White Rabbit by Caleb Roehrig

Author:Caleb Roehrig
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

16

Jolting back, I slam directly into Sebastian, who has just reached the top of the steps behind me. He grunts in surprise. “Hey, caref—”

When his voice simply cuts off, plunging into ominous silence, I know he’s seen the body. Tonelessly, I say, “Let’s go.”

“Is he … is he dead?” Pushing me aside, Sebastian stumbles forward, his eyes bright with alarm. “Oh shit—”

Without ceremony, I grab his elbow and drag him back again, stopping him before he can instinctively check for a pulse—before he can leave fingerprints at another crime scene. “Forget it. There’s nothing we can do!”

Blood has gushed from Arlo’s brutalized neck, streaking and mottling his inked torso, and it collects beneath him in a spreading, black pool. His eyes are half open, glassy, and vacant, like empty bottles or burned-out bulbs. He is clearly beyond saving.

Sebastian wheels on me. “We can’t just—I mean, we can’t … He’s been killed, Rufus! Look at him! We can’t just leave him—”

“We have to,” I say, firmly and urgently. “I’m serious. Sebastian? We have to get out of here right now.”

That finally seems to make an impression, and my ex-boyfriend’s eyes widen even further, his voice hollowing out. “You think Hayden might come back?”

“I think we don’t need to give the neighbors any more chances to see us and tell the police we were here.”

“We’re not even gonna call the police?” He pulls away as I start dragging him down the stairs. “Are you freaking kidding?”

“Do you really feel like explaining how we just happened to turn up at the site of a second murder tonight?” I challenge frantically, every fiber of my being itching to be back in the Jeep, halfway to anywhere else. “They’re gonna find him any minute now, anyway, because April has to have already handed over Fox’s guest list for the party. You think it won’t look shady as hell if we’re standing here when they roll up?”

He just stares at me, not wanting to understand. “We have to tell them about Hayden, Rufus. He’s still out there, and apparently he’s lost his fucking mind! What if he comes for you again? What if he goes for Lia?”

“Don’t you get it?” I finally snap. “We can’t tell the police why we suspect Hayden without telling them about the money—which means telling them when we really got to the lake house, and everything else that we lied about!” I hear myself, and guilt twists at my insides, followed by a rush of panicked adrenaline as time continues slipping away. “Look, I know it’s my fault. It was my stupid decision to help April, even though we both knew I shouldn’t, and now it’s blowing up in our faces. I’m sorry. I am really, really sorry I got you into this; but here we fucking are.” I take a deep breath, guilt twisting harder. “We can’t help Arlo, but if you’re right, and Hayden is going back to Lia’s … well, then we need to get over there now.”

It hits him where I meant it to, his eyes sparking with fear, and he nods sharply.

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