The Past
Hunter age twenty-one
Tyler age seventeen
The rain is heavy and cold as it pours down on us. By chance, I saw Tyler on The Suicide Bridge, looking down at the rapids and jagged rocks as if he wanted to join them. I pressed on the brake so fast my body violently jolted forward, my head hitting the steering wheel.
My hand unclips the seatbelt and I open the door, stumbling out. Warm blood trickles from my forehand, disorientation tries to settle but I shake it off. I clutch my fingers over the wound and stagger towards Tyler.
“What are you doing, Tyler?”
“Have you ever thought about sacrificing yourself for the sake of others? If you were to die, then that would benefit the people you love.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
His eyes are empty when he stares at me. “I’ve been keeping secrets from everyone, but especially Isabel.”
“What kind of secrets?”
“My mother has a twin sister, Lily, who has a child Taylor. You remember Taylor, right? She’s my cousin, and then there’s Naya. I know you know about Naya.”
My brows furrow. I have no idea what he’s talking about. “What about Naya?”
“She’s my twin sister, Hunter. Haven’t you ever wondered why she looked so much like me and Isabel, why she’s so different from the blue-eyed blonde-haired children Grace had?”
I squint from the pain bouncing in my head. “She’s your twin sister?”
He nods, laughing unamused. “I know everything. Someone is after me now.” He pauses for a moment, looking down at the silvery rushing river below. “I see Grace has kept you busy, busy enough to miss everything around you. You need to wake up, Hunter. I don’t have a lot of time left now.”
He takes a step forward, getting to close to the ledge. I pull him back and yank him up by the lapels of his coat and shake him. “What the fuck is wrong with you? You’re talking crazy. Why the fuck would you try to kill yourself, knowing you’ll ruin Isabel.”
“Like you have?” he asks somberly.
Dropping him as if he stung me, I let him go. “What the fuck, Tyler?”
“It’s in motion now. The web of deception is unraveling.”
“What web of deception?”
His green eyes glinting dark in the midnight drift up to me. “You hungry?”
“Sure,” I say, knowing he wants to talk to me and explain everything, because Grace has kept me busy with Sally. Sally was nothing more than a distraction to keep me blinded while Grace caused chaos and destruction.
He has all of my attention.
I wonder who the hell is after him.
“I have a box of Lucky Charms with our name on it.”
“You lead, I’ll follow.”
We get to his house and eat Lucky Charms.
Tyler tells me everything