rid of us. It’s not like we’d be the first choice for either of his kids if he had his way,” she adds.
Yeah, I was thinking that too. “We need to stick together. I’ve got your back if you’ve got mine.”
“Silas and Camille are stuck with us now, though. Not too bad for two white-trash kids from the south side of Corbeau.” And for the first time since Saturday night, her mouth turns up in a smile.
Chapter 34
Camille
AFTER THE ALIBI
