Page 48 of Dead Girls Can't Tell Secrets

“She takes AP classes at Foothill. My school.”

“She never mentioned you to me.” I inch toward the railing, glancing at Jacey, who looks just as lost.

He’s lying. There’s no way Piper has a new best friend she neglected to mention to anyone in her life.

“Well, she told me all about you,” Tyler says, turning to Jacey. “About what a great friend you’ve been.” Jacey goes crimson.

“And about you,” he says, flicking his chin in my direction. “About yourcloserelationship. About what you did to Jacey last year. And other things you did.”

The others look at me, and my stomach falls. I shuffle backward, the gravel grinding beneath my feet until the railing jabs my spine.

Noah’s gaze bounces around our huddle. “I’m lost.”

“I called her, you know,” Tyler says. “That day. She told me all about what you did to her.”

My heart performs a sputtering beat. “You’reAlex.” I barely hear my own voice above the wind.

Tyler’s hands fly up. “Guilty. Tyler’s my middle name. In real life, I go by my first name: Alex.”

“How—whydid she keep you a secret?” I ask.

Tyler brushes a hand over his dark clothing. “Maybe because as far as Piper’s concerned, everything the three of you touch turns to ash.” His gaze drifts to the dense, dark woods.

“This guy is not Piper’s friend,” says Noah, who’s still massaging his sore knuckles.

“Then how do I know all about you?” Tyler asks him. “How you loved to toy with her? How she kept holding out hope that all of your mixed messages would eventually lead to something? How you betrayed her.”

I force my hand to my hip, force the tears back. Force the knot in my throat down. “That doesn’t prove anything. You were the last person to speak to my sister before she fell off this cliff. You were obviously here.” I uncurl my fingers, letting the metal flash. “And now, here you are again, trying to cover your tracks. That’s why you wrote that threat on our tent, isn’t it? You knew we’d figure it out and tell the cops.”

“Go ahead and tell the cops whatever you want,” Tyler says, his always-friendly eyes narrowing and sending a chill up my spine. “They already know about me.”

“What do mean?” asks Alexandra, still hugging the pink notebook to her chest.

“I went to the cops.” Tyler rubs at his stubble-strewn face. “I knew exactly where Piper was before she fell because we spoke on the phone. And then, the next morning, I find out she supposedly tried to kill herself? It didn’t make any sense. So I told the cops they needed to investigate.” He runs a hand through his hair. “And they didn’t.”

“Where was Piper before she fell?” Alexandra asks timidly.

“She went to talk to Mr. Davis.”

My head feels tight. My lips, tongue, everything goes numb.

“Why?” Alexandra asks.

Tyler’s gaze snaps to mine. “You want to tell them, or should I?”

“She went there to tell Mr. Davis the truth, didn’t she?” I can’t feel my mouth as the words come out. “About what I did.”

A small, bitter laugh escapes Tyler’s lips. “If that’s what you really think, then you don’t know your sister at all.”

His words are sharp, and my breath catches. I fall back against the cold rail, letting myself slide down to the ground. My injured finger brushes the earth, and pain vibrates up my arm. Piper went there to do exactly what I asked her to do.

She went there to confess.

My lungs feel like they’re about to burst. Everyone’s hovering, staring at me.

“What’s going on, Savannah?” Noah asks, reaching down to help me up. I try to push him off. I don’t deserve his help. Not this time. Not ever. But my arm won’t obey my brain.

I shut my eyes and draw in the slightest amount of air until the drowning sensation lets up. “I got Piper in trouble. Big trouble.”

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