He looks at me, then looks away. The moonlight washes over him. He begins to fade.
“No,” I say sharply. I feel Chelsea squeezing my hand.
“He’s so close,” she says in a breathy voice. Bitch.Bitch.She’s faking. Taking him. Even now.
“Shut up.” I yank my hand out of hers and squeeze my eyes tighter, trying to conjure him back. His image slowly reappears beneath the water, and I float to him until I’m hovering just above, gazing at him like he’s on the other side of a mirror.Where are you?I ask him silently.
“He’s here,” Chelsea says. “Kennedy, do you feel it?”
“No,” Kennedy says softly. With pity.
Ryan shakes his head and I understand.
She doesn’t see him because he doesn’t want her to.
“Do this for me.” Chelsea’s voice is distant. Barely a whisper. Not meant for my ears. But I don’t have time for her pity or Kennedy’s stubbornness. Because itisreal. Heishere. And I don’t need my friends to play along anymore. We’re not reading cards for luck or romance. I’m tracking my brother’s killer.
Ryan just gazes at me.What happened to you?I ask in my mind, my lips forming the words soundlessly.
“We should stop,” Chelsea says. I feel her climbing to her feet, and I grab her hand and yank her back down.
Ryan points to the side. To Chelsea.
“Chelsea?” I say aloud.
“What?”
Careful. No sound. Lips motionless.Chelsea did this? Chelsea killed you?
He shrugs and grins.
“I don’t want to do this anymore.” Chelsea rushes past me and down the attic stairs.
I open an eye. Kennedy, Chase, and Mila are still sitting, looking uncomfortable.
“Is that enough?” Kennedy asks.
“Almost.” I take Mila’s hand reluctantly.Chelsea killed you?
He waves his hand around the circle.
Mila, Chase, Kennedy?
He nods at every name.All of them.He continues nodding, his head bobbing all the way back and all the way down, unnaturally far. Smooth, current-like motion.
Where is your body?
He spreads his arms wide.
What am I supposed to do?
He points to me.It’s your turn. Bubbles erupt out of his mouth, and his voice echoes in my ears, snapping and popping like lava.
A chill runs down my spine.My turn?
You’re next. They know you know. That’s why you’re here. You’re a goner, Emily.
I look around the circle. Kennedy is watching me carefully, her expression unreadable. Chase is digging his fingernails into his palms. Mila is biting her lips, suppressing a yawn. She winks and I turn away. She’s at the heart of it too. She and Chelsea. Mila was the instigator. The new element. She fell into our happy little family like a lit match onto a short fuse. You can’t blame the match entirely, but that fuse would have been fine for a long time.