I drove about as fast as I could without going too much over the speed limit. "Avery, slow down!" Dakota warned.

"I can't," I replied. Matthew had clambered in the back of the car when I had yelled to him from the street. "Get in, Matt," I had ordered, "we're going to Hunter." He had nodded and obeyed immediately.

"Why can't you slow down?" Dakota whined.

"Because we have to get to Hunter before he does something," I snapped. Dakota was about to say something, lifting a finger to protest, but then reconsidered and shut her mouth.

"Hunter wouldn't...fuck," Matt stammered. "Katherine just texted me about it. He's...he's saying he did it, Avery."

"Well, we're gonna find out," I said, pressing the gas down further.

"Avery...maybe..."

"What, Dakota?" I demanded.

"Maybe Liam did it," she whispered.

"Why the hell would Liam kill Carson?" I softly inquired.

"Well, you saw the pictures. Liam and Jane were on Carson's pictures. Maybe Liam found out and he...you know," she slowly explained.

"Liam...Liam wouldn't hurt a fly, he wouldn't."

"He hurt you," she bluntly replied as she folded her arms across her chest. She huffed in annoyance and looked out the window to ignore both me and the panicked boy in the backseat.

"Hunter, open the door," Katherine demanded, banging her fist on the door. Matthew slid down the wall next to the locked bathroom door.

"No!" Hunter retorted. His speech was slurred and lethargic.

"Hunter, please," Katherine begged. She was still in her pajamas and the circles under her eyes were bold.

"Katherine, what did he say?" I asked, glancing down the halls of the Summers' mansion.

"He said he fucking killed Carson, Avery!" Katherine replied, stomping her foot. "He killed my Carson. My brother killed Carson..."

"It's...I'm sure that he didn't..."

"Why do you care, Avery? You're free now. Call the cops and you're off the hook forever," Katherine whined, a tear struggling free from her brown eyes. Katherine tugged at her hair and began to hyperventilate. "I need to go take my meds. See if you can knock some sense into him."

I was about to protest when Katherine gyrated on her heel and stormed away. Matt anxiously looked between his sister and me, twiddling with his thumbs. "Um, uh...I should uh...sorry," he stammered, standing from the ground and running off after his sister. I got a text from Dakota in the car, asking where I was and why I was taking so long. I hastily wrote a reply ("i don't know when i'll be back, call u later if you wanna leave now") and rested my head on the bathroom door.

"C'mon, Hunter," I mumbled. "Please."

"No, Avery...I...I can't..."

"Why did you kill Carson, Hunter?" I pleaded. "Please. I need this."

"Why, Avery? So you can roam free?"

"Fucking yes, Hunter!" I screamed, punching the door. "Is that what you want me to say? I'm selfish, okay? I should be saying I want this for Carson, and I do, but more than anything, I want this to be over."

"I...I understand, Avery." A thud emanated from the other side of the door. "I feel you."

"No, no you don't."

"Avery...," Hunter began, his voice muffled by the barrier between us. "When Mom killed herself, I was convinced that it was a murder scene. You should've seen me. I could've opened up a detective agency with all the work I was doing. Heh. 'Hunter Summers, Private Investigator. Looking into the murder of his mother.' I talked to neighbors. I interviewed the maids and interrogated the butlers. I remember begging a chef to admit that he killed my mom, because I thought that the blood on his butcher's knife meant that he did it. But Dad set me down one night and said, 'Hunter, Mommy wasn't murdered,' and then he just left. Probably to go cry. But I didn't believe him. I couldn't believe him. For a while, I thought my father killed my mother, Avery. Can you imagine?"

I was silent in response.

"Guess not," he laughed. "So I know how you feel to want someone to say 'I killed him.' I wanted someone so badly to tell me they killed my mother. Because moms don't leave their kids alone, Avery!" I could hear him stomp around in the bathroom. "Mothers don't abandon their sons!"

"Hunter, please, come out."

"I can't, Avery."

"Why not, Hunter?"

"I can't see her..."

"Who?"

"Kattie. She looks...she looks too much like Mom."

I sighed. "Why did you kill Carson, Hunter?"

He softly laughed. "Is that what Kat told you?" he smirked.

"Yup."

"I...I guess it did sound like that. Yelling 'I got Carson killed' does sound pretty damn guilty."

"What do you mean?" I demanded. Please, I begged to no one except maybe God. Please let this be over.

"I...Carson and I would play ball together. This was even before he was dating Kat. I was actually really happy when they ended up together. He was...he was such a good guy, Avery. But I told him too much. You know, being rich has its perks." He laughed and I could hear another thud. "You can get all the premium shit you want. I would text Carson about it. He told me he wanted to document it. I was like, 'Man, why don't you have some?' but he didn't wanna do Katherine like that. Didn't wanna get addicted to anything while he was in love. Wouldn't even drink...I mean, I guess besides that one time."

"Have some what?"

"Pot. And then after a while, some of the better shit, y'know?" he softly asked. I nodded even though he couldn't see it. "So, I would text him about deals that went down, and he could take his pretty pictures of it so he could get that scholarship. Maybe turn it over to the news and get his big break. It...It got him killed, Avery."

"Why are you telling me all this now, Hunter? When I've asked you time and time again what shit he had got himself into?"

"Because I had a dream last night. Mommy asked me to," he explained. I thought I could hear him cry. "If I didn't tell him about everyone, Carson wouldn't have gone that night. He wouldn't have caught Carson. Carson wouldn't be dead. I bet you he killed Carson, Avery."

"Who, Hunter? Who?"

"I don't know him by name. Carson just told me he caught someone there that night."

"Where? When?"

"I..." Hunter softly rapped on the door, and then broke out into a spontaneous fit of giggling. "I don't need to knock," he quipped, "I just need to let you in. Or anyone in."

I heard a click and then the door slowly opened. Though Hunter Summers hid his face by looking down, I could see the tears fall from his cheek. "Hunter?" I asked. I grabbed his hand. "It's okay, Hunter." He looked at me, smiling and rubbing away snot from his nose. "Everything's going to be okay." He stared into my eyes and let himself choke out a sob.

"I really miss her, you know?" he whispered. I was about to respond when he whispered, "No, no you don't."

My eyes darted to see someone walking towards us. It was Katherine, tears streaming down her face as she ran up to Hunter. "I know, Hunter, I know." When he was ready to reply, she shut him up by wrapping her arms around him and squeezing tightly. "It's okay, Hunter. It's okay."

"Mom would be proud of you , Kat."

"And of you, Hunter."

"Ha. No she wouldn't." He returned the hug and brought Katherine in closely. I didn't know what to do as I watched everything unfold. I uncomfortably scratched my forearm and cleared my throat to make myself known. Neither of the siblings cared.

Suddenly, a hand grasped onto my shoulder. I yelped (which also didn't alarm neither Katherine nor Hunter) and spun around to crash into Nathan Summers. He coughed and then vaguely gestured to his children. "I, um..." I almost laughed at his mannerisms mirroring Matthew's. "Uh...what's going on here?"

"I think you need to talk to your kids, Mr. Summers. They...they all miss their Mom."

Mr. Summers' face fell. "I..."

"I know you do, too. I think...I think you all need to talk."

"I...I'm not too good at that, in case you weren't aware. We had therapy sessions, and--"

"I know. I really sorry, Mr. Summers, but..."

"I...I know." He sadly grinned at me and patted me on the shoulder. "Katherine. Hunter." That actually acquired the duo's attention and the two snapped their heads towards their father. "I...let's go talk, okay?"

Hunter wiped his face with his sleeve. "Okay, Pops."

Katherine glanced at me and mouthed, "Thank you." I nodded to her and excused myself. I then stopped in my tracks and yelled back to Hunter.

"Hunter! What place were you talking about?"

He turned around right before he turned the corner of the hallway. "I'll text it to you!" he loudly replied. When he and his family continued to walk down the hall, I was left by myself with nothing but more questions. My curiosity compelled me to investigate the bathroom that Hunter had barricaded himself in. Something shiny caught my eye. I reached my hand into the sink and cursed when something sharp pierced my skin. Razor blades clattered onto the sink with a solemn clink. I shook my head.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Summers," I murmured, grabbing some toilet paper and enveloping the razors within it. "I'm sorry about everything your family's gone through." I shoved the razors into the garbage and closed the door on my way out.