Page 12 of Little Buried Secrets

Thanks for the support, Sean.

I expected Sebastian to hop up and flee the room.

Instead, he looked at me and said, “Margot’s the best. I’ve never met a girl like her. I can tell you one thing; she deserved a hell of a lot better than a guy like me.”

Meredith gasped. “That’s not true. You’re a wonderful person.”

“No, Mom. I’m not.”

“Why would you say that about yourself?” I asked.

“Because of what happened, what I did. You know all about it. Don’t you? Isn’t that why you’re here?”

“You’re not being accused of anything,” Sean said. “We wouldn’t allow it if you were.”

Sebastian ran a hand through his thick, curly, light-brown locks, and shook his head. “Margot was the best thing that ever happened to me. And I messed up. I messed up bad.”

“Are you referring to the night of the party?” I asked.

He bit down on his lip and nodded. “Nothing would have happened if I would have just … if I hadn’t gotten drunk that night. Maybe I would have remembered—”

“What did happen?”

“I don’t know. It’s the truth. I’ve thought about it so many times. I’ve tried hard to remember, believe me. I thought if I could, maybe I’d realize nothing had happened between Kaia and me, that it just looked like it had. We both had way too much to drink.”

“Before you and Margot decided to meet up a few nights ago, had the two of you communicated since the breakup?” I asked.

“I texted her a few times. She didn’t respond. I called. She didn’t answer. She must have told Bronte I was trying to get in touch because Bronte passed me in the hall one day and shoved me into the school lockers. She threatened to jack me up if I didn’t leave Margot alone.”

“And did you leave Margot alone?” I asked.

“I did. It wasn’t because of Bronte’s stupid threat. It was because of what Bronte said. She told me Margot cried over our breakup almost every night.”

“Who suggested the two of you get together—you or Margot?”

“Margot. She said she’d talked to Kaia and wanted to set things straight, since we’d never had a conversation about what happened the night of the party.”

“What were you hoping would happen when you talked?” I asked.

“For a second chance, I guess. I would have done anything to get her back.” He flicked a tear off his cheek. “I don’t get it. Who would trash her bike? And where is she? Why is any of this happening?”

“I don’t know, but I promise you this—I’m going to find out.”

Sebastian looked at his parents and jumped to a standing position. He looked at me and frowned and then rushed out of the room, saying, “I’m sorry. I can’t talk about this anymore right now.”

CHAPTER 7

Rae was sitting on a rocking chair on her front porch when I drove up. Standing on the steps a few feet in front of her was Bronte. The husky teenager’s hair was in long, dark-blue pigtails, and she was dressed in black cargo pants with a silver chain looped around one of the pockets. Her matching shirt had a few rips in it, which looked intentional.

The more I stared at her, the more she reminded me of a cool, sassy, roller derby girl.

At present, Bronte was squinting, looking up and down the street like she was wary of any unwanted visitors who might stop by for a visit.

Her focus shifted to me, and she moved a hand to her hip.

“My mom’s not seeing anyone right now,” she said.

“Your mother is expecting me,” I said.

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