We Are Us

The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. We all flew down to Miami together: Tucker and I, plus Wren and Sadie. Wren loves the nightlife in South Beach and decided to tag along with us at the last minute. Sadie because she’d become a part of our family and it would have been rude to leave her out. She was going to get her scuba certification while Tucker and I explored the Keys on our own, then we were going to meet up with Wren and Sadie in the Bahamas before heading back to New York.

Did Tucker plan our trip knowing Wren was going to whisk him off on a private plane bound for Cuba? Gritting my teeth, I hold my head in my hands.

Remember. Remember, damn it.

Had Wren finally convinced him that she was the better choice? Did Tucker try to convince me to come with him? To live a life on the run together?

Was that when I picked up the knife? Had Wren tackled me to the ground as I stabbed Tucker, my head smashing into the floor, the glass fragments—from the champagne glasses, I assume—shredding my back and legs.

And then what happened? Did Tucker and Wren leave me there, hoping I would bleed out and die while they ran off together, eager to begin their new adventure?

The images in my mind are so real. The look of exhilaration on Tucker’s face when he sees Wren speeding toward us. The steely glint of the knife in my hand. The sky a lavender dome above, the moon just a creamy crescent floating on the clouds as the sun melts into the horizon.

Goose bumps race up my arms as I gulp at air.

But I can’t get past Wren’s face yesterday, when she tore apart Tucker’s office. She looked like she didn’t know anything.

Had she pulled that stunt just to throw off my suspicions?

I yank open the door, the rush of filtered, purified, dehumidified, temperature-controlled air like a slap across my face. It has to be Wren. I have the life she wanted, and if I don’t pull myself together and start fighting back, she will bury me in it.

And then I’ll never have the chance to see what the future holds with Gavin.