Page 34

Claire

Now

“It was a snakebite,” Declan says. “An eastern brown snake.”

Luke inhales sharply. “That’s one of the most venomous snakes in the world.”

I close my eyes tightly against the memory. Tomas stumbling out of the water, pale faced and naked. Someone screaming, Ellery maybe? Blood dripping from his leg as we hurried to throw clothes on him.

Birrani and Nick emerged from their tents instantly. As soon as he learned what happened, Birrani administered the antivenom he carried with him, but it didn’t matter. Eastern brown snake bites require multiple rounds, and Birrani didn’t have enough.

“It is okay,” Tomas said over and over as the world rushed around him, Birrani loading him into his dune buggy to drive back to the main office where he would radio for a helicopter to get him to the nearest hospital. “I feel fine.”

It was the last thing he said to us as Birrani pulled away. But Tomas was wrong.

He didn’t even make the trip back to the office. The snake venom paralyzed his heart, striking him dead in the middle of the Outback, the place he had longed to visit his entire life.

I feel a tear sneak down my cheek at the memory, and Luke places his hand on my shoulder.

“It sounds like he was a good friend,” he says comfortingly.

“Phoebe wasn’t the same after that,” I say once I’ve regained my composure. “She knew she was to blame. Tomas never would have gone in that water if she hadn’t dared him. And some of us—Adrien in particular—were pretty eager to remind her of that.”

***

Once we’ve finished our drinks, Declan and I go upstairs, retreating to our respective rooms. It’s certainly not the Raven Inn, that much is clear as soon as I enter mine.

A faux fur rug lies flat on the beat-up hardwood floor, and dark maroon wallpaper interspersed with framed photos of various sex symbols decorate the walls.

Pamela Anderson blows a kiss from above a desk, while Marilyn Monroe’s skirt flies up over a sewage grate directly above the double bed.

I understand Luke’s reluctance to rent them out.

The floor warps in places, the wallpaper peels, and a thin sheen of dust covers everything in sight.

I collapse onto the bed, which is significantly more comfortable than the one I slept in last night.

Despite the darkness seeping in from the windows, not one part of me craves sleep.

Instead, my mind whirs. Recounting the story of Tomas’s death has brought me back to ten years ago.

The resentment that filled the cracks in our group.

The once happy family turned broken. The grief that festered into blame, all of it leveled at Phoebe.

Is that what led someone to kill her?

All of us have secrets; that much is true.

I think of Adrien’s claim that Phoebe ruined her life, of Josh’s lies, of the secret whispers I overheard between Declan and someone else the other morning.

No one even suspected. I recall the rage on Adrien’s face in the video I watched of her and Kyan the night Phoebe went missing, and I replay our conversation from earlier. She ruined my life.

Why won’t she just admit what happened? Why all this caginess? Can’t anyone just be honest for once?

Anger curls around my skin like wisteria, threatening to strangle me. This is enough. We all need to come clean.

I throw myself off the bed and walk decisively back out to the hallway. I knock on the door to Ellery and Adrien’s room loudly, and Ellery answers a moment later.

“Hey,” she says, “I’ve just been on the phone with the mechanic. He’ll be out here tomorrow morning at nine. Luke offered Adrien his car to drive to the hospital, but he said there’s pretty much no way that thing is going to hold up for the hundred miles it takes to—”

“Where is she?” I interrupt. “Adrien.”

Ellery looks startled. “She went downstairs to try to get better cell service.”

I’m halfway down the stairs when the din of voices coming from the lobby stops me short.

“Thank you,” Adrien’s voice filters up to me. “For everything. Back then and now.”

I cling to the banister, hanging onto Adrien’s every word. I’m shocked by the voice that responds. The gruff Australian accent, softened for the occasion.

“Of course, honey.”

Luke.

Adrien knew Luke back then, somehow. The taste of betrayal sits heavy on my tongue, coppery and metallic like blood.

I knew enough not to fully trust the others, but this hurts too much to process. Sweet, kind Luke, who tried to protect me earlier from Nick Gould. This patient stranger who I immediately developed a fondness for.

I want to run back upstairs, to throw myself onto the bed and rip the covers up and over me. But I’m not hiding anymore. It’s time to confront the truth.

“What exactly did Luke do for you back then?”

My tone is cold, unrecognizable as I step from the stairs into the lobby. Adrien and Luke’s eyes dart up at me, guilt plastered on their faces. Two children caught red-handed.

“Seems like now is a good time as any to come clean.” My words turn into a snarl.

I expect Adrien to protest, to strike out once she realizes she’s backed into a corner, so I’m surprised to see her shoulders drop slightly, the fight leaving her.

“Fine, it’s about time anyway. Grab the others; I don’t want to do this more than once.”