"Why do you think Hope's so adamant on not doing anything?" Josie asked as she pulled back the blankets to the guest bed. She just couldn't understand it. Why wouldn't Hope want to put a stop to it herself? With her friends at her side? Why wouldn't she turn to them for help when she needed it the most? They were there, ready and willing, and she had just turned them down and ran away.

Lizzie shrugged, pretending like she didn't know. "Maybe she's just scared."

"She should be more scared of what happens if she doesn't do anything."

"It kind of seems like no matter what she does, she loses. She might as well do nothing," Lizzie said honestly. She made sure to keep her sentences short and quick. Too much talking and her loose lips were sure to let something out she wasn't supposed to know.

Josie nodded. "I get it."

The two of them settled into their own sides of the bed. The night was winding down, but Lizzie's mind whirred fast.

"You don't believe me, do you?" she asked after a long stretch of silence fell over them. Josie was almost asleep when she rolled back over to squint at Lizzie in the dark.

"About what?"

"My meds disappearing. You don't believe that it was Hope's tormentor, do you?"

"I think ..." Josie sighed. "I think you have a habit of misplacing things -"

"- not my meds -"

"- and sometimes you don't always remember everything you do."

Lizzie ground her teeth. She hated that line out of her sister. It seemed like every time Josie wanted an apology, it was for something Lizzie couldn't remember. Like she was some sort of freak show who blacked out and couldn't remember what she did five minutes ago.

"Besides, why would Hope's stalker be targeting us? Why Penelope? Why you?" Josie asked.

"Well ..." Lizzie pretended to think about this for the first time. "... the stalker went after Ryan and Rafael, who both had ... entanglements with Hope. Penelope didn't happen to ...?"

"No. God, no," Josie said quickly. "They didn't even know each other." After she got over the initial shock of the question, her face twisted into a look of confusion. "Wait, why ... you?"

Lizzie shrugged, shaking her head. "There's no pattern obviously. They're just going after anyone remotely connected to Hope." She rolled over, her back to Josie so she couldn't see her face. Josie stared at her sister's sharp shoulder blades as she thought to herself.

Lizzie was right. There had to be no pattern.

Because if there was a pattern, and if the pattern was what Lizzie was implying it was, that meant it was her fault that Penelope was dead.