Page 91 of This Stays Between Us
“You deserve better than Declan, Claire.” Now it’s my turn to look embarrassed. I mentioned to Josh offhand one night how I’d caught Declan and Phoebe, but he didn’t have much of a reactionthen. He’s never brought it up again, and I figured he had forgotten. But apparently not.
Josh gives me his signature lopsided smile, reaches his hand out for mine. After everything that’s happened with Declan, feeling so used and manipulated, here’s this kind, funny guy telling me he has feelings for me. I know I should feel something more for him—love or at least something close to it—but I can still only see him as a friend. I’ve used him, I realize. All these years, I’ve kept him close, not because I wanted to pursue a relationship, but to feel better about myself. To be that twenty-year-old again, the girl who had yet to ruin her life. It wasn’t fair. And I don’t deserve him now.
“I know it’s a lot,” Josh says, dropping my hand in the wake of my silence.
“No, no, it’s not that. There’s just…so much you don’t know.” I try to think of a way to explain everything I haven’t told him, but it seems impossible. “I just—I need to get out of here.”
Josh nods eagerly. “You want to go back to the hotel?”
“No.” My response is sharp. I could tell him about the police coming, but there’s too much to explain and not enough time. And to be honest, after pouring my soul out to Declan last night, I’m not sure I’m ready to repeat that again. “I need to get out of Jagged Rock. Just…somewhere else.”
Josh’s eyes go wide. I feel my chin drop, a terrible burning sensation forming behind my eyes.
“We’ll go,” he says finally, and my head darts up, clinging to that one word.We.“We’ll get out of here. Drive to another town and figure out our next steps.”
“I appreciate the thought, but we can’t. We don’t even have a car.”
“Actually,” he says, reaching into his back pocket. “We do.”
I stare in awe at the keys in his hand. “Where did you get those?”
“Turns out Luke has been calling all his friends trying to see if anyone has a car we could borrow to visit Kyan in the hospital. One of them finally came through after the girls went to bed, so Luke handed these over. I drove it here actually, parked down the street.”
I should tell him, I know I should. I should admit I don’t share the feelings he has for me, and I need to tell him the rest of it: the knife, the impending arrest. It’s not fair to let him try to save me when he doesn’t realize how much I’ve ruined everything. What if the police pull us over? I would be evading arrest, and wouldn’t that make Josh an accomplice?
But what choice do I have?
I think of what Phoebe would do. The answer is easy: whatever it takes to protect herself.
“Okay,” I say, so quietly I’m not sure if he hears me at first.
But he smiles, grabs my hand, and leads me away from the Inn towards the car, a dust-covered four-door SUV parked at the edge of the street. I smile back, trying to ignore the lump in my throat that I can’t swallow away.
As we walk, I turn back once more to the Inn, and that’s when I see it, a figure filling one of the window frames on the second floor.
Declan stares down at me, his eyes wide.
And suddenly I’m angry. The betrayal, the hurt rises over me like a wave. I watch with clenched fingers as Declan mouths something to me through the window.
But I ignore him. Instead, I turn back around and follow Josh into the car.
44
Claire
Now
The scenery changes quickly, the rustic, dying main street of Jagged Rock giving way to dry land that stretches as far as the eye can see, intercepted by a single two-lane road. As we drive, the sun breaks above the horizon, dousing everything in a gentle pink. It should be reassuring, but the beauty does nothing to calm my racing heart.
“Wildfires rip across rural Queensland as firefighters struggle to douse the blaze. The monthslong drought continues to present arid conditions that are prime for spreading fires. Evacuation orders have begun to be issued for Everly and—”
The name Everly sounds familiar, but before I can remember why, Josh flicks off the radio. I’m sure he expects me to tell him the full story, but I still can’t bring myself to relive it all. He seems to understand, leaving me alone with my thoughts, for which I’m grateful.
The entire time, Phoebe’s phone sits in my pocket, pulling medownwards into the seat like a deadweight. I need to know what’s on it. I need to know if there’s any evidence that proves Declan murdered Phoebe. And why.
I need to know if I can use it to help prove my innocence.
Again, I consider telling Josh about it, but I resist. Maybe it’s the lingering hangover of betrayal that I feel from Declan, but I’m not ready to fully trust anyone just yet.
