Tell Me Pretty Lies

“Dropped it in the woods.”

“Are you kidding? You left a bat behind, probably with your blood on it, after you fled a crime scene. You might as well have left your name and number, Holden. What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking I’m very drunk and I miss my fucking brother and want answers. Next time I’ll call a professional,” he says pointedly. “We don’t all have extensive knowledge about serial killers and how to not get caught.”

Shayne rolls her eyes, but her face softens at his words. “But that still doesn’t answer my question. What do I have to do with any of this? Why don’t you trust me?”

Holden hesitates, not knowing how to go about this one, and Christian remains quiet.

“Because we think we know who did it. Danny had an argument with someone the day before,” I say, leaning back onto the entertainment center that spans the length of the wall and cross my arms, watching her closely for her reaction.

“Okay, and?”

“It was Grey.”

Shayne

“It was Grey.”

“What?” I breathe out the word. Needing to sit down, I drop back onto the couch, trying to make sense of everything I’ve learned in the past few minutes. He never mentioned an argument. “No.” I shake my head. “You don’t understand. Grey was wrecked after Danny… He’s still wrecked.” I lock eyes with Thayer, willing him to believe me. “You have no idea how much it messed him up. He barely speaks to me. He won’t even come home.”

The three of them exchange looks, and I can almost hear their unspoken thoughts. They think Grey’s behavior is coming from a place of guilt.

“I know my brother,” I say defensively. “And even if they did argue, so what? They were best friends. Brothers,” I grind out. “Just because we’re not blood…”

“Relax.” Thayer holds up his palms, approaching me as if I’m a wounded animal.

“We don’t have the facts. This is why we’re trying to fill in the blanks here,” Holden adds. “We need to know what else happened.”

“So you thought I was covering for Grey,” I say, still trying to piece things together. That’s why they turned on me. On all of us.

“Would it be that crazy to assume you’d be loyal to your family?” Thayer asks, coming to a stop in front of me.

“You are my family!” I blurt out, frustrated, before realizing my mistake. “Or…were. Back then.”

“We’re still family,” Holden says, looking over at me with those puppy dog eyes.

A bitter laugh leaves my mouth. “You both treated me like shit.” Christian wasn’t ever particularly vocal about how he felt about me. I got the feeling that he stayed out of it, and as long as he wasn’t going out of his way to make me miserable, that was good enough for me, regardless of how he felt about me. Thayer and Holden, on the other hand…they hurt me. Because I cared for both of them in a way I didn’t care about many other people in my life.

“Families fight.” He shrugs.

Thayer doesn’t echo Holden’s sentiments, but he comes to sit between us on the oversized sofa. I lean my back against the armrest to face them both, wrapping my arms around my bent knees.

“I do have another question,” I say, changing the subject. I have a lot of other questions, but most of them are for Thayer, and I’m sure he made this little family meeting on purpose, knowing I wouldn’t ask him anything about us. “Why did our parents call off the engagement?” One day, things were fine—or as fine as things could be, all things considered. The next, I was told to pack my things.

Holden and Thayer exchange a knowing look.

“What?” I ask, looking between the two of them, feeling slightly on edge. “Tell me.”

“Word on the street is that your mom was having an affair,” Holden says.

I laugh, actually laugh out loud. “Word on the street?” That’s ridiculous. “Which jealous housewife started that rumor?”

“My dad,” Thayer says.

“What?” I frown, not believing that for a second. But then I remember the night I saw her with another man. Was that him? But why wouldn’t she say anything? If she was having a year-long affair, you’d think I’d have been introduced to the guy—or at the very least, aware of his existence. Is this what she’s been hiding?

“Don’t hurt yourself thinking so hard,” Holden quips.