“I didn’t say—”
“And honestly, I’m not that convinced you did anything wrong last time. Jeremy wasn’t innocent in all of this.”
Not this again. “You don’t know that.”
“Really, Addie. Who do you think was shooting at us?”
I stare at him. “What?”
His face is hard, defiant. “You heard me.”
I would laugh if I wasn’t so shocked. “You think Jeremy was shooting at us?”
“Someone was.”
“Seth—people hunt at the state park. Remember the herd of deer we saw running by? Like they were being hunted? Because they were?”
He stares at me. “You seriously think that was some hunter? Hunting season’s not until fall!”
I falter. “It could’ve been someone hunting illegally, or— Seth, no one knew we were going to be back there! Not Jeremy—not anyone! How do you explain that?”
He hesitates, too. “I don’t know. Maybe there was someone watching us. It wasn’t a coincidence, Addie—between the gunshots and my car, someone doesn’t want us looking into this.” He runs a hand over his face. “Jeremy could be keeping tabs on you. He could have been listening the night we decided to go to Philly. And tonight, he could have followed you here. We were getting too close to something and—”
“And he just decided to shoot all three of us?” I demand.
“Maybe he didn’t mean to kill us just now. Maybe he was just trying to scare us away. Because there really is something to find out there.”
“But he—” I stop. I can’t give in to Seth and his absurd theories. “Whoever it was, whether they meant to kill us or scare us, or if there’s someone following us—it was not Jeremy.”
He glares. “You’re so fucking stubborn. Why don’t you just admit you’re still in love with him?”
I’ve gotten to my feet now, my fists clenched at my sides. “I am not still in love with him. I’m just not blinded by hatred, or jealousy, or— Jeremy doesn’t even own a gun!”
He stands, too. “You don’t know that.”
I exhale. This was a mistake. Maybe everything I’ve done since I walked into the clearing at the beginning of the summer has been a mistake. “This is pointless. I’m going home.”
But I’ve only gone two steps before Seth stops me. “You never answered my question.”
I’m so tired. But I force myself to look at him. “You’re full of questions, Seth. Which one?”
“What am I to you?”
His brows are drawn, and I can’t tell if it’s in anger, hurt, or a mixture of both. For a moment, I wish I could just give him what he wants, be the girl he wants me to be. It would be so much simpler if I were someone else.
But I might as well wish for time to reverse itself, for Fiona to come back to life.
“I don’t know,” I finally tell him. “And I know that doesn’t help you, but it’s the truth.”
He searches my face for another moment. Whatever he was looking for, he must not have found it, because he lets go of my arm.
“Go.” His voice is low, quiet.
He doesn’t have to tell me twice.
I flee.
30
When I get back—keeping to the main road—it’s past eight. My dad isn’t home from work yet, which is weird, but at least I don’t have to explain my disheveled appearance. I take a long hot shower, Sadie lying on the bathmat the whole time, head on her paws.
I towel off and go back to my room. I have no idea what’s going to happen between me and Seth after this. Will things be awkward from now on? Or will one of us make a joke, the other smile grudgingly, and we’ll go back to our pre-kissing normal?
Or is it over? Not just our investigation, but…everything else? Have I ruined it? Am I on my own now?
Is that what I want?
Lately Seth’s been texting me when I get home, making sure I’ve gotten in safely. I check my secret phone. Nothing. Something hollow pings in my heart.
I check on Davy—lifting weights in his room, which is new, but he signals at me he doesn’t want to talk—then shovel some leftover pasta into my mouth. My dad gets home a little while later, saying something about an urgent deadline. It’s just as well. I don’t have room in my head to make conversation. There’s only space for my own confused thoughts.
Someone was shooting at us.
Someone sabotaged Seth’s car when we drove to Philly.
Were either of those things supposed to kill us?
Probably not. But the car trouble did stop us from getting to Philly that day, delayed our meeting with Caleb. So what was it they didn’t want us to find?