Karen Foster sits behind her desk staring soberly into the camera as Caleb and Brady’s school pictures appear on the screen. “Two teenage boys fell through the ice at the Foggy Hollow quarry earlier this evening. Authorities report the boys were with friends when they went under and failed to resurface.”
My ears start to ring.
Brady never fell through.
The footage pans to a reporter bundled in a scarf and hat, standing at the quarry with police cars and floodlights and search crews in the background.
“Tonight’s search comes as Foggy Hollow remains under scrutiny following the unresolved disappearances of Sienna Clark and Emma Collins, two teenage girls who went missing last month. The case comes on the heels of an earlier tragedy on Halloween night, when a Foggy Hollow High student drowned after fleeing a cemetery party, a death authorities later ruled accidental. Police say there is no indication at this time that tonight’s quarry incident is connected to either case, but it certainly adds to a string of troubling events that have left this community shaken.”
“They lied,” I say, my voice quivering. I suck in a sharp breath and shake my head. “I need to go tothe station. I have to tell them what really happened.”
“Which was what, exactly?”
The question belongs to Rafe, who has apparently been eavesdropping from outside Jude’s bedroom. He saunters inside, his eyebrows lifted as though in a dare.
Jude glares at him while I think through his question.
The answer is obvious. “They opened a rift with the glowing dots on their wrists and pushed Brady through.”
Rafe taps his nose. “If I had to guess, I’d say they had no intentions of calling the police at all, but then you showed up.”
A witness capable of reporting the incident.
“Which is why I need to go to the police,” I say, gathering my clothes from Jude’s bed. “We can go together right now and tell them that Griffin and Lainey are lying.”
I move to walk past him.
But Rafe grabs my arm. “I never saw Caleb, Selah. Or Brady for that matter.”
I yank my elbow free. “What are you talking about?”
“It was dark. I was focused on you. By the time I pulled you out of the water, your lips were blue.Call me crazy, but I didn’t stick around to take note of our audience.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I ask.
“Because,” Jude says, “it would be your word against theirs.”
I look from him to Rafe. “Not if you back me up. Then it will beourword against theirs.”
“What would be the point?”
“What would be the point?” I splutter. “The point would be the police taking Lainey and Griffin into custody, where they can’t hurt anymore of my unsuspecting classmates.”
“You think the police will take them into custody for watching while their friends fell through the ice?” Rafe looks unimpressed, like my logic is disappointing him. “It’s not exactly a crime.”
I open my mouth, a ready retort lashing across my tongue.
But Jude speaks before I can argue.
“He’s right,” he says bitterly, like the taste of those words are rancid. Like there’s nothing he wants to do less than agree with Rafe. But here he is, doing exactly that. “From what you told me, Selah, Griffin didn’t force Caleb onto the ice. Neither did Lainey.”
I shake my head, because I can’t accept it. I can’t do nothing. Anger and helplessness swirl inside me as I round on Rafe. “You just left himthere. You left Brady behind, knowing the danger he was in.”
He scoffs. “I could care less about Brady Keller.”
They are heartless words.
Cruel words.
