Page 30

Thirty

Now

I move to press the answer button on the steering wheel, but Jena snatches up my phone and unplugs it from the car.

“Give me that!”

She shakes her head and holds it away from me, far out of reach. “You can have it as soon as you let me out of this fucking car.”

“What are you talking about? If we don’t run into the police responding to the cop’s crash scene, we can turn off in Dallas and my parents will come meet us.”

“No. Here. Now.”

“Why do you want to get out now ?”

“Because I don’t feel safe in this car with you.”

I roll my eyes. “Oh, my fucking god. Now who’s being dramatic? I can’t believe you’re acting like this. I didn’t have a choice .”

A beeping draws my attention to the dash. My gas light flashes beneath the speedometer, but that doesn’t make any sense. I filled the tank before we left the coast. As I watch it, the gas gauge slips down further and further.

That last domino hit from the police car must have damaged the gas tank.

We might not make it to Dallas.

“You absolutely did have a choice,” she argues. “You chose to drive that boat when you’d been drinking. You chose to push Claire under the water. You chose not to tell the police what really happened and blame her for all of it—to blame me for stealing the boat. You chose to protect yourself even when it cost someone else their life.”

My phone stops ringing. My mom hung up.

I shake my head. I thought she of all people would understand. “What happened to One of these days you’re going to put her in her place, and when that happens, I’m going to cheer ? I finally stand up to her and I’m some kind of villain? You were the one who wanted to throw her out of the party in the first place. She tried to break up you and Felix—”

“There’s a big difference between asking someone to leave a party and drowning them, Brooke! That’s not standing up for yourself. That’s murder.”

“I did what I had to do!”

She simply stares at me, and then up at the sunroof. “God, you know what’s so sick? I watched Claire come at you for years , and I always defended you, always took your side, like she was some big bad bully and you had a target on your back. But I can finally see it for what it really was. You and Claire are the same person. You’re both backstabbing social climbers who would do anything to get ahead. No matter the cost. You were just better at playing the victim than she was, and I’ve fallen for it for the last fucking time. Let me out of this goddamned car.”

My teeth clench at the vitriol in her tone. She’s never spoken to me like that before, and I’ll be damned if I cave to her disrespect now. So instead of letting her out, I stomp on the gas. “Sure fucking thing. I’ll let you out as soon as we get to the Dallas police station. I can’t wait to press charges.”

Jena barks out a laugh. “Against me ? What for?”

“Stalking. Harassment. Attempted murder. Take your pick.”

“That’s incredible. By all means, drive on. I have a lot to tell them too. There are probably a lot of people in this county who’d love to know that Claire Heck was murdered, and one of the most prominent lawyers in the state helped cover it up by intimidating witnesses in the hospital.”

I cut her a sharp look. “Nobody intimidated you.”

“Your dad loomed over my hospital bed and told me it would be a shame if someone with such a bright future went down for the negligent death of a classmate. He said he’d be happy to help me if I helped you .”

My heart starts beating fast. “He was trying to make sure everyone got out of the whole mess unscathed. And you did. He got all the charges dropped and you walked away scot-free.”

“Charges for crimes that you committed!” she shouts. “You know what? I thought I could force you to confess and still stay out of it myself, but I’d rather walk in there and admit to everything—lying about the boat, giving a false statement, the No Caller ID harassment, the Bronco, all of it—than be complicit in this another day. You’re a murderous bitch and I want out of this fucking car right now.”

By the time she’s done, I can feel my pulse in my entire body. “They won’t believe a word you say. Nobody will. The investigation is over.” But even to my own ears I sound panicked and desperate.

“Good thing it’ll be three against one, then.”

My hands tighten on the wheel, and I reflexively check the rearview mirror. There’s nobody behind us. “Who was in the Bronco, Jena? Who’s helping you?”

She doesn’t answer.

“Who. The. Fuck. Are. They?” I seethe.

She flinches away from me, glancing nervously at the needle climbing up the speedometer. “Two other people that couldn’t stomach the idea of you getting away with murder.”

Her words sink in, my headlights illuminating this barren stretch of highway. And then it’s my turn to laugh. “You really want me to go down for this, don’t you?”

My phone starts ringing in her hand again.

Jena sends it to voicemail. “No, I really want you to get what you deserve.”

I laugh again, glancing down at her lap and back to the road. “You’re no better than Claire.”

Jena’s still pressed sideways against the door. She watches me, like she might leap out the window if I so much as twitch in her direction.

It’s funny to me how this night began: Jumping up and down in my room with my best friend, my dreams within reach. Celebrating with my classmates on the beach. Getting my dream prom invitation. I could see all the pieces of my life clicking together and one of the largest, most solid, most dependable of those pieces was Jena Howton. The same girl who sits terrified beside me now, sang power ballads at the top of her lungs when we made this drive in the opposite direction a few hours ago.

My mind can’t superimpose that version of my best friend over the backstabbing bitch staring back at me. When I look at her, I don’t see the girl from my room. That girl is gone. That girl is a fake. Who knows how long she’s been pretending. Has she ever really been my friend? What kind of person can hug and applaud you knowing full well she’s going to make you fear for your life in a few hours’ time?

This girl isn’t my friend. She’s another person determined to see me fail, just like Claire. Somehow, even from the grave, Claire’s sunk her claws into Jena and turned her against me. And Jena’s no better than the rest of them, trying to take me and my entire family down, and for what? To avenge that scab of a human being, Claire Heck?

Rage pools in the pit of my stomach and courses through my veins.

I won’t let that happen. I can’t let that happen.

Damage control.

I accelerate, inching the needle to ninety miles an hour again, even as the gas gauge takes another dip. That doesn’t matter anymore. I don’t need to go far.

“What are you doing?” Jena asks, shrinking back as the car continues to speed up.

I sigh and shake my head. “This isn’t how I wanted any of this to go. You were supposed to have my back. You really should have known better. Nobody can take down a Goodwin, not even you. And do you know why?”

“Why?” she asks with a croak.

“Because we’ll do whatever it takes to win.” I smirk and lock eyes with her. “You forgot your seatbelt.”

Before she can react, I brace myself and wrench the wheel to the right.

The Subaru hits the ditch.

The front of the car drops.

My seatbelt catches.

Jena screams.

And then we flip, rolling side over side, into the barren field beside the road.