"You're under arrest."
A hand grabbed my wrist, and I looked up abruptly to be met with Luce's lopsided grin and hazel eyes.
"For killing that look. Have, I would die for your legs," she groaned, not noticing me relax. "I bet Griffin couldn't keep his hands off of you." She took a sip from her drink, scrunching her face up afterward.
"This tastes more like vodka than fruit punch, and it has Jeremy's doing written all over it."
I smiled, but it faltered when I saw a flash of green moving towards the auditorium doors.
Cari slipped through the mass of people, nearing the exit. Her sharp sea-green eyes flickered behind her, her dress billowing into a cloud around her body. In the blink of an eye, she was gone.
"Luce, I'm going to the bathroom. I'll be right back." My voice came out with a strange lilt, but Luce was too busy inspecting her cup to notice.
"Okay, hurry back. You don't want to miss prom court!" She crossed her fingers together.
That was the last thing on my mind, but I gave her a quick smile before hurrying out of the auditorium. As soon as the auditorium doors shut behind me, the glittering lights of the disco ball and the loud music seemed to fade away — the halls were eerily empty and quiet, except for a quickly disappearing Cari.
She moved swiftly — she turned the corner, and the edge of her gown disappeared from view.
I quickened my pace, attempting not to stumble on my heels. My heart hammered against my ribcage, echoing in the silence.
Don't lose her.
I finally reached a dead-end when I saw the large doors. Inside, there was a spiraling staircase that led to the roof. I tugged at the metal handle, relieved to see that it didn't auto lock. Using extra force, I pulled the doors open. I hurried up the stairs, the sound of my steps echoing in the silence.
At the top of the steps, I could make out the roof and the small veranda hanging off the platform. A wave of cool night air enveloped me when I saw her.
Dark, glittery gold eyeshadow coated her eyes. There was something about her cold, empty gaze that was jarring.
"Cari," I called. My voice came out in a jagged breath, and I had a weird sense of déjà vu from when I had cornered her at the charity formal.
She gave me a once-over, her red-coated lips pursing together. Curiosity and interest flashed through her shining eyes. "Haven. It's such a pretty night, isn't it?" The ghost of a smile lingered on her lips, but it wasn't real.
"It is." I swallowed, wondering if she could hear the way my heart was racing. "If only Natasha could be here. She would've liked it."
I was testing her. Cari turned to me and gave me a funny smile before nodding, crossing her arms across her chest. "What are you doing out here? You don't seem like the type of girl who would miss even a moment of the perfect night." Her voice was sarcastic, but I ignored it.
"I needed a breath of fresh air," I replied, taking a step closer to her. After a pause, I added, "I went to Mrs. Emerson's store earlier. I didn't know you worked there. She told me all about the Cupid sculpture. I thought it was the prettiest thing when I first saw it. Glittery gold — the perfect decoration. Until it turned into a murder weapon."
She turned to face me, and I could tell she was analyzing me from the way her eyes swept over my face. Unless I was imagining it, there was a twinge of discomfort in her eyes before it was gone completely.
"Someone wasn't a fan of Valentine's Day." Her voice was steady, but it was too late — I had seen the flicker of fear in her eyes. "If you don't mind, I was going to head back to the dance." She stepped around me and my fingers instinctively gripped her wrist.
She looked down at my grip. "What are you doing?" Her voice had an icy edge to it.
"The Valentine's Day party," I said. "You were there. At West's house."
Her smile dropped slightly.
"When the police came, I didn't see you. Which meant you left already, before the questioning, and before anyone could even see you there." I wet my lips. "This whole time, I was searching for Killer Cupid. And I thought it was some psycho stalker that hated Natasha. But the thing about love and hate? There's a very fine line."
Griffin's words trickled back to me. The day after the Valentine's party, we had met on the bleachers and he had said the only person who could know more about you than a stalker was a friend.
Cari was Natasha's closest friend. She was the only one who could know every detail yet still leave unscathed.
"I never considered you." I breathed. "You loved Natasha. Why would you ever be the person who hurt her?"
A shadow crossed her features. "What exactly are you trying to say?"
"Did you kill Natasha?" The words spilled out, and I looked at her, waiting for any reaction.
She laughed.
She actually laughed.
"Shouldn't you be confronting your ex? We all heard about how Justin threatened her. It's a shock they even let him attend this dance. Besides," she said, her eyes locking with mine. "I'm just the delivery girl. I had no reason to stay at the party." Her voice was calm, and her lips twisted into a challenging smile. "I'm sorry to ruin your little guessing game, but you have to see it's absurd, right?"
A lump formed in my throat.
It wasn't Justin. I believed she framed him, and I knew she was lying.
But how was I going to get her to confess?
Cari scoffed, grabbing her purse. "As if I would hurt Natasha. You still don't get it, do you? I was the only one she had this whole time. I saved her." Her icy eyes met mine, cutting me like diamonds. "I hope Justin rots in jail. I hope you all do."
I bit my lip, feeling the night slipping away. I wasn't a detective or a person who could avenge her best friend's death.
I was still a coward.
She pushed past me, her hand on the door handle.
If I didn't think of something, I couldn't stop her. I had to find a way.
And then I realized the only way was to pretend as if I believed her.
"Maybe you're right."
Cari stopped, her fingers still wrapped around the door.
I bit the inside of my cheek until tears glistened in my eyes. "Justin became a stranger. At one point, I doubted him myself. But I didn't want to believe he would do something like this. I used to date him, Cari. Of course, I fell for his lies."
I could feel Cari's eyes on me. "I was so delusional that I didn't want to accept that. I shouldn't have approached you like that. This entire thing has made me feel crazy, and I'm taking it out on you."
She pursed her lips together, touching her purse gingerly. They were slight movements, but I was aware of all of them. "I get that," she said.
"But you know, the cops won't lock him if the case is still open," I said. "Which means no one else is safe."
I could see her calculating — wondering how much to tell me, how much to trust me.
"His parents are rich," I said. "They'll be able to bail him out. In the end, Cari, you and I want the same thing. Justice for Natasha. But to do that, we have to make sure Justin has no loophole, and he has one."
Her eyebrows furrowed. Hook, line, sinker.
"The timing," I said. "That's his loophole. The fight with Justin happened at the Valentine's Day party, but Natasha went missing days before that. Remember? Justin had no clue about that. He could make a case on that. Because why would Natasha be trying to get away from him?"
"She was probably running away from him," Cari said. "Justin never liked her after she posted those things about your relationship with him. It made it look like you didn't want him, and he hated not looking perfect in front of everyone. She feared him. Natasha never goes to her summer home unless things get bad."
She was right.
About everything, except for one thing.
Because Natasha had only told one person where she was going, and that was Griffin.
Natasha's words flickered back to me. "I only come here when things get bad." It was her secret, one that she only told Griffin and me.
After all the secrets had ruined our lives, this one was about to save one.
"How do you know where she went?" I said.
Cari didn't have to say the words. The moment her face blanched and she froze, I knew.
"Justin wasn't the one she was trying to get away from, was she?" It came out in a whisper. I could see her tighten her fingers around her purse, and they were trembling.
"You said we were on the same side." Cari's jaw was tight, and her dark eyes gleamed.
"You killed her," I said, swallowing. It wasn't a question this time. When she didn't reply, my voice raised. "She was your best friend," I said, making her flinch.
"Why?" I whispered. I hated how my voice came out weak in the end. I shouldn't be the one falling apart now.
Cari's eyes grew icy.
"Don't make me the bad guy here," she hissed, her hand folding into a fist so her nails made indents in her palms. "It was you. All of you. The people who hurt her. All she wanted was revenge, and I was there for her through all of that. I was the only person she had. She needed me."
She kept walking closer, until I had backed into a wall, wincing from the sudden contact. "We had a plan, you know? To take down every one of you," she said, so quietly I almost missed it.
My body was shaking.
"Everything would've been okay," she said, her eyes spilling with tears. "If you guys just stayed out of her life, and she remembered that she hated you. But she changed. Started talking about forgiving you for what you did to Darian, and what you did to her. You didn't fucking deserve that."
"Cari — "
"Don't," she hissed.
I swallowed, wishing I hadn't left my phone back in the auditorium.
"But Cupid's Guide to Murder," I said, mouth dry. "If you were Killer Cupid ... why did you make a guide revealing the murderer?"
She laughed, her eyes glinting. "I gave you more credit than you deserved, Haven. You didn't realize the guide wasn't about the murderer, but the people who've been killing a part of her all along."
I froze.
"Luce was the reason Darian died. She was the one that made Natasha feel so broken, so alone. Taylor blackmailed her. Griffin left her for you." Her voice grew bitter. "Justin, Willow, every person in your fucked up little friend group hurt her. Do you see a trend? I was the only one there for her."
"No," I said, shaking my head. "No. You don't get to do something like this, and then blame all of us. You don't get to call yourself her friend when you killed her."
"Stop saying I killed her!" She hit her fist against the wall, and I winced.
"It was an accident," she said. "I just- she wasn't seeing clearly, and I had to explain to her. I had to make her understand, because she was blaming me. If she just listened to me, this wouldn't have happened."
I didn't know if I wanted to cry or scream.
Cari shook her head, steadying her voice.
"This is what she would've wanted. For you to suffer. Not forgiveness. She would've been happy if she saw the hell you all are going through now because you weren't her real friends. But you already knew that, didn't you?" Her expression was snide. "Posting that list was just the beginning of what you all deserved."
"You put the list up?" I stared at Cari in disbelief.
Her lips pulled into a sickeningly sweet smile, and she nodded. "Of course I did. Don't you see? It was something Natasha would've done herself. She would've wanted you to all go down like this."
She took a step closer, her voice icy. "I kept Natasha alive, while the rest of you would do anything to forget about her."
The list. The dead rose in my locker. Cupid's Guide to Murder. All the tokens from "Natasha," when Cari had been the one playing a sick joke.
"Oh my God," I said, letting out a choked sob. Cari's eyes were unfocused, but I staggered back, her face completely out of my mind. "It was you this whole time." I blinked past tears, raising my gaze to meet hers. "And Dean?"
His dead body loomed in my mind.
"He saw me at the bonfire leaving a Killer Cupid post, so I couldn't let him get away," Cari said coolly.
My stomach dropped.
"It wasn't a loss I felt bad for. For months, he had been tormenting me. Telling me how I belonged with Natasha. And I took it. His bullying, the constant rudeness ... I took it all." Her eyes glazed, the corner of her lips turning into a smile. "If she wasn't dead, Natasha would be proud to know I finally stood up for myself."
Bile rose in my throat. Natasha wasn't supposed to be dead.
"You're crazy," I said, so angry I couldn't see or speak properly. "She would've been here." I couldn't manage anything else. I tried to push past her, but she stopped me, grabbing my arm.
"You know the worst part?" She said. "That's what Natasha said to me at the end too. I was her best friend, and she told me I was crazy. She told me to go to hell, because of you." Her lip curled, and I hadn't seen someone look at me with as much hate as I did in that moment.
I felt my stomach twist, picturing the entire fight.
Natasha had tried to get away, to put an end to it all — but Cari had killed her in a fit of anger before she could.
I willed myself not to get sick. I had to keep it together and figure out a way to get out of there right now and tell the police.
"I was right about one thing at the vigil," Cari said. The crazed glint in her eyes was gone, replaced with a dull stillness. "It really shouldn't have been her that died."
Before I could react, she had pulled my hair into a fist and pushed my head back into the brick wall. I immediately felt a throbbing pain in the back of my head and temples, and my eyes filled with tears. I reached up, attempting to pull her hands away, but her frail wrists kept holding on, pressing me tighter against the wall.
"Let... go," I managed, and before I knew what was happening, she reached into her purse. I struggled as much as I could, but she was strong.
Or maybe it was all the contained anger she had, combined with the weakness I felt.
No one knew I was here.
No one was going to help me.
"Cupid's guide to murder, final rule ... Get rid of any obstacles in your path." Cari spit, her eyes zoning in on me. "It was better when you weren't in her life." A glimmer of a sharp object reflected against her palm, and my stomach twisted.
All of a sudden, I thought of Natasha's face. Her smile, from the first time we had interacted at the country club.
Natasha had only become my friend to get revenge on the people I loved. She had been hurting, and maybe I still wouldn't truly know who she was. But somewhere along the way, she'd become my friend. Flashes of old memories raced through my mind — the pool-side conversations, overnight sleepovers, glimmers of laughter.
I only thought of the good parts, and I realized I didn't want it to go down like this. She wouldn't have wanted it to happen like this.
I couldn't die.
With newfound strength, I shoved Cari away from me. I turned to get away, my heart beating wildly against my chest. My ankle twisted on the way, and a sharp shooting of pain ran up my leg. I was quick to steady myself, grabbing the edges of my dress so I didn't trip. I tugged at the door, managing to pry it open before hurrying down the steps. Tears and glitter streaked down my face.
She was right behind me. I could feel her — I didn't have enough time. When I reached the exit to the hall doors, I pounded against them, realizing they were locked shut.
"Somebody help!" My voice echoed in the silence.
"First Natasha, then Dean, and now you." Cari scoffed, her voice trailing from afar. "I never wanted Killer Cupid to become this crazy murderer. But people started seeing me. Seeing Natasha. I did the right thing. There's no point in running, Haven."
I reached into my hair, pulling out the pin from it with shaking fingers. I shoved the hairpin into the lock, struggling with it. "Please," I breathed. When I heard the click, a wave of relief rushed through me.
I pushed the doors open, feeling Cari's hand reach out.
Before her fingers could wrap around my wrist, I ran, with one broken heel. I ran until I bumped straight into a hard chest.
I looked up to see Griffin, his arms steadying me, and I wanted to cry. Out of relief, pain, and the bottled-up fear I had. Through blurry eyes, I could see his face, angry and worried at the same time.
"Haven." Griffin's voice seemed like it was far away, but it wasn't.
Dozens of emotions flashed in his eyes for only a second before he restrained Cari.
She thrashed wildly against him, but his arms locked into place, tight around her to constrain her.
"Let go of me!" she yelled, her eyes trained on me with loathing.
"Call the police," he said, his voice rough and commanding, but dim to me. "Now."
He wasn't speaking to me, but Willow. Only then did I notice her, her eyes darting from us to her phone. She nodded, dialing the number with shaky fingers.
Everything seemed to happen fast. Officer Davies and some other officers came, walking past me to arrest Cari. Taylor and the others came running out too. A flurry of tears and curse words, people asking if I was okay.
I could only nod, feeling shocked.
After everything, the truth was out.
It was real when I saw the cuffs around Cari's wrists, the same ones that had tried to kill me. Her dark eyes held no remorse, just anger.
Even now, she hadn't let go of the anger.
Before the officers led her away, Griffin turned to her as she passed, his voice dropping to a dangerously low tone.
"I swear if something happened to the girl I love, I would make your life so damn miserable, you would've wished you were dead."
It was the last thing I heard before everything faded to black.