Page 39 of Dead Girls Can't Tell Secrets

“Savannah!” Grant’s voice now. I tear my gaze away from the shadowy surface of the water and look down at the group of people standing near the riverbank, heads identically cocked to watch me. Abby’s hands are folded in front of her chest like she’s praying. Mr. Davis wavers, taking a few large steps toward the forest but then stopping to watch me.

Voices buzz, dull and distant, and then Grant takes off up the embankment, leaving Mr. Davis below with his eyes glued to me.

The shadows beneath the water are sharp rocks, some of which pierce the glassy surface. I see that now. Someone would have to be out of their mind to jump from here. Still, I let the crowd squirm, my head hovering out over the ledge. Like I might try it.

Like Piper may have at the Point. I try to imagine her thoughts before she fell. Was there really someone on the other end of the phone line moments before she stepped off the edge?

Or was someone up there with her?

“You couldn’t leave it alone, could you?” I startle at the voice, my feet kicking tiny pebbles off the cliff and into the water. I spin around to find Jacey standing behind me. “Told you it wasn’t him.”

I take a deep breath. Compose myself. “Yeah, well, there were some things youdidn’ttell me, weren’t there?”

Jacey takes another step toward me. “Likeyouhaven’t kept secrets.”

“I deserve that.” Still, I get an uneasy feeling as she looks at me. I shuffle away from the ledge, but she sidesteps in front of me. “Gonna push me too?”

Her eyes narrow at this. “You don’t actually think I did something to my best friend?”

“I don’t know, Jacey. You wanted her boyfriend, didn’t you?” And the second I dangled myself out in front of her like a lure, she came running. Now she has me cornered with my back to the ledge. If she pushed me, everyone who just witnessed me toying with death a moment ago would see a grief-stricken sister simply following in Piper’s footsteps.

Jacey’s face contorts, like all the hate she has for me is about to come spewing out of her. But her shoulders sink. “I wish I could take it back. If what I did was the reason—I don’t think I can handle it.”

Something in me yields, like my insides have been doused in fabric softener. “You weren’t the reason. Piper was tough. I’m sure she was upset. But we never should’ve believed she did it on purpose. Something else happened, and we have to figure out what. For Piper.”

“It’s not going to help her, though, is it?” Jacey chokes out through a sob, dropping to her knees. “She won’t wake up.”

The words lash at me. My feet feel numb, the blood flow suddenly cut off, and I find myself lowering down beside her. “Probably not.”

“How am I going to tell her I’m sorry?” she cries, tears streaming down her cheeks.

It’s the question that’s been swimming through my mind on a constant loop since the second Dr. Porter recommended taking her off life support. Hearing Jacey ask it aloud cracks whatever was holding my torso upright. I crumple, letting my head fall to my knees. My skin becomes slick as the tears that I haven’t let fall run harder than the waterfall crashing behind us.

Any chance at telling Piper we’re sorry might be lost. As gone as those pebbles I knocked over the edge.

But I still have one chance. It’s right here beside me, just as wrecked as I am.

I won’t miss this chance again the way I did with Piper.

“I’msorry.” I look at Jacey through a web of tears. “I’m sorry for what I did to you. And I’m sorry I never apologized. I was…” I try to swallow. “I couldn’t face you.”

She glances up at me, her eyes red, face smeared with dirt that mingles with her tears. She doesn’t speak. But it’s there in the set of her lips, in the slump of her shoulders: a common shame. A week ago, I never thought Jacey and I would speak again, much less be sprawled out here in the dirt, sharing tears. But here we are, bonded by our mistakes.

Bonded by something dark.

Chapter 16

“Savannah, what are you doing?” Grant pushes through the trees, shirt and curls in disarray. He stares at Jacey and me sitting a few yards from the ledge, tears streaking our faces.

I push myself up, wiping my face with the hem of my shirt like a three-year-old and leaving dirt tracks. “Nothing. Just wanted to look.”

Grant’s gaze travels to Jacey, who’s turned away from us, knees pulled to her chest. Like she’s simply gazing out at the view.

He examines me, unconvinced. “Well, come back down.” Hand outstretched, he steps closer. “You practically gave Mr. Davis a heart attack.”

Guilt pinches in my chest. “I’ll apologize.” I glance back at Jacey, statuesque on the outcropping. “Let me catch up with you.”

He gives me a skeptical look.

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