One of Us Is Next(48)
“Sounds great,” I say, peering at the brochure over Addy’s shoulder. “Can I see?”
Addy hands it to me with a smile. “You should look into it, too. You don’t have to be a high school graduate to apply. We’d have fun.”
She’s right, we would. I can’t think of anything I’d like better than a summer with Addy in South America, actually. But I can barely plan for next week, with all the crap going on with my life. Who knows what kind of shape I’ll be in by the time applications are due? Still, the brochure draws me in with beautiful pictures of the school and the kids, and I’m flipping through with increasing interest when Ashton comes running out of her room.
She’s barefoot, and her blouse is untucked as though she’d paused halfway through getting changed. “I just got a text from Eli,” she says breathlessly, her eyes roving over the coffee table. “Where’s the remote?”
“I think I’m sitting on it.” Addy twists and reaches to pull it out from behind a cushion. She blinks, surprised, when Ashton snatches it from her hand. “Jeez, Ash, what’s the rush?”
Ashton perches beside her on the arm of the sofa and aims the remote at the television. “There’s been an accident,” she says. The screen springs to life, and Ashton clicks away from the E! Network. “I think they’re covering it on Channel Seven—yeah. Here it is.”
A stone-faced news anchor sits behind a shiny, semicircular desk, the words Breaking News scrolling in all caps behind him. “Reporter Liz Rosen joins us now at the scene,” he says, aiming an intense stare directly into the camera. “Liz, what can you tell us?”
“Ugh. Her.” Addy frowns as a dark-haired woman in a blue blazer fills the screen. Liz Rosen practically stalked Addy, Bronwyn, Cooper, and Nate last year while they were being investigated for Simon’s death. Then Addy’s brow furrows as she leans forward, craning her neck for a better look. “Is she at the mall?”
“Thank you, Tom,” Liz says. “We’re continuing to bring you the latest from Bayview, where tragedy has occurred at an abandoned construction site. The story is still developing, but what we know so far is that a group of local teens were in a blocked-off area when one boy fell through the roof of a partially constructed building. Another boy was also injured, although it’s not yet clear how. And we just got word, from one of the officers here, that the young man who fell through the roof has been confirmed dead.”
My hand flies to my mouth as I take in the familiar scene over Liz’s shoulder. “Oh my God,” Addy says. A half-dozen sugared almonds slip through her fingers and onto the floor.
Phoebe gasps and scrambles to her feet. “Knox,” she breathes. “He cut through there.”
“I know,” I say, my eyes glued to the television. “He’s always saying how mad his dad would be if he knew. And no wonder. It really was dangerous.”
“No,” Phoebe says urgently. “I mean he cut through there today. On his way to work, right before I came here.”
Oh my God. Knox.
My entire heart seizes as a yellow banner reading TEEN DIES IN CONSTRUCTION SITE ACCIDENT appears at the bottom of the screen. Helpless, flailing panic rushes through me, and I fumble under piles of netting on the coffee table for my phone. “It can’t be him,” I say. My voice shakes, and I force more conviction into it. If it sounds true, maybe it will be true. “He’s fine. I’m going to call him right now.”
Liz continues to talk. “There are still a lot of unknowns. Police say they have yet to notify the next of kin, so they have not released the name of the deceased. It’s also not clear what type of injuries the second teen has sustained. However, we understand that they are not life-threatening, and that the young man has been transported to Bayview Memorial Hospital for treatment.”
My call to Knox goes straight to voice mail, and just like that, I start sobbing uncontrollably. “He—he’s not answering,” I manage to choke out as Addy puts an arm around my shoulders and pulls me close.
“Let me call Eli,” Ashton says. “Hang on. I left my phone in my room.”
My head is buried in Addy’s shoulder as the desk anchor’s deep voice turns mournful. “Of course, the town of Bayview is no stranger to tragedy, Liz.”
“Turn it off,” Addy says tightly.
“I can’t…I can’t find…” Phoebe sounds like she’s in tears, too. “I think Ashton took the remote with her.”
“That’s absolutely true, Tom,” Liz Rosen says. “The town is still recovering from the shocking death of Bayview High student Simon Kelleher eighteen months ago, which made national headlines. It remains to be seen how this story develops, but we’ll continue to monitor and provide updates as they happen.”
I clutch Addy’s arm like a life preserver, my stomach twisted with fear and sick regret. If anything happened to Knox, and I never got the chance to make up with him…
“He’s okay. Knox is okay!” Ashton’s voice fills me with such intense relief that I can finally look up. “But he’s the one in the hospital. Eli doesn’t know what happened yet. I’ll take you there right now.”
Addy keeps her arm around me as we stand. I feel as unsteady as a newborn fawn; none of my limbs are working properly as I lurch toward the door. “Does Eli know who died?” I manage to get out.