Page 41 of What Lies in the Woods

Maybe Liv had died by suicide—broken by our refusal to listen, by our abandonment of Persephone.

Maybe someone had killed her. And there was only one reason I could think of why someone might want to do that. The same reason that Cass and I would be suspects. Liv had found Persephone, but someone didn’t want her found.

“We should figure out what Liv knew,” I said. “We should find Persephone ourselves.”

“Are you kidding? You just said we needed to lie low,” Cass said, looking alarmed.

“It was what she wanted.”

Cass gave me a steady look. “Naomi, I know you. And I know when you’re about to do something stupid. If you go looking for this girl, someone is going to notice. And all those questions we’re trying to avoid? You’re going to have to answer them.”

“I know, but—”

“For fuck’s sake, Naomi, I just lost one of my best friends. I cannotbe worried about you, too,” Cass said fiercely. She grabbed my hands. “I need you to promise me that you’re going to leave this alone until we’re sure it’s safe. Andthenwe will find out what Liv knew. Together. And we will decide what to do about it.Together.”

“No, you’re right,” I said, nodding. It was the only sensible thing.

“Promise me, Naomi. Promise me you aren’t going to go chasing ghosts,” Cass said.

I hesitated. I couldn’t leave it alone. Liv wanted Persephone found. I couldn’t bring her back, but I could do that much for her.

But I couldn’t do this to Cass. She was already frantic with worry, with grief. She looked ready to crack in two. And she was right—we should at least wait and see how things shook out. Be smart.

I was never the smart one.

“I promise,” I lied, guilt slithering under the words. Cass gathered me into a relieved hug, and her tears were damp against my cheek. I surrendered to her embrace.

“It’s going to be okay,” she said. “We’re going to take care of each other.”

“Nothing’s okay. She’s gone,” I said, and squeezed my eyes shut.

“I know,” she said. She held me tight, and I let her, because she was trying. Even though the last thing I wanted right now was to be touched. “You should stay here. With me. I can make up the guest room.”

“No, you don’t have to,” I said immediately.

“You’d rather be in that ratty motel?” she asked, a wounded edge to her tone.

“I’d rather not run into your mom constantly,” I confessed, and she gave a harsh grunt of amusement.

“Makes sense,” she acknowledged.

I didn’t tell her that she was the one I wanted to avoid. That her touch made me want to flinch away. She was trying to be a good friend. Shewasa good friend. But she wasn’t Liv.

That was all I could think about right now. Liv was gone, and Cass was here, and part of me wished it was the other way around.

And I hated myself for it.

I pulled away from her, murmuring my excuses. I was tired, I was drained, I needed to be alone.

I headed down the stairs and out the open front door, pausing for only a moment as the light hit me, and with it the scent of cigarette smoke. I squinted toward the side of the house. Oscar Green was leaning against the fence, a half-spent cigarette dangling from his hand. He’d been sturdy even when he was young. Middle age had given him his father’s large build, though he’d kept it from getting quite so well padded. His gray tank top showed off thick, muscular arms, indistinct tattoos twining up them.

He nodded at me in greeting. I couldn’t read his expression. I looked quickly away, shame darting through me minnow-quick.You and me are meant to be,I thought, the echo of an echo of a memory.

He straightened up like he was coming over to talk to me. I walked briskly to my car, got in, and shut the door behind me. When I looked in the rearview mirror he was standing there in the side yard, smiling a little. He waved as I pulled away, friendly as anything. I kept my eyes on the road and put Oscar Green firmly out of my mind.

Liv had found Persephone. That meant shecouldbe found. All I had to do was retrace Liv’s path. Find her name. What had happened to her.

And maybe, why someone would kill to keep that a secret.

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