"You can't be serious," Sam huffed. She shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. "After all the shit he's been through, you think we should hide it from him? Don't you think that'll piss him off? He'll find out. It's all over the news."

"I know, I know… but we can't dump everything on him at once either," reasoned Chris. "Then he'll get upset and stop talking to us. He'll resent us again, then who knows what'll happen. It won't be as overwhelming if his memory comes back. He'll know we were just trying to help. It's the lesser of two evils. I hate it just as much as you do."

Emily rolled her eyes and groaned. "Can we stop acting like he's innocent?"

Chris shot her a pointed look. While it was true that Josh had done terrible things, it was also their fault. They indirectly caused his sisters' deaths, they didn't reach out to him afterwards, they let him alienate himself. They did nothing while fury and helplessness festered in their friend like poison. That could not happen a second time. Even if no one else was on board, Chris would ease Josh's suffering as much as possible. Josh might be annoyed for a while afterwards, but at least he would know their intentions were good. "He's not faking, Em. If you wanna talk to him then I can't stop you. Just thought this would be easier for all of us," he concluded.

Matt hesitantly raised his hand and said, "It sucks but I agree." He glanced at Emily as if waiting for her to argue. Miraculously, she did not. All she did was pout.

"Speaking of the news," Mike cut in, "anyone watched it recently? You think they'll search other parts of the property? 'Cause if they find that creepy shit you and Ash talked about in the shed…"

Ashley's face went pale at the memory. "The saw and that fake body cut in half! The police will freak out!" she exclaimed, turning to Chris. She was right - once they found that little horror scene, it would be over. Chris thought for a moment. There was no way they could save Josh from that evidence. The best they could do was to emphasize he had been skipping out on his medication. He nodded slowly.

"Yeah. It's pretty fucked up."

Shortly after that, the group adjourned from their meeting at Sam's hospital room. They had gathered to check on her after her transfer to Burbank, California. She had caught hypothermia after treading through freezing waters, and hearing in her right ear had declined for a while though it was starting to come back. Chris promised to text her later as he left. Right now he had a lunch date. He needed to talk to Josh alone in an environment that wasn't so cold and stiff. Though he was keeping secrets, he needed to let his friend know he wasn't alone. That was what got them into this mess.

At half past noon he entered a Mexican restaurant with Josh by his side. The poor guy looked drained of energy. Chris put a hand gently on his shoulder and led him to a table. His aura of exhaustion drew a few concerned looks from people nearby. While they sat, Chris tried to hold his attention by talking.

"Thanks for coming, bro. I know you're probably not feeling up to it. I just thought maybe it's better for you to be with friends than sitting alone at home."

Josh stared down at the menu after a waiter dropped it off, requesting only a water to drink. Chris did the same. This was going to be harder than he thought. "Did your parents tell you about what happened?" he asked. "About… last year, I mean."

"They told me that Sam called them in the middle of the night. She said Hannah ran outside 'cause she was upset about something, Beth went to look for her, and neither of them came back." Josh recounted his parents' story in a quiet, sullen tone. "Doesn't make any fucking sense. She's… she was smart. She knew better than to go out in a storm. Something bad must have happened. I think…" He drew in a deep breath and flipped through the menu pages. "...I think the others are hiding stuff from me. From us. You were passed out too, right? Did they tell you why Hannah left?"

Chris put on his best poker face and shook his head. "No one knows. We checked everywhere and couldn't find anything. It's a mystery. Bothers us every day… I'm sorry."

Josh's grief presented itself as a lump in his throat that he couldn't swallow, the sound coming out loud and awkward from across the table. The plastic-covered page in his hand trembled. "Th-There could've been evidence in the lodge. Now we'll never… And it's my fault and I-I don't even know what I did…"

"Hey. Look at me, man," Chris said. Josh obeyed, his eyes glistening with tears. "The things that happened at Blackwood weren't because of you, alright? It was depression taking over. The months leading up to it, we weren't there for you like we should've been. Don't blame yourself."

Wiping the moisture from his eyes with his sleeve, Josh sniffled and asked, "Chris… What did I do? Everyone else looks at me like I'm crazy. Ashley wouldn't even talk to me at the hospital."

"They'll get over it." That was the biggest lie of all. "I'm not telling you because I don't want you to dwell on it. We're here to drown your sorrows in enchiladas, 'kay?"

"I was questioned by police officers. They acted like I was faking amnesia. Sam got sick. Mike's missing two fingers. Jess jumps every time a door opens. I got stabbed in the arm and hit my head. Of course I'm gonna dwell on it," Josh argued. "I set the lodge on fire, didn't I?"

"No. You didn't," Chris replied firmly. "I swear to god, there was no logical explanation for the fire."

It was painfully obvious that Josh didn't believe him, yet it was the best Chris could do to avoid further inquiries. Lunch was uncomfortable after that; he would try to make small talk and Josh would give two-word responses or ignore him altogether. As he said earlier, Josh would be angry for a while, but in the end this was still the best option. After they finished eating - or in Josh's case, finished pushing food around his plate - Chris drove his sulking friend home. He said goodbye as Josh got out of the car and tried not to take it personally when he slammed the passenger door a bit too hard.