Bad Like Us, page 17
As Colton, Danny, and I race along the corridor toward Alice, more doors swing open. Karly from our room, and Noah from the next along.
“Miles isn’t doing so good,” Alice explains.
She pushes the door wider, and suddenly I’m looking at Miles. He’s doubled over on his bed, and he’s shaking. His fingers are knotted through his pale hair, turned white by his grasp.
Alice catches my gaze. “We had a huge fight,” she whispers, hugging her arms around herself.
“Oh, great,” Miles says with a sharp breath when he sees us crowded in the doorway. Alice, Colton, Danny, and me with Karly and Noah standing anxiously behind us. His hands tremble as he rakes them through his hair. “An audience.”
“Miles.” I move toward him, but he lifts his palm.
“Please,” he says, stopping me in my tracks. “I just need some space.” He folds into himself on the bed.
I glance at Danny, and he shakes his head in response.
“Miles,” I broach carefully. “Are you okay?”
His mouth tightens. “Do I look okay, Eva?”
I glance at Danny again, waiting for him to step in. But he’s gnawing on his lip now, concern furrowing his brow. He’s not speaking.
“You can talk to us,” I urge Miles. “We’re all here for you. We’re in this together.”
He chokes out a bitter laugh. “Funnily enough, I don’t feel like talking right now,” he says. “I shouldn’t even be here. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you.”
Me. His curt remark was directed at me.
It takes me aback to hear his voice so clipped, so angry. Miles. Miles, who prides himself on being too logical to ever lose his cool, is mad at me. For the first time in our entire friendship, he’s genuinely mad at me. Because I’m the one who convinced him to come on this trip. Because I thought it’d be good for him. Or maybe I thought it’d be good for me. Because, honestly, it’s been a while and I’ve missed him.
“Come on, Miles,” Colton mutters. “Don’t take it out on Eva. She’s just trying to help.”
Miles gives way to another strange laugh. “Oh, are you?” His stare is fixed on me, eyes narrowed. “Forgive me for being paranoid, but I’m finding it a little hard to trust anyone right now.”
With that, my heart feels like it’s dropped through the floorboards. He isn’t talking about Piper.
“The police officer was questioning me about school,” he says, tapping his knuckles together. He’s staring at his hands, refusing to look at any of us. “And I just... I keep going over it in my mind, trying to make the pieces fit. The detective. When she interviewed me, she asked why I haven’t been in school lately. And then it occurred to me, she must know about what happened.”
My eyes wander over the group gathered in the doorway. A damp wind funnels through the open space, fluttering the curtains.
Rigid on his bed, Miles looks pale, sick, and his thin shoulders are shaking. “My situation at school has nothing to do with Piper,” he says, jutting out his chin. “Or does it? Why were they asking?” His eyes are back on me now. Only me.
All I can do is shake my head. “You’re reading too much into this,” I manage.
“Am I?” he murmurs. His cold stare moves over the others, one at a time. “If Piper was the anonymous tip-off to the school about me, then the police might think I killed her because of it.”
It feels as though the room has suddenly dropped a couple of degrees.
“So, was it her?” he presses. “Was it Piper who told the school I’d been selling test papers? Or was it one of you? Let’s get to the bottom of this right now.”
My pulse quickens. Here it is. The off-limits topic that the rest of us had agreed not to talk about, not to pressure Miles into talking about. Finally, after weeks of silence, he’s talking.
COLTON
“What’s going on out here?” Paul’s voice makes us all turn. He’s standing in the corridor, his brow lined beneath his disheveled blond hair. “Everyone okay?” He looks past us into the room where Miles is hunched on the bed.
“Everything’s fine,” Miles calls back tightly, and Paul frowns.
“Okay,” he says slowly.
Miles’s head stays bowed. “Could you all just leave me alone? Please.”
Eva shoots me a helpless look.
“If none of you are willing to talk,” Miles mutters, “then I’m not willing to, either.”
“We don’t have the answers you’re looking for,” Eva says softly.
Miles exhales. “Just... I need some time to myself.”
Eva glances at me again, so I reach for her hand. “Come on,” I murmur, threading my fingers through hers. “Let’s give him some space.”
While everyone else disbands, whispering between one another, and Paul looks to Noah for some clarity, Eva and I begin moving along the corridor. We don’t speak about where we’re going—we just go.
We pass our rooms and continue along the deck, skirting around the side of the building and then down the stone steps onto the beach. Rain is falling heavily, but I don’t care, and I don’t think she does, either.
Whatever’s left of the dull day is about to disappear. The light is slowly dimming. We lean close to the rock wall, taking some shelter. Eva sinks into me, falling into a hug, and I draw her closer as I stare out at the wild tide.
I find my voice. “I’m sorry.”
She takes a deep breath. “It’s not your fault, Colton.” Then she moves back from me, but her hand stays on my arm and her fingers coil around my sleeve. “Do you think Miles is right? Do you think Piper was the person who tipped off the school about him?”
“Maybe.” I stare out at the horizon. It’s darkened by shadows and storm clouds.
“Piper used to talk about it a lot,” Eva says, “in her videos. About Miles’s situation.”
I turn to her and frown. “So, what, Piper was taunting him?”
She sighs into the wind. “I used to think it was an accident, that Piper just wasn’t aware of Miles’s feelings. But now, I’m wondering...” The sentence falls away.
I drag my hand over my brow. “Yeah. I’m wondering the same thing.”
She looks up to meet my eyes. Her grip tightens on my arm when she says the words. “In that final video, Piper said, I’m going to tell everyone what you did.”
I glance toward the lodge. “Okay, but if this was about Miles, she’d already done that. If Piper was the person who tipped off the school, the secret is already out. There’s no one left to tell.”
“But...” She hesitates and bites her lip. “Miles says he didn’t do it. He says it wasn’t him selling test papers.”
I keep my eyes on hers. “What are you thinking?”
The wind whips a strand of hair across her cheekbone. “Maybe Piper had proof?” she says, her voice wavering. “Or maybe it wasn’t Miles who’d been selling the papers, and she had proof of that.” She squeezes her eyes shut for a second. “We need to talk to Miles. We need to know the whole story from his side.”
“I agree,” I tell her with a nod. “Let’s give him a minute, though. He’ll come around.”
“I hope so,” she whispers. “I hate that he’s mad at me. I hate all of this.”
I lock my arm around her. “I do, too,” I murmur.
She leans into me, and I hold her closer, wondering if she can feel how fast my heart is beating.
PIPER
ALBUM: SAVED VIDEOS
Hey, loves! So, we are on day two of our trip and having the best time.
As you can see, I’m still in bed and I know I look like such a hot mess right now. I’ve literally just woken up, not even kidding. I know, I know, it’s practically the afternoon. Don’t judge me!
Okay, I’m going to try to show you the boys from the window. Hold on. Okay, they’re all out on the beach. A couple of them have their surfboards. That’s Danny right there... Oh, wait. No. That’s Colton, Danny’s brother. Not my favorite person, guys, if I’m being totally honest. But that’s life. You can’t vibe with everyone, and our energies just do not match.
Zooming in farther along the beach. Miles is there, too, so that’s nice. Isn’t he just the cutest in his colorful clothes? Poor Milesy-boo, he’s been through a stressful time recently, and, as many of you probably know, he’s been accused of doing some things that I’m sure he’s not proud of. It must be wild for him to think that someone talked, but he might never find out who. That would sketch me out so bad, guys.
Anyway, I won’t go into detail. Because it’s okay to keep some things private. Everyone has secrets, right? Guys, even me, believe it or not! I have secrets that would make a lot of people very uncomfortable!
But that’s a whole other video. I’ll tell you about them one day when the time is right, promise.
Title: Audio File_Noah Lauder Interview
Good morning. The time is approximately ten-thirty a.m. on Saturday, April sixteenth. My name is Detective Brennan. Can you state your full name for the purpose of the recording, please?
Noah William Lauder.
Noah, how would you describe the relationship between your friends Piper Meyers and Javier Ramos?
Uh, yeah. They’ve been dating for a couple of months, and they were really into each other. Javier...he had strong feelings. I know he did. They both did.
Some of your friends have said that Piper and Javier were arguing last night. I’d really appreciate your honesty here, Noah. I’d like to remind you how serious this is.
No, I get that. I mean, I think Javier was only mad because he thought Danny was interested in Piper, his girlfriend, right? Danny wrote her a note or something. But I didn’t talk to Javier about it. I don’t get involved in that stuff. Colton talked to him last night, though. You should ask him.
Does Javier have a history of violence?
No. Not at all. That thing with Danny was a one-off. Whatever you’ve been told, it was out of character for Javier to react that way.
What thing is this?
Uh. It was nothing. Just, they got into an argument, about the note. But it wasn’t anything.
I see. In your opinion, did any of your friends have reason to harm Piper Meyers?
(0:10 DELAY) No. No, of course not.
I’m going to ask you that question again, Noah. Did any of your friends have reason to harm Piper Meyers?
Not my friends.
EVA
I follow Colton back to the lodge. Somewhere along the way, his hand folded around mine, and now I don’t want to let go. It’s a comfort I didn’t know I needed until right now. As darkness creeps up on us, and the storm shakes the trees, I don’t want to let go.
Danny’s in their room, slouched on his bed, shoulders curled forward. He looks up when we walk through the door and frowns at our wet hair and clothes. His gaze travels to our joined hands, and his eyebrows raise.
“Is everything okay?” he asks slowly.
I nod, struggling for an answer. What constitutes okay right now?
But Danny doesn’t press.
Colton closes the door behind us, and we leave wet footprints as we make our way to his side. Taking a seat on his bed, I start combing my fingers through my hair, shivering as the cold sets in. Rain taps on the windowpanes, and constant rivulets streak the glass.
“Dunno what got into Miles,” Danny says. “Don’t take it personally, Eva. It’s just everything, and this place...”
“I know,” I say. Then I meet his eyes. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said, Danny.” My voice sounds weak. “About Piper’s phone.” Colton moves his thumb along mine—that gentle reminder that he’s here. It catches me off guard for a second, how natural this feels, how calming. I let that feeling envelop me as I say the words, “I’m going to hand Piper’s phone over to the police. I should have done it hours ago, whatever the consequences.”
Danny rubs his brow with the heels of his hands. “Eva...”
“I get it, Danny,” I say. “It won’t look good. But the police need this evidence. Piper was murdered.”
“You don’t know that for sure,” he says, leaning forward and locking his hands. “Anyway, what difference will it make if you hand the phone in now? Other than making you seem guilty?”
“It’s not just a phone, though, is it?” I shoot back. “The video could be vital evidence. We might not be able to see who was with Piper in the cave, but the police, and their access to advanced technology...” I trail off when I notice his face change. His brow creases.
“Video?” he says, blinking at me. “What video?”
I glance between him and Colton. “The video on Piper’s phone. The one that she took right before she fell.” I look at Colton and frown. “I thought you said you told him?”
Colton’s eyes stray to Danny, then come back to me. “All I said was that you’d found Piper’s phone in the cave after you heard her scream. And that we saw a picture of the note on it.”
Danny’s knee starts bouncing. “This is huge,” he says. He presses his knuckles to his mouth. “What was on the video?”
I shake my head. “It was too dark to see anything, but Piper was with someone, talking to them. She was angry. She told them to stop threatening her, and she said she was going to tell everyone what they’d done. Then she screamed, and it ended.”
Danny’s Adam’s apple bobs. “Can I see it?”
“Yeah, I guess. It’s in my room. I’ll get it.” Reluctantly, I let my hand slip from Colton’s. He looks up at me as I stand and begin for the door. Leaving them alone, I retreat into the dim evening and head for my own room.
Karly isn’t in there, but her luggage is propped against the bed frame, just waiting to leave. My cell is on the pine nightstand, and I quickly plug it into the charger before its battery dies completely. It takes me a second to notice that Piper’s phone, which had been charging on the nightstand, too, isn’t there anymore.
I check around my side, moving bedding, rummaging through my bag, the furniture, then Karly’s bedding.
But Piper’s phone isn’t anywhere.
I leave the room and pace fast along the corridor. I know Miles asked for space, but I’ve got to find Alice, or Karly, to see if either of them have the phone, or if they moved it while I was gone.
Coming to a stop outside Miles’s door, I straighten my shoulders and tap on the wood.
“Alice?” I call. “Are you in there?”
After a moment, when no one responds, I twist the handle and push the door ajar.
There’s no one there.
Something seems different about the room, though. I was just here, an hour ago or less, but now...
My breath falters as the realization dawns on me.
Alice’s luggage is at the foot of her bed, and her sweater is draped over the wicker chair, but I can’t see any of Miles’s belongings, nothing.
And his backpack is gone.
DMEA GROUP CHAT
EVA: Miles, where are you? Please check in.
ALICE: We’re so worried, Miles. Please call us or text us, anything to let us know you’re okay.
DANNY: You’re not on your own in this. If you come back, we’ll talk.
ALICE: Come on, Miles.
EVA: I’ve told Paul you’re gone. I’m sorry, Miles. Don’t hate me.
ALICE: Please be safe, wherever you are.
COLTON
There are six of us now. Six of us left.
We’re all in the communal room, Alice, Karly, and Noah on one couch and Eva, Danny, and me on the other. The fire is burning low, and once again Paul is standing in the kitchen with his cell pressed to his ear. He’s been trying to call Miles’s number every couple of minutes for the past two hours. It keeps going to voice mail.
I look across the coffee table at Noah. He’s biting his thumb, tapping his nail against his teeth. It’s like the six of us are playing a game of chicken, no one daring to be the first to leave. No one daring to talk, either. But we’re wired, on edge. I feel it.
The wind is howling outside, shaking the windows. The storm’s getting worse, and we’re all trapped.
Karly fiddles with a strand of her hair. “Where do you think he went?” Her voice breaks the strange silence that had formed between us.
Alice’s gaze strays to the front door. “I don’t know. But he shouldn’t be out there alone.”
The fire flickers weakly, and the mounted antlers throw long clawed shadows over the room. Paul ends his call and strides into the living room. His car keys are in his fist.
“Right,” he says with a tense breath, “still no luck getting through to Miles’s cell. I’m going to go out in the car, see if I can find him.”
Noah’s already shaking his head. “I don’t think you should do that. The roads are bad, and it’s dark out now...”
Paul rubs his jaw. “All the more reason to find Miles quickly,” he says. “The rest of you—” he aims his car key at us “—do not leave this lodge. Okay? I’ll be back soon, hopefully with Miles.”
We muster a few weak responses as he heads for the door. A moment later, we hear his car engine rumble.
Eva gives way to a small breath. “Miles must have been so scared if he thought his only option was to run. What possessed him to just leave like this, without telling any of us?”
“Maybe he did it.” The words escape before I have a chance to think them through. Next to me, Eva tenses. She looks at me.
“What do you mean?” she asks.
I tap on the arm of the couch. “Maybe Miles killed Piper.”
