Page 84 of Where the Darkness Goes

Will speaks up. “We came back to protect Mom. But the killings had stopped. We thought he got spooked, but we couldn’t leave her here alone. As for the sheriff, we had no proof, just our word and the things we’d pieced together. It all fits. Besides, even with proof, we were afraid if he found out, he’d turn the town against us. He’d frame us for the murders, somehow. And, more than that, we were afraid for you. We wereafraid that if he’d killed six times already, he might kill again. What if some of the kids who died were his, you know? What if he was taking them out, getting rid of evidence? You just needed to make it one more year and get out.”

“Except he couldn’t have killed all six of them. He wasn’t at the party when Cassidy died. Someone would’ve seen him.”

Will runs his tongue over his teeth. “That’s the piece we can’t figure out. Maybe he was working with someone else, or maybe he found a way to do it himself. I wish I knew. All I was worried about after that was keeping you safe. Keeping myself away from you so I didn’t accidentally slip up. If you knew the truth, there was a chance he’d kill you too, and I couldn’t risk it. I begged Mom to take you and leave, but she wouldn’t. I was doing all I could do to keep you safe.”

“But why? Why wouldn’t she leave?”

“Because she was protecting the other kids. Mom said the only thing standing in a bad man’s way is a good one. She said the darkness goes where light refuses to be. Had she left, he would’ve won. Evil would’ve won. Darkness. If she ran away to protect herself—and you—it left everyone else at risk, and she couldn’t live with that on her conscience. After I told her what was going on, Mom made sure Pastor Charles never had a private meeting with boys at the church. If she couldn’t stop it, she came in often to interrupt or made excuses to be in the room. She started to warn the other moms, too. They were all talking. A whole whisper network. She was waiting for proof to have him arrested, but it never came.”

The weight of everything I’m learning is exhausting. My life has been a lie. My mom lied to me. My brother lied to me. Garrett lied to me. Pastor Charles lied to me. Every pillar in my life feels a little less steady. And then there’s Britney. “So what does any of this have to do with Britney?”

Will chews his lip. “That’s the other question I don’t have a straight answer to. If Mom said Britney knew, I’m assuming she means she found out about Pastor Charles before she was killed, which would help prove our theory that he was killing people, but we need to be sure.” He nods, standing up. “I know this is a lot to process, but we need to go see Mom.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” I say firmly, shaking my head.

Both men eye me. “What are you talking about?” Will demands. “This is important.”

“You have just told me my entire life is a literal lie. Everything. Everyone.” I can’t bear to look at either of them. It all just burns from the inside out, like I’m imploding right in front of them. They lied to me. They kept me in the dark. In danger. And everyone around me knew about it. I think about the way Pastor Charles comforted me at Britney’s funeral, how Garrett stood right there and watched it happen, how he said nothing. Did nothing. He could’ve warned me. He could’ve donesomething.

“I need to see Mom,” Will says, his voice low, firm, and still questioning. “Come with me. Please.” He reaches for my arm, but I jerk away.

“No. I need a minute, okay? I just need…” I touch my chest, sucking in a ragged breath.

“We’ll wait,” Garrett says firmly. “We can wait.”

“I need to go. I need to talk to?—”

Will starts to argue, but Garrett cuts him off. “Then you go. I’ll stay with her.”

“No,” I cry. “No.” I look up at him finally, glowering. “You go too. Both of you. Go and give me space.”

“You shouldn’t be alone right now,” he says, reaching for me.

Again, I jerk away, stepping back. “I don’t want to talk to you right now. Either of you. I understand you had your reasons,and I even almost understand them, but you have to understand what it feels like in my head right now.”

“I do,” Will says. “Because I was there.”

“And you were mad at Mom for putting you there, right? For lying to you?” I pin him with a glare, driving the point home.

Understanding washes over his face, and finally, he nods. “I never wanted you to find out.”

“And somehow, that stings worse.” I run a hand over my mouth. “Please just go. Both of you. Go and visit Mom and find out what you can, and then, when you come back, we can talk with clear heads. Right now, I don’t want to… I can’t do this.”

The men exchange glances, a full conversation passing between them without uttering a word, then they nod.

“Are you sure?” Garrett asks.

I nod without looking at him, my arms crossed.

“We won’t be gone long, okay?” Will says, taking a hesitant step backward. “Promise me you’ll be here when we get back.”

I lick my dry lips. “I’m not going anywhere today.” I let the last word linger in the air, a warning and promise that after today, there are no guarantees.

When they’re gone, I sink onto the couch, elbows resting on my knees as I process everything I’ve just learned. The necklace. Mom. Will. Pastor Charles. My dad. Everything.

Everything.

Everything.

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