Epilogue
Andy
April
I never opened that file. In fact, I shredded it with out a second thought, because whatever was in it wouldn’t have mattered. The woman beside me, guiding us up this narrow road, could never be contained by anything or anyone, much less a manilla fucking folder.
Sloane grasps Delilah’s large leather wheel, winding it around the mountain her family’s summer cabin is nestled on.
I squeeze her thigh and her smile shines brighter than the mid morning sun.
Something settles in me. For once, I finally feel like I won.
Like I’m in control and in charge of my own destiny.
As we make our way down the path the home sits on, I learn that cabin is an understatement. Sprawling green and wooden planks make up the home’s exterior and I feel like I’m inside one of mom’s Martha Stewart catalogues.
“Nervous?” There’s a glimmer in Sloane’s eyes when she asks and for a second this all feels like a dream.
The happy ending I’d imagine as a child, a happy ending that felt so out of reach when Luis passed.
Sitting here beside Sloane though, I realize this is real.
She is real and sometimes happy endings aren’t really endings at all.
I haven’t seen anyone since the game other than her and Will. The thought honestly does terrify me. Sloane was so quick to forgive me, so quick to understand. I know the others won’t be.
We need to rip off the bandaid. That’s what Sloane kept saying as her and Evie discussed using the cabin for an impromptu trip over spring break.
Her eyes peek over at me as she pulls the car beside a large F150.
“Do you think your brother’s going to hit me?”
She purses her mouth to the side like she always does when she’s thinking. “Probably. But luckily we know you can take a punch,” she winks, throwing open her door. I see a slender brunette on the expansive wraparound porch when I exit, her arms crossed, eyes narrowed.
“Livvie!” Sloane trills but Olivia’s posture stays rigid.
Sloane remains unfazed as I grab our luggage from her trunk and she approaches her.
I can see the subtle shake of Olivia’s head, the way she’s glaring at me, her brown eyes growing darker just as Ben appears, plunking a large hand on her shoulder.
Somehow, this alone softens her a bit. They turn back into the house and Sloane nods toward them, insinuating I should follow.
The kitchen is sparkling, a cheery butter yellow, one that my mom would probably throw a fit over, and I carefully set our bags on the ground.
“Pretty brave to show up here after everything.” The grim line of Olivia's mouth tells me this is not actually a compliment, and I wince.
“Yeah, look—” I start and she raises a hand.
“Don’t.” I watch as Ben squeezes her arm and she lets loose a breath.
“If Will can get over it, so can I, I guess…but I don’t trust you, Spellman and if you so much as make her frown again—” she points at Sloane, her glare sharp enough to gut a more innocent man.
“I will personally come to your house, chain you to your bed and set it on fire.” She smiles this innocent smile that doesn’t at all match the words that just came from her mouth.
“Okay killer, calm down,” Ben says and Sloane chuckles.
“She’s serious.” Sloane pushes herself on the counter, lightly tapping me with the toe of her boot.
Just as I begin to nod at Olivia we all hear the screen door creak open. Large heavy footsteps followed by light almost cat-like ones sound in the hallway.
“I was easy. They won’t be.” That evil grin is back as Olivia struts into the hallway, probably to warn Gen and Grant before they come in.
Sloane tenses on the counter and I wonder if I should be bracing myself too, but honestly, I only care about what one person in this room thinks about me and somehow, she’s on my side.
“What are you doing here?” If Olivia’s glare was violent Grant’s is murderous, his palms immediately forming fists at his side.
“I told him I’d owe him one.” Sloane’s tone is amused indifference which only makes her brother angrier. Again, that light tap of her toe against my side, as if to say she’s got this.
“Jesus Christ.” Grant’s grumble is low and guttural as he rakes his hands through his hair and I wonder how much it’s taking for him not to clobber me right now. Ben moves himself so he’s standing between us, like he too is waiting for Grant to pummel me and Olivia’s expression is almost excited.
“So what we are not going to do,” Sloane slides off the counter, “is be rude.” She sidles up to Grant, placing a hand on his shoulder and, I don’t know if it is some sort of twin telepathy or what, but he seems to relax slightly.
“I invited him.” She says it just to him, her eyes telling a story that I think only he will understand.
I put my hands in my pockets hoping to look non threatening but maybe to also hide that my nerves are picking up. It’s my girlfriend's brother after all—want him to like me. Eventually anyway.
“Hope I’m not imposing.” I give a meek smile as all eyes snap to me, all filled with similar amounts of suspicion and anguish.
Except for Sloane’s. Hers are the reason I’m here, because she’s looking at me like she’s seeing the sun, like I’m better than I am.
She looks at me like I’m already the person I want so badly to be.
Something in Gen settles in that moment, like seeing the way Sloane’s looking at me is enough for her, and she rubs Grant’s arm.
“I know as much as you do,” she tells him, and he melts under the movement.
It’s sort of hilarious to see how this tiny delicate little thing pulls all his strings.
“But the more the merrier right?” She looks at me now, her smile bright and forgiving and a mixture of relief and sadness flood my chest, because I can see why Will loves her, and can also see why he doesn’t deserve her.
A knock on the door interrupts the tight tension of the room.
“Open up, sluts. Your favorite friend is here!”
I watch as a huge smile blooms on Sloane’s face. She jogs to the front door and, instead of the gushing I think we were all expecting to hear, its an eerie silence followed by hushed whispers.
“Are you sure this is the best time?” Her voice is rushed and panicked.
“It’s important. You all need to hear it.” The sharp tone is vaguely familiar and my stomach drops as I realize who it is.
Jean walks in first, a guilty smile on his face as he enters. “What? Not happy to see me?”
And then I watch as my brother enters the room. “I think it’s me that they are unhappy to see,” Ian tell them, that smirk on his face.
Grant and Gen both stiffen this time, anger pulsing between them and tightly wrapping around Ben now too ,which is concerning since he’s usually the more level headed of the group.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Grant all but booms and Ian doesn’t even bother to flinch, just gives Grant a bored look.
“Listen, I can leave after I say what I came here to say. But you all need to hear it.” He looks at Olivia and there's something there, a history none of us are privy to. They were pretty good friends up until her and Ben.
“How about you go fu—”
“Wait—” Olivia interrupts just as Grant begins moving toward Ian. “We should listen to what he has to say.”
Ian nods a thanks, something unspoken being communicated between the two of them. We all file toward the kitchen, sitting at the long oak table that fits all of us comfortably, with Ian at the head.
“First,” Ian begins, hands clasped in front of himself as he clears his throat.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen him nervous and something about it has me squirming in my chair.
Sloane sets her hand on top of mine and I settle into the movement of her thumb on my skin.
“I owe you all an apology.” Grant scoffs and Jean shoots him a glare.
“I know how it looks but every step I took over the past year, every secret I told, was all part of a larger plan.”
“A plan to ruin our lives?” Ben throws out, eyebrows high. Ian rolls his lips together, guilt riddled across his expression. Jean squeezes his hand.
“I’d hardly say he ruined your lives.” Jean’s voice has a fierceness in it I haven’t heard before.
“Sure, he didn’t make things easy but I think all of you are better for it.
I think those blasts pushed us all together in ways we never imagined.
” Everyone gets quiet for a moment and Jean nods to Ian, signaling him to continue.
“My dad,” he breathes in, “our dad...” Ian nods to me and I return it.
“He’s an awful person. He’s spent years hiding and covering up things for men who are much worse.
Men who’ve done unimaginable things.” An eerie silence falls over us, each of us listening intently now.
“I’ve had to unwind your secrets, get to the root of why things were the way they were to get to the bigger point. To find out the truth.”
“And what truth was that Ian? What was so bad that you had to expose me?” Olivia spits out and we all see the betrayal between them, the pain he caused when he sacrificed his friend.
“I have proof that…”
I feel myself leaning in, unsure of what he could possibly have to say. What he’s found he’s kept tight to his chest, not even telling me.
He pulls in a breath and the room falls silent. “…proof that Lily Newhouse was murdered.”