Ryan shakes his head. “Not like that, man. Just helps me get an understanding of what her headspace was like, that’s all. Plus”—he nods at me— “you mentioned she seemed fairly intoxicated but claimed to only have had two cocktails with dinner?”
I almost tell them what she said about drinking alone before the date, but I stop short, snapping my mouth closed.
“She said she was sure she never left her drinks unattended with him” is all I say instead.
Everett tilts his head at me. “No. What else were you going to say?”
Fuck.
“I don’t think it’s my place.”
I think Elena would kick my ass if I told her brothers what she said to me in confidence while she was under the influence. But I think she’d go ballistic if I shared that secret in front of Ryan, too, someone she hardly knows.
Leo must read my face when my eyes flitter to the Sheriff, because he says, “Ryan, can we talk to August alone for a second?”
“Yeah.” He nods. “I’ve actually gotta go. My shift starts in half an hour.” Walking over to the sink and dumping his coffee mug, he continues, “Look, there isn’t a whole lot we can do. I’ve got a description and his name recorded. If Elena is willing to share his dating profile with me, I can take that down too. We can keep the information to aid if someone else comes forward with a similar report, or if we can catch him in some sort of act.” He looks at Leo. “And you can trespass him from the boardwalk. He’ll be fined if he’s caught down there again.”
“Already done,” Leo says.
Ryan nods again, clapping Everett on the shoulder and thanking me once more before he leaves. I’m left being stared down by my two hulking best friends, knowing Everett must’veheard every ounce of vitriol I spewed at his sister last night—without any of the context.
Because we never had the chance to tell them—tell anyone—all that had happened in the months before my brother died.
“Listen…” I run a hand down my face. “About what I said to her last night…”
Everett shakes his head. “That’s a conversation for later. A conversation you need to have with her first.”
I nod, leaning back against the counter and bracing my body weight on my forearms. “She just…seemed like a shell last night,” I admit. “She was cowering under that guy. Shaking, and timid and terrified. You both know that’s not like her.”
Leo scratches the back of his neck, looking sad. “I think she lost her voice.”
“What do you mean?” Everett asks.
“She can’t write. She can’t talk about her feelings to anyone. I’m not surprised she’s forgotten how to stand up for herself too.”
We’re all quiet after that.
I feel out of place. This isn’t my problem to solve or my concern to have. Elena cut clear ties with me years ago, and despite last night’s minor hiccup, we’re not speaking. It’s not my business to be involved with her well-being…or lack thereof.
Yet I can’t stop myself from asking, “Everett, do you keep alcohol in the house?”
His brows furrow, mouth tilting downward. “Some. Why?”
Fuck. I sigh. “I think she’d really fucking hate me for telling you guys this. I’m positive she didn’t intend to say it to me last night.”
“If her safety or health is at risk, you need to speak the fuck up, August,” Leo says.
“She seemed a lot more intoxicated than two cocktails would have suggested, especially with her tolerance. I came to the sameconclusion last night that Ryan did this morning. I thought he might’ve put something in one of her drinks, so I asked about it.” I run a hand through my hair. “She said she’d been drinking here at the house before the guy picked her up. She claimed it was to calm her nerves, but I don’t know, man.”
Leo leans his elbows on the kitchen counter, head falling into his hands.
Everett stares at his feet, brows drawn, chest heaving. After a moment of silence, he opens the cupboards above the fridge, revealing a few bottles of liquor. Two fifths of vodka, one of which is less than half-full, and a bottle of whiskey that looks mostly untouched.
“They’re all pretty full,” he says. “We really only drink at home on holidays, but…I don’t remember buying this vodka. I… I don’t think this is mine.”
I wish I hadn’t been looking at Leo when Everett said the words, because the devastation that engulfs his face is gut-wrenching. It’s like watching someone give up hope in real time. It makes my stomach hurt and my soul ache. As much as I want to hate her for all she’s put me through, all she’s putting her family through, I can’t help but feel like this is my fault.
I’m the catalyst that put all of us here. The one who couldn’t stop lusting after his brother’s girlfriend, the one who insisted on keeping secrets, the one who walked away from that beach in stormy weather, leaving my only sibling to the raging waves.
