I got up, walked over to the drawer with the photo albums, where I pulled out a bundle of loose pictures, and flicked through them until I found what I needed, pictures that always surprised me because Kate looked so much like Celine, and with their dark hair and big eyes, they both resembled me, too. I set the photos on the table, slid them toward Ash with my index finger. “This is Celine, and this was Kate.”

He was about to touch the photographs but retracted his hand as if the pictures had the potential to scorch him. “Was? What do you mean?”

“Kate was your girlfriend, and she...she died. Almost two and a half years ago, a couple of months before you left town.”

“Kate’s dead?” Ash’s eyes went wide, and he jumped up, running his hands through his hair. “For Christ’s sake, why do all the people around me keep dying? What the hell happened to her?” When I remained silent, he asked again, louder, urging and insisting I tell him because he needed to know, he wanted the truth.

I blew the air from my lungs in a shaky stream as I worked up the nerve, my insides feeling as if they were on fire, burning me from the inside out. “She had an accident by the cliffs on the path behind the house.”

“This house?”

“Yes. She was an avid runner, come rain, shine or snow. She even got me to join her, would you believe?” I knew I was babbling and forced myself to get to the point. “It was a few miles from her place along the cliff path to ours, and she used to run it all the time. Called it a shortcut. We think she was on her way here one night, when it was raining, and she slipped...”

Ash stared at me, the color in his face gone. “Why can’t I remember any of this?”

“I don’t want you to remember,” I said, trying hard not to raise my voice but barely able to contain it. “You were a mess, both times. Celine was your first crush, and you told me you had plans to propose to Kate.”

“Why does Keenan think I had something to do with Kate’s death?” When I looked away, Ash took a step toward me and grabbed my hand. “Tell me. Now. I want to know if—”

“What?” I shouted, snatching my hand away as my anger erupted. “What do you want me to tell you? That Keenan dated Kate before you did? That he blames you for stealing her away and consequently for her death, because if she’d stayed with him, she’d have had no reason to come here?”

“Woah, I—”

“Or that the police investigated you when she fell? Came to the house? Asked us questions?”

“Maya, slow down—”