When someone dies mysteriously during a Psych experiment, Rhiannon becomes enmeshed in a conspiracy that includes both the survivors and the killer.
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Short on cash, Rhiannon...
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CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
COHESIVENESS
( — the extent to which members of a group are bound together. )
— ♡ —
IT'S BEST IF YOU STICK TOGETHER.
Stick together. Stick together.
Trust me.
Rhiannon feels about to throw up. There have been two past occurrences similar to this one, with her fearing that moving too much or too quickly would instantly make her spill out her stomach's entire contents; just remembering said situations quickens her heart rate, with noradrenaline shooting through her body, and she uncomfortably shifts in her seat.
The first one was when Frances nearly broke her arm when she left halfway through her exam and she can still feel his grip cutting off her circulation, his fingers pressing against her skin. The second one was when she saw his immobile body lying at the bottom of the staircase on January 14. The shock, the sheer terror—they all played a big part in her reaction, but there was also something she still hasn't dared to admit out loud.
Part of her thought it served him right. Even if he hadn't screwed her over as much as he must have done to some other participant, the one who shoved him off the stairs, just hearing his name made her blood boil in her veins, bubbling under her skin. She feels dirty and corrupt whenever she fails to repress those thoughts and emotions; regardless of how despicable she thought he was, he was still a person.
She has seen his girlfriend on TV and on campus, eyes so red and swollen it looks like they won't ever recover. It's ironic how Taylor's family looked the exact same on the days immediately following her disappearance and the washing up of her body on the beach, but now . . . it's like something sucked the life out of them.
"Do you want to leave?" Rhiannon questions, holding her cardboard cup with both hands. Laura flashes her such a miserable look her heart sinks down to her feet. "I know you didn't ask for my opinion, but the parents have a point—not just your parents, but everyone who wants to pull their kids out of this place. They don't think this is a safe place anymore. Look at what happened to Taylor. Look at what happened to McCall. Look at what could have happened to anyone in that house after the fire started."
Laura briefly stares out of the window, pensive, before focusing back on her. "What do your parents have to say about it?"
"Other than trying to hide they might be suing Crowcrest and passing it off as supposedly caring about what happens to me? They think it's Beatrice's fault, but they're letting me stay." For now, she mentally adds, as it's something that can be applied to virtually anything that happens in this place. "Does it matter? My parents and their decisions shouldn't be used as a good example."
