“June thirteenth, nineteen ninety-seven,” she recited, staring at me strangely. “Why?”
I did some quick mental math, trying to keep my expression still. No. “You’ve had so long to wonder about your parents, and I’m sure they’ve done the same.” In fact, I knew at least one had. “So, maybe just do what Laura has asked and give her some time. Maybe telling Brad is a bad idea. She knows him best, after all.” If she told Brad, he’d tell her the truth. That he wasn’t her father. If that came out, there was too great a chance that he’d leave Laura. If that happened, could I be sure Nick would stay with me? Especially at the reappearance of their daughter? My hands were shaking, and I shoved them into the pockets of my robe.
“Don’t you think he wants to know about me?” I looked behind me, panic settling in as I tried to figure out what to say. No matter what, I couldn’t let her tell Brad.
“I’m positive he does. Positive. But why don’t we give Laura a bit of time to decide how to proceed, okay? Tell you what, do you want to talk about this later? When we can have a little more privacy? You can vent all you’d like.” I looked over my shoulder. “Right now, there’s too much of a chance someone will overhear. We can talk more after dinner. What do you say? The girls are going to be wondering why we haven’t come back and, for right now, I think the best thing is for you to abide by Laura’s wishes and keep her secret.” I put an arm around her, forcing a smile. “We’re going to get this all worked out, okay?”
“You really think so?” Emily asked.
“I know so. We just have to do it the right way.”
Emily smiled then, an eerily familiar smile that had bile rising in my throat. “Thanks, Megan. I really appreciate you.”
“Don’t mention it,” I said. Please, don’t.
That night, I lay awake, worrying about Emily. Where was she? What had she told Andy? Why hadn’t she stuck to the plan to meet me after dinner instead of bailing in the middle of the meal? My thoughts were interrupted by a noise at the window.
Tick, tick, tick.
I stood up, wondering if it was her, but was shocked to see Laura standing outside the window. I jumped back in the darkness as Nick began to rouse from sleep.
I moved quickly. What was she doing? Did she know I knew? Did she know I’d seen her?
Without thinking, I hopped back into bed. I didn’t want to face her. I couldn’t. I threw the covers over me and closed my eyes just as Nick sat up, looking around the room. He stood up as the noise came again.
Tick, tick, tick.
She was throwing either sand or rocks at the window. I couldn’t be sure which. Within a few moments, he’d pulled his pants on and walked out the door. I could hear them whispering, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. Was she going to tell him? My heart plummeted at the thought.
As their voices grew fainter, the pounding of my heart drowning them out, I opened my eyes. They were no longer in the doorway. I looked to the window, watching them walk out across the sand. Away from the hut.
I slipped out of bed again, making my way out the door and down the stairs cautiously. I didn’t want him to see me. If Laura was going to tell him, I wanted to hear what he thought. I wanted to know what he would tell her. Was he going to choose me? Or would he say one thing to her and another to me? My heart breaking was worth the risk to know the truth.
I followed them as they made their way toward a clump of palm trees, hiding behind one myself as they finally stopped. I breathed heavily, holding my skirt back as the wind picked up. Please don’t see me. If they caught me, there’d be no denying what I was doing. I put a hand on my chest, willing myself to hear their quiet voices as they began to speak.
“It’s about Emily.” Oh, God. So I was right. She was going to tell him.
“What about her?” Nick asked.
“Something’s…off about her. Have you noticed? I’m worried she’s up to something.” I sucked in a breath, listening carefully. What was she doing? This wasn’t how I expected the conversation to go.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“I just…I don’t think she invited us here for the reasons she said she did.” I put a hand over my lips as I felt a drop of rain hit my scalp. If it started to rain, they’d make a run for it and find me here. Listening.
“What reason could there be?” he asked. Please don’t tell him the reason. Please.
“I don’t… I don’t know. I just have a strange feeling about her. I don’t think we can trust her.” What was she doing? Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a movement down by the water. Emily. Off in the distance. She couldn’t see us, wasn’t looking our way, but if she looked up and saw Laura, I knew she wouldn’t heed my advice to give her space. And if Nick was there, would he put it all together? I had to stop her. But how?
“Is this about her and Brad?”
I peeked around the tree, looking to where Laura and Nick stood, completely lost in each other. The way he was staring at her caused my chest to tighten. There was no denying he’d choose her if ever given the chance. “What about her and Brad?”
“What did Brad say when you told him?” Told him what? Had she already told Nick about Emily?
“I haven’t told him… I wanted to talk to you first.” She looked down, and my heart sank. I felt tears prick my eyes.
“Why me?”
“You’re
