As my stomach lurches, I pull away.
My hands and the front of my shirt are splattered in blood.
When I look up, I make eye contact with Beck.
The only person who can’t move is Evan. Blood pools around him in a crimson puddle, his teary red eyes still open.
He’s dead.
He’s dead, he’s dead, we killed him.
We justkilled someone. After a weekend of talking about murder and death, we’re the ones standing over a dead body. The room spins violently out of control. I drop to the ground, forehead to the heater-warmed wood as my body reacts.
“Oh my god,” I say, my throat so thick I can hardly speak. “What the fuck? What thefuck?”
I try so hard to breathe.
I shut my eyes. Beyond the blood pumping in my ears, all I can do is listen.
A click. Beck turning the gun’s safety on? Shuffling sounds as Beck moves around the body on her knees.
Then, a gasp.
A hand on my shoulder. “Emma, look at this.”
Slowly, I lift my head. Beck’s over the body, Evan’s button-down partially undone so that his shoulder is exposed. Her face is straight, but her chest moves up and down rapidly, her arms wrapped around herself as if she still needs to protect her organs.
I gasp.
There’s a stab wound, bandage stained red.
“But the person chasing us had long hair…” I say.
I’m suddenly hit with an urge to cry.
“People can get haircuts.”
He was the one following us the whole time.
He really did lead us out here to kill us. He needed to tie up loose ends from the bloodbath he created back in October.
How could I be so stupid as to fall for it?
“We need to get out of here.”
Beck puts her hand on mine. “Well, we need to look for a phone.” She pauses. “And if you don’t mind, I’d like to look around. To…see if there’s more of Paisley here.”
My stomach lurches.Literally.
But I know I need to be here for her for this. It won’t be like what happened at Paisley’s vigil again.
“Okay,” I say.
I swallow my tears and stand up. My friends still need me to uncover the whole truth. Paisley still needs me so her family can bury the right person. I was brave protecting Beck and myself from Evan at the watchtower. I can do it one more time.
Thirty-Three
It takes both Beck and me nursing an electrolyte drink from the watchtower to really shrug off the shock. But it’s still dark out when we feel ready to start searching Evan’s cabin. We throw a blanket over Evan and get to work. There are a few items we need to find: If we find Evan’s hair, we prove for certain he’s been the one stalking us; if we find a landline, we can call Natalie and get a ride out; and if we find another item of Paisley’s or her body, well, we cinch up this horrible story once and for all. When the authorities discover Evan’s body, we’ll just tell the truth: It was self-defense. There’s no reason to believe two teenage girls would kill a grown man in a premeditated murder. Dread hangs off my shoulders as we each pick a room, but it has to be done.
