Page 76 of The Missing Half

But Kasey cuts me off. “You killed Jules! Okay? Without me, you’d be in fucking prison.”

And with that, the last of the crumbling house shatters to the ground.

Chapter Forty-four

Kasey, 2012

The sound of her cell vibrating on the bedside table lurched Kasey from sleep. She blinked blearily, her eyes adjusting to the dim light of her room. She’d forgotten to turn off the lamp, and the textbook she’d been studying when she drifted to sleep was open beside her. The night outside her window was still and black. It must have been late.

Yawning, she grabbed her phone and glanced at the screen. Her first reaction at seeing her sister’s name was relief that it wasn’t Brad. He hadn’t called her since she’d broken things off last week, but she kept anticipating it. He’d actually cried when she told him it was over, and every bit of attraction she’d ever felt for him had turned in that moment to pity and disgust. Just because he was older, she’d realized, didn’t mean he was wiser or more mature. He was just lost—like her, like everyone.

Her second reaction to seeing Nic’s name was annoyance. Her phone’s clock read almost 2a.m., which meant her sister was probably at a party somewhere and wanted a ride home. Kasey had gotten the same call many times from Nic over the summer, and no matter how frustrated it made her, she always got out of bed. But themoment she heard her sister’s voice over the phone, Kasey knew something was different.

“I need your help.” Nic’s words were slurred, frantic.

Kasey sat up and the textbook fell to the ground. As it did, she caught a glimpse of the circulatory system diagram she’d been studying earlier, the network of blood in the human body.

“What happened?” she said.

Nic let out something between a sob and a groan.

“What happened?” Kasey repeated. Her mind was already spinning with scenarios—greedy boys drunk on beer, dares gone too far. “Are you hurt?”

“I fucked up,” Nic said, starting to cry.

“Take a deep breath.” Kasey waited for her sister to do as she said. “And another…Okay. Now tell me what happened.”

“I was at Harry’s Place, y’know that bar we sometimes go to, the one that takes our IDs? Well, I was driving home and I…” Nic hesitated, and Kasey closed her eyes, the nightmare scenarios shifting. She hadn’t even remembered that Nic had the car. “I hit something,” Nic finally finished.

“Are you hurt?”

“No.”

“What did you hit?”

“A tree.” Nic sobbed again. “Mom and Dad are gonna be so pissed.”

Kasey slumped with relief. Her sister was an idiot. A reckless, careless idiot who risked too much for nothing. But nobody had gotten hurt. “Where are you?” she said. “I’ll come and drive you home.”

The night was pitch black, but Kasey had a small light affixed to the front of her bike, and it didn’t take long for her to find their old Honda Civic. It was pulled off the pavement near a dense wooded area. Trees towered beside the car, swallowing the light from the moon and stars.

“You came,” Nic said after Kasey got off her bike and walked up to the driver’s side window. Her sister’s eyes were unfocused, their lids heavy. Her smokey makeup was smudged, making her sockets look black.

“Jesus Christ, Nic, what were you thinking?” By now, all Kasey’s relief had curdled to anger.

“I know,” Nic said. “I’m such a fuckup. You should disown me.”

Kasey rolled her eyes. “Just get out so I can drive.”

She opened the door and Nic slipped out, then Kasey helped her walk around the front of the car to the passenger seat. As if she were a toddler, Nic grabbed Kasey’s hand in hers then pulled it up her face, rubbing the back of it against her cheek. Her skin was sticky with tears. “I’m sorry you’re always taking care of me, Kase. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Kasey was too furious to speak. Plus, there was no use reprimanding her sister when she was like this. Nothing would sink in, and she probably wouldn’t even remember it in the morning. Tomorrow, Kasey would have a real conversation with her. She’d tell her she had to stop drinking so much, tell her she couldn’t use the car anymore, not when she was going out. Kasey opened the passenger side door, scanning the car for any evidence of the accident. It looked like the right side of the front bumper was dented, but that was it—surprisingly little damage considering how enormous the trees along the road were.

“Really,” Nic continued as she slid into the seat, her body boneless. “I’d be such a fucking mess without you.”

“You’re a mess with me, Nic.” Kasey buckled her sister’s seatbelt, then closed the door.

As she walked back to her bike, she studied the gaping blackness of the road behind her, the slightest hint of unease crawling up her spine. Where was the tree Nic had hit? Kasey had assumed it’d be obvious to spot—the one that stuck out from the rest—but she could hardly make out anything at all. She pulled her phone from her pocket and shined the flashlight toward the woods. The tree line was still a dark blur, but with the light, she could tell that it was far from the road, at least ten feet. Even in Nic’s state, it seemed unlikely that she would’ve swerved so violently.

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