"Be still my heart, I'm only a moment away. In the next room or at the break of day." -Alex Clare, Relax My Beloved

"EXPLAIN," I DEMAND, MY HEART QUICKLY beginning to beat rapidly against me chest. I could barely move, could barely breathe, with the feeling in my stomach Jas' words have created. "Right now."

Jas doesn't hesitate to launch into speech. "Think about it, Ava. When we found the jewellery box in the woods, who had happened to have gone to 'Carl's house' that night even though the two aren't even friends? Who had come with us to look at the tapes, but just happened to be there earlier? Who happened to be in Ford's teach class last year and was able to slip the paper in his textbook? Who else lives in Southside? Who accused you of hiding a secret?"

My throat went dry. I can't breathe, can't think, can't process.

But I manage to whisper, "James."

Jas' long nails dig into her palm as she curls her hand into a fist, her lips pursing as if holding in tears. In a fit of fury, she suddenly launches her fist into the steering wheel. Breathing heavily, she confirms, "James."

I feel like I've lost my voice. It's choked and broken when I whisper, "How did you find out?"

"Remember that night after Molly got in the crash I went over to James'?" When I nod, Jas continues, "He fell asleep, so I snuck onto his laptop to watch a movie or something. I saw it on his laptop- the brakes to a 2004 Chevrolet, the same one Molly drove. There were literal instructions on how to tamper with them. And then everything just clicked. " Jas shakes her head, her long fingers flying up to tangle within her hair. "I was so stupid. I told him I loved him, Ava, I literally gave him everything- " Her voice broke off.

I just sit there in disbelief. James Raser. There's no way. There's just no way.

"I... I can't believe it. But... it makes sense," I admit, and suddenly, I can't stop thinking about just how much sense it makes. "He was there before we came. The door to the security room was unlocked. He had obviously gone in before and erased the tapes. And he's in Ford's wood shop class, so he must have snuck in and grabbed the jewellery box. You're right; he was in Ford's tech class. They're always been fairly close, but that's because you're supposed to keep your enemies close. He kept asking me about secrets, and he even defended me when Lucas accused but..." I suck in a deep breath of air, noticing my hands are shaking. My voice drops to a whisper. "It was an act. It was a lie."

We're quiet for a second. My voice cracks when I say, "Wait, does that mean... he killed Mrs. Wilson? He murdered someone?"

Jas' mouth opens, but quickly closes again. She has a crazy tight grip on the leather of the steering wheel, her knuckles clearly white even in the darkness. "I-I... I guess."

I shake my head. I can't believe this. I can't. "He was fourteen! There's no way!"

"I don't know, okay, Ava?" Jas snaps so harshly any words in my throat die instantly. "All I know is my boyfriend has threatened to kill someone and their whole family, almost killed a girl by tampering with her brakes, and almost killed my best friend by sticking a fucking tissue box under her brakes. I don't know what to think, okay? I don't know if he killed Mrs. Wilson, or if someone else is involved in this, or just what this could all mean!" Jas breaks off her rant abruptly, lifting a hand to wipe a tear that threatens to fall down her cheek. Jas never cries. Ever.

I suck in a deep breath. Oddly enough, I don't feel like breaking down yet. It hasn't really hit me yet. Yet. I know some tears will be shed over this later on. Closing my eyes, I say, "Come on, let me drive. We're going to Ford."

Jas continues to wipe tears. Obviously not trusting her voice, she just nods. We switch spots, and without a single word, I begin to drive out of Cailbridge. The drive to the motel is silent and tension filled. My thoughts are somewhere else, as I know Jas' are. Halfway through the drive, I slowly begin to feel the emotion seep into my veins. It's not sadness, though.

Jas finally speaks once we approach. "Are you angry?" she asks.

"No," I answer shortly.

"No?"

"No." I grit my teeth. "I'm fucking livid."

x

Ford is sleeping when we come in without even knocking. Jas stands awkwardly at the doorway, but I just stride in, not going straight to Ford but skipping over him to go to his phone, which is on his nightstand. Ford is already beginning to stir, so when I throw his phone at his face, it wakes him right up.

"What the hell?" he grumbles, blinking furiously as he props himself up on his elbows. "Ava...?"

"Do you realize how many times I called you?" I snap at him, ignoring the way Jas snickers. I grab a pillow and hit him with it. "Your phones not dead, you clearly could have answered it, but no, it's just been let's-all-ignore-Ava-week, hasn't it?" I hit him again.

"What're you talking about?" Ford mumbles, rubbing his eyes with his knuckles. I have to admit the gesture is sort of childish, but in the endearing sort of way. He sits up completely. "What time is it?"

"Nine," Jas answers simply, catching Ford's attention as well.

Ford groans, the back of his head hitting the headboard. "Sorry. My phone was dead, and I charged it while going out for dinner. When I came back I saw that you called, and I was going to call back, but I was really tired..." He yawns, stretching his arms above his head. "What's up? You missed me that much?"

"Don't get cocky, Wilson," Jas smirks, before it dies and is replaced with a more serious expression. "Put on some socks. We have to talk."

It's not going to be easy to tell Ford, that's for sure. After all, this is his mom we're talking about, and the person who had driven him out of his home, probably putting him through mental hell. When we tell him, we do it outside on the balcony, because if I'm being honest, we all could use some fresh air.

Jas takes her time explaining everything to him. I feel a new fire of fury build up in me as I hear the story again. Ford's grey eyes are unfocused and, for once, not readable by the time she finishes. There's a couple of minutes of silence, that seems to last an infinite amount of time, before he finally brokenly whispers, "He killed my mom? He hurt Molly? James?"

No one answers him.

"Why?"

No one answers that, either.

Ford looks to Jas. His grey eyes swirl with so much emotion it's almost painful to watch. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," Jas whispers. When a tear falls from her eye this time, she doesn't bother wiping it off.

Surprisingly, Ford is the one to get himself together. "Okay. There's no way James was the one to kill my mom at fourteen. She died from trauma to the head, I doubt at fourteen anyone would have a swing strong enough. Plus, someone had to have sent James the instructions on how to tamper with the brakes. We need to figure out who else is involved with this."

The anger in me blurts out, "I want him to know that we know."

Jas nods. "I'm angry. This isn't a game anymore."

"We need to bring you back," I continue, turning to Ford. "Back to Cailbridge. We're showing him that we're scared of him and what he might do. We can't come off like that anymore."

"But I am scared," Ford counters. "He'll kill my family! Are you crazy?"

"We'll send your family out," I just keep rambling, spitting out any idea that comes to mind. "We have to take a risk. Your family will be out for vacation or something, far away where he can't get them."

"James is obviously not afraid to kill," Ford argues, and although we now know who's responsible for this, it still pains me to hear James' name like that. "He's dangerous."

"We can't be driven by fear!" Jas exclaims. "Look, we don't have to decide right now. Tomorrow, Ava and I will find a way to sneak into the Raser's home. For now, just sit tight and look pretty, Wilson. We're going to bring you home. Even if it means..." She swallows painfully, looking close to tears again. "Even if it means giving James a taste of his own medicine."

Quick update because I know that the last chapter had a pretty crazy cliffhanger haha :) Sorry for the short chapter, and sorry if it was boring aha. I promise next chapter will have a lot in it, and will hopefully be longer (depends on where I want to end it tbh)

Also thank you so much for the crazy amount of comments last chapter! If we cn please reach that many comments (since there's a lot of you reading!) it would honestly blow me away. like, i would be overjoyed c: besides, this chapter came quick just for the reason of all the amazing support, so maybe you'll get the next chapter quick too with the same method ya feel (;;;

Also, as I mentioned before I started a story called 'Til Death Do Us Part. I'm three chapters in and would loooove it if you could stop by and give it a quick read/ comment to let me know what you think c: I love you all so so much, you mean the world to me! (: xoxo

[btw, because some people have been pointing out mistakes lately, one last reminder that i don't even reread these chapter and rush a lot (oOPS) so there will be spelling errors or like the mixing up of a word here and there. pleeease just do your best to ignore them, unless it's something that really affects your reading aha. okayyy ilyasm baii]

[dedicated to lydiarse for her support ilysm]