“Maybe he overheard us talking about going to the cove and headed out there first,” Hanna suggested. “Or he could have already been there when we arrived, hiding in one of the caves.”
Aria squinted. “I don’t know if he could have gotten out there that fast after the explosion. But I guess anything is possible.”
Spencer twisted her silver ring around her finger. “Graham probably spied on all of our conversations in the common room. And just because Naomi wasn’t around, we thought we were safe.”
“Has anyone seen Graham?” Hanna whispered. “He could be listening right now.”
Everyone looked up. Spencer scanned the crowd in the lobby. Jennifer Feldman was tapping on her iPad by the check-in desk. Lucas Beattie was roving around the lobby, taking pictures for yearbook. She didn’t see Graham anywhere.
“I wonder what his next move is,” she said uneasily. “Do you think he’s going to tell as soon as we get to back to the States?”
Aria squared her shoulders. “I think we should confess instead of letting Graham turn us in.”
Confess. Spencer took a deep breath. Hanna and Emily shifted uncomfortably. It was obvious they were all contemplating the promise they’d made in the water.
Emily picked at her cuticles. “I’m so afraid of what’s going to happen when we tell.”
“We have to end this,” Aria said. “Out there in the water, I had this epiphany. I’d rather clear my conscience than live a lie. Even if that means suffering for it, I don’t think I can live another day with this hanging over me.”
Spencer nodded. “I feel that way, too. But you’re underestimating it when you say suffer, Aria. We could spend years in court. We could go to jail for the rest of our lives.”
“A could torment us for the rest of our lives, too,” Aria said.
“But we’ll never get to see our families again,” Hanna said. “Everyone we love will hate us.”
Tears filled Aria’s eyes. “I know. But like I said, I can confess for everyone, and—”
“No,” Spencer, Emily, and Hanna all said at once.
Spencer touched Aria’s hand and swallowed hard. “You’re right. We have to end this, and confessing is the only way. I’m in.”
“Me too,” Hanna said after a moment. Emily nodded as well.
They were silent for a while, listening to the din of the kids in the lobby. Jeremy once more announced that they were booking everyone on flights back to Philadelphia that would leave in the next few days. Spencer’s stomach sank just thinking about it. Once they got home, their lives would be over. If only she could stay in Bermuda forever.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in the doorway. Reefer stood with his hands in his pockets. “Can we talk?” he asked, eyeing Spencer.
Spencer glanced at her friends, who shrugged and nodded. She walked toward Reefer tentatively, her heart suddenly thrumming. As soon as he got close, he grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. “I just found out what happened,” he said into her ear. “Are you okay? What were you doing taking a lifeboat back to those coves?”
Spencer’s body remained stiff and cautious, and she glanced around the room to see who might be watching. Even though A wasn’t Naomi, A had still sent texts that she should stay away from Reefer.
But then she remembered that they were going to confess soon. Life was too short to stay away from him. “It’s a long story,” she admitted. “But I’m fine. Naomi rescued me, actually. So I guess she’s not such a psycho after all.”
Reefer shook his head rapidly. “No, Spencer, she is. She told me everything.”
Spencer frowned. “Told you what?”
“She was the one gaslighting you.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “She poured baby oil on the floor, rigged the bed so it would break, all of it. Everything you thought was happening was true.”
Spencer blinked hard. “She actually admitted that?”
Reefer nodded. “I just talked to her. First she told me about the rescue, but then she admitted what she’d been up to. She seemed to feel really bad about it. I feel bad about it, too. I didn’t believe you. Can you ever forgive me?”
Spencer stared at him crazily. “I should be the one begging for forgiveness. I’m the one who’s been acting crazy. And I’m the one who broke up with you. I never should have done that.”
Reefer squeezed her tight. “Of course I forgive you,” he murmured. “It’s been a weird trip, hasn’t it? Naomi tormenting you, that fugitive girl jumping overboard, and did you hear about the explosion? It might have been intentional.”
Spencer swallowed hard. “I didn’t hear that.” She hoped it sounded like the truth.
Reefer nodded. “It started in the boiler room. They think a passenger did it.”
Spencer looked down, knowing eye contact with Reefer would give everything away. “Do they know who did it?” she asked.
Reefer shrugged. “No clue. They’re trying to bring up security cameras from the boiler room, but two of them were knocked out. I heard that they made out two people on the third camera, though—they’re just trying to figure out who they were.”
Spencer glanced at Aria, who was still talking to Hanna and Emily. She was sure the two figures on the security tape were Aria … and Graham. She shut her eyes for a moment, considering Graham as A. They didn’t even know him. It all seemed so … impersonal. What kind of lunatic stalks and torments his girlfriend’s killers instead of simply turning them in to the police?