That’s when I realize why they won’t come any closer. They don’t need to. The ground starts to crumble beneath my feet; my stomach rises to my throat. I think I hear Robbie laugh as I look at Tony, his face frozen in horror. More rocks fall, in a trickle this time. I close my eyes, hear Tony call out something that isn’t even a word, but it’s too late, there’s nothing he can do, nothing anyone can do. I’m glad my eyes are closed, it makes it easier to see Jakey clearly; smiling, healthy, and happy as the earth falls away beneath me.

25

Cara

Grace starts moving away from me. I try to go after her.

“Grace, no, please don’t—” but I stop talking because from across the beach I hear another steady trickle of stones falling before they smash hard against the sharp rocks below. It’s the sound I was always taught to fear as a child. A scream—Jon—comes just seconds later, followed by more falling stones. I cry out. Time slows down, seems to move in frames as I run a few paces towards where I think he fell before my head catches up and I realize I’m leaving Grace, letting her get away. I stop. Everything is quiet, except for the sound of the sea sighing with its endless work, moving tiny stones back and forth, and the blood pounding in my ears. I can’t hear either Jon or Grace anymore. Jon might be dead. If he is, I should stay with Grace and call Upton. That’s the best way I can help her. She might not think she needs us, but she does. But what if Jon’s not dead, just badly injured, dying? I can’t help them both. I’m stuck, the scales perfectly balanced, and with every ragged breath I take I know Grace is getting away and Jon’s life could be fading. I look towards where Jon fell and then I look back to where I was talking to Grace. The scales tip and I start to run up the beach, towards the path and the foot of the cliff. Even though there’s a risk of landslide and falling rocks hitting me it feels safer here, my body pressed against the side of the cliff where they won’t be able to see me. I hear the twins, still up on the cliff above as the wind catches their voices. I’m too far away to make out the words but I’m close enough to hear that one of them is upset. The other is trying to calm his brother, keep him from getting too close to the edge, to the place where Jon fell. I hear the word “accident.” I force myself to wait. There’s no sound or movement from the rocks where he fell, no sign whether Jon survived the fall. The voices above have died but I force myself to stay, my cheek pressed up against the chalky cold foot of the cliff. I wait for my breath to slow enough for me to breathe in time with the waves. Even though I can’t hear them, the twins could still be up there and I know they’d kill me if they found me. Suddenly a tiny light—a flashlight—on the headland catches my eye. It’s moving, like someone is running. My breath catches with relief as I realize they’re not coming down the path, they’re heading back towards town. They must think that’s where Grace will be heading. It makes sense. It’s where most people would go. But Grace isn’t most people.