Page 9 of What Lies in the Woods

Cass bit her lip. “It’s been over two decades. If anyone was waiting for Persephone to come home, they’ve given up by now. Is it really going to help anyone, after all these years?”

“Wouldn’t you want to know? What if Amanda was the one who’d gone missing?” Olivia asked.

Cass covered her eyes with her hand. “Fuck. Of course I would. But, Liv, it’s not that simple. What do you think Amanda’s life is going to be like if this comes out? It would ruin me. People aren’t going to want to hold their business retreat at a lodge owned by a woman who hid abodyfor twenty years. And good luck booking any weddings, Naomi.”

“It’s not going to be like that,” Olivia said, tone turning desperate.

“God, I sound awful. Worrying about money, when…” Cass’s voice choked off. “But seriously, Liv. What do you think happens when people start asking questions? I don’t think any of us wants the world to knowexactlywhat happened in those woods. Or after,” she added softly, pinning me with a level look.

“Maybe it’s time they did,” I replied, voice hollow.

Her calm fractured. “Of course you’re in favor of just blowing everything up. You’re never the one who has to stick around to clean up the mess.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means you’ve never tried to fix anything in your life. You just break it and leave,” Cass said. There was a prickly anger in her voice that left my skin feeling raw. “You left us behind. Amanda doesn’t even remember you.”

“Can you blame her for wanting to get away?” Olivia asked.

“We were kids. People have shit in their childhoods. The point is to move past it,” Cass said.

“Yeah, you’ve definitely moved past it. We’re what, two blocks from your parents’ old place?” I asked, my temper flaring to match hers.

“Better to be living with a shitty boyfriend and taking photos of people who are happier than you’ll ever be?”

“Fuck off, Cass.”

“You too, Naomi.”

We glared at each other. Then she laughed, wagging her head. “It is so damn easy to fight with you. Always has been.”

I let out a strained chuckle of my own. We’d scrapped constantly as kids, too. Quick to fight and quick to get over it. Even back then, my instinct had been to lash out and run at the slightest provocation, and Cass was always the one who hunted me down so we could patch things up.

Cass straightened up and walked over to the counter, plucking a half-empty bottle of white wine from its spot. “I’m drinking. Who’s with me?” I glanced at the clock. Barely 10:15.

“Cass—” Olivia started.

“Well, I’m not drinkingalone,” she said, and took down glasses for all of us. She set them out and poured a splash into each. She took a sip from hers, shut her eyes, and stood there with the glass hovering an inch from her mouth. Then she opened her eyes, and they were clear and calm. “Listen, Liv. I understand what you’re doing—I do. Really. It’s not right, leaving her out there. But you’ve been thinking about this for years. We’ve only had a few minutes. Give us some time to catch up, okay?”

“I—” Olivia began.

“We need time to figure things out,” Cass insisted. She glanced pointedly over at me, looking for backup. “We have to think about the consequences.”

I took a swallow of my wine. Liv was right—it was long past time to tell someone about Persephone. Someone out there had to be looking for her. Mourning her.

But this wasn’t something to do on a whim. We needed time to think.

Ineeded time to think. Because Cass was right—I didn’t want people asking too many questions about that day in the woods. Persephone was a secret we all shared, but I had my own secrets, too.

“Please,” Olivia said, her eyes fixed on her lap. There was an ache in my chest. I couldn’t get a full breath.

“Let’s just take a beat here,” I said, hating myself for it. “Cass is right. We need to make sure we’re going into this clear-eyed.”

Olivia gave a tiny nod. She’d closed in on herself.

Cass sighed. “I’m sorry, Liv. You sprang this on us, and… and maybe you’re right, and it’s time. But if we decide to do this, let’s besmartabout it. I can make some calls, and we can talk to a lawyer, and at least make sure we wouldn’t be opening ourselves up to some kind of liability. Okay?”

“Okay.” It was barely a sound, it was so quiet. She lifted her eyes to the level of the counter, and even that seemed like a monumental effort.Guilt worked its slick way through my gut. “Do you want to know her name?”

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