He laughed. “You know, with you, it doesn’t sound all that bad.” Liam looked at me. “I couldn’t stand the thought of not seeing you every day. I missed you last summer, and this time I want to get it right. I want to spend the entire summer with you.” I felt my heart expanding in my chest.
I hadn’t gone out of the country until I lived with Margaret and John. And still, travel seemed magical to me; I would always feel that seeing the world was not something to be taken for granted.
I had never been to Croatia, never lived on a boat, and I had never been on a trip with someone I liked this much.
“If you agree to one thing,” I said.
“What’s that?”
“No checked bags.”
Liam grinned. “Easy.”
He kissed me, pushing me back onto the bed. I pulled my shirt over my head and was beginning to tug on his when he took my face in his hands. “I’m falling in love with you.”
My mouth opened, but no words came out. “Wait.” I felt so many things at once, and one of those things was panic as I thought backto the last time I’d said those words. “I—” I started to say it back, but he gently brushed a curl away from my cheek.
“It’s okay.”
I smiled at him. “I…like you so much…”
He kissed me. “I know.”
—
My phone vibrateson my desk and I glance at the screen, surprised to see a text, not from Liam, but from Ben.I know it’s none of my business…
I ignore it, of course. But then it vibrates again, so I sigh and look at the screen—but I just thought this was weird.He’s sent a picture this time, and when I see it, I go still.
There’s a picture of Liam in a cloister on campus with Professor DuPont.
I enlarge the photo to see the object passed between them. It’s a laptop. A laptop with a Totoro sticker on it. It’s Amy’s stolen laptop. The sight of it makes me go cold.
What were they doing with her laptop?
My head spins as I remember—Liam borrowed my key back in December. He could have made a copy, and, oh god. The implication of this is almost too much to bear:Had DuPont enlisted Liam to find out how much we knew?
Chapter Fifty-Three
Maya
July 2023, one month later
I’m lying in bed nextto Nate, when my phone lights up on the bedside table and I roll over to look at the screen. It’s a message from Daisy:We’re going to miss you this weekend. Still time to change your mind!And with it she’s sent a photo of swimsuits and other vacation items spread out on her bed.
They are going to the British Virgin Islands for Kai’s bachelorette party, and I was supposed to go with them, but I had told her I couldn’t go. I just don’t have the strength right now.
Sighing, I scroll through my email. Messages about the gallery show. Condolences from other moms at Dani’s school. And then one that catches my eye. It’s from someone named Trevor Jones.
Hi Maya,
I’m sorry to reach out like this—I got your email from the alumni directory, I hope that’s okay. Anyway, I heard what happened to your sister…I’m so sorry. No one can understand what you’re going through, but having lost my sister, too, I can imagine some of the pain.
The next sentence makes the blood drain from my face:My sister, Lila, was in Sterling Club with you…Oh god, Trevor,Trevor Jones…Lila’s brother. He must have been a teenager when she died. My heart beats faster, and a wave of dizziness makes the words swim onthe screen. When my eyes focus again, I keep reading, more hurriedly now.
Anyway, I feel really weird emailing you like this, especially with everything you’re going through, but…I just thought you should know, Naomi got in touch with me the week before she died. She wanted to talk about Lila…
My stomach drops. Had Naomi found out what happened to Lila? How much did she know? I’m overcome with guilt. How had she gotten tangled up in this mess? Was it the reason she died?
