“You’ve never been there. I can tell because if you had, you’d know. There are two sides to the bluff. The deep-diving side, where everyone jumps, and the other side. It’s shallow and full of rocks. I mean, a stranger at night wouldn’t be able to tell the difference, but Molly knew. She’d been there dozens of times before.
“She was fully clothed. She didn’t bring a bag with a towel or a swimsuit. She wasn’t there to dive.”
“Maybe she was meeting someone. Maybe—”
“She left a note,” Hunter whispers.
“You didn’t tell me that,” Griff says softly.
“It’s not easy to talk about. She said she was sorry. Said being in love hurt too much. That she didn’t want to be here anymore if that’s what it would feel like day in, day out. She asked for forgiveness, and that was it. She was gone.”
“I’m so sorry, Hunter.” I wrap my arms around him and place my head against his chest.
He holds himself stiffly for a few moments before wrapping his arms around me and resting his head on top of mine.
“I don’t know what happened between Molly and Cain the night before she died. She wouldn’t tell me, but I think whatever was said was the trigger that led to her jumping. I told the police and my mom what happened, but it was like I was invisible. Turns out, Albert had offered Molly’s dad and my mom a large lump sum of money to keep his grandson’s involvement out of it. Their argument was that he didn’t kill her, she killed herself, so why ruin his future as well as hers?”
I pull back and cup his cheek before pressing my lips gently against his.
“They expected you to just get over it and move on?” I guess.
He nods. “Her name was not to be spoken. They were embarrassed that she killed herself. Called it fucking tawdry. Can you believe that shit? There was so much damage…we never got to see her. They just had her cremated in a private ceremony that only the three of us attended, and then they went back to living their best lives. When I found out they were telling people she was doing a gap year and traveling the world, I lost my mind and left.”
“He moved in with me right after you left. I hated being in that house alone, and it made sense. He was the only person I cared about other than you. I sold everything I could and bought this place as soon as it became available, and the rest is history,” Griff adds as I look up at him.
“I just hate that everyone forgot about her. She was special, you know? How can people so easily forget she existed?”
“She’ll never be forgotten as long as she has you. Your memories of her keep a part of her alive, and one day, when you have kids, you can tell them about their Aunt Molly and how much she would have loved them.”
He swallows hard before his mouth is on mine. His kiss is hard and determined, seeking something I’m not sure he even realizes he’s looking for before his pain and anger drain away from him and his lips become soft, his touch turns gentle, and eventually, he pulls away.
“Do you have a photo? I’d love to see the woman who made such an impact on your life.”
He smiles softly before moving away from me to grab his cell phone, which is charging on the counter.
Griff winks at me and hooks his arm around my neck, tugging me closer so he can press a kiss to my temple.
“Here it is. This is the last one I took of her. She was such a goof sometimes.”
He turns the cell phone around, and my stomach churns at the image of the pretty blonde sticking her tongue out at the camera as she makes the peace sign with both hands.
“She was beautiful,” I tell him truthfully.
What I don’t tell him is that I’ve seen how beautiful she is before, in a handful of photographs I snagged—
My brain comes to a halt as I remember that I gave those photos to Hunter and Griff after forwarding digital copies to The Candy Shop. The question is, how come Hunter didn’t see the image of his dead stepsister?
I pull from Griff slightly and look up at him. His jaw is tight as Hunter looks down at the screen, making me wonder if Hunter didn’t see it because someone hid it. If so, why?
“Hey, I need to get back before my next class. Miss Smith already has it out for me, and I don’t want to add any more fuel to the fire. I’d stay if I could, Hunter.”
“I’m fine. I’m going to do some laps in the pool. Try to burn off some of this anger. Besides, I’d be shitty company right now, and I don’t want to be more of a dick to you than I already have been. Do you want me to drive you back first?”
“No, go ahead. I’ll wait for Griff to take a quick shower, then he can take me.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure. Go do what you need to. And remember, I’m only a phone call away.”
He kisses me again as I stand wrapped in Griff’s arms.
“Thank you.” He disappears down the hallway, leaving me with Griff, who watches me warily.
“If you want a shower first, you’d better hurry. I really do have to get back.”
“Dulce…”
“Not now. Shower, then let’s go.”
He hesitates before cursing quietly and heading up to his room to clean up.
I toss the empty ice cream carton in the trash and wash the spoons, more to give myself something to do than anything else. I stare out the window in a daze, wondering if anything in my life will ever be simple again when hands on my hips make me jump.
I spin around and pull my fist back, stopping at the last second when I realize it’s just Griff.
Jesus, how long have I been spaced out?
“Shit, sorry, Dulce. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You didn’t,” I snap, pissed at myself more than him. I’m trained better than this, yet lately everyone is sneaking up on me willy-nilly.
He doesn’t say anything else, wise man that he is. He snags my hand and his keys with the other and pulls me toward the door. We head to the car, where he holds the door open for me while I climb in. Reaching over, he straps me in, his hand lingering on my lap for a second before he walks around to the driver’s seat and climbs in beside me.
“Whatever it is you’re thinking, you’re wrong.”
“You don’t know me well enough to know what I’m thinking.”
“Yeah? And whose fault is that?” he snaps back before sighing.
“Look, I know you think I hid shit and lied, but I didn’t. Truly I didn’t. You’d already left before we finished looking through all the photos. I was going through the stack when I saw Molly’s photo at the bottom. I don’t even know why I did it. I just knew I couldn’t let him see it, not until we had answers that went along with it. He already has to deal with the uncertainty of her death. This would throw it all up in the air again.”
“Where is it?”
“The photo? I hid it. I’m not trying to interfere in your investigation, or whatever the hell you call it. I want answers as much as you do. I’m just trying to protect our boy,” he tells me quietly, making me deflate.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I planned to. I just couldn’t get you alone, and then my dad started calling again, and it slipped my mind. It’s not an excuse, but it’s all I’ve got.”
I lean my head against the passenger window and watch as the trees whiz by.
“Was she as lovely as Hunter said she was? Death can make people see only the good in those they lost, even though they were endlessly flawed in life.”
“She really was a nice person. I mean, I didn’t know her like Hunter, but she was liked around school and not just by the popular crowd.”
“How did she end up tangled with Cain?”
“That’s easy. The parties that Willow students put on are pretty notorious. Some go just to rub shoulders with the who’s who, some go looking for hookups, and some go just because it’s the in-thing to do. Everyone has been to at least one Willow Creek party, even though they are forbidden.”
“Forbidding something always makes it that much more tempting. Look at Adam and Eve. That bitch fucked up her chances of staying in Eden just for an apple. I mean, a doughnut I would have understood, but an apple?”
He smirks but doesn’t say anything.
“So Molly went to one of the parties and became the flavor of the week.”
“I guess so. The thing is, and I don’t say this to Hunt because he’s too close to it, but the Eveson brothers have a reputation. They don’t make promises. They don’t do long-term relationships, although some stick around longer than others. But every woman knows that Cain and Abe are in it for a good time, not a long time.”
“Molly knew this?”