What Lies in the Darkness (Shadow Cove Book 1) Read Free Page A

never know how to reply. Sometimes, we talk about nothing important, like the weather or how things are going with my skateboarding. Sometimes, we don’t talk at all, which is worse because it reminds me of our relationship during the last few months he was alive.
    I told Kennedy, who’s really into dream interpretations, about it once, and she suggested that my dreams might represent guilt. Guilt over what, she wasn’t sure, but I have a hunch it might have to do with what happened the last time I saw Sawyer.
    “I need your help, Mak,” he said, barging into my bedroom.
    I was lying on my bed, working on math homework, and had barely glanced up. “What’s up?”
    He shut off the music playing from my stereo and shouted, “Will you look up at me when I talk to you!” His anger startled and pissed me off.
    “If you want something, you can just ask,” I snapped, irritated he was yelling at me for no good reason. He had been doing that so much lately, and his bad attitude was starting to wear on my nerves, and everyone else’s for that matter. “You don’t need to yell at me. If you want something, just ask.”
    “I just …” He massaged the back of his neck tensely. “Never mind.” Then he hurried out of my room.
    I moved to chase him down to apologize but froze. For the last few months, all I’d been doing was apologizing to him, so I let him go, figuring I’d give him time to cool off before trying to talk to him.
    I never got the chance. That was the last time I ever saw him. To this day, I don’t know what he needed help with or what he wanted to talk to me about. And the guilt gnaws away at me every single day.
    “Mak, stop!” Everleigh shrieks, her voice laced with pure terror.
    I jerk back to reality and realize I’m about to fly through the fancy, schmancy stoplight. I pound my foot on the brake, and the tires skid as my car grinds to a halt.
    “Holy shit,” Ev breathes, her eyes wide as she stares at the red light across from us. Taking a few measured breaths, she releases her death grip on the seat. “What the heck just happened?”
    “Whoopsie.” I shrug. “Sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.”
    She works to compose her erratic breathing. “Maybe I should drive.”
    “Nah. I can handle this.” I tap the side of my temple. “My head’s back in the game.”
    “It scares me to think of how long your head’s been out of the game.”
    “For, like, thirty seconds, tops.”
    “Liar.”
    “Okay, maybe a little longer.” I drive forward as the light turns green. “But I promise I won’t do it again.”
    I make good on my promise, keeping my focus on the road as we weave around the jagged hillsides that curve around the coastline and make a right turn into Kennedy’s driveway. I ease the car up to the towering iron gate and honk my horn while Ev sends them a text to get their butts out here.
    I could press the buzzer to get in then drive up to the front door, but Kennedy’s stepmom isn’t a huge fan of me, something she proves when she wanders outside to collect the mail.
    She’s dressed in a white jumpsuit, her blonde hair pulled into a tight ponytail, and she’s cradling a yappy, little dog like it’s her baby. When she spots my car at the gate, she shoots me a nasty look. Whether it’s at my piece of shit car or me, I’m unsure. Probably both.
    “She’s such a weirdo,” Ev remarks, her face twisting in disgust as Mrs. Wellingford lets the dog lick her lips.
    “Ew, I think they just touched tongues.” I gag. “I’m so glad she’s only Kennedy’s stepmom. Could you imagine if that were her real mom, and that’s what Kennedy would turn into?”
    “No way,” Ev disagrees. “Kennedy would never turn into that. She’s too much of a good person.”
    “True,” I agree, sliding my square-framed shades over my eyes. “Kennedy is the best.”
    We sit at the gate for another couple of minutes, getting the stink eye from Mrs. Wellingford when my car backfires.
    I smile