Chapter 18
There’s no sign of Timothy anywhere in the cabin. Kai insists on tracking him down before we head out.
“No way I’m leaving that asshole here to keep wrecking the place,” he says with a huff.
Kai throws open every door and looks around every corner for him, the rage beneath his skin pulsing louder and louder with every empty room he passes. “Stop bullshitting me, Timothy, I know you’re here,” Kai shouts into the empty living room before storming up the stairs to the second floor.
Kiki and Carla are hovering in the doorway to their room by the time Kai makes it upstairs. I pause on the landing, slowing my pace at the sight of them.
“Why’re you yelling?” Kiki asks in annoyance. Once I finally manage to catch up to them, I can’t help but notice the fresh red mark on the curve of Carla’s neck.
What’s the point of threatening me to not spill their secret when they’re not even bothering to hide their tracks?
If Kai notices anything off about his sister and her best friend, he doesn’t comment. I wonder briefly if he does know—if what everyone says about twins is true and they have some kind of secret-revealing psychic bond. But I know better than to ask him outright.
“Have you seen your boyfriend?” Kai asks Carla, fingers clenched into fists.
Carla shrugs, crossing her arms. “No. Why?”
“He…” Kai stops suddenly, all the rage draining out of him as he whips around to face me. The back of my neck prickles from the intensity of his gaze as he tilts his head slightly to the side once he meets my eyes. A silent question, I realize. Asking if it’s all right to tell them what happened.
The thought of telling Carla and Kiki about what Timothy did makes me almost as nervous as the thought of facing him again.
The possibility that they might shut me down—tell me that I misinterpreted what Timothy said or did—because boys like Timothy would never look at girls like me, especially when they have girlfriends like Carla.
We all think it—they’re just cruel enough to say it.
I shake my head subtly enough to not catch the girls’ attention. Kai sighs, his shoulders deflating as he turns back to them just as Kiki narrows her eyes in my direction. “He tore out a bunch of the wiring on the breaker. So, we’re fucked.”
Kiki whips her attention back to her brother so fast her braids hit Carla’s cheek. “He did what?!”
Carla isn’t even fazed by the slap from Kiki’s hair, shaking her head like a dismayed mother looking down on her toddler. She lets out a groan before pinching the bridge of her nose. “That asshole.”
In the blink of an eye, Kiki starts to spiral. She runs her hands down the side of her face, bringing them back up to massage her temples for a few seconds before ultimately digging her fingers into her scalp and pacing across the hallway. “Jesus, Kai, Mom and Dad are gonna murder us.”
“I know,” Kai says with an eyeroll before picking up where he left off and scanning the bathroom opposite their room for any sign of Timothy.
“That’s why I’m looking for the guy who did it so I can serve him up to them on a silver platter.
Because I’m not taking the fall for this.
” He slams the door to the bathroom shut when he doesn’t find any sign of Timothy, and quickly moves on to the next room.
“He probably went for a walk to smoke,” Carla explains, still shaking her head in frustration. “That’s usually what he does when he’s upset.”
“In the middle of the woods? At night?” Kiki asks with a raised brow.
Carla shrugs. “White guys love that shit.”
She has a point there. Still, going out alone in the woods doesn’t seem like something even the most reckless idiot would do. Unless he’s trying to hide from us, now that we know what he did. As much as I can’t stand him, I can’t blame him for not wanting to face an angry Kiki Thompson.
Kai sighs and collapses onto the nearby wall, running a hand down his face.
“Well as soon as he shows up, we’re getting out of here,” Kai orders.
Kiki and Carla don’t respond to him but share a skeptical look.
“Do you want to stay here alone in the dark?” Kai snaps when he notices their expressions.
“Fine,” Kiki replies bitterly, crossing her arms and heading back toward the kitchen. “But you’re driving.”
“My pleasure.” Kai’s voice is dripping with sarcasm, but neither Kiki nor Carla snap back.
The girls keep themselves busy by heading into the kitchen, packing up the snacks and cups littering the counter.
Outside, I can hear the first warning signs of a storm.
Rumbles of thunder and the quiet patter of raindrops on the window.
Unless he wants to get soaked while stoned and lost, Timothy will be back sooner rather than later.
Kai gestures with his chin toward the couch before holding his arm out to help guide me to it, but I shake my head.
“I’m gonna go get changed.” I point over my shoulder toward the staircase. I’ve had enough running around in just a towel and a bathing suit for one night.
Kai nods, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “There should be some candles in the attic. I can bring you some, if you need them.”
I nod and give him a smile. Can’t hurt to give my phone a break, especially when I still need to call Mikey once we have service again.
As I turn around, Kai opens his mouth slightly, looking as though he’s going to say something else.
But Kai’s mouth closes as quickly as it parted.
Instead, he gives me a tight smile of his own before heading toward the staircase, most likely to head up to the attic.
A bolt of lightning rips through the sky as he turns to leave, bathing the living room in bright white light.
My shadow stretches long across the hallway—long enough to reach Kai. My darkness consuming him whole.