Page 181 of Dare To Live

“What do you think about Bret?” Garrett asks, reaching for the bottle of wine to fill up his glass.

“What about him?” Miles frowns.

“Becoming a priest. He never seemed the religious type at school.”

“People change. And with everything that happened, it’s no real surprise that at least one student turned to religion to help them come to terms with it all.” Ivan takes the wine from Garrett and tops up his own glass.

“I’d agree but Bret?” Garrett laughs. “It just seems weird, that’s all.”

“No weirder than Brad and Lacy turning up at my room and suggesting a threesome.” My voice is dry.

Garrett lifts one eyebrow. “Really? You think that’s weird?”

I laugh. “Fair point. They were always a little strange.”

“Lacy was always trying to get into someone’s pants. I don’t know why Brad stayed with her.”

“Lack of other options?” Ivan asks, and everyone laughs.

“Do you think Lacy is the girl Miles saw back then?” Garrett avoids mentioning Kellan’s name, but his eyes drop to his plate.

“I don’t know,” Miles says slowly. “I didn’t see their face. Maybe it wasn’t even a girl. I was scared. I could have been wrong.”

“No, I don’t think you’re wrong.” A memory surfaces and I turn to Arabella. “Do you remember that night I came to your room and accused you of setting me up? I threw a stuffed toy at you.”

She frowns, thinking, then nods. “You said I was trying to get everyone to believe you were behind killing the small animals. It was a cat, I think?”

“Covered in red paint,” I say. “I was walking along the path toward the dorm when someone shouted my name. A girl. They were trying to mask their voice. That’s why I thought it was you.”

“And that’s why you don’t think I was wrong,” Miles adds softly.

“That’s right. We know he was manipulating the entire friend group around him. But what if at least one of them knew exactly what he was. If their eyes were wide open, the murders and his prison sentence wouldn’t make them stop following him.”

“I don’t think it’s Lacy.” Arabella’s voice is thoughtful.

“Why not?” Miles turns to look at her.

“Lacy likes attention. She isn’t the type to sneak around and hide what she’s doing. For all her spitefulness, she didn’t hide who she is. I don’t think she could keep quiet about being part of something with Evan. She might not admit it on purpose, but she’d definitely let something slip.”

Chapter 103

Arabella

Eli is silent on the drive back from dinner. Miles and Ivan follow us in their own car, with Garrett tailing them in his SUV. I stare out of the window into the darkness as we travel along the driveway from the security gate toward the parking lot of the school.

My mind is reeling with all the shards of the past we’ve been stitching together. It’s so much deeper and more complex than we’ve realized. A game of chess in motion and pieces I never realized were part of it until now. Every action has caused an opposite reaction. It feels like Eli and I were always meant to collide volatilely at Evan’s whim.

Eli switches the car engine off and turns to me. “You’re quiet.”

“Just trying to figure out who could be working with Evan,” I reply.

“Ari—”

“I’m not going to chase after them. It’s just that all the talk at dinner, I can’t help but wonder who it can be.”

“You’re not the only one.”

“I wish we’d been more aware of things back then. We might have figured it out. Seen who was working with Evan.”

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