Page 41 of We're All Liars
“That I agree with.” But I need to get to her now. I refrain from running straight over there because if Ryder is right, we need to be able to help her.
Exiting the truck, I close the door and keep walking down the paved road before ducking into the grass. Taking out my phone, I shine a dim flashlight down the path we’re walking. I spot a figure sitting on the dock. It’s her. I know it is.
“Morgan,” I shout. Before I can take off, Ryder holds me in place.
“Wait a second. Are you sure that’s her?”
“Not entirely.” It’s pretty dark, but it has to be her.
That when I see the flashes of light. Two short, quick flashes.
“It’s her.”
Ryder watches towards the dock for a few seconds. “Are you sure?”
Never been so sure of anything in my life. “She just gave the signal for ‘coast is clear.’” It was usually me waiting to sneak into her house or on her balcony.
“From when y’all were kids? How do you even remember that?” Ryder asks.
The real question is… “How could I ever forget?”
There’s another quick light on, then it goes off, followed by the light on for two long beats then flashes a quick third time.
“What’s that mean?” Ryder asks.
“It means”—I don’t think I can get the words out because she just gave me the sign I’ve been waiting on—“I love you.”
I don’t run. I just slowly and steadily make my way to where she’s at with Ryder in front of me. He’s yelling and cussing at her before he even reaches her, then wraps her in a hug and continues carrying on. “What the fuck, Morgan? Do you know how scared I was?” Ryder cries, clinging to her. “I thought you were dead.”
“I’m sorry,” she tells him as she wraps her arms around him.
Pulling back, he tells her, “I swear to God, I will not forgive you if you ever do anything that stupid and dangerous ever again.”
“I won’t. It’s over.” She exhales. “All of it.”
Ryder continues yelling while Morgan remains silent. He must feel bad or is just plain exhausted when he finally stops. He lets out a deep breath and tells her, “I’m going back to Mom. Are the two of you good, or do I need to wait and give you a ride back?” he asks me.
I pray I’m right when I respond, “I’m good. You can go ahead.”
He hugs his sister again then tells me bye and walks away. The silence is deafening as I move to sit beside her. Her hair is wet, twisted up in a bun on the top of her head, her arms wrapped in the hoodie that I notice is mine.
“You planned all of it didn’t you? The collision earlier, the abduction. All of it.”
“You weren’t supposed to be there.”
The excuse infuriates me. “You shouldn’t have been there. What if something had gone wrong, Morgan? We had no fucking clue where you were, what had really happened, if you were safe. Do you know how fucking scared I was?”
I fully expect her to go into some explanation to justify her actions, but she shocks the fuck out of me when she says, “I’m so sorry, Cade.”
Fuck. I already know I can’t stay mad at her. But I can’t lose her over some bullshit vendetta either. I push back from the edge of the dock and shift over, moving one of my legs to the other side of her. Once she’s between my legs, I pull her back against my chest, my arms clinging as tight to her as possible as I bury my face against her neck. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” she says flatly.
“Thank you for giving me the signal.” I give her a soft kiss behind her ear as her body tenses.
“You’re gonna hate me when you find out everything I’ve done. When you find out I became the monster you’ve accused me of being.” Her body quivers, and it almost sounds like she’s crying. No. I can’t handle that.
I loop my arms under her knees and turn her to the side to face me, but she just puts her head on my chest as she sits across my lap. Fuck. This is painful. “I already know everything.” Her hands cling tighter to me, and her body goes even more rigid until I tell her. “And I’m not going anywhere.”