Page 55 of Forever After Fall

“I was terrified we were gonna die up there. Or the bats were going to come back.”

“You’re all right now.” I hold her tight and promise myself I’m never letting her go again. “I’ve got you.”

“We’re going to get him downstairs,” Bishop and Ramsey announce as they haul Chris’s limp body toward the stairs.

“We should get downstairs and outside. Turn the smoke machines off,” Levi adds, and I nod.

Bishop, Levi, and Ramsey then work their way down the stairs, carrying Chris like a roll of carpet. I snatch Bristol up in my arms, not willing to let her go right now, and head for the stairs.

“You don’t have to carry me. I can walk. He didn’t hurt me.”

“If it’s all the same to you.” I shake my head.

“Okay,” she agrees, burying her head against my shoulder and allowing me the chance to take care of her.

It’s a rare moment for Bristol, and while I’m grateful she trusts me enough to let me hold her like this, I’m furious that he put her in a position to make her feel that way. If it were up to me, I’d never let her face something like this again. I’d make sure of it.

TWENTY-FIVE

Bristol

“What’s the plan?” Ramsey looks between Anson, Bishop, and Levi.

“What do you mean, ‘the plan’?” I look between the three of them and then down at Chris. “We need to call the cops so they can come get him.”

“Is that what you want?” Ramsey glances at me but turns his attention back to Anson.

Anson’s mouth is a flat line, and the fury on his face is apparent even through the haze lingering in this room. I look at Hazel in confusion and frustration. I feel like everyone is in on some secret that I’m not.

“What’s the alternative? We actually help him escape?” I ask, confounded that I have to even press the issue.

A choked laugh leaves Levi’s chest, and Ramsey shifts on his feet when Hazel shoots him a look. Anson still doesn’t look at me, and Bishop seems to be trying to look anywhere else.

“She’s right. It’s not the same situation as Curtis. They’ll be looking for him. Don’t even think it.” Hazel gives her brothers and her husband a fiery look that might melt lesser men.

“Curtis?” I look between her and them. “Did you help him disappear? I thought he hurt you?”

“In a manner of speaking,” Levi answers my question with more vagueness, and I open my mouth to ask what the hell he’s talking about when it suddenly comes together.

“Did you kill him?” I look between the men and see Ramsey and Hazel locked in a silent exchange. I have to assume by the silence that they did. “You can’t kill Chris. You need to send him back where he came from.”

“We definitely didn’t call the cops for help,” Ramsey explains.

“Then give me the phone, and I will,” I answer him. “I’ll say I hit him over the head.”

“They won’t believe that.” Anson finally looks up at me.

“Then we’ll make them believe it. Or I’ll tell the truth. You all rescued me, and then we called the authorities as soon as we could.”

“Our uncle’s not the sheriff anymore,” Levi adds. “And his replacement is a lot less friendly about vigilante shit.”

“It wasn’t vigilante shit. You rescued me. I’ll tell that to anyone who’ll listen. And Chris will tell the truth. He’ll be too scared about even more added time if he lies. One of the guards helped him escape, so he’ll have leverage that could help him. He won’t want to make things worse.”

“Or the guard will just off him,” Levi states bluntly.

“Then let that be between him and the guard.” I look at Anson. “Anson, please, be the reasonable voice here.”

There’s another choked laugh from Levi, and Ramsey elbows him in the side, hard and fast enough to knock him back a step. Bishop glares at both of them, and Anson shakes his head. The quiet conversation they all seem to be having without me heats my skin with frustration. I feel like an outsider with my own friends and family.