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My mouth drops as my stomach roils.
Caden’s going to choose her.
The thought runs around and around inside my head, each repetition like a blow to my palpitating heart. It isn’t until Layla speaks again that I realise I’ve spoken aloud.
“Why would you think that?”
I don’t hesitate, knowing without a doubt what he’ll do because we arethatconnected. “Because he’s an honourable person, Lay. He won’t let your baby—regardless of who their biological father is—grow up without a dad now that Archer isn’t here to take care of you both. You know that.”
Her forehead puckers as she contemplates my words, and then her face lights up.
“Oh my God, you’re right. That’s exactly what he’ll do!” The stark relief on her face is like salt in an open wound, but she carries on, oblivious to my agony.
“I don’t mind sharing him with you, Summer. It’s not like I love him or anything, you know?”
Swallowing heavily, I nod and force a tight-lipped smile, glancing in Caden’s direction as he snores away, blissfully unaware of the turn his future has taken.
Of the turnourfuture has taken.
And despite it all, my mind is still whirring with possibilities. I’d do just about anything to be with him, the boy who makes my heart beat.
Maybe sharing him won’t be so bad.
There’s a soft knock on the door, and Uncle Noah pokes his head inside. His face falls when he spots Caden. “Poor chap.” Then, he glances at Layla and me, motioning to leave. “Come on, girls. Let’s leave him to sleep it off.”
We follow his tall frame into the silent hall and down the stairs through an empty house, eventually winding up in the kitchen. There’s an underlying veil of sadness permeating the air that even makes breathing a chore.
“Everyone is passed out, or drunk, or both. Did you two have dinner?” We shake our heads simultaneously. “I can fix you something if you’re hungry.”
“I need to phone my mum. She’s back from Thailand today, so she won’t know about…about Arch.” Layla forces a smile that’s more like a wince as she ducks out onto the dimly lit patio at the back of the kitchen with her phone in hand.
“Summer?”
Uncle Noah’s eyes are on me, expecting an answer, but I can’t seem to make my mouth move.
He repeats my name twice more before coming to stand beside me. And when he places his warm, comforting hand on my shoulder, I fall to pieces.
I disclose every sordid detail of the day Archer drowned, my own part included, while Noah stands next to me the entire time, never once interrupting. He just lets me spew the entire sorry tale as I sob my heart out.
“And who else knows of your involvement? Of this crazy scheme? Of Archer’s attack?”
“Only Layla.”
He nods, glancing towards the patio where Layla is pacing whilst on the call to her mum.
“Okay. If that’s everything, Summer, then you can trust me to keep it a secret. Layla is very easily led. I can keep her in line. You don’t need to worry. No one need ever know it was anything but a terrible accident.”
My watery gaze meets Uncle Noah’s eyes, and he smiles softly. “I’ve got your back. Trust me.”
I return his smile, albeit slightly wobbly. “But I’ll know.”
He waves me off. “Summer, it was a tragic accident. Put it from your mind, at least for now, okay?”
Clapping his hands, as though I didn’t just tell him of my involvement in a murder, Uncle Noah announces, “Breakfast for dinner is just what we need.”
I frown and sober, tugging at his shirt as he tries to walk away, suddenly remembering what prompted my outburst. “There’s something else, Uncle Noah.”
His eyes find mine, and he nods a handful of times. Concern is etched on his kind, familiar features.
