The living room felt like a pressure cooker, the atmosphere thick with unspoken words and heavy silence. Billie and Shawn sat side by side on the couch, the faint glow of the lamp casting long shadows across their faces. Each tick of the clock seemed to amplify their anxiety, counting down the moments since Angle had stormed out in search of Belle.
Billie rubbed the back of his neck, his heart racing. "What if she finds out?" he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. "What if she discovers what we did?"
Shawn swallowed hard, his eyes darting toward the door as if expecting Angle to burst back in at any moment. "We can't let her know," he said, his tone urgent. "If she figures it out, we're done for. We can't let anyone know about the—"
"The bullet," Billie interjected, his face paling. "We shouldn't have gotten involved. We should have just left it alone."
Shawn shot him a glare. "You think I wanted this? It just happened! We were trying to protect ourselves, and now..." He trailed off, his words hanging in the air like a noose tightening around their necks.
The memories of that fateful night flooded back—Belle's desperation, the chaos, the moment they made the decision to walk away. Billie had thought they were doing the right thing, but now the weight of their actions crushed him. They had left her behind, and now Angle was out there, searching for her sister, unaware of the truth lurking just beneath the surface.
"What if she finds the evidence?" Shawn continued, his voice rising with panic. "What if someone else finds out? We'll go to jail! We can't let that happen!"
Billie buried his face in his hands, his mind racing with the implications. "What are we going to do?" he said, his voice muffled. "We can't just sit here."
Shawn leaned forward, his brow furrowed with concern. "We need to stick to the story. If anyone asks, we just tell them we haven't seen Belle. We'll figure this out, but we can't let anyone know what really happened."
Billie nodded, but the doubt gnawed at him. "But what if Belle tells Angle? She wouldn't lie for us. She would protect her sister, no matter what."
"Then we make sure she doesn't get the chance," Shawn said, a steely resolve hardening in his gaze. "We need to find Belle before Angle does. We need to make sure she stays quiet. It's the only way out of this."
The words hung between them like a dark cloud, the enormity of their situation pressing down on their shoulders. Billie's stomach twisted with guilt, but he could feel Shawn's determination and knew they had to act. They couldn't let fear paralyze them; they needed a plan.
"Let's retrace our steps," Billie suggested, a flicker of hope igniting within him. "Maybe we can find her before Angle does. We know where we left her; we can go back and see if she's okay."
Shawn nodded, his expression serious. "Okay. Let's get out of here. We'll go back to the woods, and we'll find her. We'll find both of them."
As they stood up, their hearts raced with a mix of fear and adrenaline. They exchanged one last glance, a silent acknowledgment of the gravity of their situation. The boys moved toward the door, their minds racing with thoughts of what could happen if they were caught.
"Just remember," Shawn said as he opened the door, "we stick to the plan. No matter what happens, we can't let anyone know what we did."
Billie took a deep breath, steeling himself for the night ahead. They stepped into the cool darkness, the weight of their secrets heavy on their shoulders. The woods loomed in front of them, a tangled labyrinth of shadows and whispers. With each step they took, the urgency of their situation grew, pushing them deeper into the night in search of the truth and the sisters they had inadvertently endangered.
