“Well, she’s already dead, so there’s that,” the detective answers humorlessly. “And so is Wyatt.”
“Good riddance,” my mom snarls. “May they rest in hell.”
Holy moly. She is on fire today. My mother’s Aloha Spirit is strong, but she is fiercely protective when it comes to her family. We look after each other. And I know right now, she’s trying to figure out how to do that after everything that’s happened.
I’m not sure how I feel about all of it myself. There has been so much to process lately. When I heard the news, it didn’t shock me as much as I would have expected. I’m not mourning the loss of Wyatt and Audrey, but it seems a little surreal. They were here yesterday, and now they aren’t. The detective told us it looked like they had one hell of a fight before they ran out into the road. From what they could piece together, it appeared Audrey had stabbed Wyatt, and he had burned her with some type of chemical. Crazy, party of two.
“What will happen with Gavin?” I ask.
“He was taken into custody this morning,” the detective assures me. “We’ll keep you updated on the charges.”
He hands me my statement and goes over it one more time before asking me to sign it. Since Audrey and Wyatt are dead, Gavin is the only one who will be prosecuted. My mom is already asking about going to court, and the detective explains how the whole process works. But first, they have to finish their investigation to make sure there aren’t additional charges that need to be brought against him. God only knows how many other people they did this to.
I sign my statement, and my mom walks the detectives out, peppering them with more questions while I text Court back. She’s asking if she should come over, but I tell her I’m okay. I just need to find Landon. When I got home last night, every light in his house was off. It didn’t even look like he was home. And when I knocked, nobody answered. The detectives let it slip that they’d spoken with Landon and Carson before they came here, so I assume he’s still around this morning.
Jared texts me again to check in on me, making sure I’m okay. He’s asked about Carson too like he thinks I might have more information than he does, which seems odd. But then I remember their interaction at the hospital, and something occurs to me. Do they have a thing for each other? Maybe I should invite them both over for dinner this week. It couldn’t hurt just to see what happens.
My mom returns and frets over me needlessly, offering me everything short of a full buffet to an expensive vacation.
“I’m good, Mama.” I hug her tight and smile up at her, and for once, it feels pretty true. At least I will be when I talk to Landon.
The truth really does set you free, and I won’t allow Audrey’s evil to steal one more second of my happiness.
“Okay, how about some tea?” Mom asks, her hands itching to do something useful.
“Actually, I’d like to go find Landon.” I slip off the barstool.
She smiles way too brightly. “Really?”
“Yeah, it’s been pretty crazy lately. We have a lot to talk about, and I want to make sure he’s okay.”
I head for the door, and she calls after me. “Call me if you need anything, okay? Oh, and Kail?"
“Yeah?”
“Give him a hug for me, please?”
“Okay.” I hide my smile.
I headfor the pool house first, desperate to change out of my school uniform before I go over to Landon’s. But as it turns out, we really are magnets. He’s already here, waiting for me on the patio chair.
His eyes snap up to mine when he hears me approaching, and his are shadowed with darkness. He looks exhausted, and if his clothes are any indication, he didn’t get much sleep last night. Instead of his trousers and blazer, he’s wearing a pair of jeans and a gray Cougars hoodie. It’s so tempting to crawl into his lap right there and curl up in the safety of his body. Instead, I unlock the door without a word and leave it open. He follows me inside.
“Kail?”
He’s still standing on the landing with a wary expression on his face. The last time we saw each other, I’d just found Audrey’s gift box in my locker. It didn’t exactly end well, and I’m sure he doesn’t know what I’m going to do now. But things have changed so much since then.
I walk to him, shocking the hell out of him when I reach up and touch his face. Memorizing the lines by swooping my fingers over the curves. Watching the way his lashes flutter and his entire body relaxes. He needs so much love—an entire lifetime’s worth—and I won’t give him anything less. I’m keeping him forever, I’ve decided.
“I broke my own rule,” I whisper.
He opens his eyes. Soft and gray to my fiery brown.
“What rule?”
“I preached about trust, and then I acted like a complete hypocrite. I should have trusted you, Landon. I should have known. You’ve never lied to me before.”
He exhales a shaky breath. “So I guess this means you know Audrey was a complete psychopath.”