Loser II || WlW

Twenty-Nine

"Jordan, stop." Brittany grabs my arm, but I rip out of her grip and continue toward the cabin. Brittany stops walking. "J... Just talk to me."

I ignore her, continue to the cabin. I'm not playing these games anymore. I'm going home. With Kyle or without Kyle. I'm getting down the mountain today.

I'm stuffing clothes into my suitcase without stopping to fold them when Brittany grabs my arm again. "Jordan, we need to talk."

I turn on her, cross my arms over my chest. "Why did you lie about your phone?"

Her lips purse into a smile as she holds the phone up. "This isn't my phone, J."

My eyes narrow at her before I take a closer look at the phone. It's true. She's had the same rose gold iPhone since high school, sometimes with a clear case filled with glitter, other times completely bare. This one is black and chipped in the corners.

"I don't even know the password, J." She slides the unlock bar, keys in her four-digit password, Claire's birthday, but the screen shakes to show the attempt was incorrect. "Your brother is trying to turn us against each other."

I stare at her, thinking her defense over. She could have a second phone. She could be pretending not to know the password.

She takes my face in her hand. "Can't you see what he's trying to do?"

I take a step back, let her hand fall to her side.

She makes a hurt noise in the back of her throat. "Jordan... Are you serious? Did you just forget that we watched Zach kill your own dad?"

"And I killed some high school kid," I snap. "What's the difference between the two of us?"

Brittany steps closer and takes my hand in hers again. "You're letting them get in your head, J. You are not the same as your brother. He tried to murder us. He murdered my sister. He murdered Kyle's brother."

I scoff.

Her eyebrows pull together as she attempts to read my face. "Do you think Zachary is innocent?"

I pause, fiddle with the zipper on my jacket. The only way we're going to get through this is with honesty. I've been trying to hide things from Brittany to spare her feelings but this is life or death. If she leaves me, that's fine. At least she'll be alive.

"Zachary told me you convinced him to murder Claire," I blurt. "You and Kyle. He said you guys wanted your siblings dead and you found us because our mom was known for being crazy and you used him as a... Like a pawn in a game." I shake my head. "And then Kyle shows up here? And he's saying you asked him to?"

"Jordan, I—"

"Grace told me when Zachary kidnapped you, you went into the basement willingly. You weren't tied up."

Brittany stops chewing her gum, thinks for a moment. "And?"

"Why would you go into the basement willingly?" I'm shouting. I can't help but let out some of the frustration that's been building in my chest since this trip started.

Brittany raises an eyebrow at me. "He had a knife, Jordan."

I freeze. Good point.

"But why did Zachary trust you enough to let you walk around on your accord? It seems like a really bad idea to let your kidnap victims wander around by themselves."

Brittany lets out a breathless laugh. "Zachary had a bigger crush on me than you did, J. I just played him like I played everyone else." After a silent moment, she adds, "why didn't you talk to me about this?"