Chasing Spring(42)

Donny bent down, edging her chin up with his meaty fingers.

“Elaine, Elaine, shh,” he soothed before his tone turned darker. “Stop f*cking crying,” he snapped.

His grip tightened on her chin, digging painfully into her skin. She forced back tears and blinked up at him.

“Tomorrow is your last chance,” he said, his eyes darting back and forth between hers. “Got it?”

She nodded, swallowing down her sobs so he wouldn’t yell at her again.

He stood and turned toward the door, and then thought better of it and turned back for her. He pointed the blade at her mouth and his thin lips twisted into a sardonic smirk. “I was going to make it quick and painless, but I want you to know right now: if you’re wasting our time with this, I’m going to take my time slicing that pretty face of yours.”

He laughed, closed his switchblade, and waved the guys out of her apartment.





Chapter Forty-Three


Chase





I was about to rip us apart. I knew that by delving into the truth about our mothers’ deaths, I was unraveling her world, but I had to pull the string.

“Where was your mom that day, Lilah?” I asked again.

“She was out. I don’t know. I never learned all the details.” Her gaze shifted back and forth between my eyes as she tried to process the muddled memories in her head. “Why are you doing this?” she asked as tears collected in the corners of her eyes.

I tried to stay calm. My temper raged through me but I couldn’t yell. I had to be the calm one.

“She was with them, Lilah. She was the one who let them into our house.”

“Stop.”

I shook my head. The anger was building in my chest, gripping its way around my throat.

“My mom wasn’t supposed to be home,” I explained. “She was supposed to be at the school carnival, but she ran home for a ladder. Your mom thought they could break in really quick, but that didn’t happen.”

“Why are you doing this, Chase?” Lilah asked, sorrow seeping through the rage in her eyes.

“She never even tried to stop them!” I yelled.

“Shut up Chase! SHUT UP!” Lilah screamed. Her tough exterior started to strain and crack. “You don’t know what you're talking about!”

“She watched her best friend die and she was too cowardly to do anything about it.”

“You’re a LIAR!” she screamed, gripping her fists around my shirt like she wanted to rip it from my body.

“They strangled my mom and left her for dead,” I said as I watched her face.

Her body collapsed against mine. She fell forward and slammed her fists into my chest. Over and over again, she hammered against my chest like a drum. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her up and trying to be strong enough for the both of us. It was useless. I tightened my hold around her elbows so she couldn’t move. She tried to claw free of me. I was a human punching bag and Lilah was a wrecking ball.

“Why Chase? Why?” she sobbed.

She kept mumbling into my shirt as she slipped further away from me. Her body stayed right where it was, but I was losing her. My Lilah. She’d always pushed her misplaced anger onto me. Now, she’d forever blame me for being the person to bring the truth to light, for ruining what little respect she still held for her mother.

That blame I could live with. That blame was something I could bear.





Chapter Forty-Four


August 2013

Blackwater, Texas





Elaine wept through most of the night. Hannah was her sister, her guardian angel, and her hero, and in a moment of weakness, Elaine had agreed to rob her blind. Donny had slipped his blade against her neck and instead of slowly descending into darkness, she’d offered up her best friend’s house as collateral. It was a new low, even for her.

She kept telling herself that the robbery would be quick and clean. Donny had run through the plan with her a thousand times, but she’d been in a daze, trying to think of a solution out of the whole mess. Even as they stepped into Hannah’s backyard and walked up the door, Elaine hadn’t given up hope that she’d find some way to make it right.

No one was home. Elaine knew that Hannah and her family were at the summer carnival. Hannah helped organize it every year, so Elaine planned their robbery for 8:00 PM, right smack-dab in the middle of the festivities. Hannah should have been halfway to the top of the Ferris wheel surrounded by funnel cakes and cotton candy.

Elaine noticed the lights on downstairs as she retrieved the spare key from beneath the potted hydrangea out back but didn’t think much of it. Hannah tended to leave the lights on even when she wasn’t home.

“Hurry up,” Donny said, edging behind her and yanking the key out of her hand as Elaine pushed to stand.

He shoved the key into the lock, turned it, and pushed the door open with the care of a destructive giant. Elaine followed Donny and Carl into the house, careful to wipe her shoes on the floor mat. The guys headed for the living room, but Elaine dragged her feet, conscious of the sick feeling pooling in her gut. She wanted to turn and run. She wanted to rewind and go back to the other night and let Donny slide his blade across her neck. Death would be a welcome end to the guilt that grew with every step into that house.