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Erin.
My hand shook as I held onto the phone, and my finger wasn’t much better as I went to click the message to read it in full.
Hey. I know I’ve been gone… there’s something I never told you, something you need to know. I need your help. But, please, Brianna, you can’t tell anyone. You can’t trust anyone in Eastcreek.
I read it once, twice, then three times before I let myself exhale the breath I was holding. I had to go lean against the wall for support; all of my strength had been zapped out of me the moment I first read the message.
Erin was alive. I assumed that meant she was in hiding, but why? From who? And why wait this long to reach out? Out of all people, why would she reach out to me and not the cops? Unless she knew you couldn’t really trust the police here—or the sheriffs, or whatever the hell they were called. I was new in town, so I wasn’t like everyone else here. It was the only reason I could think of.
Even though it might be a mistake, I messaged her back:I won’t say anything to anyone. What do you need?Obviously, I wanted to help her. There might be a dark, twisted part of me somewhere, but I still wanted to help a friend in need.
I was instantly worried that I’d taken too long to respond, but she messaged me back less than a minute later with an address, saying,Can you come now? I’ll explain everything. Don’t tell anyone where you’re going, especially the Montgomerys.
Shit. Did she remember Gareth knocking her out with chloroform? Was that what this was about? I had to go. I had to, not only to make sure she and her family were all right, but also to find out what the hell she was talking about.
I sent back,I’ll come now.
Biting my bottom lip, I searched the address she’d sent, finding it was in town. Some house on a large plot of land, way off the road. The Google street view showed nothing but a dirt driveway and a lot of trees.
Fuck. But how would I get there? As rich as this family was, I didn’t have a car of my own. I couldn’t take Gareth’s or Alistair’s without alerting them. Maybe I could go to my mom and ask her nicely.
Yeah, that’s what I had to do.
I abandoned the triple portrait I was making, searching for my mom in the house. I caught her in her bedroom, alone, thankfully, but it looked like she was getting ready to leave. Based on the conservative skirt and blouse combo she wore, I’d say she was going to the country club, or some place like it.
Alistair was nowhere in sight, so I swept into the room, moving to stand next to the full-length mirror my mom was before, fastening pearl earrings to her ears. She hardly gave me a second glance; it was like I didn’t exist, but that’s how it’d always been. When we shared a tiny apartment, it was just harder to avoid each other as we went on with our days.
Here? I could go full days without seeing her, although that depended on where I took my meals.
“Are you going out?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“Is Alistair going with you?”
“He hates the club,” she told me, slow to turn away from the mirror and face me, a frown forming. Just the slightest hints of one; wouldn’t want to actually wear a frown, lest she get more wrinkles. Heaven forbid that. “I’m meeting a friend there. Why?”
“Could you drop me off somewhere first?”
She folded her arms over her chest, her light blue eyes studying me, as if she thought I was trying to pull one over on her. Her brown hair had been curled, its wavy tresses reaching her shoulders. With perfectly blended makeup on her face, she looked younger than the forty years she was, but I guess that was part of her charm. My not-so-loving mom.
“Where are you in such a hurry to go?” she asked, cocking a brow at me.
I couldn’t trust my mom, was something I’d known for a while, even before she got married and moved us here. The lie came to me easily, “A friend from school wants help studying for a test on Monday. Gareth and I got into a little fight yesterday, otherwise I’d ask him.” I had to make it seem like her taking me was the best option, so I added, “I think giving him some time to cool down would be better for everyone before I go asking favors.”
It was logic my mom couldn’t argue with, so she let out a harsh sigh. “You’re right. Fine, fine. I’ll take you. I don’t know when I’ll be done at the club, so you should see if your friend can drive you home, since I’m dropping you off.”
I couldn’t nod fast enough. “Sure. I’ll ask if she can drive me home.”
My mom adjusted the shiny gold bracelet on her wrist and pushed past me, saying, “Come on. I told my friend I’ll meet her at the club at four, but now that I have to take you, I’ll probably be late.”
“Just blame me.”
“Oh, I plan to.” She walked with a purpose into the hall, and I trailed after her, hoping we wouldn’t run into Alistair or Gareth on the way. We went downstairs, and after she grabbed her purse and her keys, we walked to the garage.
My mom didn’t ask me questions about who I was meeting or why so suddenly it had to be right now. I think she was trying to drown herself in this life so badly she didn’t even care, just like the fact her husband wouldn’t have sex with her.
Never mind the reason was probably because of me—or maybe that was too conceited for me to think. There was absolutely no reason for Alistair to want me over my mom… and yet.
