The Secrets We Keep

The Fifty-First Chapter

Christopher

The first thing Eric does after picking me up from the hospital and giving me a fresh change of clothes is drive me straight to Nathan's place. 

But as we get there, we have to pull up onto the side of the road when we see another car parked in front of the gate. 

"Stay here," I tell Eric as I open my car door and get out. 

I crunch through leaves as I walk over the pavement toward where the car's driver is speaking to one of the gate guards. 

"I'm sorry," I hear him say as I get closer. "But none of the family are here."

I feel something in my chest tighten when I hear the words. If they're not here, that's not good. I clench my teeth as I start wondering where Nathan would go if he couldn't hide out at the mansion.

"Do you know when they'll be back?" As I get closer, I see that the driver of the red convertible parked in front of the gate is Grace. I stop short so that neither of them sees me as eavesdrop on their conversation. 

The gate guard sighs. "No. The place was cleared out before I got here. If I were you, miss, I'd contact the family and ask them myself. Good day." 

Grace turns around in irritation at his clear dismissal and I watch as she balls her hands into fists, the bracelets she's wearing jingling with the commotion. When she turns around, however, she sees me and there's a moment before she controls her facial expression where she almost looks guilty. 

"Christopher!" She says, her eyes wide as I take a step closer to her car. "I saw what happened on the news. I'm so terribly sorry. I sent flowers-"

"You're looking for Nathan?" I interrupt as she nervously starts twisting her car keys around her fingers. Her brown eyes widen as she looks back to the house. Storm clouds have been gathering all morning, like we're due for rain, and the house looks more stark than usual with the grey sky above it. 

"I am," she says and steps closer to me. "But he's not here. You haven't seen him have you?"

I'm frustrated and have a whole multitude of other negative feelings but I'm not sure how to behave around Grace right now. Knowing what I now know about Nathan and now seeing her here outside of his house, puts a giant question mark next to her name. 

"No," I say, taking in her nervousness. "I haven't seen him since before the accident. Why are you looking for him?"

Her throat bobs at the mention of what happened at the school and she starts walking back to her car but she can't get too close with me standing right beside the door. 

"I, uh, I have something important to discuss with him," she says, toeing her shoe into the worn driveway. "But I should be going." Her smile as she looks up at me is strained. "I can't waste any more time than I already have, so if you'll just excuse me." She looks at where I'm standing in her way, her eyes telling me what she's too polite to say out loud, but I don't budge. 

All I can think about is Damien's words from earlier: Start with Grace. 

"Did you know Hayden's missing?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest and hiding my wince when the pain spikes through my limbs. 

Her eyes widen and her mouth drops a little open as she starts shaking her head. "Hayden? But... how? Why? What happened?" Her words come out in a rush and out of the corner of my eye, I'm aware of the security guard still by the gate, watching us while we linger on the property. 

"We're not sure yet but no one seems to be taking it seriously. The police think she ran away but..." I trail off as I watch a myriad of expressions enter Grace's face. Her eyes crinkle at the edges while her mouth straightens. "Do you know something?" I ask quietly. 

She sighs and rubs at her eyes. "Christopher, I've fucked up so much and now I don't know what to do," she confesses. 

"What's this about?" I ask, trying to keep my voice level. If she knows something about Hayden and hasn't told anyone...

But she surprises me when says, "It's Nathan. The other day, he asked me to put some things into Damien's locker. A note in the morning and then he told me to slide in a bigger letter in the afternoon before school ended. And then when I heard the news and found out that Damien was the killer and that he'd confessed through a letter, I-"

My face pales as I listen to her words. It's the last bit of confirmation we need. "Nathan planted the confession." But why would he do something like that? Getting Grace to deliver the letter is sloppy. 

"I didn't know what it was. I swear. But he was acting weird and-"

"Why would you even do that?" I ask and then I pinch the bridge of my nose. "It's not important. I'm guessing you're here then because you've realized what I have."

"Christopher, I don't know what to do-"

"You do the right fucking thing," I say, already walking away from her and back to my car. "Tell the cops, Grace. Tell them what you did and why you did it and about Nathan's behavior. Damien's been framed for this and if you had just-" 

I can't even finish the rest of my sentence I'm so mad. I get back to the car and once I'm in, I slam the door closed. 

"Nathan's not there," I say, trying to calm myself down as I watch Grace crawl back into her car. She doesn't leave immediately and Eric and I watch through the windshield as she picks up her phone with shaking fingers.

"Where to next?" Eric asks, keeping his voice neutral as he starts turning on the car. 

I heave out a heavy breath and try and think. If I were Nathan and I had committed a crime and needed a place to think where I was far away from prying eyes, where would I go? 

If he hasn't left the country yet, there are only two places I can think of. His family's lake house or their boat. He likes water. It's why he rows. Being near it makes him feel calm. 

"The harbor," I answer as Eric switches gears.