Filed To Story: Pretty Poisoned Novel by Elle Mitchell
“Officially? They’re going to announce tomorrow that the last two concerts have been canceled because Eli had to leave for a family emergency. Unofficially, Emilythat’s Heidi’s sister’s name, by the way”
Emily. She had a name. There’s that rock again in the pit of my stomach. I wish I could undo it; I wish none of it ever happened, and that has to count for something, doesn’t it? It has to offset the fact that I liked it somehow.
I’ll never tell any of them that.
“She left a handwritten note for her parents letting them know where she was going and what she was doing, and now they can’t get ahold of her. They’re taking back everything.”
“So, what does that mean?” Hazel asks.
He shrugs. “I don’t know. We’re going to go home, wait for it to be over. Rhett said they were very thoroughthey got rid of her digital footprint around Dallas and any cameras that might have picked her up on the way over. But obviously, they missed the paper note.”
“It’ll be fine,” I say. “I mean, if they have people who can ” I trail off, not wanting to add to River’s trauma or supply any additional details that hadn’t been shared.
But they have people with bone saws who can make phones and cars and bodies disappear. And if they can do that, then what can’t they do?
“Yeah, they have people,” Brady says. “It’ll be fine.”
What do the rest of them know of the people in the gold masks or where they came from? Do they know who they are? Do they know what they’re a part of? I realize I don’t. I never asked for answersI never wanted them. Whatever that was had nothing to do with me.
But that isn’t the case now.
Hearing footsteps on the staircase, I hold my breath.
“Okay,” Declan says, pushing his hands through his dark hair.
He looks bothered. I thought only I bothered him.
“I’m not going to go into detail, but we’re knee-deep in a pile of fucking shit, and we’re getting the fuck out of here.”
“You mean we’re going home,” River says.
“No,” Declan says. “I mean that Luca and I are going to have to disappear until this all gets straightened out, and the rest of you have a choice: you can get off the bus in the next small town, or you can go on a little hike with us through the Rockies and then we’re going to get on a plane. None of you have to do anything you don’t want to. You’re all free to go. No one will come after you; no one will stop you.”
“I already told you I’m going with you,” Rhett says. “Bradywhat about you?”
“I” he starts. “Where are we going?”
“We won’t know until we get there,” Declan tells him. “It’s better that way.”
“Well I’m going wherever Rhett goes,” Brady says.
“I want to go, too,” I tell them.
“What about you two?” Declan asks.
Hazel looks at River, then back to Declan. “It’s not forever, right?”
“I don’t think so,” he says. “But it could be weeks. You could stay, live a quiet life. I could set you up with new identities once we get out of here. I wish I could give you more time to make your decision, but we have about twenty minutes until we’re getting the fuck off this bus. I want us to stay together, but I need you to be happy. You know how I feel about you, Haze.”
“Riv?” she asks.
“Well this is our family. I waited my whole life to have a family. I want to stay together, too,” River says.
“Pack a small bag,” Declan says. “Something you can carry on your back in the dark for a few miles. No phones. No electronics. You’ll need shoes you can walk in for a while, too. Riv, do you even have shoes like that?”
Mouth gaping, she looks from him to Hazel. “I packed for parties and concerts. I didn’t plan on going hiking. I guess I’ll have to wear these,” she says, gesturing to her Gucci slides.
“I have sneakers she can wear,” I say. “They might be a little big.”
“And I can carry her if I have to,” Rhett says.
“Okay, we’re wasting time,” Declan says. “Get ready.”
“Well, what do we bring?” I ask.
“Only what you need,” he says. “A couple changes of clotheswarm clothes. Water bottles. Leave the books, Teag. They’ll be too heavy. And try to eat something before we get off the bus.”
Around me, the others are already scrambling to get their things. The scene reactivates the panic I felt when I woke up and realized we weren’t where we were supposed to be.
And what the fuck could be happening that has Declan ready to run? He at least appears confident in his resolve. I try to hold on to that.
“Come here, Teagan,” Declan says.
I sigh and sink into his arms, wrapping mine around his back as tightly as I can. I grab fistfuls of his sweatshirt, and he does the same with the dark curly hair running down my back.
“You cling to me now, don’t you?” he asks.
Yes.
“Please don’t leave me,” I whisper, giving life to my deepest fear. “I don’t want to be alone again.”
“I’ll never leave you,” he tells me. “I told youyou’ll never have to be alone again, Teagan. I promise.”
“I love you so much.”
“I love you, too,” he says. “Go pack a bag, kitten.”
He kisses the top of my head before releasing me, and I walk to that cabin, physically aware of the loss of him. Even though he’s standing in the next room, it’s too far away when I need him.
Declan used to terrify me. After what happened, when I’m afraid, he’s the one I trust to keep me safe. Luca is a wild card, and I fucking love every second of it. He’ll laugh when you point a gun in his face, and he’ll handcuff you to the bed so you can’t leave, and I need that. He’s somehow simultaneously self-destruction and a comfort blanket. There’s a part of me that’s pure unmitigated chaosa part that’s always known I was crazy but learned to be quiet.
With Luca, that part can be loud. I love him for it. I need him for it because that part would die again without him, and then I wouldn’t be me anymore. I’d be small again.
But Declan is my port in the storm. He isn’t broken like Luca; he’s like me. And we were born this way.
I set my bag on the bed, contemplating what to pack. And I laugh when I realize I don’t really need anythingnothing except for my family.
“What’s funny?” River asks.
“Nothing,” I tell her. “I just realized I don’t need anything except for you guys.”
“Hoard food,” Hazel says. “You know we have to feed Riv every ninety minutes, or she gets cranky.”
“It’s true,” River says. “And I’m already fucking starving.”
“Let’s go eat then,” Hazel says, throwing her backpack over her shoulder.
“This will be fine, guys. It’ll be an adventure,” River says.
“Yeah,” I tell her, smiling because that’s the first time she’s sounded like herself since last night. “I think so, too.”
As they leave the room, Luca walks in carrying his guitar.
“You’re taking that?” I ask. “You only have one good arm.”
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.