Second Nature (12 page)

There wasn’t even a drop
of hatred in me, not for her anyway.

Suddenly Mazy was there,
her little arms wrapped around us too. Clearly, she had been listening and
crying in the wings as we spoke—as Mom screamed.

The three of us, three
unlikely people to ever have an emotional breakdown, especially together, lost
everything.

But in the death of all
the things we lost, we found something else. In the ashes and the blood and the
agony, we found each other again. No walls, no barriers, no lies.
But most of all no bravado.

She hugged us and showed
us who she was, and we responded with the same.

Two birds, one stone

Sitting on the front
steps, I stared at the letters and photos, knowing full well how they had found
their way into my house. This was what the killer had been doing with his
month. He had been gathering evidence to ruin our lives.

“Lainey?”

I lifted my gaze to see
Jake walking up the driveway. His pace quickened when he saw my face.

“What is it?” He dropped
to his knees in front of me, looking deeply into my eyes. “What happened?” His
hands lifted to my face, cupping as his thumb brushed away a tear from my
cheek.

I didn't answer him. I
lifted the ransom-note-styled paper for him to read, which he did aloud,
“Almost time to start planning your godson’s birthday party again. If you want
a theme this year, try
Sister Wives.”
He wrinkled his nose and started looking at the photos. “Oh shit.” He looked
back to me. “Your mom found this?”

“It was delivered to her.
She had to sign for it.”

“Anonymously?” He gulped.

I nodded.

“So much for it being
over.”

“I never thought it was.”
I pointed to the picture on the step next to me. “This one in our living room
was taken last week. I know that because last week Mom had the painting taken
out for two days to be cleaned.” I pointed at the picture—more so the
empty spot on our wall that was just above the couch where my dad was having
sex with my mom’s best friend.

“So the killer went on
lockdown mode for a month to gather intel.” Jake winced. “Wonder what else he
dug up.”

“I don't want to know.”

“And these are done with
the font, not the cut-up letters.” He took the papers from my hands and held
them in his. “How’s your mom?”

“Destroyed. I always
assumed she knew.” I shook my head. “There’s no way she knew. I watched the
light drain from her eyes as she died a thousand deaths and suffered all that
humiliation. I watched her learn of this.”

“Lainey, I’m so sorry.”
He leaned in and hugged me harder.

“She is in ruin and my
dad has been kicked out since last night. I assume he’s at Judith’s house. Mazy
is a hot mess too. She’s been watching movies in bed with Mom all day. Last night
they both slept in Mazy’s queen-sized bed because Mom had the staff take
everything my father might have had sex on out of the house. We don't have
sofas. Mom doesn't have a bed. We don't even have a dining room table and that
one has been with her family for two hundred years.”

“Oh shit.” He fought an
awkward laugh. “Is she burning it all in the yard?”

“Not yet. All of his
things have been taken out though. He hasn't got a toothbrush in this house. If
he picked the piece of art, it’s gone. It took the staff three hours to get
everything out. She cried for two hours and then something hit, something
crazy. She needed him out and all his stuff. She called a delivery truck, on a
Saturday night, to come and take everything away as the staff was bringing it to
the front door.”

“Damn. Your mom means
business.”

“Yup.” I nodded. “She
does indeed.”

“Has she been mean to you
guys?”

“No.” A soft smile landed
on my lips. “It's the one good thing that has come of this. It’s been almost a whole
day, and she hasn't been anything but kind to us.”

“How’s Ashton handling
the craziness?”

“He was shocked and
sorry. He has to stay hidden away so he got to miss most of it.
Just not the noise of her screaming.
I texted him on
messenger from my other laptop to the one he has upstairs and told him what was
going on so he wouldn't worry. He still doesn’t have his phone on.” I winced.
“I just feel bad that I’m like ‘you can stay here’ and in the first two hours
he’s here shit hits the fan.”

He gave me a look. “It
must be, for you to be swearing.”

“What?” I laughed. “I
swear.”

“No, you don't. And you
cut me off every time I’m about to.” He looked down, and then up again through
his dark thick lashes. “Did you talk to him about anything serious?”

“You mean the night of
the party? Not yet. I was just trying to get him settled first. He seems
distant.”

“It’s probably been a
terrible month for him. We all had each other.” He shrugged. “He was alone.”

“Except for the blonde.”

He nodded and laughed.
“Right, the blonde. Did he mention her at all?”

“Nothing.”

“Weird.”

“Yeah. I feel like that's
the theme for me. It’s been a very weird forty-eight hours. I’m excited there’s
school tomorrow at least before we have Tuesday off for Labor Day. At least
tomorrow I can pretend my life is normal. For a minute.”

He wrinkled his nose. “I
doubt that.”

“Why?”

“I came here for a
reason, Lain.” He gave me a look like he already regretted whatever he was
about to say. “Louisa has sold her story to the press. Lindsey’s dad has been outed
for his criminal record, changing his name, and for marrying her—an
ex-stripper. It’s everywhere.
TMZ
is
even in Crimson Cove trying to get a shot of him.”

“Oh my God.” We hadn’t
spoken since Saturday morning when she’d lost it on me and accused me of being
with Vincent. I had been dodging her calls all weekend.

“Yeah, Vince called and
said Lindsey was losing her mind. She was going to find Louisa and kill her.
Lori has stayed. She wants no part in the whole Louisa scandal and even gave
the address where Louisa’s staying. It’s some hotel in New York that she
shouldn't be able to afford since Mr. Bueller has frozen all her cards and
accounts. I guess he thinks she’s been embezzling money from him since she
never had any of her own.”

“Unless she was paid for
her story.”

He shrugged. “Yeah.
Anything’s possible at this point.”

“This happens tonight, of
all nights?” My eyes narrowed. “My dad and Mr. Bueller on the same night?”

His eyes narrowed too.
“Yeah, you’re right. That's weird.”

“All that’s left is Sage’s
stepdad and Sierra’s dad and then all of them will have suffered something
terrible.”

“And Rita’s dad.”

I shrugged. “She isn’t
really one of us.”

“She was drugged that
night. She is one of us.”

I hated that he was defending
her. “How do we know she didn't come here and start all of this and drugging
herself is her way of being thought of as innocent?”

“We don't. But we need to
tackle these things one at a time. Right now Lindsey’s family and yours are in
crisis. That's where the focus should be.” He stood and offered me a hand.
“Want me to drive you over there?”

“No!” I scowled. “Why
should I go to her house? My house is in crisis too. I can’t leave them here. I
have the maids watching Mom so she doesn't hurt herself.”

“Her dad has been ruined.
Yours had an affair, that's not the same thing.”

“He had a child with my
mom’s best friend.” I grabbed the papers and stood up, giving him a look. “It’s
not the same thing, but it’s also not small. My dad has destroyed my mom.”

“Your mom has never been
nice to you. I’ve been here. I’ve seen her in action. I hate the way she treats
you.”

My blood started to boil.
“She’s my mom, Jake. She didn't deserve any of this.” I turned and stormed
inside, leaving him there. I slammed the door and marched upstairs to my room.

I ignored the emptiness
of the halls and rooms. The missing pieces of furniture and missing art made it
weird, but the missing dad was unbearable.

He had always been gone.
Absentee was the word for it. Now he was actually gone and it left a hole. Or
maybe we just noticed the hole for the first time.

I flopped onto my bed and
picked up my phone, wincing at the calls. Some from Dad, some from Sierra, even
a couple from Sage. But the
majority were
from Vince
and Lindsey and even Jake, who had texted to check on me constantly. He’d
offered to come and entertain Ashton too.

I felt bad for snapping
at him. I knew it wasn't his fault. He was just the messenger.

I moped and continued to
read, wincing when Lindsey was at the begging stage. She couldn't leave the
house,
scared her dad might actually hurt himself. She was
begging me to come to her house or at least message her back.

We were home, dealing
with the same things and needing each other.

If this had been the
killer’s plan, it was well executed and just like Vincent said it would be. We
were the easiest kids to trap. Even when we thought we were watching, we
weren’t. Not well enough.

Vincent’s messages said
nice things like he was hoping I was okay and even more sorry for not listening
to me when I had told him Lindsey wasn't as cool with it as he thought she
would be. He said he had to spend the entire day rehashing our every step,
trying to reassure her that nothing had happened.

All of it made me
uncomfortable and exhausted.

My dad was curled up with
Judith in the house he wanted to live in, finally free of us. He had his life
the way he wanted it.

The only issue for him
was the public way it was done. The neighbors were a long ways off from us, but
even they must have heard what was going on.

I didn't call any of my
friends. I grabbed my other laptop and sat on my bed, starting WoW and grabbing
a character on the same realm as Ashton. Mine was a few levels behind his, but
I logged on anyway and messaged him to come to my area.

We did quests and
battlegrounds, both messaging the entire time. It was relaxing and for a few
hours I pretended that everything was normal. I had on glasses and a messy bun
and sweat pants. It was delightful.

Six O’clock News

I didn't see the other
kids or the faces in the halls. I saw nothing. I didn't even know which classes
I had been to or what time it was. It was a strange sensation for me.

My feet walked forward,
but my brain was too full to let anything else enter my mind.

“Lain.”

I lifted my gaze to see
Lindsey staring at me from the other side of the hall. She looked angry, but I
just nodded. “Hey.” I put my head down and continued down the hall to my
locker.

Sierra, Sage, and Rita
were there when I got there.

Sierra didn't speak. She
acted. She was the most intuitive of us all. She wrapped her arms around me and
pulled me into her.

I melted. The icy
exterior and cold isolation of my broken heart mended, not all of it, but the
little jagged pieces at least.

She didn't say a thing,
just hugged and let me collapse a bit.

Someone hugged from the
back and another person and then another. After a few minutes I was surrounded.

We didn't squabble or
insult. We didn't mock or hurt. We held on to one another.

After several minutes
Sierra whispered, “I’m so sorry, Lain.”

“Me too, Lainey.”

“Me three.”

“Me four.”

Even Lindsey was there.

I nodded. “Thanks, guys.
I’m sorry, Linds. I should have called.”

The massive huddle broke
in a struggle as Lindsey grabbed me, pulling me to her. Again they all leaned
in, wrapping around us both. We hugged for minutes before we pulled apart, each
of us looking insanely shell shocked.

Sage wiped her face and
gave me a look. “I’m sorry for what I said at the party. I was being such a
bitch. I don't even know why. I got drunk and just—mean.”

“It’s okay. You were
right about us going to snoop without Lindsey. It was weird.”

Lindsey rolled her puffy
eyes. “Vincent made it sound like you could be brother and sister in the next
production of
Hansel and Gretel.”

“Well.” I laughed.
“Obviously, that's true.”

Rita put her hand out,
taking one of mine. “I hope you know I am here for you, whatever you need. My
parents have had this battle.” She looked like she genuinely understood. I knew
she did. Lindsey had told me that both of Rita’s parents had been unfaithful
for many years.

“Thanks, guys. I just
feel lost.” I gave them all a look. “You know how my mom found out, right?” I
skipped the part about me giving her little hints.

The fact we were in a
hallway filled with kids was lost on us. If you'd asked, we each would have
said we were in our own little bubble. And the moment I asked them the
question, it was just silence. “Did Jake tell you?”

They stared, each shaking
their head.

“My mom got a mysterious and
anonymous package from who she thinks is a friend. Inside was a ransom-styled
note telling her about the affair and a bunch of pictures. And other stuff.”

Lindsey understood first.
She stepped back. “What?”

“Yeah.”

Sage scowled. “Like the
killer’s ransom notes?”

“Yup. Same fonts and
everything.” I paid close attention to her eyes as they widened with shock.

“No.” Her mind was
working overtime trying to figure out something. “It can’t be.”

Sierra slumped. “So it’s
not over, not at all.”

“The letters could have
come from someone else,” Rita added quickly.

“The same night Louisa
mysteriously sells her story about Lindsey’s dad?”

Lindsey’s face turned
bright red. “Oh my God. Louisa is working with the killer.”

“Or she just sold her
story to the killer,” I added. “Jake and I both think this month of silence has
been a month of plotting and building up ammo. We think the killer is about to
strike again. I know Vincent thinks this too.” I looked at Sage, Sierra, and
Rita. “Your dads might be next. Remember what we said last month about taking
the secrets away and the lies? You should tell them what’s going on. The cliff
notes version.”

Sierra winced and pulled
out her phone. She dialed and swallowed hard before speaking, “Daddy, I need
you to do something for me, right now.” She lowered her head and her voice, “I
know about Sage’s mom. You need to break it off or go public with it. Mom too.
She and uncle—no, someone has our secrets. Mr. Henning is dead. Now
Lindsey’s dad and Lain’s have been outed for their secrets. Someone has them.
Someone knows everything about us.” Whatever he said on the other end made her
roll her eyes and sigh. “It doesn't matter how I know. Just stop. Do you want
the whole world to know through the media like with their dads?” She gave me a
look. “Fine, but you better do it by today before someone else does it.”

“I can’t do this.” Sage
stepped back. Her face was pale.

“What if the story and
all its proof land somewhere like the news?”

“You’re right.” Sage
nodded at Lindsey and pulled her phone from her pocket. She took a deep breath
and dialed with trembling fingers. “Mom, it’s me. Yeah, I know. It’s break. I
need to tell you something. No. No.” She shook her head, getting angry. “Mom!
It’s you and Mr. Casey. You have to tell Tom and either end it with Tom or end
it with Sierra’s dad.” She flinched, shaking her head. “It doesn't matter. I
don't care. Just stop! Lindsey’s dad and Lainey’s have both had their secrets
shared and Mr. Henning is dead. Someone knows what you have been doing. You have
to take the secret away from them before they use it.” She looked down,
disappointed. “Fine, let the media break the story. I haven’t had a bad enough
year, why not add that too?” She hung up and gave me a look. “My family will
likely be the 7:00 news right after yours being the 6.”

“She refuses?” Sierra
asked.

Sage nodded. “She won’t
even admit it to me. She denied the whole affair.”

“My dad said he would fix
it today.”

Rita pressed her plump
lips together. “I don't even want to call my parents. I love them, but God only
knows what they have been up to.”

“I’m sorry to be the
bearer of such bad news.”

Lindsey wrapped an arm
around me. “We know it’s not you. Whoever is doing this is going down. We need
a meeting in the bathroom.”

The girls closed their
lockers, and we all hurried to the staff bathroom. It locked and was a single
stall.

Sage gave me a look. “Did
you guys go to Rachel’s?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “We
found letters and stuff. She was being blackmailed too. Photos of her in weird
positions with just bathing suits on and stuff. It looked bad. She was
drugged.”

“She might have taken the
drugs herself,” Sierra pointed out.

“I know. Vincent told me
that.” I looked down. “Then we went to your house.” I lifted my gaze right at
Sage.

She didn't get angry the
way I expected. She looked defeated. “You found him, didn't you?”

“Do you want to tell them
what we found, or do you want me to tell?” I wasn't threatening her; I didn’t
know if she wanted me to tell or not.

“The letter telling him to
leave or I was next was on his bed. I started looking around, realizing he was
either the killer or being framed. I didn't know which.” She took a deep breath
and exhaled her words, “So I went through Ashton’s things the night after he
disappeared. I went into his closet and took anything I thought was important.
I rifled through his clothes and emptied hangers.” She glanced at Lindsey. “I
cleaned out his room so they would think he got the letter and fled. I left
that letter in the trash can so the police would know Ashton was innocent, but
I took the other stuff.” She lowered her gaze as tears started to fall from her
eyes. “He had scissors and squares of letters printed out, all different fonts.
He had glue sticks and rubber gloves. And he had a letter all made up. It was
for Rachel.” She started to stammer. “He-he had things to-to make th-th-the
letters.”

“Oh my God.” Sierra
gasped.

“Just wait.” I lifted a
hand.

We all stood and watched
Sage fall apart. “I thought he might have killed her—Rachel—because
she was so evil and so mean to him. But why would he hurt
me
and you guys
? I knew something was wrong and that he probably didn't do
it, but I didn't know for sure. So-so I hid it-it all in my cl-cl-closet.” She
took a deep breath. “Even the pictures from when he was little. He had a
collection of pictures of his favorite places in the drawer with the letter
stuff. I knew he had run to one of those locations.” She lifted her gaze to
mine. “One of the places our dad took him.”

I sighed and nodded. “He
thinks the killer came to his room and put the letter-making stuff there to
frame him.”

She sniffled. “I was
hoping that's what it was. But I couldn't know for sure.”

“Jesus. So he ran, trying
to protect you, and you hid the shit, thinking he might have actually killed
Rach?” Sierra was starting to sound angry or scared. With her redhead temper,
they were the same emotion. “You lied to us when we were in your room and
Lindsey found the letter?”

“Yeah.” Sage wiped her
eyes. “I guess deep down I was a little scared it was him.”

“It wasn't.” I shook my
head.”

“He’s been hiding this
entire time?” Lindsey asked.

“Yup. He’s still hiding,
just somewhere safer than his last place. Jake and I made sure he was okay.
Neither of us believes him to be guilty of anything other than dating a crazy
chick who provoked him at every turn.”

“What else did you find?”
Rita cocked a dark eyebrow.

“Nothing much. Ashton has
his side of the story, but he hasn't told me yet. He still seems really upset.”

“Was Rachel’s stuff
hidden in the Barbie room?” Lindsey gave me a knowing look.

“Yup. We kept all of that
in case the police were asked to overlook it. Rachel’s parents might care more
about protecting their own image than they do about the truth. Or they might
not have even let the cops into the Barbie room.”

Sage nodded. “That's very
likely.” She reached for me again, placing her hand on my arm. “I’m so sorry,
Lain. Keeping the secret about the letter stuff was making me so angry.”

“It’s okay. I
understand.” And I did. I understood and I believed. So if she was lying and
she was the killer, I had been fooled.