I call Brandon twelve times over the next three hours. I even track down his home number and ask his mom if I can speak to him. She goes to get him and then comes back on the line to awkwardly fumble over some line about Brandon being asleep. At four thirty in the afternoon. Hanging up the phone, I flop back onto my bed, unsure if I want to scream or cry.
A menacing train of what-ifs roars through my brain. What if Brandon tells my mom about Lawrence and she prevents me from seeing him? What if that awful chance meeting sets off the butterfly effect again? But that’s not even the worst of it. What if somehow the bargain we’ve made with fate was contingent on secrecy? I could save Lawrence as long as no one knew we were messing with time. But now Brandon knows. Maybe the deal is off. Maybe I’ll walk back to that beach, and everything will be like it was before. And Lawrence will be on his own to face his death.
Chapter 28
Cassandra
’m going to lose it. The stress of this whole situation
I
will break my sanity. I have no doubt of this. I pace on
the warm sand, waiting. It’s been forty-five minutes. Lawrence
still hasn’t come. I refuse to accept what that might mean. My
heart couldn’t bear the pain.
I’m going to kill Brandon. Someone has to answer for this.
I’m going to go completely rogue and extract my revenge on
the entire town of Crest Harbor. One by one, I’ll—
“Cassandra.”
I spin around. At the sight of Lawrence, my eyes slide closed
and I exhale with relief.
“I’m so sorry,” he says, rushing to take me in his arms. “Ned
was home and I couldn’t get away.”
I melt into the embrace. “It doesn’t matter. I’m just so glad
that you’re here now.”
Lawrence kisses me. I can feel the difference in his kiss.
There’s an urgency, a hunger to make each embrace count. I
recognize it because I feel the same way.
We hold each other for a long time and then sit together in
the sand.
“So,” Lawrence says finally, “what do we do now?”
“I’ve given this a lot of thought, and I think we have to accept
that Brandon could be a culprit in your murder. Or at least
cause a chain of events that will lead to your murder.”
Lawrence exhales slowly, ruffling his hair with frustration.
“I’m a fool.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s mine. All of this is my fault. At the
start of this, Cooper Enterprises was the only plausible suspect. Now, thanks to my meddling, Brandon and this Fay girl’s family have both become possibilities.”
I want him to tell me I’m wrong, but even he can’t muster
the lie. “If I’d just followed my instincts and left things alone.
If I’d left you alone.”
“Don’t say that.”
“Why not? It’s true. If I had never come back to the beach
like I promised, you’d have a long, happy future to look forward to.”
Lawrence. “Don’t talk like this, Cassandra. I won’t hear it.” He
holds the side of my face. “I don’t want a future without you.”
His lips come to mine. My eyes sting. I don’t deserve this rush
of adrenaline at the feel of the kiss. I don’t deserve someone to
love me so perfectly. It’s an ideal summer evening—golden and
warm and fragrant. Everything about tonight, possibly our last
night together, should be perfect. And it would be, if not for
this horrible, sinking fear that I’ve ruined everything.
“You shouldn’t take this so hard,” Lawrence says softly.
“Nothing may come of this Brandon business.”
“Or everything might.”
“There’s no way to know, so we might as well not think
about it.”
Lawrence laces my hand in his. “I don’t want to spend our
time together like this.”
“Neither do I.”
He kisses my cheek, and the warmth of his lips runs through
my entire body. But tonight every sweetness is overpowered by