Elliot and I trudge through the muddy snow, holding onto each another as a means of support. I slip multiple times, the grip on my boots not cut out for a trek in the woods.

"It's not far," he ensures, holding onto my hand.

It's been two days since Shaun was arrested. Jasmine is MIA. Mom is a wreck and I'm...numb. Chloe and Jason are the only reason we're still functioning as human beings. Elliot too. As well as seeing to our physical needs, they provide sympathy, understanding and compassion.

"It's just up here, I think."

He thinks.

I fill my lungs with air and press on, unable to see much beyond the thick haze. Rockaby forest isn't the type of place you go camping. It isn't scenic in the slightest. It's dark, damp and depressing.

Also, scary as hell.

"You okay back there?" he asks, tripping over a hazardous rock.

I lunge forward, catching him before he can fall to the floor. "I'm good. You?"

"Just falling for you, yet again."

I shove on his arm, fighting the urge to smile.

"Come on," he encourages. "I can see it."

We approach an opening, the space housing one tree. Oak, I think.

"This is it," he states, dropping his rucksack to the ground.

I aim my torch at where it lands, dead leaves and tree roots the only things staring back at me.

"You dragged your Dad's body all the way up here by yourself?" I ask, finding the notion unfathomable.

He nods. "It took me a lot longer than ten minutes."

Oh.

He produces two shovels; one for me, one for him.

"You ready?"

Most people go to a restaurant for their first date. Or at least the cinema. But not us. Oh no. Elliot and I thought it best we dig up the grave of where we hope his Dad is. That way, we'll know once and for all if Shaun was lying or not.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

I push the blade into the damp soil, the surrounding area cracking as a result. It's tougher than I thought. A strenuous task. For the most part, Elliot does majority of the digging, my half assed attempts hardly up to scratch. It takes us best part of fifteen minutes to make a dent and the whole time, I keep thinking of Celia. Her reaction to us coming here had been far from happy but Elliot needs to know. He's barely slept, barely ate and is constantly looking over his shoulder. Even the slightest possibility of his Father being alive is enough to drive him mad.

"Families, huh?" I joke, wiping the sweat from my brow.

He's on his knees but manages to look up and smile. "You can say that again."

This is what I do. I make light of the situation. Because the alternative is diving head-first into a pit of despair and I'm certainly not ready for that. Not when Mom is hanging on by a mere thread. I've yet to process the shock of shaun's actions and perhaps that's for the best? Perhaps I never will?

Elliot encourages me to open up but I don't want to. Not yet. Of course, the offer extends to him. Since learning the true extent of his Father's abuse, I've made my support abundantly clear. Told him I'm here for him. But like me, he's not ready to delve into that just yet.

We'll seek each other's help when the time is right. For now, we're just happy spending our spare time digging up old graves together.

"Can you shine the torch over here, please?" he asks, pointing towards the far end of the hole.

I do as instructed, revealing the corner of a bright green tarp.

"That's it," he says. "That's what I wrapped him up in."

I crouch down to his level, long surpassing the need to worry about ruining my jeans.

"It's okay," I encourage. "Take your time."

He sighs. "I can't believe I'm back here."

I rest my head on his shoulder.

"I can't believe I'm dragging you into this."

"Hey," I scold. "You're not dragging me anywhere. I'm willingly here."

He cracks a smile. "It's hardly the first date I had in mind."

"I like it," I reply, nudging his arm. "It's very us."

He laughs. "What will we tell our kids?"

"Kids, huh?"

"Shut up," he smirks.

I fiddle with a piece of dirt, making the most out of our playfulness.

"We'll tell them that we dug up their grandpa and lived happily ever after."

We both smile.

"While we're at it, shall we tell them Santa Claus isn't real?

"And that the tooth fairy is a load of bull?" I suggest.

We bark out a laugh.

"God, we're fucked up."

"Well, can you blame us?" I state. "The shit we've been though..."

He takes a stay piece of hair and tucks it behind my ear. "We'll be alright as long as we have each other."

"Always," I promise, smiling.

He mirrors my expression before turning his gaze towards the grave, a traitorous tremor working its way up his spine.

"Whatever happens, we'll handle it," I soothe. "We made a packed, remember?"

In fact, we all did.

Right after Shaun was taken into police custody, we all agreed to keep what we know about Elliot and Celia to ourselves. The plan? Simple. We carry on as normal.

Well—as normal as possible.

"Let's get this over with. The sooner I know he's in there, the better."

I nod, moving closer to the green tarp. "According to Google, there'll be nothing but bones."

"Okay," he replies, preparing to pull back the plastic covering his Father's remains. "Brace yourself."

I tense my body top to bottom and shine the torch directly ahead. It all happens so quickly. One minute, we're staring at a green tarp. The next, we're face-to-face with nothing. Not a damn thing.

"Where is he?" I ask, frantic.

Elliot stares. "He's not here."

If he's not here, that means—

"What?"

We look to each other, the howling wind our only companion. Our fraught breaths mixing as one.

"He's alive."

FUCK!

T h e. E n d.
(For now)

****

Wow.

Lemme just take a moment to process this...

I wrote a thriller. I DID IT!

Thank you all so, SO much for supporting me and this book. I've had lots of fun exploring these characters and I hope you've enjoyed reading it.

As you can probably tell by that ending, there is a sequel. *screams*

Check out NEVWR HAVE I EVER right now!

High schooler, Helena Gallagher is still recovering from life's latest tragedy when chaos occurs.

Another murder.

Only this one is much closer to home. And when fingers start pointing towards her boyfriend—Elliot—she has no choice but to intervene. At first glance, it's a simple misunderstanding. A drug deal gone wrong. But with mysterious notes turning up and her parents acting surprisingly suspicious, it's clear to Helena that Oak Valley has a past.

And it isn't pretty.

If anyone has/ would like to create book or character aesthetics for Truth or Death? please let me know. I'd love to use these for social media.

Feel free to stalk me on any of the following for updates and teasers.

Be sure to visit my website and subscribe to my mailing list. As a member, you will receive early access to cover reveals and sneak peeks!
www.rebeccarobertsonbooks.com

See you all in book two...

Lots of love,
Rebecca xo