One by One

by Freida McFadden

I stared at the can. I imagined my mom’s face in the center. I took a breath, then I squeezed the trigger. I heard the ping of the bullet penetrating the metal.

“I can’t find Michelle.”

HA LOSER

“Warner’s map. It doesn’t make any sense. It’s wrong. Nothing is where the map says it’s supposed to be.”

“I don’t trust them to find our way out of here. I think… I think we’d be better off on our own.”

I don’t trust u either

Of course, I never knew he went hiking when he was a kid. Maybe there’s other stuff I don’t know about him from his past.

Noah is anonymous I’m calling it

“I got it wrong. My friend Buddy works at St. Elizabeth’s. Not St. Mary’s. So there’s no way Warner would know him if he actually worked at St. Mary’s.”

WARNERRRR

Noah squeezes me tighter. I miss the kids desperately, but until now, I hadn’t realized how much I missed my husband.

“Good. Now go outside and ask God’s forgiveness for what you’ve done.”

What in the ruby franke shit is this

I had a dream that a monster ate you. I wish I had listened to my daughter.

“I’m not saying anything. I just think this whole setup was sort of convenient. He packs this rifle. Michelle gets lost in the woods, even though she had a sprained ankle. I mean, if Michelle disappeared forever, it’s not like it would be a bad thing for him.”

“The night Michelle disappeared,” Noah says, “Warner saw him go into the forest with Michelle.”

WHATTTTTTTTT

I thought about my father’s rifle.

NVM ITS JACK

Could I do it though? I had shot at animals before, but never a person. Much less my mom. If it came down to it, would I be able to squeeze the trigger?

I still think it’s Noah tho cause he doesn’t tell Claire anything abt his past

The cabin looks empty.

I feel like the Cardin is the one from the anonymous dude

After my first set of exams in college was over, I drove home. It was a three-hour drive, but it was worth it. College wasn’t like home. Even though my roommate and I got along, I needed time away.

But when I feel around inside the drawer, the knife is gone.

The first thing Claire Jennings did when I met her was hug me. “It’s so good to finally meet you, Lindsay!” she cried.

WHATTT LINDAAY? WHATTTTTTFFFFGG

I never met anyone like Noah. All the boys (and later men) that I dated were like my father.

LINDSAY WHAT