Chapter 24

I drive home slowly, knowing that if I drag it out a little longer, my dad will be at work and my mom will be in bed after a long day shift, and I won’t have to pretend that I’m okay. I’m so tired of pretending, I feel like I might fall apart.

While I drive, I tell Siri to call Rhett.

I really am a different person now.

“Hey,” he says, his voice light, as if he was looking forward to my call.

“Well, that was a disaster,” I tell him. “But it was pretty much what I expected.”

“What happened?”

“Where are you?”

“Driving back from Ruthie’s. Has she always been that annoying? Anyway, where are you?”

“I’m driving home too. Can you meet me down the trail near the creek? I don’t want to talk about this on the phone.”

“Sure, I’m a minute from there.”

“Same. I think I see you,” I reply, noticing a car weaving around the hill, the same stretch of road where we hit Arthur. I haven’t used it since.

Rhett stays on the line, though neither of us says anything else. I watch his car grow larger until we both pull onto the dirt road, the one that leads to a flattened patch of grass as near to the creek as a car can get. It’s sort of a makeshift parking lot.

We don’t go that far, though, both just pulling off the road enough to not be seen by anyone passing by.

I get out as he walks over to my car.

“Well?” he asks, holding his arms out to the sides.

“Couldn’t tell a hundred percent if he’s in on it, didn’t mention the badge, but he did defend them and told me I’m the problem.”

“He’s a douche. Nothing at Ruthie’s, couldn’t find another phone, but she’d probably hide it well. What did Atlas say?”

“Oh, just that we’ve grown apart, we’re over, and he’s moving to Ohio after graduation rather than at the end of the summer. He’s known he wasn’t coming to California for months. At least he finally told me.”

“Right,” he replies, scratching the back of his neck. “Um, I’m sorry.”

I laugh, surprising myself that I can find anything amusing right now. “You’re sorry?”

“I mean, not really. That’s what you say, though, right?”

“I guess.” I lean back against my car. “He wasn’t bothered when I went in his room, so if it was him who took the badge, I don’t think he has it now. He’d want to give it to Luce straightaway.”

Rhett moves closer, leaning next to me. “So the working theory now is that Luce and Jesse are setting you up. Maybe Atlas too. Ruthie is behind the messages.”

“Uh-huh. We’re no closer to knowing.”

I’m just down one boyfriend. Which I’m not sure I’m that cut up about anymore. He’s not exactly worth crying over, since I don’t think he gives a damn about me.

“Are you all right?”

“Yeah,” I mutter, pouting. Everything’s falling apart so fast I can barely keep up.

“You don’t look okay.”

“Kick a girl while she’s down, why don’t ya.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“What am I going to do now?”

“We’re going to steal the badge from Luce,” he replies, grinning like a cartoon villain. “All right, I know I’m not one of your crew or your asshole boyfriend—”

I cut in with “Ex-boyfriend.”

“You dodged a bullet. I’m not one of them, but I am here.”

“Atlas was supposed to be here.”

“That dude is sacrificing you for his own benefit. I’m here, Marley, and I’m willing to sacrifice everything to help you. Seriously, if it gets out that I know, college is over.”

I shake my head, taking his hand. “I will never tell anyone you knew. I promise, Rhett. I’ll protect you.”

He squeezes my hand, and it feels kind of strange. “How do you want to handle Luce?”

“Pass.”

“Wouldn’t a breakup be the very thing you’d go to your best friend for?” he asks, lifting a brow.

“Duh! Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Probably the thought of being set up for murder. Does things to your mind.”

Straight to the point. “Right. That. Okay, I’ll go to Luce’s now, cry on her shoulder, and snoop around her room.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Nothing. The less you’re involved, the better. You should go home, I’ll call you later.” Having a purpose and a plan is keeping me going. It’s…exciting.

He shoves his hand into his hair and exhales sharply. “The less I’m involved. You wouldn’t be in this situation at all if it wasn’t for me. I’m involved. I’ll do anything to keep you safe, so don’t push me out.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“Get used to it.”

“We’ll argue about this later. Right now, I need to build a solid case against them. All of them.”

Rhett’s brow rises. “You’re sure?”

“One hundred percent. I’m going to Luce’s. After, we can figure out what to do. There’s evidence in Luce’s uncle’s shed in her yard. The shovels that were used for…you know. We need to get them before they think of it.”

“If they haven’t already moved them,” he says.

“Rhett?”

“Go to Luce’s and keep her busy. I’ll get the shovels. No arguments. We don’t have much time because they’re already planning.”

“There are tons in there. It’s the two with blue handles. They’ll be very clean.”

He nods. “All right. You go ahead. I’ll park up the road so she doesn’t see.”

“Hop her back fence, you shouldn’t be seen that way,” I say as I walk back to my car.

We get back in our cars, and Rhett follows me and then cuts down the back street behind Luce’s house.

I park out front and knock on her door, not bothering to call ahead.

She opens the door a minute later.

“Hey, what’s up?” she says, flashing me a smile that’s as fake as a pair of Jordans from Wish.

“Can I come in? Atlas and I just broke up.”

Her brows lift high up her forehead. A little too high, as if she’s rehearsed this surprised expression.

“Yeah, come in. What happened?”

I shrug. “He said things have changed and he’s leaving for school right after graduation. Apparently, the long-distance thing won’t work now. It’s an excuse. Arthur changed everything. I just wish he’d admit it, you know? I’d rather hear the truth, no matter how much it might suck.”

She closes the door behind me and then gives me an awkward hug. Her arms are stiff; it’s not her usual bone-crushing embrace. I’ve lost her too. “Are you okay?” she asks.

“Not really.”

“I’m sorry. Let me grab us a soda and we’ll talk.”

“Yeah, I’ll meet you in your room.”

Her fingers circle my wrist as I turn away. I look back and she grimaces. “Sorry, it’s just that my room is a serious mess. We’re talking stuff everywhere. I’ve started the pre-college clear out. Can’t believe I’ve kept so many clothes that I haven’t worn in years. Go through to the game room, and I’ll be there in a sec.”

Luce’s game room has a huge sofa, a PlayStation, and a pool table. It’s a place we’ve hung out in for years. It’s where Atlas first admitted that he liked me.

He can go to hell.

I walk away from Luce, knowing that I need to get in her room because she’s never cared before about how messy it was.

It’ll only take her seconds to grab sodas, though, so I need to think of another way of getting in there. Her bedroom is downstairs, two doors away from the game room. I just have to think of a way to distract her for a few minutes.

I can’t believe we’re doing this.

No, I can’t believe we have to do this.

Somewhere outside, Rhett is breaking into her uncle’s shed. I just hope he gets the right shovels. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with them yet, but I’m not giving my ex-friends the opportunity to have potentially vital evidence.

Luce walks into the room as I’m sitting down. She hands me a soda and asks, “What happened with Atlas?”

Like you don’t know.

I plaster on a miserable expression. I don’t feel sad, I feel angry. It seeps from every pore on my skin and burns deep inside me. I want to make them all pay for what they’re trying to do to me. Especially Atlas. He should’ve had my back, but he’s feeding me to the wolves.

“He’s going to college in Ohio.”

I watch her microexpressions and want to snort as she widens her eyes in a way that’s faker than her hug.

“What? Since when?”

“The whole time, but he was too much of a coward to tell me until now.”

She shakes her head. “Wow. I’m sorry, Marley. You two don’t think you can make long-distance work?”

At this point, I’d rather date a troll.

“Not now. He said that I’ve changed, but honestly, it’s him. I’m the one trying to figure out who’s messaging me, even going camping with Rhett. Obviously, that means I’m the one to worry about.”

I load as much sarcasm into my tone as I can, so she knows how crappy their treatment of me is. She wasn’t exactly all for getting rid of Arthur’s body either, and she almost threw up over the crime scene. It’s totally unfair that I’m the one being set up.

But they’re right about one thing. I am the one they need to worry about.

I tap the edge of the soda can as my mind spins, trying to think of a way to distract her, when a loud crash comes from the garden.

Luce gasps and my eyes widen.

Rhett. God, why is he so clumsy?

“No one’s home,” Luce says, leaping up and running from theroom.

Someone’s on edge because they have evidence in their garden. I should follow her and make sure that Rhett’s okay, but this is mychance.

I sprint to her room and throw the door open. How long do I have? Thirty seconds? Less?

Her cluttered room is full of artwork, most of it hers, abstract stuff that I can never make sense of, but it always looks good. I run to her shelves and scan the little jewelry dishes and clear plastic tubs. Then I move to her desk, pulling drawers open with clumsy hands.

I find the badge quickly because I know all of her hiding places.

In her little skull-shaped jewelry dish is my badge. If this is how she hides things, she should fear the cops finding her clothes from that night.

I snatch it up, heart in my throat as I hear the back door slam. With the badge stuffed in my shorts pocket, I close her door gently behind me and dash into the game room.

When she gets back, I’m looking out the window, my face pressed against the glass as I pretend to watch the backyard.

“No one’s there,” she says.

I spin around, pretending that I didn’t hear her. “God, you scared me. What was it?”

“My mom’s flowerpots fell from the potting table.” She rolls her eyes. “They were stacked high.”

Quick thinking on Rhett’s part to knock those over.

“You panicked a bit. Everything okay?”

She shrugs. “Just a bit on edge, you know? I’ll relax once Jesse moves the shovels.”

I flash a smile as fake as hers. “Glad it was just the pots, then. I’m going to go, Luce.”

“Already?”

“Yeah, I’m not great company right now.”

“Will you be okay? I know you and Atlas have been a thing since forever.”

Well, forever is over.

“It’ll be weird for a while, but it is for the best. He’s not the same person he used to be and not in a good way. I don’t trust him.”

She nods. “I get that. He didn’t tell you about college for months.”

That’s not the main reason, but I smile anyway, letting her believe that she’s right.

“See you later,” I say.

She follows me out of the game room and watches as I leave, not something she has ever done before. How could she side with them?

I can’t wait to take her down.

I slam her front door a little harder than necessary, but I’m pissed.

Rhett is waiting for me half a block down the road. I get into his car and take my badge out of my pocket. “Got it.”

He smirks. “Nice one. Shovels are in the trunk. What are we doing with them?”

“I’m not a hundred percent sure, but I know we need to make sure Jesse doesn’t get away with this. For Arthur and George.”

“So plant the shovels at Jesse’s house, hope Luce’s badge is eventually found in the wreck of Arthur’s, drop my ex-friends’ hairs in the back of Jesse’s truck.”

“Yeah, but how are we going to get the cops to look there?”

“We’re going to help them out, but I don’t know how to do that without incriminating you too. Everyone at the creek knows you were in the car during the dare.”

“I don’t care about that, Rhett. I deserve whatever punishment is coming my way. I just want to make sure I’m not the only one who goes down for this.”

“Let me think about it, all right? There must be a way.”

I’m about to tell him not to bother when my phone dings.

George is awake. Thought you’d want to know.

I release a breath that I didn’t realize I was holding. “George is awake. I think he’s going to be okay,” I say.

Rhett side-eyes me. “Do you think Jesse will try to finish him off?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised. He might be worried George saw him. I need to keep an eye on Jesse.”

“How?” he asks.

“I need to get some tracking devices.”

“I have a couple of AirTags. We can plant one in his truck at the same time we hide the shovels on his property.”

My brows rise. “Nice.”

Maybe we could’ve left the shovels where they were so Luce’s involvement would never be questioned, but I want evidence against them all.

My phone dings again.

poor u for losing ur bf.

I read the text again and watch it disappear.

“What?” Rhett asks.

“Message said ‘poor you for losing your boyfriend.’ How would Ruthie know that Atlas and I broke up?”

“How would anyone know?” he asks.

“Hold on….” I check my location-sharing app. “Well, this might explain it. Atlas is at the creek and probably telling everyone he’s single.”

“You need to delete that! He’s been able to see where you are the whole time!”

I tilt my head to the side. “I’m not stupid, I turned my location off over the weekend. He’s just not thinking, and hopefully he won’t.”

“You have anyone else on there?”

“Only my parents. Hence why I need trackers.”

“What if Jesse gets a ride with someone? We wouldn’t be able to see that.”

“I don’t know who he would trust now. It’s a possibility, but knowing how paranoid he’s getting, I think he’ll drive himself. How are we going to get their hairs for Jesse’s truck?”

“I was thinking we check their gym lockers. I’ve watched them brush their hair after gym, and I assume Luce will have one.”

“Good idea. Yeah, she does. We need to do that tomorrow.”

Lockers need to be cleared out by the end of the week, so we have to move fast.

I take a long breath as my heart leaps. “I feel like this is about to go off, and I don’t have much time to protect myself.”

“Let’s take your car home and I’ll pick you up. Less suspicious if we’re not in a convoy.”

I nod and open his door. “Yeah, okay.”

He drives off as I walk to my car. He’s totally right. We still have a couple of things to do, and we’re more likely to be seen if our cars are driving around together. His windows are tinted, so we’ll be more inconspicuous.

He follows me to my house, then I hop in his car, and we head to his.

Rhett pulls over outside his massive house, heads in to grab his spare AirTags, and heads straight back out.

He’s left the car running, and we speed off toward Jesse’s. I’m exhausted, mentally and physically. All this cruising around and having to think about what to do next to protect myself has drained almost every ounce of my energy.

“I need to visit George,” I say, stifling a yawn. “How long do you think it’ll take to get out that he’s awake?”

“In this town?” he asks, his question rhetorical because we know it’ll be all over by now.

“Right. What do I do tomorrow?” I ask.

“You turn up at school like normal. I mean, you wouldn’t want to miss the big quiz, would you? Ms.Mabel’s been working on it for weeks.”

I roll my eyes. “Can’t wait. I don’t know what to do, though, where I fit in now. Atlas is an asshole and my friends are as fake as Fuller laughing at the pranks.”

Rhett doesn’t say anything else, and I wonder if that’s because he feels guilty for being the one who started all of this. I shouldn’t be in the car with him right now, really.

We’ve gotten halfway there when my phone dings.

https://news.rocky.creek.com/?rocky-creek-resident-arthur-nelson-murdered-1928652

I stare at the link, reading the headline from our local news station, and click right before it disappears.

“What is it?” Rhett asks.

“I—I think you need to pull over.”

“Why, what’s going on?” he presses.

The phone wobbles in my hand and falls to my lap. “It’s a link to a news article. Headline reads, ‘Rocky Creek Resident Arthur Nelson Murdered.’?”

“Shit!” Rhett says, swerving to the side and slamming on his brakes so we don’t overshoot the turnout. “Sent by Ruthie?”

“Must be,” I whisper.

“All right, new plan. I’m going to swing back and take you home. We can plant the evidence later, but I think Jesse will be hypervigilant if he’s just gotten this news too.”

“When he’s at school,” I say, my voice as rough as sandpaper. “He’s very big on keeping up appearances, so he won’t skip a day, especially now that we’re near the end. We can use that, right?”

“Yeah, we’ll do it during school. We have third period without the others.”

“We’ll need to be back for fourth, I have that with Luce and Jesse.”

“What does the article say?”

I shake my head and hand the phone over, unable to read what I’ve done in black and white. It’s too freaking much.

Rhett looks at me and back to the phone. “It says that after the full autopsy, the cops think his injuries were unlikely to be sustained in a fall from the bridge. No water in his lungs either.”

I take a sharp breath.

“What else?”

“Investigation is ongoing, but his death is being treated as suspicious, particularly since his house was burned down and his grandson is in the hospital. Marley, are you okay? You’re not looking so hot.”

“I’m scared. I’ve spent the last week wishing we could just tell the truth, and now I’m petrified it’s going to come out.”

He reaches across and takes my hand in his. “We’re going to fixthis.”

“Arthur’s dead. Nothing can fix this.”

“You know what I mean. You’re not going down for something Jesse has done.”

“Don’t pretend that I’m innocent, Rhett. I could’ve spoken up at any point.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Shock at first. Jesse made me believe that my parents’ lives would be ruined too. He’s not wrong. But then he burned Arthur’s house to the ground with George inside, and I was too scared to speak up. He’ll do anything to protect himself.”

“You need to be really careful. I need you to let me see where you are, you know, in case he comes for you. There’s another.” He holds up a tag.

It’s not like I haven’t thought the same things before, but hearing it out loud sends a chill down my spine.

“O-okay,” I tell him, shoving it in my pocket.

At least if Jesse tries anything, Rhett will know where I am.

“All right. Do not let any of them into your house.”

“Wasn’t planning to. I think I might get a call, though, now that the cops are treating Arthur’s death as suspicious. At least I’ll be able to record the phone call.”

“Whoa, bad idea. If anyone gets hold of that, you’ll be incriminated.”

I nod and open the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Lock your doors.”

Rhett waits until I get inside before driving off. I lock up and turn the alarm on, being quiet so I don’t disturb my mom.

My phone rings ten minutes later as I’m climbing into bed, the front-door-camera app freezing.

“Hi, Luce,” I say.

“Hold on, I’m getting Atlas and Jesse on too.”

I roll my eyes at the sound of her voice and their names. I’d rather never see or speak to them ever again, but it’s not like I have a choice.

Besides, I’m supposed to still like them at this point.

“I’m here,” Atlas says.

A second later Jesse’s on the line. “This doesn’t change anything. We keep quiet. All of us!”

No pleasantries.

“We keep attending school and pretending everything’s fine,” he continues. “There are only a few days left anyway.”

“We still have all summer,” Luce says. “How are we going to hang out around town knowing the cops are hunting Arthur’s killer?”

Atlas snorts. “You guys can do what you want, but I’m leaving after graduation.”

“Maybe we should go too, Luce. We can tell our parents that we want to get set up, earn some money in Philly before school starts,” Jesse says.

Jesse and Luce don’t seem to have fallen apart.

“Yeah,” she replies. “Maybe that’s a good idea. We were going to go in mid-July anyway, so we’d only be, what, a month early?”

“What are you doing, Marley?” Jesse asks.

This is my test. If I tell him I’m staying until August like I’d always planned, he’ll worry that I’ll have a whole summer to break.

“I’ve already had a look at a couple places to stay in LA,” I lie. “I’m getting out. We all need a fresh start.”

I hear his exhale down the line. “Good. I’ll check up on you inLA.”

“Why?”

“Make sure you’re settled.”

“How kind of you,” I reply, clenching my fists.

Atlas doesn’t intervene. Not that I expected he would anymore.

“I was thinking about Rhett and Ruthie being extra weird with Marley,” Luce says. “I mean, if it’s not George, it could be one of them, right?”

“Now that I’m thinking about it, the messages don’t read like Rhett,” I say, my heart skipping at the thought of involving him even more. He’s already taking huge risks for me. “But I don’t know why Ruthie would bother.”

“Because she hates you,” Luce says.

“Then wouldn’t she go to the cops?”

“Not necessarily,” Jesse says. “She would love holding this overus.”

“Let’s just make sure first,” I say.

“Hey, what if we’re asked about the dare?” Luce asks. “What do we say to the cops?”

“We tell them we did it and then went home. There’s footage of you getting back,” Jesse says.

“Yeah, at, like, three in the freaking morning,” Luce says.

“It’s only my house,” I say. “Atlas dropped me off, so it looks like we went home to his between the dare and me getting back.”

I mean, it’s flimsy, but it’s all we have.

“Right,” Atlas finally says. “We went back to mine, watched a movie, and lost track of time. Hunger Games.”

“Put it on Netflix now and then a few other things so it’ll be in your recently watched,” I tell him.

“Good idea,” he replies.

Maybe I’m convincing them that I can be trusted. I need that, just long enough for them all to relax. I tap the badge that I now have back with me and lie down.

“We’ve got this,” I tell them.