“Yep.” Heavy sigh.
“You must’ve been very angry with him.”
“Yes. No. I don’t know. He knew how much I liked her. But then, not really his fault if she didn’t feel the same about me. That’s what I told myself. Once I stopped crying into my pillow.” A feeble smile.
“He could’ve backed off,” I say quietly.
“Not his style.”
“He could’ve excused himself from the date, given you more time to work your magic.”
“Not his style.”
“He wanted what other people had. Even what his best friends had.”
“Tim was one of those guys . . . you could love him even when you hated him. Which we all did, sooner or later.”
“Love him or hate him?”
“I’m tired. Can’t I just take a nap?”
“No sleeping. Come on, Neil. Keep talking. Saint Timothy who stole your date. What about Scott? Clearly, he wanted Latisha, too.”
“Scott was a putz, pining for something he was never gonna have.”
“But he did end up with her. Once Tim was out of the picture.”
“I don’t think a rock fell on my head,” Neil says abruptly. He rubs his temple, winces, squeezes his eyes shut against the pain. “I wasn’t that close to the cliff.”
“What do you think happened?”
“I heard a noise. I turned. And then . . .” Neil shudders, shifts uncomfortably. “Water, please.”
I give him the bottle, watching as he drinks deeply. He’s definitely paler now, with a sheen of moisture across his face. My concern ticks up several notches.
“This is it,” Neil mutters. “The four of us, we agreed. After this trip, we’re done. No more looking for skeletons. Once we walk out of these mountains, we’re never coming back. It’s what motivated Josh to crawl out of the bottle. Make one last push. Except then he got out of the trip. Lucky bastard.”
“Why is this the last time?”
“Because we can’t take it anymore. None of us. Josh is the most obvious, but all of us . . . He knows. I don’t know how he knows, but he knows. And now . . . This isn’t a recovery mission anymore. This . . .” He stares at me blearily. “This is a reckoning.”
I have a sinking feeling. Followed by a chill. I have to ask the next question, even though I’m not sure I want the answer.
“What did you guys do, Neil? What really happened five years ago?”
Then, just as I feared:
“We lied. We lied about everything.” Heavy, heavy sigh. “And our lies killed Tim.”
CHAPTER 20
Neil’s eyes shut. He slides sideways. I grab his shoulder before he can hit the ground and jerk him back to sitting.
“Wake up, wake up, wake up.” I’m still in the process of chanting when Nemeth suddenly appears out of nowhere, looking tense.
“We gotta go. Thunderstorm rolling in. We need to take shelter at the tree line.”
“I don’t think he can walk.”
“Not an option. Slap him if you have to, but he needs to move.” Nemeth peers over his shoulder, as if the storm is right behind him. Now I’m spooked. If Nemeth is worried about something, then the rest of us should be terrified.
“Neil!” I shout. His eyelids flutter. I tap at his face, then give up and throw water on him.
“Wh-what?”
“Come on. Time to stand. We’re going for a little walk.”
Nemeth gets on the other side of Neil and helps me heft him to standing. It’s awkward, especially given I’m half their size. But Nemeth is already dragging Neil forward, forcing both Neil and me into motion. Is the torrential downpour about to pour through the boulder field? I don’t want to find out.
Together, we manage to get Neil out of the den. Luciana and Daisy are already waiting. Luciana appears as agitated as Nemeth, while Daisy prances nervously beside her.
I feel a gust of cooler wind. Peering into the horizon, I can see the dark clouds. A line of them headed straight toward us, a black wall devouring the blue sky. It is both beautiful and horrifying. I can’t help but stare, even as my skin prickles with the promise of impending lightning.
“Luciana,” Nemeth barks. “Take Frankie’s place. Frankie, grab the gear.”
Luciana and I quickly switch places. Daisy whines again.
“What about the others?” I ask.
“Marty’s in charge. Hopefully he’s paying attention.”
Nemeth grits out the last sentence. Because Martin’s focus has been one-dimensional all day. Hell, maybe for the past five years.