Blood Money (1) | The Inheritance Games

XLIII. suburban legends

"I didn't come here to make friends, we were born to be suburban legends."

The story finally being told aloud sends a strange stabbing pain to my heart. Silence. That's what I'm submerged in.

I got away with it for this long, which is what sucks most. But murdering your best friend is bound to come out at some point.

"Say something!" I chirp anxiously. "You pushed her? And then she died because..." Jameson repeats nauseously.

"She tormented me for years. And she pushed me as well, it just so happens she was stupid enough to be on the edge of a cliff!" I justify, feeling that hammering in my heart and tightening in my chest whenever I think about it.

"The last words she heard.." Grayson trails off, looking dizzy. "Were that she was hated by everyone. Okay, maybe it was harsh, but it was a reality check she needed, even if it killed her." I shrug, pulling at straws to justify my behaviour. 

"Spencer, this wasn't your fault." Nash assures me calmingly. "Debatable." Grayson chimes in sharply. 

"Who the fuck else killed her then if it wasn't me?" I yell at my eldest brother, verging on a full on mental breakdown. 

"Probably the adrenaline of jumping off a-" Xander starts.

"Being pushed off." Jameson corrects firmly. 

"Tomato tomato." Xander hushes him. "Adrenaline got to her heart, she had just plummeted 70ft off a cliff, saw her ex in the trees, faked her own death, waterboarded her best friend and then got told something a little hurtful — But all the while true. She didn't die from a broken heart, she died from the exertion of being a risk taking fool." Xander rambles shamelessly.

I blink at him. "But I made her heart act up cause I pushed her!" I respond. 

Grayson and Jameson seem to cool off after the initial shock. "She would've jumped anyway. You were 16 and you made a stupid mistake. It might have cost her her life, but it was inevitably going to end that night anyway." Grayson tells me factually.

I find my eyes flicking to Avery. She's the outsider. She didn't see how bad Emily was, so she doesn't have our insider perspective. I need her to assure me I'm not a monster. Because if she says it, I'll believe it. 

She doesn't look frightened like she originally had when I started the story. And that's enough.

"The old man must've known. He must've known and he must've wanted to make sure we never forgot. That's why he disinherited me entirely. He didn't want to give money to a murderer." I state calmly. 

"No." Xander speaks up, all heads turning to him. "That's not what this is. He wasn't making a point. He wanted all 5 of us together. Here." He swears solemnly.

"The old man could be a real bastard, Xan." Nash grips our brother's shoulder sympathetically.

"That's not what this is." He states with more sureness this time. I furrow my brows. "What precisely are you saying, Alexander?" Grayson speaks up firmly.

"The three of you were walking around like ghosts. You were a robot, Gray. Jamie, you were a ticking time bomb. Spence, you're a mess." 

I take note of the past tense for Grayson and Jameson followed by present for me. I am a mess. Not I was. I am. 

"You hated each other." My baby brother tells us. "We hated ourselves more." Jameson speaks up.

"The old man knew he was sick. He told me right before he died. He asked me to do something for him." Xander clarifies. "And what exactly was that?" I prompt.