The Secrets We Keep

The Fifty-Second Chapter

Hayden

"Did I hear voices down here?" 

I press my body back against the wall as I hear the distinctly feminine voice travel through the walls. It's a bit muffled and I have to strain my ears and quiet my breathing to hear. 

"No," comes Nathan's response. He must've moved back to the other room because his voice sounds as far away as his mother's. "It's just me down here."

"Mm," she responds and I can hear her heels make that same racket as she walks around. "Did you do what I asked you to?" My brows furrow as I wait for Nathan's response. "Well?" She demands after a minute goes by and he hasn't said anything. 

"Yes," he answers hesitantly. "She won't be a problem anymore."

My confusion grows and my body tenses up when the sound of her shoes suddenly stops. 

"Unfortunately, the brother woke up. We'll have to take care of him but after that, we'll be in the clear. No more loose ends. And then you'll lay low for a while and once this has all died down, things can go back to normal."

My heart expands at the unexpected news. If nothing else, trapped in this room, I know one thing for sure: My brother is alive. The thought alone is enough to bring tears to my eyes. He's alive. 

"Sure," Nathan says stiffly. 

"Oh, don't look at me like that. You were the one- you were the one who called me when you messed up. All I've done since is help you fix it and- Stop looking at me like that!"

I flinch as her scream echoes around the boat. 

"I'm not looking at you in any way," Nathan responds back quietly. It's so low that I can barely hear the words he's saying. 

She scoffs and the sound turns into a humorless laugh as I press my palms against the wall, the wooden panels a grounding comfort. 

"All I've ever done is try and help you. I always try to make you perfect and when I don't get mad about something you did, when I help clean it up, you look at me like I'm the monster. And for what? So what if you had to kill this other girl? She knew too much. You knew as well as I do that if she ran her little mouth, everything we worked so hard for would be ruined." 

I don't hear anything for a few moments except for heavy breathing. And then, just as I feel my body relax, there's a loud thud and a gasping sound. 

I bite my lip as, despite my best intentions, something like sympathy tears through me. I squeeze my eyes shut as though that will make this whole nightmare go away, but then she's speaking again. 

"Now that that's settled, you have to go to the hospital. Go there on the pretense of seeing Christopher and then go find the other boy and-"

"No," Nathan interrupts and his voice shakes on the word. "I won't- I can't, I can't keep doing this. How many more people have to die before all this is over?"

"As many as it takes," she seethes. "Nathan, if he tells-"

"But we framed him. No one's going to believe a word he says no matter what. No one can place me at the scene, but if I kill him now, I'll be at too many crime scenes. They'll know and then they-"

"Fine! I'll do it. If you can't have the fucking balls to do something like this, then I will. God, you're so fucking useless!" 

Damien. I start shaking my head, my fingers desperate to try the handle, to escape as their plan unfolds. She thinks I'm dead- that he killed me. And I know Nathan wouldn't finish this job, but this woman? She sounds fucking insane.