Emily nodded and wiped her cheeks. “There is one thing we can all do, actually,” she said. “While we were all standing back there waiting for you two to….” She trailed off and gestured at the fire. “We all agreed that we’d tell the police whatever you want when they arrive. We know how much trouble you’ll get in if you hang around and admit what you did. No matter how evil these guys were, they’ll still treat it as a mass murder and charge you accordingly. So if you need to leave now, we’re all happy to stick to a certain story when they ask us what happened. Even the youngest kids understand.”
I looked at Alex. Neither of us had been sure that our plan to destroy the mansion would even work, so we hadn’t discussed what would happen afterwards to a great extent. We had a general idea, at least—we were going to run and hide, wait for things to blow over. Then I’d return to my old life, perhaps claim that I’d hit my head and suffered from amnesia for a few months before finally remembering who I was and heading home. Alex would still be in my life, of course. I’d eventually introduce him to my friends and say we’d been secretly seeing each other for a while before I disappeared, after meeting at the hospital when he treated my mother. It would be hard to pull off, but doable.
Now we had a chance to frame things differently.
“What do you think?” I asked.
Alex squeezed my hand. “I think it’s up to you.”
I immediately realized what he was doing. He was placing his life in my hands to show me how much he trusted me now.
If I wanted to, I could stay here and tell the police everything when they arrived. The whole truth. In the end, I probably wouldn’t be in much trouble, even after helping with all the carnage and killing tonight, because people would tend to think I was coerced.
But of course, I wouldn’t do that to Alex. Not now. Not ever. He knew that. He knew for sure that I wouldn’t betray him, and he was certain he could trust me to make the best decision for both of us.
I chewed my bottom lip as I thought things through. There was one narrative I could spin which would not only serve us both well, but would also serve to honor the memory of one of the brave innocents in our story who didn’t make it.
I whispered my idea in Alex’s left ear, and he nodded. “I think that’s perfect,” he said gruffly.
Emily looked at me anxiously, and we outlined the new plan to her. She agreed that it would work, and then she gathered all the other maids and kids around to tell them as well. Every single one of them promised to tell the same story.
Five minutes later, we were back to watching the fire in silence. Faint sirens were echoing in the distance now.
I looked over at Alex again. “What’s going to happen when this is all over?” I asked softly.
There was a ghost of a smile on his face, and he squeezed my hand. “Whatever you want to happen.”
“I want you.” I squeezed back even tighter. “I’m staying with you.”
His smile widened, and he pulled me closer. “I know.”