He sends me a look before he leaves with the firefighter, and I’m alone with Rylie. She finally lets go of me, her smile serene, her expression, her gaze blank. Like a doll’s.
“Why are you doing this?” I ask her, my voice tight.
“What are you talking about? I’m doing nothing. Just like you want me to do.” She blinks, her smile fading. “You don’t love me anymore.”
“I never did love you,” I say bluntly, trying my best to fight the panic that wants to take over. Where’s Autumn? Where’s Fable and the rest of the family?
What is Ramirez telling Drew about Rylie?
“My mom will be here any minute,” Rylie says, her voice hollow. “Maybe she’ll bring me back up here later so I can get my car and we can talk.”
“There’s nothing more we need to talk about, Rylie,” I tell her and her entire face turns red.
“You fucking coward!” She lunges toward me. Her hands curled into fists as she starts pummeling my chest. I grab hold of her wrists, holding her off as best as I can, but she’s stronger than she looks. She tries to kick at me, punch me, and I just take it, wincing when her foot makes connection with my shin, her fist socking me right in my still sore ribs making me double over.
That’s when Ramirez and Drew run over to us, pulling us apart. “Come on now, Rylie. Let’s go wait for your mother over here,” Ramirez tells her.
She leads Rylie away, who’s shaking and breathing heavily. I watch them go, curling my arm in front of my chest, trying to work past the pain that Rylie’s fist caused.
“The firefighter told me that girl said she was pregnant with your baby.”
I turn to find Drew studying me, his expression impassive. “What did you say?” I ask carefully.
“Ramirez said that girl admitted she was pregnant with your baby, but she lost it.” Drew tilts his head. “Yet I’m finding used condoms in the hall, so that doesn’t make much sense.”
I part my lips, unsure of what I should tell him. Do I clear myself and risk getting Autumn in trouble? “I don’t believe she was ever pregnant in the first place.”
The moment the words fall from my lips, a sheriff’s deputy car pulls into the driveway, no siren on but the yellow lights flashing.
Great.
I would call bullshit on this entire situation, but Rylie’s behavior isn’t right. She’s completely fixated on me, yet she’s also trying to beat the shit out of me.
It doesn’t make any sense.
Everything gets chaotic once the deputy arrives. The arson investigator deems the fire an accident, started by an unattended candle that they found in the middle of my bed, a waxy lump left behind as evidence. Since I’ve never had a candle in that room, nor have I seen one, I tell the investigator that I have no idea where it came from when he questions me, Drew still standing with us and listening to every word I say.
“I brought it,” Rylie calls from where she’s still standing with Ramirez, her gaze meeting mine, eyes wide and her pupils dilated. “Remember? For our romantic night?”
The disappointed look Drew sends my way guts me. “What the hell is going on here, Davis? Is she telling the truth?”
“Sir, let me explain.” I have never called Drew Callahan sir in my life. I don’t know why I do it. As a sign of respect? Out of desperation in the hopes he’ll actually listen to me versus Rylie, who’s spouting nothing but a bunch of nonsense?
“You can explain yourself later,” he says with a shake of his head before he walks over to where the firefighters are clustered together, and they all glance in my direction before they start talking among themselves.
I wonder where Fable and the kids are. And Autumn. She has to be awake. Worried about me. Maybe she already knows that Rylie’s here, and someone told her what she said. Maybe she’ll believe her.
But how could she? I was with her right up to the moment I first discovered the fire. There’s no way Autumn will believe Rylie. We were together. Autumn’s my alibi. Not that I can tell Drew that.
Hey, I didn’t start that fire. And I definitely wasn’t with Rylie. Where was I? Yeah, I was with your daughter, taking her virginity in her bed. You have the used condom that’s evidence, so that means I’m off the hook, right?
The grim thought almost makes me want to laugh, but I don’t. That won’t go over too well.
“We’re going to need to talk to you a little more, son.” I turn to find the fire investigator standing in front of me, his expression serious.
“Right now?”
He nods. “We’ll just take you to the station and interview you real quick before we bring you back here.”
He’s lying. He was probably given orders by Drew to never bring me back here again.
“Can I get some pants on? And some shoes?” I ask him. Though I really don’t know if I have any pants or shoes that aren’t either burned or damaged by smoke.
“I’ll get him some stuff to wear from my son,” Drew says, his tone clipped before he leaves, heading for Jake’s room.
Great. I’m borrowing more of Jake’s clothes. That guy must thoroughly hate me by now.
“I’m not in trouble, am I?” I ask the fire investigator.
“As long as you tell the truth, you’ll be fine,” the man says, patting me on the shoulder.
His words, the way his hand clamps my shoulder, heavy and tight, feels like a prison sentence. Will he believe me?
No one ever has before, so why change now?
Thirty-Eight
Autumn
I come into the kitchen to find my parents talking, their voices low and serious, so wrapped up in what they’re saying, they don’t even notice me enter the room. They wouldn’t let me talk to Ash earlier, when the fire was first discovered. Mom made all of us go outside and wait it out in the front yard on the opposite side of the house where the fire started. She said she wanted to keep us safe, but I don’t know.
It also felt like she wanted to keep me away from Ash.
After a while Dad came out front to talk to Mom, and when the house was deemed safe, she sent us all to our rooms with strict orders that we couldn’t leave. Sleep wouldn’t come, so I paced my room, bit my nails down to nothing and stress ate the rest of the bag of kettle corn I left in here a few days ago. Finally I couldn’t take it anymore and sent Ash a text. Then another one, but he never responded.
I have no idea where he is.
Giving up, fear propels me downstairs, where I find my parents. They’re talking so intently, I have to clear my throat in order for them to notice me.
“Oh. Autumn.” Mom gives me small smile. “Come sit with us. We need to talk.”
Dread makes my steps slow and I settle onto the empty barstool that’s in between my parents. Mom gives me a side hug while Dad just glowers. He’s mad. Upset. I’m upset too. I want to know where my boyfriend is. I want to know that he’s okay.
“We don’t know how to tell you this,” Mom starts, and I turn to look at her, fear making my insides quake. “We think Ash started the fire. By accident. But—he had a girl there with him. In his room.”
My mouth drops open. “What?”
“Her name is Rylie Altman,” Dad bites out. “Do you know her?”
Oh. My. God. “Yes, I know her. I go to school with her. She was here? At the house?”
“She was waiting outside when the fire engine showed up, frantically waving them down. She told them she was inside with her boyfriend and they fell asleep. She said they must’ve knocked over the candle that was sitting on the bedside table that they lit for their romantic encounter,” Dad explains, his voice harsh and full of disappointment.
“But that’s not true. None of it is. Ash is with me,” I tell them.
It’s like he didn’t even hear what I said. “Apparently he’s with this Rylie, and it’s serious. She claimed she was pregnant with his baby, but recently lost it,” Dad continues, driving the invisible knife up to the hilt, sticking me right in my heart.
“Drew,” Mom chastises, but Dad shakes his head, cutting her off.
“She deserves to know the truth, Fable. Ash Davis is nothing but a con man who used us and our daughter.”