Chapter 32
Angeni Luna
It was early morning, and Freya was sleeping, nestled between Angeni and also-sleeping Erik. Sitka had brought the baby to Angeni sometime around three o’clock, and Angeni had told her it was fine for Freya to stay until morning. Angeni had drifted off after feeding Freya, but she was up again now, alert to a noise from the hallway.
It sounded like someone was in the hallway closet, rummaging. She couldn’t imagine who would be up already, and what was in the closet that they could need?
She thought about getting up, but she didn’t want to wake Freya. These last hours of sleep were so precious for the three of them. Things had been so hard lately, so depleting. They needed their rest.
The rummaging went on, and she took inventory of the closet. There was an assortment of towels and blankets and winter coats and boots. There were some tools. And there were the guns.
She closed her eyes, focused on deep breathing to try to get herself back to sleep. Finally, the rummaging stopped, and the hallway turned silent again, but Angeni still lay awake, waiting for something—she didn’t know what. Eventually, just as dawn broke, she started to drift off.
Chapter 33
Sasha
It was nearly ten in the morning. Sasha had packed her belongings and was ready to go. She’d had one last breakfast with Freya. The energy between Angeni, Aurora, and Erik was still tense and strange, but Sasha just focused on the baby. She was feeling more wistful than she’d anticipated. She would miss Freya. She knew Freya wouldn’t remember her as she grew up, but maybe she would remember the feeling Sasha had given her—a feeling of pure love, love without expectations or conditions.
She decided she’d leave during Freya’s midmorning nap, when the rest of the group was busy on the land and Angeni was attempting to work on her book. She’d texted Jay:
vibes here are super weird. coming home today
He’d sent back a GIF of a church choir singing “Hallelujah.”
After she settled Freya for her nap, Sasha went out to the front porch to take in the views. She understood now why Angeni loved the trees so much. They were like ever-present companions, witnesses, steadfastand strong. It had been a strange time, these weeks as Sitka. It felt like a fever dream. There was no explanation for it besides grief. She missed Daphne so much. Nothing would make that better. Justice for her sister was not taking down a social media influencer. There was no justice for her sister. Justice would be if she was alive again, and she never would be. Somehow, Sasha would have to learn to accept this.
Behind her, she heard the screen on the front door slam shut. Matt and Jer kept talking about fixing it so it wouldn’t slam, but they had yet to do so.
As Sasha turned around, she expected to see Angeni there, likely with Freya in her arms because she continued to insist that was how the baby slept best.
But it was not Angeni there.
It was Aurora. And she had a gun.
Instinctively, Sasha put her hands up, as if to show Aurora that she did not have a weapon. Aurora just stood there, a foot beyond the doorway, her arms outstretched, holding the pistol aimed at Sasha.
“What are you doing?” Sasha said.
“You need to tell her the truth. She doesn’t believe me.”
Aurora didn’t sound like herself. Her voice was high pitched and strained. Her eyes looked wild.
“Aurora, please put the gun down.”
“About Erik. About the letter. All of it. You need to tell her. You’re going to ruin everything. Everything!”
“Okay, yeah, okay,” Sasha said. “Just put the gun down, okay?”
Sasha saw Aurora’s eyes flick to the cluster of trees separating the house from the main road. Sasha was too afraid to take her eyes off Aurora, but she heard what Aurora must have heard—was it the crunch of footsteps? She could see a slight panic on Aurora’s face.
“Who’s coming?” Aurora asked Sasha. She took a step toward Sasha, the gun still pointed right at Sasha’s face.
“I don’t know,” Sasha said. “I swear. Maybe just a deer.”
Aurora peered at the trees, watching, then turned back to Sasha.
“You need to tell her the truth,” she said again.
