Page 59 of Rebel

“The night he went missing. The night of the party. I don’t remember the goddamn date.” Every blink River took seemed longer than the last. He wouldn’t be conscious much longer.

Still, I pressed forward. “Why did you kill Chase Masters?”

“Because I’m sick of your shit. You’ve been riding me for years now. This shit with Storm was the final straw. I think you only wanted her because you couldn’t have her. You saw me talk to her, and that was enough. Your obsession isn’t with her, it’s with me. It always has been. You have this sick need to always prove you’re better than me.” With every word River spoke, he began to slur more, making it harder to understand him.

I couldn’t help but laugh. This idiot thought I was obsessed with him? He was the one who’d been following in my footsteps since we met. After I started the Graveyard Kings, he started Venom. When I fucked the prom queen in high school, River made sure to go after her a few weeks later.

I didn’t bother to point this out to him. It didn’t matter, and it wasn’t really about me. This was about making it very clear who really killed Chase.

Turning off the recording on both phones, I said, “I think we got everything we really need. Let’s finish this.”

“Yeah, you better finish it, Rebel. Kill me. That’s what you’re good at. Are you going to take my organs too? I guess they’re probably no good with all this dope in my system.” Trying and failing to focus on me, River gave up and closed his eyes. “Just get it over with already.”

Although it would’ve been a lot more satisfying if he’d been able to fight back, I was perfectly fine with this too. I nodded to Stray who held a backpack. He pulled out a lengthy coil of rope.

“Do you think this tree is strong enough?” He pointed to the tree we currently stood near.

The tree was wide and tall. Definitely strong enough for what we had planned. Stray fashioned the rope into a noose before slipping it around River’s neck. I’d been happy to play this game with him for years now. Not once had I truly planned to kill him. That all changed when he went after Storm.

Maybe it was easier with him being passed out while we did this. I didn’t want to listen to any begging or bargaining. We strung him up and left him hanging from the tree. Because I needed to make sure this was done right, I stayed until I was sure that River was dead.

“I guess it was going to come to this eventually.” Auryn eyed River’s hanging body, an uncomfortable grimace on his face.

“No doubt,” I agreed, wiping my prints from River’s phone. Tucking the phone with his audio confession into his pocket, I turned to leave. “Let’s go party.”

Sure, his confession may have come under duress, and there may be suspicion that he hadn’t hung himself, but nobody could prove a damn thing. He admitted himself that he was behind the death of Chase.

River’s own death would most likely be ruled a guilty suicide. There was no evidence to prove otherwise. I didn’t worry about the authorities looking into me. They could look all they wanted. They wouldn’t find a damn thing.

We returned to the party, needing to blend in and make sure we were seen. It was our party after all.

Casper nudged my arm, holding his phone out for me to read the message he’d typed. “Do you think the rest of Venom will try to avenge him?”

I shrugged. “I dare them to fucking try.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

STORM

The morning of Chase’s funeral snuck up on me. Part of me had been wishing this day would never come. Once we went through with this, once we buried him, everything would be real. He would really be gone.

Several times I broke into tears while trying to do my makeup. I finally gave up and went with light eyeshadow and mascara. Waterproof all the way. Instead of black, I decided to wear a blue dress. It had been Chase’s favorite color. I believed he would’ve preferred us to celebrate him in that way instead of being somber and morose.

Mom also wore blue. I liked that we were doing our best to make this about Chase and not about our sorrow. Yesterday I’d told her that Rebel and I were seeing one another. I thought that maybe she would be surprised. He wasn’t really my type.

“Yeah, I figured as much when I saw him climbing up to your bedroom. I hope you’re being safe, young lady.” She’d wagged a finger at me and laughed at the horror etched on my face.

I was on birth control but didn’t bother to mention it. I was too embarrassed. So much for Rebel being stealthy and secretive.

He was coming with us to the funeral today. I kept glancing at the clock, knowing that he would arrive any moment. Even though he had yet to speak of it, I knew that he was behind River’s death. His body had been found two days ago. Everyone said that he’d done it to himself, but I knew better.

When I directly asked Rebel about his involvement, he’d merely mimed zipping his lips shut and throwing away the key. After what River had done to Chase and to me, I didn’t feel bad for his loss. I wrestled with guilt about that. Did it make me a bad person that I didn’t care? Maybe I didn’t need an answer to that question.

The doorbell rang, announcing Rebel’s arrival. Larry went to answer it while Mom and I gathered our things. I overheard the two of them making pleasant small talk in the entryway.

Maybe Rebel and I weren’t such a strange match. Maybe we really could fit into each other’s lives. When he told his mom that I was his girlfriend, she’d accosted me in the driveway with a hug on my way in from school one afternoon. I wasn’t sure how such a sweet woman had birthed a guy like Rebel.

The four of us got into Larry’s Mercedes for the drive to the cemetery that felt much too short. Since it was a nice sunny day, Mom wanted to have the entire service outside before the burial. The cemetery was covered in green grass and flowers. Dozens of people were already there when we arrived. It sure was a lot nicer than the graveyard where the Kings hung out.

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