red hill - jamie mcguire

Chapter Twenty-One
Miranda
ELLENY FOLLOWED SCARLET AROUND LIKE a scared child, even after she helped bury Kevin’s body. We
were all stunned for days after. I wasn’t sure if I was more shocked about what Kevin had done, what
he was caught doing, or that Scarlet had killed him. The house didn’t feel the same, and I wasn’t sure
if it was because of the new, awkward addition, or because we realized that it wasn’t just teds that
we had to fear.
Because Elleny stayed so close to Scarlet and so far from the rest of us, it was hard to get to know
her. I didn’t know how to talk to her, anyway. I’d never known anyone that had been through
something like that. I didn’t want to say the wrong thing, so I didn’t say anything at all.
Nathan and Zoe had returned to the front bedroom, but Scarlet moved downstairs with Elleny,
leaving Joey the couch. That made it easier for me to stay up and talk to him at night, and I felt more
like we were just hanging out as friends instead of sneaking around in the basement like . . .
nonfriends. I couldn’t even say the word, that’s how wrong it felt.
Whatever it was, I couldn’t deny that I liked being around Joey. I more than liked it. Even if a
moment had to be stolen when no one was looking. Bryce would get so angry to even see us chatting
about nothing in particular, so I took what I could get because going too long without a moment with
him made me feel like I was suffocating.
Everyone seemed to be suffocating. We were surviving, but every passing day felt less like living.
Every morning and night, Scarlet would stand out on the porch my father built and watch the red
hill for her daughters. Nathan would wait with her, assuring her that they would come. Ashley
pretended to be a teacher. The guys tried to keep themselves busy with upkeep of the house, and
taking shifts to patrol the perimeter, and Joey and I pretended to ignore each other, but what was
supposed to be our safe haven was beginning to feel like a prison.
Nathan, though, didn’t seem to feel the weight like the rest of us. He and Scarlet would spend
hours talking. Once, I walked by the door and saw them holding hands while they waited together on
the porch. After that, they seemed to steal more moments alone, sharing secrets and whispering jokes
that only the two of them found funny. Joey and I were sitting up late one night, talking in the darkness
of the living room, and were both startled when the French doors opened, revealing Scarlet.
“Hi,” she said, looking caught. “We were just talking.”
I shrugged, and so did Joey. “So are we,” I said.
Scarlet nodded before retreating downstairs to join Elleny.
Joey looked at me. I was barely able to see his eyebrow rise in the dim light. “Think they
were . . .”