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Owen: Nearly took you over with her ha.

The truth rose like water, higher with each reread, until it filled my lungs and cut off my breath. My knees collapsed beneath me, and Ronan’s strong arm caught me around my waist, holding me up. I tried to swallow, but my mouth had gone so dry that my tongue stuck to the roof.

The date of the messages was two days after April died. While I’d been lying in bed, going over every minute of that night, they’d been joking about it.

I had been the one who brought her to the water tower. I wanted to climb it, to see how far we could see from the platform. April hadn’t wanted to go when I suggested it, but caved after I kept insisting. Those words would haunt me for the rest of my life.

I remembered reaching the ladder and realizing I’d left our drinks near the fire. April had told me to hurry as I went back for them.

The bottles weren’t where we’d left them. I’d been annoyed, digging through the cooler until I found the ones with our names on them shoved at the back.

That’s what I’d been doing while April… A pain so sharp it felt like a blade slipped through my ribs, twisting as the night played out in my memories.

By the time I got back, April was on the ground. Her body was at all the wrong angles, and red stained her blonde hair.

The glass bottles I’d been holding crashed into the ground. Dylan had turned toward me. He’d been standing over her with Owen and Mason.

I tried to reach her, to check for a pulse, but Owen caught my arm. He told me it was too late. She was already gone.

How could she be gone? She’d just been laughing, rolling her eyes because I’d forgotten our drinks. I sank to my knees, unmoving, while someone called for an ambulance. April’s eyes were open, and I kept waiting for her to look at me.

“What the fuck did you do, Gwen?” Dylan had demanded.

I hadn’t understood the question. I could barely understand what I was seeing.

“We saw you bring her out here,” Owen said.

More people came running from the house. I turned toward them, desperate for someone to help, but they were all looking at me.

“You’ve always been jealous of her.” Mason’s face had twisted with disgust. “Jesus, Gwen. So you killed her?”

Someone gasped. I tried to tell them I hadn’t done anything, but Dylan kept talking over me. People I’d known for years backed away when I looked to them for help.

April was dead… they had killed her.

“Oh my God.” My voice broke.

Thorne’s hand closed around my arm, but I barely felt it.

I’d thought about going back for those drinks more times than I could count. I knew how long I’d spent in the kitchen, how many people had been between me and the back door. I’d made myself remember every pointless second…

While I’d been in there, April had been fighting them as they tried to rape her. She must have been so scared, trapped up there with them.

I stared at the words about her biting him until the screen blurred.

If I’d only made it back to her sooner… A sob forced its way out of me. Ronan pulled me closer, and I clung to his arm, not caring that my nails dug into his skin. For years, I’d imagined April alone on that tower, losing her footing while she waited for me. Now I had to imagine her trying to get away from people we’d both trusted.

The messages on the screen changed, revealing more of their texts.

Owen: Gwen’s telling everyone she wasn’t even there.

Mason: Good luck with that.

Dylan: Fuck, her face was hilarious when you said she was jealous.

Owen: Man, I almost busted out laughing because of you.

Dylan: We should have waited and pushed her off the tower too.