Page 75 of Wildling

Sarah winks. “Not a single word. She’s broken, Beth. You’ve officially broken your daughter.”

Beth glances at me softly. “Layla?” I haven’t said a word to her since I was committed. I’d rather eat glass than utter a single word right now. I keep my eyes distant, as I’ve been doing the past few days. She cups my cheek and shakes her head.

I glance out the window, watching the mist roil over the lake, as it often does this time of year. Lost in the woods.

“No one gets lost in the woods here. We all know these woods like the back of our hands.”

She gasps and squeezes my hand. “Tragedy happens everywhere, Laylabug.”

I look up at Beth, and for a moment, it’s as if the mist in her eyes is real. I pull my hand away. “No. Not like this. Not when people keep dying on their birthdays.”

She rises and crosses her arms as if vindicated. “Listen to yourself. You’re not thinking clearly.”

For the first time in my entire life, I am thinking clearly. The signs have always been there. From when I was a little girl. All the death around us. The fact I was the favorite. The wildling.

“Mom, don’t lie anymore. Too many people have died. Tell the truth.”

She composes herself, then glares at Sarah. “It’s your mission to destroy my life now, isn’t it? You blamed me for everything, and now you’re trying to turn my daughter against me. Get the fuck out of this hospital room. You have no right to assault us like this, and I’ll bet you don’t have a warrant.”

Sarah obviously doesn’t, and she lied, as this is not an active murder investigation. How could it be? Sarah pushes past Beth and Regina. “I’ll be seeing you soon, Elizabeth.”

Beth lets out a low grunt, and Regina places a hand on her back.

Once she’s gone, I stare at my mother. “Don’t blame Sarah for what happened to me. You know what happened to me. You know the truth…Committing me doesn’t change what you are, Mom.”

She sighs and grits her teeth. “I’m going to work on discharging you. Clearly, this hospital cannot keep people out. Get up and get ready. You’re coming home.”

Her eyes flash, and she pulls out a cell phone I don’t recognize. She puts it in front of my face, which unlocks it.

She scrolls through it, frowning. Her lips part, and she glances up quickly. “You want proof, Layla? Here is your proof.” I glance at Regina, who hasn’t said a word. Something in the air has deeply shifted. Beth presses the mysterious cell phone into my face.

I squeeze my eyes shut. “Mom. Don’t do this.”

“Read the texts,” Regina assures me. “Everything will be okay.”

As I pick up the burner phone, a sharp pain shoots through my chest. It takes me a second to realize what I’m reading. I scroll through weeks of text messages, the ones the Archer sent me and then made disappear from my phone. Each one representing a step closer to my ultimate descent… I thought every single one was from Nick, but it turns out they were all from me.

I sent myself every single one of those text messages.

Chapter 32

I’m being held captive in my room.

It’s been two days since Keely died. The media is now a firestorm about the rumored Constellation Killer. Sarah Crawley is all over it, trying to connect the dots, even leading a task force investigating it.

Nick Cross, Layla Ashby, Beth Ashby, Toby Myers—everyone is asking one question. How is this all connected?

The day of Sarah Crawley’s visit, Beth had me released from the hospital and took me home, but not before calling a locksmith to place a lock on the outside of the door of my bedroom. When we arrived, our house was surrounded by reporters. We walked by them as Beth and Regina took me inside. The camera lights flashed like I was on a movie set. The only difference is they can never truly glimpse the landscape of what happened to me. Not when the regular rules don’t apply.

Since then, the reporters have disappeared. Beth won’t let me see the outside world other than Regina. The weather has shifted now to full-blown winter. The snow is out of control. At least 50 cm fell last night. It got rid of the reporters, but Beth can’t get me to the facility because no one can come in or out of town, and she can’t trust the hospital to keep me isolated.

The police have been by a few times, but Regina steps in every time telling them I’m not of sound mind to be interviewed. The town can no longer ignore what’s right in front of them or what they have long buried.

I sit on the end of my bed and glance outside, and the snow remains untouched and pristine, save for a few animal tracks leading into the forested area on the side of our house. It’s always so peaceful. No one can come in or go out anymore, which used to bring me a small sense of comfort. Goose bumps flicker all over my skin at how easily my mind slips when I’m alone.

I haven’t had the chance to grieve my friend’s death yet. The news of Keely’s passing still feels unreal because I’ve been cut off from the outside world. And until the Archer is found, if he can be found, the police have the town on lockdown.

Jake is gone, ignoring what is happening in this house, and if it weren’t for the snow, I would have left by now too. If I were to run into the woods, I doubt I’d last ten minutes. Beth has me trapped, and she knows it…She also knows it must be killing me.