“What are you talking about?” she demanded, yelling in a whisper. “I didn’t do this, Nick! I went straight back to the hut. I never saw Emily, and even if I had, do you honestly think I’m capable of murdering someone? Where is this coming from?” Her eyes narrowed at me, so much pain in them, but I had to know the truth.
“I…I’d never suggest you could do anything like this, it’s just…” I took a deep breath and forced myself to continue. “Last night when you came out of the hut, when you asked what happened and we told you…”
“Yeah?”
The truth was there, pounding against the walls of my brain, begging me to say what I knew. Four words. Just four little words that would make her hate me even more than she likely already did. But I had to say them. I had to. “You…didn’t look surprised.”
Her hands were back in her lap again, and when she caught me staring, she pulled them apart. “What are you talking about?”
“You didn’t look surprised when we told you Emily was dead. If…if anything, you looked…well,” I closed my eyes, “you looked relieved.”
Her back straightened. “Screw you, Nick. I can’t believe you’re asking me this, and I can’t believe you’d think I’m some monster capable of it. I thought you were my friend—”
“I am—”
“Apparently not. I thought you knew me better. I’d never have asked you this. Never. I know you, trust you.” She stood up abruptly, dusting her hands on her shirt.
“I’m not saying you did anything, I was just asking a question. I’d never tell anyone, even if you did, you know that. I’m trying to protect you, Laura.”
“There’s nothing to protect,” she squealed, her voice too loud. She lowered it. “Please just…just leave me alone.” With that, she stormed away, and I watched her go, so conflicted on what to do.
Last night, two unthinkable things happened—one very good, and the other devastating.
I needed to deal with them both. But how, without knowing the truth? Why had Laura kissed me? Why had she let what happened, happen? Why had she been so upset about Emily today?
What happened to Emily?
As those questions swirled through my mind, a new one began to form. Two. Three. They took root. Begging to be answered.
Why hadn’t Laura answered my question directly? Why hadn’t she come out and told me she was innocent?
The last question was the loudest—screaming and clawing at things inside the ripples of my brain: What was I going to do if I discovered she wasn’t?
Chapter Twenty-Two
Natasha
“Hey.” The voice behind me caused me to jump, and I looked up from my book, lifting my sunglasses as Nick took a seat next to me in the empty beach chair.
“Hey…” I stared at him. “Where’s Megan?”
“She went with Laura to get some food for Andy. Brad says he’s not doing well.”
I clicked my tongue and closed my book. “Poor Andy. The first girl he actually seemed to care about in years…”
“I know,” he said softly, shaking his head and staring off at the horizon.
“You planning to go for a swim?” I asked, gesturing to his swimming trunks and bare chest.
“Nah, just getting some sun.” He looked down, his arms resting on his bent knees. “Nothing feels right to be doing right now, you know?”
I did know. Oh, how I knew. No matter what, I felt like I was behaving wrong. We couldn’t enjoy ourselves. We couldn’t relax. We barely knew her, so we couldn’t grieve. Andy didn’t want anyone around, so we couldn’t comfort him. Every move, every single decision felt wrong.
“I think we’re all just doing the best we can to be there for our friend.” I paused, because what I was about to say might sound crazy. “Do you think Manu was right? That she just went for a swim and got stuck in a current?”
The answer came after some hesitation. “I don’t know. It’s possible, I guess.” He looked at me then. “But not the most probable answer.”
“I hadn’t seen her swim in the ocean at all. Truth be told, I hadn’t seen her go near the water. So, what would make her decide to go for a swim last night? Why would she do it alone?”
Nick’s brows drew down, and he shook his head. “I just don’t know, but I don’t want to think about the alternative.”
“What? That someone did it? Hurt her?”
He nodded. “It’s one or the other.”
A cold chill ran over me, and I wrapped my arms around myself to warm up. “But who?”
He rubbed his hands over his knees, not responding at first. When he did, he wouldn’t meet my eyes. “I don’t know. I need you to tell me what happened at the spa yesterday.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, taking in his serious expression.
“When you guys left, everything seemed fine, but when you came back, Emily was obviously upset about something. Did anything strange happen? You said she kept talking about secrets. Was that it? Nothing else weird? Nothing to give you a hint what she might’ve been talking about?”
“No, nothing. Not that I know of, anyway.” I paused, because it was only a partial truth—something had happened. Something strange. But I wasn’t sure what I could tell him. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure what I knew.
“Everything was fine the whole time? You all got along? No drama?”
I pursed my lips at him. “Why are you asking so many questions, Nick?”
“Because I want to know the truth. When you left, Emily seemed fine. Something happened between going to the spa and meeting for dinner, when she was obviously upset about something. And the next time we all saw her, she was dead. Did someone tell her something? About Andy? Or…or was there some sort of a disagreement?”
“No, Nick, there was no disagreement. I’m telling you everything was fine.
