It's been five years since the sudden disappearance of Cora Cadigan's mother. Five years since the case was closed before it even began.
In the final summer before the end of high school, Cora knows it's her last opportunity to find the answers she...
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Rhys
"Fuck!"
I've been sitting in my car for half an hour. Idling in the driveway, the silence engulfing me.
I've never hated myself more than in this moment. To see Cora, to see her so fucking heartbroken. Because of me. Because of all the shit she had been through in this fucked up town of ours. I can't fix any of it. I can't stop her pain, I can't undo the past.
All this time, I've promised her I wouldn't be like Ryan Taylor. But I'm worse than him. He'd never done something quite like this. He'd never lied through his teeth about something so vile.
She doesn't know if she can forgive me, and I understand. I understand that it is unforgivable.
She had asked me once if I had ever put myself in her shoes, imagining Cora doing something like this to Libby's file. But I can't imagine it, because it isn't possible. Cora would have never played along with something like that, even if she once hated me.
Hates me. Not past tense anymore.
And god damn, my best friend is her brother. Her brother. None of it makes any sense, but I know it isn't right to push for answers right now. That Lucas will calm down eventually and will want to talk about it. That I will be there for him, the way I can't be there for Cora.
Someone raps against the window of my car and I flinch, glaring at the culprit. Max's girlfriend, Abby, waves back at me, pulling on the passenger side handle for me to let her in. I begrudgingly unlock it, knowing it will be rude to just ignore her when I've clearly noticed she's standing there.
"Hiya, Rhys," she smiles, sliding into the seat and closing the door behind her. Her blonde hair is swept back in an elegant high pony, sported with designer activewear that she's probably been sponsored to wear.
"I don't think Max is here," I say, monotonous. There is no point being pleasant when I feel like absolute shit. Besides, Abby knows me better than most. She's family.
