slumped. “You’re right, though. I have no idea what I’d do. I don’t have a life anymore. I don’t have anything anymore.”
She turned and looked at the view, taking in the low lights of the wading pool, the tranquil rocks, and the dazzling sunset. Melodic notes from the string quartet filled the air. She allowed herself one moment to actually savor this, to wish that this was her life.
Ethan leaned closer. “You have me,” he reminded her.
Emma wrapped her arms around him. “Thank goodness for that.”
When they pulled apart, Emma felt someone staring at her from across the patio. It was Laurel, who was talking to Madeline and standing much closer to Thayer than Mr. Mercer would have liked, though Emma didn’t see Mr. Mercer anyway. Laurel was staring menacingly at Emma, and a pang of fear gripped Emma.
Ethan noticed Laurel, too, and pulled Emma tight against him. But even Ethan’s protective grasp didn’t make her feel better. In fact, being around so many people was beginning to suffocate her. She placed a hand on Ethan’s arm. “I need to splash cold water on my face. I’ll be right back.”
Ethan nodded. “Want me to go with you?”
“It’s okay, I just need a minute alone.” Then she stepped across the patio and made her way into the foyer of the resort. A cowhide rug splayed out in front of a giant fireplace. Potted orchids sat atop carved-stone tables, and silver-framed pictures of important-looking people dotted the walls.
As she passed through a long hallway, a hushed whisper stopped her in her tracks. Two people were talking just inside one of the dark conference rooms. She would have kept going, but she recognized the raspy smoker’s voice immediately.
“Have you seen her again?” Grandma said. Her quiet words seethed with anger.
“Y-yes,” a voice answered shakily. Emma clapped a hand over her mouth. It was Sutton’s dad.
She peeked around the corner. Mr. Mercer and Sutton’s grandmother were standing at the front of the room, near a big, white screen. Sutton’s grandmother’s face was pinched. The top half of her body arched toward her son.
“What’s wrong with you?” Grandma hissed. She looked like she wanted to slap him. “She’s toxic for this family. You need to stop this, now.”
“But—”
“No buts. What if Kristin found out?”
Emma blinked hard. Seeing her. Toxic for this family. What if Kristin found out?
Was Mr. Mercer having an affair?
I couldn’t believe it either. My dad didn’t seem the type. He acted like such an upstanding citizen, dedicated to his family and his surgery practice. Was everyone in my family keeping horrible secrets?
“Sutton?”
Suddenly, there was a footstep behind Emma. She jumped and turned, knocking into the long stone table against the wall. Thayer’s face swam before her eyes, and he whispered her name once more. “Sutton?”
But before Emma could answer, a huge, thin vase on the table wobbled precariously. It tipped as though in slow motion, tumbling to the floor and crashing into a thousand pieces.
In the conference room, Mr. Mercer and Grandma snapped to attention. Their gazes flitted to the vase, then to Emma. Blood drained from Grandma’s cheeks. Mr. Mercer’s mouth made an O. Emma’s eyes locked on Sutton’s dad. Running a hand through his hair, he barreled toward her, his eyes blazing.
“Oh my God,” Emma squealed, caught. When she turned, Thayer was no longer behind her, but ducking into the nearby men’s room. Giving the swinging restroom door no more than a passing glance, she sprinted toward the nearest door, and fled out of the resort.
I was tugged along behind her, away from my father, away from the party, and into the vast desert beyond. But something about the look in my father’s eyes, something about Emma running, all of it set wheels turning in my head. All at once, I was tumbling headfirst into another memory.
And it was one I definitely didn’t want to see.
16
ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST
THE NEXT TIME I SEE YOU, YOU’RE DEAD.
What a drama queen, I think, slipping the phone back into my pocket after pressing DELETE. But right on the heels of that thought is a tiny sense of trepidation. Maybe we shouldn’t have asked Laurel to take Thayer to the hospital. I know how bad she has it for Thayer. I know how much it would kill her to know that Thayer and I were secretly together. Sure, I’d kind of wanted to rub it in. Sure, I’d kind of wanted to show my sister yet again, Look! I’m way better than you.