“Tell him all the times you let him touch you and then came crawling to me about how awful they were.”
I tilt my head to the side.
“Or how we laughed when you told Cole you were pregnant, and he fucking believed you.” His laughter grows. “That he let you go …”
“What? You lied about being pregnant?” Austin snaps and turns to Cole. “Did you know this?”
“Doesn’t matter,” he answers.
“It does too fucking matter,” she snaps and walks over to Becky. She slaps her across the face so hard, it knocks her over into the snow. “You fucking bitch …” She jumps on top of her.
Cole wraps an arm around her waist and yanks her off her. She kicks her feet out before he sets her down. She’s breathing heavy and trying to push him away. “It doesn’t matter, sweetheart.”
Her mouth falls open. “How can you say that?” Her eyes fill with tears. “She lied to you. Everything you went through—”
“Nothing regarding her matters,” he interrupts her softly. Pulling her into him, he pushes her wild brown hair behind her ear.
“You guys are sicker than I thought.” David speaks. “Becky let me read your journal, Austin. Gotta say, Cole, I was jealous at how much she let you abuse her and still fuck her.”
“Stop,” Becky cries.
“And that video …” He whistles, looking her up and down.
This time, it’s Cole who throws a punch. Right into his face.
“Well, well, well, he’s telling us all of your secrets.” I smile.
“I know she wanted to pay you all back for how you used her in your own sick games,” David shouts, getting angry before spitting blood into the snow from Cole’s punch.
“Game?” I ask. I loved her. I never used her. Cole did when Austin came into the picture, but that didn’t happen until after the car wreck …
“Why were you even with them that night?” Austin demands. Her thoughts mimicking mine. “Why were you with Eli?”
Becky doesn’t answer, and neither does David. I arch a brow at him. He’s willing to throw her under the bus but doesn’t want to implicate himself as well.
I look at Cole and nod. He steps away from Austin, grabs his knife from his pocket, and flips it open. He steps behind David and places the knife to his neck. Cole doesn’t say a word as he drags the blade down the side of his neck. David screams, and Becky tries to crawl to him, but Shane prevents her with his hand in her hair. “Stop! Stop! I’ll tell you!” she cries. “Please, just stop.”
Cole brings the blade to a stop but doesn’t remove it from his neck. David is panting as blood runs down his neck to cover his shirt.
“We took Demi to a party at the beach. I … drugged her for Maxwell. But she ended up leaving with Eli, and when I went to pick her up the next morning, he wouldn’t let her leave with me ’cause he found out what we had done.” She sniffs.
Demi had told me this story when she was drunk the night Cole and I found the girls at the bar. But I don’t think she told me everything. This is my chance to find out.
“How?” I demand.
“David had given her his phone to use ’cause she left hers back at the house. When she passed out with Eli, he went through it and found our chats about our plans …” she cries, shaking her head. “Eli threatened him … David and I staged a separation, and I met up with them later on that night. He thought I was just trying to piss you off for sleeping with Kaitlin.”
That’s why Eli told me I could do better. He knew exactly what kind of woman she was. I wish he would have just told me. I’m not sure I would have listened, but I wish he would have tried. Instead, I thought the worst and have hated him when I should be thanking him. He saved Demi. He stood up for her. I’m glad she had someone in her life to do that, and I’m proud to say that he was one of my best friends.
“Becky!” David yells at her. Cole digs the knife into his throat again, silencing him.
Becky sucks in a long breath as fresh tears run down her face. “David thought that Eli was gonna go to the cops. Or send the sharks after him for what we did to her. He told me to seduce him. The night of the party, I was to get Eli away from the sharks and bring him to a secluded location where David and Maxwell were going to make sure he couldn’t speak.”
Cole steps away from David, and he growls at her. “Fuck! You bitch! I never heard you tell me no! You wanted him silenced just as much as I did.”