“I was curious if you are as much of a filthy whore as I think you are. I guess I was right.”
I tuck myself back into my pants and say, “You were not in the ‘wrong place at the wrong time’. Have you ever wondered why Carter hadtranquilizer dartson him? He was stalking you. It wasn’t a happy accident, Killer. It was fucking planned, and you played right into his hands. When he saw you come last night, it wasn’t for the first time.”
She tilts her head back and glances up at me, with an expression so sad I might cry if I gave a shit.
“You’re lying.”
Turning back to my workout, I sigh at her naivety.
“Think about it, Killer. He knew exactly where your backpack was. Because he spent the night there, watching you. He’s the predator and you're the prey. Carter has OCD. You’re just his current obsession, his hyper-fixation of the month. My brother is sick, and the sooner you get away from him, the better off you’ll be.”
She rises to her feet and angrily swipes the tears from her cheek.
“What am I supposed to do with this information?”
My advice comes in two words spoken in a growl.
“Fucking run.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
KNOX
Age Five…
Killianand I sit in class the same as we do everyday.
Without Carter.
Our mother asked the teacher to put his name on the table, even though he’s never been to school. She thought it would help us.
It doesn’t. He has been gone for two years.
Two Christmases.
Two Easters.
Two birthdays.
Sometimes it feels like someone cut a piece out of me. Our brother isn’t simply missing, like people think. It’s more than that. He was taken from us.
I stare at the card on the table. It has blue dinosaurs on it, because those are his favorite. Well, they were his favorite, two years ago. Maybe he doesn’t even like dinosaurs anymore. Maybe he likes cars like me.
Killian sits beside me and looks over at me with a fake smile.
“It’s going to be okay,” he says, but it’s not. It’s never going to be okay.
The school secretary’s voice comes over the loud-speaker.
“Killian and Knox Bonetti to the principal's office.”
Hunter and Colton giggle together, “Oooh, you’re in trouble.”
Ms. Hunt tilts her head at us.
“Go to the office. Both of you.”
We both walk down the hallway, unsure if we did something wrong. Making it to the principal’s office, we’re both surprised to see our mother. Seeing her at our school is weird, but it’s the way she looks that scares me.
