“Natasha’s outside talking to Nick. They seem upset.” He slid the door the rest of the way open as my blood ran cold and I rushed forward.
No.
“Brad, wait!” I moved quickly, trying to stop my husband from discovering whatever it was he was about to discover—there were too many possibilities. Had Natasha found out? Had Nick told her? “Brad, stop! Please! Wait!”
He didn’t stop, though. Didn’t wait. Not when I reached the door, not when I hurried down the porch, my flip flops slowing me down as I reached the sand. The rain slapped my face, blurring my vision as I tried to keep up. I bent over and pulled my shoes off, tossing them back onto the porch and hurrying behind him. “Brad!” I screamed, no regard for the fact that Andy and Emily should’ve been sleeping next door.
Natasha and Nick were deep in conversation, oblivious to the storm, and I spied Megan standing beside Nick, her arms crossed and a sour expression on her face. What was happening? What did they know?
Brad reached them before I did, and I struggled with whether to speed up or slow down. As I grew nearer, I noticed the distraught expression on Natasha’s face.
“What happened?” I asked, pulling her into a hug as soon as I reached the group, not bothering to wait for an answer. She never cried, never worried, so if she was upset, something was very, very wrong.
Nick’s expression was washed clean of emotion, raindrops dripping from his hair and clothes. Megan looked as though she were going to be sick. Natasha wrapped her arms around me, and I realized she was shaking, trembling with sorrow.
“What is it?” I asked again, looking at Nick.
He swallowed, shaking his head.
Why was no one answering me?
Brad cleared his throat finally and spoke the words that would’ve sent me crashing to my knees if Natasha hadn’t had her arms around me.
“It’s Emily. She’s dead.”
My arms dropped from her shoulders, my body suddenly shaking as well, as if I had no control over it. My knees were so weak, I was sure I’d collapse at any moment. “What do you mean she’s dead?”
Natasha pulled away from me, wiping a hand across her face to clear the water, though it had little effect. “She drowned, Laura.” She pointed toward the sea, raging and lapping with fury. “Jaren’s down there with Andy. He really needs us right now, but I have to go get Manu. We need to call the police. It’s bad. Andy’s…it’s not good.”
“Oh my God,” I whispered, unable to form coherent thoughts. Nothing made sense. “How did this happen?”
“We don’t know,” Natasha said. “Andy isn’t talking. He’s just crying, screaming… I’ve never seen him so upset. We heard him screaming. It was what woke us up. Jaren sent me to get Manu, but he wanted me to wake someone up to walk there with me. I was on my way here when Nick walked outside.”
“I heard the screams, too,” Nick explained. “I was coming to see what was happening when I ran into Natasha.”
“We were coming to wake you next,” Natasha said.
“This is terrible,” Megan cried, tears mixing with rain on her cheeks. “Poor Andy.”
“I can go get Manu,” Nick said, not looking at me. “You ladies shouldn’t be on the beach alone. Go down and take care of Andy, okay?” He looked at Megan, who nodded.
“Of course, Nicky. Be careful.” She leaned forward and kissed his cheek, and I inhaled a sharp breath, hoping no one would notice the knee-jerk reaction.
“Want me to go with you?” Brad asked, and my chest tightened. No. Say no.
“No,” Nick said, way too quickly. At least we were on the same page about that. “I’ll be okay. Take care of the girls.” He looked at me briefly, giving a quick nod before spinning around and hurrying across the sand.
Together, we made our way back down toward the ocean’s edge, where I could see Andy and Jaren sitting facing each other over Emily’s lifeless body. Heavy rain came down all around them, but they made no move to shield themselves from it.
How had this happened? It felt like a dream. A nightmare. An impossible tragedy.
How was this possible? I couldn’t catch my breath as tears welled in my eyes.
How had we come to this?
How had so much changed so quickly?
Would Andy ever survive this?
I wrapped my arms through Natasha’s and Megan’s, to comfort them, but also to support myself. I wasn’t sure I could get any closer. It was too much. It was all too much. Jaren sat silently, letting Andy grieve. It was enough to destroy me.
Megan unlatched her arm when we grew closer, crying loudly as she walked over to where Andy sat. She touched his shoulder, and he looked up at her, searching for something only someone as peaceful as she was could give. She took his hand. “Oh, Andy.” He fell into her arms, her face twisted in just as much agony as his was. Together, they cried, and she rubbed his head and whispered softly in his ear. I was thankful for Megan in that moment. More thankful than ever before. She was a warm energy we desperately needed that night. The only warm thing left, it seemed.
I just had to put what had happened with Nick—the fact that I’d betrayed her friendship and my marriage in the worst way—out of my mind for the night.
We sat in silence. Natasha and I gripped on to each other to keep us steady, to keep us standing, while Brad made his way down to sit beside Jaren. No one moved after that. No one seemed to know what to say. I felt like I was going to be sick. Maybe pass out. Maybe both.
“What happened?” Megan asked Andy at one point, through her
