“What does this have to do with me going to the camp and finding Sadie?”
Gabriel shuts his eyes before delivering the next blow. “I was there that night.”
I freeze, every muscle locking. “What…what do you?—?”
“The night Sadie disappeared, I was at the beach close to the camp…,” he explains, his head dropping. “I went to see Scarlett. Sadie was there.”
TWENTY-ONE
SCARLETT
Six Months Ago
After that first night when I snuck off to meet Gabriel on the beach, we met again two more times, at a luxury boutique hotel in town, The Clarinet.
The last time was two days ago, and when we were together, Judy called him to ask where he was.
It was around eight, and he froze when his phone lit up, her name flashing across the screen like an accusation.
For a second, he just stared at it, panic tightening his jaw, and then he answered with the first lie that came to him.
He told her he was at a local bar. Saying he needed a drink to take the edge off the work-related stress he was going through.
Until that night, Gabriel barely drank, nothing stronger than wine. But when he hung up, he went straight for the minibar and knocked back two small bottles of whiskey in quick succession, wincing as the liquid scorched his tongue. He told me it was so she’d smell it on his breath later and believe him.
He knew she wouldn’t be pleased, but it was better than the alternative.
I didn’t realize it then, but I think that was the night he developed a taste for the strong stuff. The beginning of something that would follow him long after this.
When he rushed out of the room to go back to his wife, my best friend, something inside me finally broke and excitement curdled into disgust.
I sat there alone at the foot of the bed, staring at the empty glass he used, the crumpled sheets, the proof of what I’d become, and I knew I couldn’t do this anymore. I knew it with sudden, crystal clarity.
I decided then that the next time I saw Gabriel, I would end it. For all our sakes.
But Gabriel didn’t stop calling since then, even when I ignored him.
He texted and called again and again. I refused to respond until earlier this evening, when his calls turned frantic and desperate. He begged me to meet him again, just once more on the beach.
I told him the kids were having a bonfire later to celebrate their last night in Saltspray, and we adults were invited. I lied that I’d probably be busy.
I knew I wouldn’t be. True to their word, the camp staff were flawless with the children. The accompanying adults were barely needed at all.
Gabriel didn’t give up. He was desperate to meet me tonight. I realized that trying to put off the inevitable wasn’t going to work, so I promised I’d try to slip away if a chance presented itself.
And now it suddenly does.
The children are absorbed in a game near the fire, laughing, with their faces glowing from the orange flames.
I step away from the bonfire and down the darker stretch of beach, my heart pounding harder with every step, towardThe Drip, a closed beach bar Gabriel mentioned. It’s a sagging wooden structure at the edge of the camp’s territory, half-swallowed by dunes and shadows.
I see him waiting there and as soon as we’re face to face, I don’t hesitate. “I can’t do this anymore, Gabriel. I’m sorry, but it’s over.”
The words scrape my throat raw because I don’t want them to be true. In the short time we’ve been together, he has made me happier than any man ever has, even Matt.
“You don’t mean that.” He steps closer, his words nearly stolen by the wind. “I think I love you, Scarlett.”
I freeze and my hand goes to clutch my throat as I struggle to breathe.
