Chapter 50
Nick
The slam of the door and crunch of the Jeep’s wheels on gravel wakes me up and I rub my face. “You drop Summer off?”
Whit shifts next to me, spreading out now that it’s just the two of us in the back of the car.
“Yeah, I walked her to the camper.” Pete looks back at me from the front seat. “She told me a crazy story right before I left.”
“What kind of story?” Justin asks, turning down the main road toward my house.
“A few weeks ago, I went in her place and found a mess of flowers on her bed. The screen was ripped in her bathroom and the window open. I figured some kind of animal got in—raccoon or something—you know how they are, but tonight she asked me about it and got weird. I just mentioned it again and she said Isabel and Jessica had been pranking her by leaving notes and the flowers at her trailer.”
“Those two?” Justin asks, glancing at Pete. “They don’t seem the vengeful type.”
Whit rubs his neck. “I don’t know. Isabel was putting the hard press on me tonight. I finally had to bail.”
“And sneak off with Summer to her mom’s office.” Pete says. Whit looks surprised. “What? You think we didn’t notice?”
“We all noticed, dude,” I add. “Including Isabel. Right after you went back there, she dragged Jessica down the hall.”
“Why were you watching them so closely?” Whit glares at me accusingly.
“I wasn’t watching them. Lilah came up to ask me where they went and pointed it out. They were leaving together and my sister was ready to go.”
Justin pulls into my driveway. His headlights arc over the vehicles parked in front of the garage. One is a red Honda. I nod toward the car. “If you want to find out, we can go ask. That’s Isabel’s car.”
“It’s five in the morning,” Pete complains.
I’m about to agree when Whit leans forward. “When Summer and I were in the office, you know after we uh, were finished, something really freaked her out.”
“What was it?”
“I wasn’t sure at the time, but you mentioned those yellow flowers.” He looks at Pete. “There was a vase of them on her mom’s desk.”
“Someone’s definitely fucking with her,” Justin says. He reaches for the door. “Come on, let’s go wake up those girls and see what’s really going on.”
I leave the guys outside and go inside, quietly making my way to my sister’s room. They’re all asleep—the three of them crammed into Lilah’s double bed. I locate Lilah in the dark and nudge her shoulder.
“Hey, wake up.”
She groans and doesn’t open her eyes. “What do you want?”
“I need to talk to you—all of you.”
My tone must convey my seriousness because she blinks and rubs her eyes. “All of who?”
“Isabel and Jessica. Wake them up and meet me outside.”
“Dude, come back in three or four hours.” She starts to roll over but I stop her.
“Now, Lilah. I’m not kidding.”
I leave the room but the light on the bedside table flips on. Five minutes later, they come straggling outside. All of their eyes widen as they see the four of us in the driveway.
“What’s this about?” Lilah asks, touching her hair self-consciously.
“Tell us about the notes,” Pete says.
“And the flowers,” Justin adds. Whit leans against the car with his arms crossed over his chest.
“What are you talking about?” Lilah asks. “Are you high?”
“We’re talking to them,” Whit says, nodding at the two girls behind my sister. “What kind of shit have you been pulling on Summer?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jessica says. “We haven’t done anything to her.”
“Except try to make a move on her boyfriend,” I say. Jessica glances at Isabel and the girl crosses her arms defensively.
“That’s not a crime.”
“It’s bitchy, though,” Lilah says with a frown. “Dude, you know better.”
“What? They seem to have some open-relationship thing. I thought I’d give it a shot.”
Isabel’s eyeliner is smeared and she looks small and young in the early morning light. I’m not getting an evil vibe off of her, just stupid teenage girl—I’ve lived with one for years, I’m familiar.
“Did you threaten Summer in any way?” I ask them both.
“No. Promise.” Jessica says. Isabel shakes her head. “I like Summer, but everything was so fluid with your relationship we decided to give it a shot.”
Her face turns red.
“Did you break into her camper?” I ask.
“What?” Isabel asks with a frown. “No. Why the hell would we do that?”
I look at the guys and Pete shrugs. I have a feeling this is a dead end, which means we have no idea who left the notes and flowers, which is pretty damn scary.
“Can we go back to bed now?” Lilah asks.
“Yeah, go.”
“One thing,” Whit says. His eyes are trained on Isabel. “Stop hitting on me or any of the other guys. We’re taken, got it?”
Her bottom lip trembles slightly. “Yeah, got it.”
“And don’t give her a hard time about it. The last thing she needs is you girls being bitchy.”
“Fine,” Lilah says, her eyes wide with annoyance. “Are you done?”
The three turn and flounce off, heading back into the house. Justin already has out his phone and is presumably dialing Summer. He holds the phone to his ear but curses when no one picks up.
“She may be asleep,” Pete offers.
“Let’s head back, just to be sure.”
“Does anyone have Shay’s number?” Pete asks.
“I do,” I say. “She gave it to me when I was helping with the interview.”
“She got some postcards, too. We probably need to check on her.”
I hop in the front seat of the Jeep and dial Shay’s number. The phone rings and rings, sending me straight to voicemail. An uneasy feeling builds in my chest, a fear like I’ve never experienced before. One I never want to feel again.