Chapter 32 Kaitlyn
Kaitlyn
“Completely ruined,” he says, tugging on the side of his pajama pants. “Cashmere. Private designer collection, too. A capsule piece according to my stylist. And now, look at them. Though, I guess, once we survive, they’ll become a sort of souvenir. Maybe I could even sell them.”
I swear I’m trying to be patient with Emerson.
I’ve kept my hostility just under the surface.
But he’s pissing me off more with every step, and I’m starting to question just how badly I want to get him back to the Airbnb.
I know it’s what I’m supposed to do, but I don’t know exactly how long I can last.
“I’m sure your dad can get you new pajamas,” I say, practically spitting at him. Not that it matters, really. In as long as I’ve been dragging him back to the house, we haven’t been talking to each other as much as Emerson has been talking at me.
“I’ll have to sue Marlene,” he says, flicking a piece of wood off his “ruined” pants. “Not for the pajamas, obviously, but for the wound.”
“Don’t you have insurance?” I ask, even though I can’t believe he’s not more focused on, you know, that he was stabbed.
He waves a hand. “That’s not the point. Actions have consequences. She needs to learn that.”
“What about your attacker?” I snap at him. “Are you going to sue them, too?”
“Naturally,” Emerson says. “Once we find the responsible party. My lawyer’s going to be very busy after tonight. The Airbnb host will pay also. If we find them, the attacker will pay, too. And Marlene.”
I grind my teeth to keep from saying what I want to say. That I’m grateful Marlene stabbed him. That I think he deserves it.
“You freaked us all out,” I tell him instead. “You looked like you were trying to kill Javi.”
“But I didn’t, did I?” Emerson huffs. “Because some of us have self-control. Unlike Javi.”
He cuts his eyes to me, and I don’t like the look on his face. He stumbles over a rock, and I don’t do much to help him.
“That worked out for you, didn’t it?” Emerson asks, a coolness to his voice that irritates me.
“You tripping over a rock? Not really.”
“No,” he says. “Javi’s temper.”
I glare at him. “Not this bullshit again. Javi doesn’t have a temper. Yeah, if he’s provoked, he can fight. Can you?”
Emerson waves me off. “I don’t need to get my hands dirty. You and I have that in common.”
Now I stop walking and let go of him. “What did you say to me?”
“You heard me,” he says. “I know what you did, Kaitlyn. You don’t have to lie to me.”
He keeps walking, and I stare after him. Is he saying what I think he’s saying? But he can’t know that. No one knows that. I walk after him, keeping my face blank.
“Dad always tells me that I have to be ‘adaptable,’ ” Emerson says, flinging aside a branch that promptly smacks me in the shoulder. “After this weekend, I better not hear that goddamn word ever again.”
Anger’s coursing through me now, dangerous enough that I don’t trust myself with it.
“You know what? Find the house on your own. I’m fucking done.”
I turn away from him, not waiting for a response, not caring about leaving him behind.
Let the blood loss get him at this point.
I don’t even care. I turn in the other direction, stomping through the trees, letting my fury surge through me.
I’ll find Javi, and I’ll take him back to the house.
I’ll fix all this, somehow. Emerson can say whatever bullshit he wants. I don’t care.
I’m not paying attention to where I’m going, though, and soon enough, I’m turned around again.
Have I been through this patch of trees before?
I think I definitely have. I look behind me, holding my hand up, knocking some drops of water from the rain-soaked leaves onto my cheeks. At least the rain’s stopped.
It’s starting to settle in for me, though, that I might have made the wrong decision leaving Emerson behind. The group will want an answer, and what am I going to say? He brought up my potential motive and I abandoned him? Shit.
I stop, taking in a breath. Without the pouring rain, it’s like the night has come alive with sounds. The wind’s still whipping through the air. And there’s something else…the sound of waves. I must be back near the cliffside.
I follow the sound, stepping out of the trees, and breathe in the salty night air. I look up at the stars twinkling above, and down at the sea, and then—
And then, a scream explodes out of me.