Real Novel
  • Home
  • Browse
  • Write for us
  • Login/Register
  • Home
  • Browse
  • Write for us
  • Login/Register
Prev
Next

Friends like These - Chapter 36

  1. Home
  2. Friends like These
  3. Chapter 36
Prev
Next

Chapter 36: Jessica, Friends Like These

36

 

Jessica

“I said, what are you doing here?” Marcus repeats.

My body starts to tremble. No one hides in a cave unless they did something very, very bad. He glares at me, and I drop my eyes. He’s only seen me twice before, once at Tegan’s bonfire and once at her end-of-summer party, and I don’t believe he recognizes me. I focus on his shoes. “I—I…” How do I explain why I’m here, after midnight, dressed entirely in black?

“That’s my shit,” Marcus says, pointing at the sleeping bag and the water bottles.

I retreat from the nest he’s made for himself. The police said he could be armed. They said he’s dangerous. I raise my hands to show him I’m harmless. “I wasn’t taking it.”

He jerks his head north, toward the parking lot a half mile up shore, and strides toward me. “You should get out of here.”

I nod, but where is Tegan’s phone? It flew from my hands and could have landed in a crevice or slid beneath an outcropping. Panic flutters in my chest. I was going to leave it here—but with Marcus? The thought niggles at me because it’s not a bad idea.

“Is that blood?” he asks.

I touch my forehead and feel a hot slick substance where I smacked it. “Um, yeah, I think so.” I hug the edge of the cave as I make my way to the mouth. If he murdered Shawna, and maybe Tegan too, then he has nothing to lose by killing me. I need to get out of here before he realizes I recognize him.

As I approach the mouth, Marcus steps aside. It appears he’s not looking for any more trouble, and my insides shudder with relief. I duck past him, exit the cave, and splash into the surf. Crap! The tide has come in and the waves are shoving against the cliff. I’m ankle-deep in seawater.

Marcus walks deeper into the cave, where the floor shifts up and the water cannot reach. Soon he’ll be trapped in there until low tide, unless he swims out. I see why he chose the cave; it’s an excellent place to hide since it can only be accessed a few hours per day. Some locals believe it’s never truly safe. A large sleeper wave could fill the cave and drag its occupants out and into the open ocean, where they would surely die.

Not my problem.

I slap through the surf to the main expanse of beach and then break into a flat-out sprint. Marcus isn’t the college student he claimed to be—he’s a liar and maybe a killer.

In the parking lot, I jump into my Honda and lock the door. My engine turns over with a violent shake, and I speed out of the lot, thinking, Come on, little Civic. Get me out of here! I feel as if someone is watching me, and my skin tingles.

All the way home, I peer at my rearview mirror, believing every lone car I see is Marcus, following me, if he has a car. Most of the vehicles turn onto side streets, but one car does not. It follows me at a distance, taking every turn I take. My heart ratchets up a notch.

I flip on the music and push my preset buttons until I find a happy song. I’m being paranoid. Marcus isn’t following me. He didn’t recognize me. When I reach my neighborhood, the car behind me keeps going, and I let out my breath. It was nothing. No one.

Safe in my driveway, I pull up my friends’ accounts and study the party photos again. There’s Marcus, glaring at Tegan, but is that anger on his face, or is it lust—or both? Hard to tell, but everyone says he abused Shawna. He could have killed both girls. It makes a hell of a lot more sense than Jake killing them.

Excitement rumbles in my chest. The fact that Marcus abandoned his apartment for a sea cave feels like proof of his guilt. And if I turn him in, the police will search every inch of the cave and find Tegan’s missing phone. They’ll believe he’s had it all along, and I won’t get in any trouble.

The police listed an anonymous tip line during the press conference. Trembling and chilled, I find it on the police website, dial, and reveal Marcus’s location.

“Are you sure you don’t want to leave your name?” the operator asks. “If this leads to Tegan’s return, you’d be entitled to the fifty-thousand-dollar reward.”

“I’m sure,” I say, and end the call. It’s done, and the police should already be on their way. I let out a long hopeful breath.

My windows have steamed up, and as I wipe away the condensation, I gaze at Jake’s darkened window next door and imagine him in bed, frightened and alone, and my bitterness about his cheating cracks, just a little. I want to talk to him, tell him that I believe he’s innocent. Innocent of murder, anyway.

With a deep breath, I exit my car, then creep around to Jake’s back door, which his family never locks. Staying quiet, I tiptoe up his stairs and into his bedroom.

His scent assails me when I open the door, and my heart swells with memories. “Jake,” I whisper, reaching for the large body on the bed. “Jake?”

A wet tongue swipes all over my face. Otis! I turn on Jake’s lamp and ward off the attentions of his needy Lab. “Otis, shhh!”

Once the dog is calm, I glance around, see that Jake’s favorite shoes and the wallet he keeps on his desk are both gone.

It’s Friday night, and a sweep of jealousy brushes through me. Where is he?

I pull up Snap, and when I locate Jake on the map, my heart stutters. He’s in Cherish Heights—in Tegan’s neighborhood. I call, and his cell goes straight to voicemail. What is he up to now?

Prev
Next

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Doctored Vows
Doctored Vows
April 8, 2025
Begged All You Want, But You Will Never Have Me Back
Begged All You Want, But You Will Never Have Me Back
April 21, 2025
My Husband’s Murder Plan Book
My Husband’s Murder Plan Book
April 18, 2025
Hiding-My-Twin-Pups-From-their-Alpha-Dad
Reborn to Be Better
April 6, 2025
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • DMCA
  • About us

© 2025 Real Novel. All rights reserved