Whether he or anyone else believes me or not, I know what I saw, and Flint’s warning suddenly rings horribly true.
I can almost feel the ghost of their breath, smell the blood...
They’ll kill me.
They almost did.
And anyone else who knows.
Suddenly I’m not so keen to get out of here. My fingers curl around the sheet, like they’ve got a mind of their own. Jet’s eyes track the movement, but I don’t care. Swallowing down the rising panic clawing at my throat, I ask, “How d’you know they won’t just kill me anyway when they find out I didn’t die?”
Jet shrugs. “We don’t.” His expression doesn’t change when he adds, “But as long as they don’t do it near here...”
Then they don’t give a fuck.
I’m speechless.
Horrified.
Scared shitless.
“Fuck’s sake, Jet.” Flint rubs a hand across his face. When he speaks again, his tone is considerably warmer and softer than Jet’s. “We have no way of knowing what they’ll do when they find out you’re alive. But if you stick to the story that you came off your bike, and don’t go to the police, thenmaybethey’ll leave you alone.”
Maybe.
Then his words sink in, and my stomach hollows out. “Whereismy bike?” Please don’t tell me it’s still out there in the forest.The thought makes me feel sick all over again. I restored that bike with money my mum left me.
After the house, it feels like the only thing I have left of her.
Fuck. The house.
It’s Sunday today, at least I think it is. “What day is it?”
Flint frowns. “Tuesday. And your bike’s here in our garage. If anyone asks, we’re repairing it for you.”
His words barely register.
It’s Tuesday.
FuckingTuesday.
My house, myhome,is no longer that.
My dad will have left already.
I wonder if he tried to contact me.
“Give me my phone,” I try again. When Flint hesitates, I glare at him, not even caring that he could kill me and not give a shit. I feel hollowed out inside. I have nowhere to go. I can’t go back to Ash’s, not now. Not with this hanging over me.
Maybe I should take Dad up on his offer.
“As of Sunday, I have no home to go back to. I know you don’t care one way or the other, but I’d like to have somewhere to go when I leave here.” He still makes no move to hand it over, andfuckhim. I smile, aiming for one as cold as Jet’s, as I add, “Ash won’t wait much longer to come looking for me. In fact, I bet he’s already on his way.”
Flint shares a look with Jet and satisfaction curls inside me.
“Stop him.” He thrusts my phone at me.
“And you better hope you can convince him,” Jet offers, his smile more menacing than anything I could manage. “Because if they’re watching him or us, you just put a target on his back.”
