Page 94 of Insidious Truths

“Isaac told me you were thinking about filling her in,” he said as he easily propped his ass against one of the kegs and crossed his arms. “Did you?”

I blinked at him. It was like he’d somehow read my mind.

Shaking my head, I said, “I was going to at first. But the more I thought about it, the more I began to question whether—”

“You think she might hurt herself again,” he fished.

“It’s so much more than that. But yes, that is also a big concern of mine. She deserves to know how bad shit is, but then again, so does all the other students. Telling her affects not just herself, but all of us, Rhett. I want to do the right thing here, but I also don’t want to be selfish either.”

“First of all.” He dropped his arms to his side and stepped forward, gripping my shoulders. “Breathe. And second, if you do decide to tell her, there is no guarantee she’ll agree to leave when she literally just got back. Is this a fucked-up spot for us to be in? You’re goddamn right it is. But it is what it is at this point, babe. I know she’s your friend, but if you really want my advice, I’d let it go, at least for now. When the time comes, we’ll deal with it then. Together.”

He cradled my face and kissed me gently before he pulled away and curled a hand around the top of the dolly, sighing.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can and then we can talk about it more if you want.”

“Where are you going?” I frowned.

“Isaac the Dumbass,accidentally—or so he says—ordered way too much alcohol for the party. Everything’s already been paid infull and the vendor refuses to refund us for what we don’t need. Thankfully, most of everything is out here, but we still have to finish unloading the last of it and moving it out to the shed. There’s not much left. I’d say about five… maybe six trips total with the dollies.”

I turned my head long enough to locate Sky and found her still chatting it up with that Hannah girl. “That’s fine. I’ll be here.”

“Just try to have some fun, babe.” He leaned forward and pressed another kiss to my lips that I quickly fell into, whimpering softly as he teasingly nipped my bottom lip when he pulled away and smiled. “Maybe I can sneak you away for a bit when I get back?”

“Maybe,” I answered, my cheeks swelling. “I guess that depends on how fast you can get the work done.”

He said nothing more and bolted, dragging the dolly behind him.

I chuckled softly and turned to the table behind me to grab two cups for me and Sky. When our drinks were filled, I wandered over to where she was talking to a skinny bleach blonde wearing nothing but sweats.

“Hey,” I said, nudging her shoulder. “I brought you a drink.”

“You must’ve read my mind. I was just about to go get one.” Sky took it and thanked me before gently outstretching her hand toward the blonde. “This is Hannah.”

“Hello,” I said politely. “I’m Samara.”

The girl offered me a kind nod and then immediately dove back into the conversation she and Sky were having about classes and what Sky had missed since she’d been gone. It led on from one conversation to the next and the next until I’d basically become the invisible third wheel who was just there, sipping on beer, and existing in my own separate world.

It got boring fast, so I saidfuckitand just walked away to get another drink.

When I returned, Sky had just left to refill her second cup of the night, leaving me alone with her friend, Hannah, who did nothing but stare at me with this awkward smile on her face. She kept studying my shoes, my dark jeans, and my band-T with this judgmental as fuck wrinkle crinkling between her brows.

I did the best thing I could do in that moment.

I chugged my drink down and just walked away.

“Samara,” Sky shouted, blocking my path once I'd reached the kegs. “We have to help her.”

“Huh?” I made a face at her. “Help who?”

She pulled me close and began whispering in my ear. “There’s a girl sitting on one of the stumps. She’s hurt, covered in dirt, blood, bruises, everything. I think she came from the woods.”

“Go on,” I said, my eyes already narrowed in said direction. I stared at the stranger for a small minute before my eyes darted up and began scanning the dirt and trees behind her, finding tracks.

Sky was right. Whoever this girl is ran in from the woods.

“She’s asking for Phantom.”

My features softened back out until only my brows were raised. If she was asking for Phantom, then whateverthiswas must have been consequential. There was only one way to find out, so I sent Sky to hunt down Rhett and Isaac while I took in a calming breath and got down to the bottom of whatever this was.

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