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“I don’t care about you. I care about Imogen. Do you think she wanted this? Because she didn’t. She was your friend first, but you threw that away. You pushed her to hate you and that’s on you.”
“Let’s see how you two fair after tonight.”
The skies are getting darker by the second, and if the rock I just stepped on is anything to go by, it’s going to be a slippery slope going down to the main path.
“Stop,” I roar as he grips the knife with both hands.
“Too late,” he tells me and takes a step closer to the bluff’s edge.
I race towards him as he slams the knife into his stomach. I watch in horror as the knife slices into his flesh. His eyes widen and he jerks back, letting go of the knife, still inside of him. His foot slips, and instead of trying to stop it, he lets himself fall, smiling like he’s won.
I dive to the ground when I near the edge. “No!” I scream, and slide across the dirt, rocks, and wild grass to grab his hand.
The weight of him, and the slippery ground, has us both going over, but I reach out, grabbing at a thick root growing out of the dirt. My shoulder pulls taut, and I cry out when I feel the joint slip from its socket.
“Hold on!” I roar as I feel his hand begin to slip.
I glance down, breathing heavily through the pain vibrating through my shoulder. Black dots cloud my vision and vomit rises in my throat. There’s a little platform to the left, enough to fit two people. I roar out in pain as I begin to swing him.
He will not die on this rock.
He does not get to do this to her.
He reaches up with his other hand, gripping my wrist. And just when I think he’s fighting to stay alive, he takes me by surprise and yanks on my hand.
And dooms us both.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Hope
I stand under the canopy, watching as the rain falls heavily down on the decking and grass. The sound used to soothe me, but the longer I listen, the heavier the dread feels in my stomach.
Imogen and Ben should have been back hours ago. It’s getting late and the storm is messing with our signal, so we’ve not been able to call her, and we don’t even have Ben’s number.
My unease only grows with each passing moment. It’s like a hand gripping my throat, and I can’t catch my breath.
Hayden comes to stand next to me, handing me a bottle of water. I force a smile. “Thank you.”
She jerks her chin down at my phone. “Have you managed to get through to her?”
We’ve all been at odds about what to do. Imogen’s a grown woman, and she isn’t alone. She’s with Ben. So before we do anything drastic, we want to keep trying to get through to her just in case they are waiting out the storm somewhere.
“No,” I breathe out. “I think we should go looking for them.”
“Yeah,” she agrees, just as lights from an oncoming car light up the front.
“Oh my god, they’re here,” I cry, and all the anxiety and stress I had been holding in comes flooding out.
“That’s not them,” Hayden mutters, her hand tensing over mine. I didn’t even realise I grabbed her hand.
“What is Connor doing here?” Ciara asks, coming up behind us. “Is Imogen okay?”
I share a look with my sister, feeling the blood drain from my face. “She’s okay. She has to be.”
“Whatever you do, don’t mention that Imogen and Ben are together,” Hayden warns as Connor steps out of the car.
“Why are none of you answering the fucking phone?” Connor shouts up as he makes his way over.
