Page 79 of Cruel Steps

Sighing, I hit the key fob, and the car beeped. Cody dove into the backseat and pulled out the costume.

“I got two paws, two feet, and a body. Where’s the head, Peanut?”

I shrugged. “It should be back there.” I replayed the scene from earlier when I’d stripped down and tossed it in. “Actually, I don’t remember having the head on…” I trailed off.

Cody and Colter exchanged another look, fear etched on their faces. Something wasn’t right. They were acting too weird.

“Explain your weirdness. Now.”

“This is very important, Mer. Do you remember where you had it last?”

I huffed and thought back. I had it off when I talked to Hope. “I took it off to confront Hope. Why? You’re both freaking me out.”

“The car that hit Hope,” Cody said, swallowing. “The driver was wearing Wolfie’s head.”

“But that’s not possible…”

Their fear suddenly made sense. It looked like I’d been the one behind the wheel. People would believe I’d taken out my bully right after publishing that article.

Holy fucking shit.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-SIX

EMERSON

“It wasn’t me! I swear!”

My breathing became ragged, and stars appeared in my vision. Hands clamped on my face, and Colter’s comforting ocean scent took over.

“Breathe, sweetheart. We’ll figure this out. It’s why we wanted you to come here, so we could find out who’s behind this. Neither of us believe you did this. Okay?”

Breathing in and out, my heart slowed, and I felt calmer.

They believed me.

Nodding, I sagged into his arms. The weight of everything felt too much. Would I ever not feel this weighed down?

“Let’s go inside,” Cody said, taking my keys and locking the car.

They led me upstairs, my mind a complete mess of thoughts and emotions. How did everything keep getting so screwed up? I finally stood up to my bully, and she got hit by a car, and I looked guilty!

“That’s why Holden hates me,” I whispered.

Colter blew out a breath. “He doesn’t hate you, Mer. He’s just struggling right now. He’s the most loyal and protective person I know, and he feels like he let you and Hope down, so he’s closing himself off.”

I shook my head. He did hate me. It didn’t matter why. He’d broken my heart—just another scar the Adler siblings had given me.

“We should get some sleep and rally in the morning with fresh eyes,” Cody said. “Just text me when you’re up,” he said, moving to the door with his phone out. He’d have to Uber back to campus, and it was late. I opened my mouth to stop him, but thankfully, Colter spoke up, beating me.

“Stay, Rivers. You can take the couch or Holden’s room.”

“Holden’s?” I gasped.

Colter cringed. “Well, it was meant to be his, until your parents told you all to stay home.”

Another layer of guilt swarmed me. Rose might have been able to get me into Hayward, but there was a limit. My tuition took the budget for Holden and Hope to live off campus. Cringing, I nodded. “Right.”

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