No,another voice firmly countered.I didn’t do this. I couldn’t.
Could I?
No, of course not. I knew it looked bad—really,reallybad—but I also knew I didn’t do it. Knew it at the very core of me. Someone else did this. Someone who wanted to set me up to take an enormous fall.
I had to leave. Get the fuck out of here before anyone saw me. Before—
“Oh my god!”
A feminine voice pierced the cold night air, followed by several loud gasps. I turned to see Jax, Erin, Brent, Bobbi, and Harlow standing on the lawn a few feet away.
“Holy shit. Is that Cerina?” one of them asked.
I tried to speak, but the writhing ball of terror in my guts had slithered all the way up into my throat, choking me of words and breath.
“Oh,fuck!” Erin dashed over to Cerina and sank to the floor next to her, pressing one hand to the side of her neck as the other went to the largest wound on her chest, trying to stem the flow of blood.
“Help!” Bobbi screamed, turning and sprinting toward the nearest building. “We need help!”
“I’m calling 911,” Brent said, whipping his phone out of his jacket pocket.
“Is she alive?” Jax asked. Erin didn’t reply. Just stared down at the bloody mess in front of her and kept the pressure on Cerina’s chest, as if it would make a difference.
The commotion attracted more people, and a small crowd started forming on the south side of the gazebo. The weight of their eyes on me felt like a crown of thorns on my head, sinking deep into my skin. I lowered my gaze, not wanting to look at any of them.
“She’s not… there’s no pulse,” Erin said a moment later, voice barely above a whisper. “It’s too late. She’s dead.”
“No, she’s still breathing! I can see it!” Harlow screeched, one shaky hand pointing to Cerina’s chest. “She’s moving!”
Erin weakly shook her head. “That’s just from me touching her. My hands are shaking so much. I… I can’t…”
She trailed off and pulled away from Cerina’s limp body, staring down at her blood-smeared palms. Then she took a deep breath and raised her head to look at me. The others kept staring at me too, eyes flashing with unspoken accusations.
I started backing away, shaking my head. Jax clenched his jaw and took a step closer, steely gaze locked on me.
“What did you do, Kinsey?” he asked, hands balling at his sides. “What the fuck did you do?”
“Nothing,” I choked out. “It… it wasn’t me.”
“You’re the only person who was in here with her,” Harlow snapped, shaking a finger at me. “I saw you drop the knife from all the way over there!”
I shook my head. “No.No.I swear. It wasn’t me.”
Even though I was standing out in the open air of the quad, it felt like four brick walls were closing in on me, making my lungs constrict.
“Stop lying!” Harlow said. “You did it! We all saw you!”
It was getting harder and harder to breathe. I swallowed thickly and took a short step backward, still shaking my head. The mutters and whispers in the crowd grew loud enough for me to make out several distinct sentences.
“She fucking killed her!”
“What a psycho.”
“I can’t believe it.”
“Crazy fucking bitch.”
I took another faltering step backward. One word started playing on repeat in my mind in rhythm with my racing heart, filling my veins with a rush of adrenaline.