Chapter 19

Jacey's shriek tears through the dawn. Her body starts to plummet off the ledge. Before I can move, a dark blur flies past us, headed for the cliff.

Tyler.

Alexandra and I follow, close enough to taste the dirt his frantic footsteps kick up. When I reach the rail, Noah has the heel of Jacey's sneaker in his fingertips.

Barely.

Tyler sinks down beside Noah, attempting to get a better hold on some part of Jacey. But the ledge drops off so abruptly, he can't reach her without risking his own fall.

He takes the risk, inching forward under the railing, using only his feet to grip the rocks as he stretches. "Be careful!" I shout, slipping under the guardrail and diving for his boot. I pull just as he clutches Jacey's ankle in one hand. Alexandra grabs his other boot.

"I got her!" Tyler yells. "Noah, let go and help us up!"

Noah's entire body is shaking, but it's like he can't hear us.

"Noah!" I scream, my own hands trembling, my grip on Tyler slipping. "Let go! We have her!" But Tyler's boot skids, crushing my finger against a rock. I grunt as the sharp pain rushes through my hand.

Noah's head turns suddenly, like he's come out of a trance. He releases his minuscule grasp on Jacey's sneaker, stumbles, then pulls Tyler's other ankle. The rest of us keep tugging on Tyler until he's on secure enough ground for Noah to reach for Jacey.

They heft her up the rest of the way, her body bobbing against the rocks like a rag doll. Noah drags her to safety, and she sinks into his arms. Her face is scraped and bleeding, dirt embedded in the wounds.

Tyler, breathing heavily, glances from Noah to Jacey. "What were you doing?"

Noah's eyes slant beneath crooked frames. "She said she saw something down there."

"Yeah," I mutter, noting that Jacey's fist is balled tightly at her side. "Evidence."

I shuffle a little closer, afraid to touch the cold metal bars. Like they were responsible for what happened to Piper, like the rail somehow gave way. I hover inches behind it, peering out to where brambles and a rainbow of alpine wildflowers sprout on the face of the mountain below the rock formations. The sun is higher now, bathing the canyon in a warm pink glow.

A gust of wind whips through my ponytail, and I flinch. I back away from the railing, as if that breeze could send me tumbling down the mountainside like my sister did. Then I remember my pulsing finger. The nail is cracked beneath smeared blood.

Tyler turns his attention from Jacey to me. "Let me see," he says, picking himself up from the dirt.

"I'm fine," I say, which doesn't stop him from taking my hand in his and squinting at it like he's some sort of medical professional.

A few feet away, Noah helps Jacey sit up. He brushes some dirt off her face and then shifts, wrapping an arm around her and easing her back against his chest. The way he looks down at her, the way she snuggles into him—I don't know how I could've missed it before.

Alexandra finds the notebook she left in the dirt, and after cleaning it off on her jeans, she moves closer. "What happened?"

Jacey removes a leaf from her disheveled ponytail. "The better question is, why did everyone follow us?"

"Because we know what you're doing," I snap. Beside me, Tyler stiffens, letting go of my hand. "We know about the day Piper fell. And we know you came out here to clean up your mess before the cops figure everything out."

Noah's brow furrows, and Jacey pales. A smothering, sickening silence falls over the group.

"That's n-not—" Jacey stammers.

"Come on," I say. "Tell us about how you were up here with my sister when she fell off this cliff."

"What?" Noah asks. "Where are you getting this?"

But Jacey doesn't answer.

"Go ahead," I prod. "Tell him how you met Piper up here that afternoon and how you're practically throwing yourself off this cliff to cover your tracks."

Jacey blinks, then stares ahead blankly like a newborn bird. "No," she says softly. "I came to look for evidence so I could find out who did this to Piper."

" You did this to Piper," I spit. "Abby told me you were willing to do whatever it took to get my sister to meet you. She thought she was helping reunite the two of you, but really, you were planning something. And it ended with my sister in a coma."

"No, that's not—I mean, yes , I wanted Piper to meet me up here. And I lied in the note to make it seem like it was a Survival Club thing so she'd come. Because I knew she'd never agree to it if it was just me."

"Because you backstabbed her."

Jacey reddens. "Yes, but I—" Her head falls. "I kissed Noah. But I was going to take full responsibility for it. To try to get Piper to forgive him , at the very least." Her hand is curled into a fist, and she presses it to her scraped-up forehead. "I wanted to speak to her here because of all the memories this place holds for us. I thought she might listen to me if I could just get her up here. So I asked Abby to pass along the note." She runs her knuckles up into her hair and then down again, so hard it leaves a red trail on her skin.

"But then I chickened out," she says, barely above a whisper. "I never went to meet her." Tears glisten in her eyes, and she bites her lip. "I panicked. I had no excuse for what I'd done. I thought maybe if I gave it some more time, the pain would thaw a bit, and I could try again."

"And we're just supposed to take your word for it."

Alexandra raises her hand like we're in school. "Maybe we should—"

"Quiet," I interrupt. "We're going to get a confession out of her if we have to dangle her over this cliff again."

"I never met Piper here," Jacey repeats. "I never even saw her that day. I'm here to look for evidence. That's the truth. Because you're right—it was my fault. I sent her here, and then I never showed up. So I have"—her voice fractures—"no idea what happened to her." Tears spill down her cheeks, but I just want to punch her in the face.

"Savannah, you said someone threatened Piper. That someone might've been up here with her. I just thought that since I was the one who sent her up here in the first place, I should check the area for clues." She points toward the cliff and then glances down at her hand, balled so tightly her knuckles glow white.

"Prove it," I say. "Show us what you risked your life to grab off the mountainside."

Jacey hesitates, cupping her fist with her other hand. Suddenly, I'm not even sure she knows what's in there. Her fingers unfold one at a time, palm overturning to reveal something shiny and metallic.

I squint and take a step closer. "What is that?"

But as soon as the words are out, I know.

It's a metal link. A single piece of a chain.