Lanie“Let’s go talk in the hallway.” I slowly stood. It had occurred to me while reading to Raven that if she could hear the articles like I wanted her to, she could probably hear everything else we were saying.In the hall, I closed the door behind us. Andrew had already set to pacing, walking up and down along the hall. A bad kind of tingling covered the back of my neck.“What’s going on with the police?” I asked.“They can’t do their fucking jobs. That’s what’s going on.” Andrew pivoted, doing another march away from me. “They keep saying Jason wasn’t drinking, that he wasn’t doing drugs, that everything was normal. It was just an accident.”I bit down on my bottom lip. This again.“Car accidents happen sometimes,” I quietly said.“Not out of the blue. I’ve avoided missing dozens of animals since I started driving. Shit. Hundreds if you count the squirrels. And never once have I driven into a tree because I was trying not to run something over. Have you talked to him?”“No.” I unc
Andrew“This is everything I got.” Keith Shepherd laid the folder on my home desk.I lifted it, testing its weight—or, rather, lightness. “It’s not much.”“There’s not much on him. He’s a seventeen-year-old boy.”I directed a frown his way. I hadn’t hired a private investigator to give me lip.Cracking the folder, I took a brief look at the three sheets inside. There was a page of the basic facts. Date of birth, home address, etc. Nothing that important, and nothing I couldn’t have found out myself.The second page was a printed-out instant messaging chat between Jason and someone named Hayden, dated a month earlier. According to the super-secretive conversation, they had plans to hit the mall, and Jason hoped Raven would be there. Again, nothing special.Then there was a report from school, detailing a few detentions Jason had gotten—all for being late to class or disrupting the learning environment. This late part I probably could have gotten from Lanie, but that was out of the ques
Andrew“It’s me,” Karen softly said, entering my office.As if it would be anyone but my housekeeper. Despite my pain, I smiled a bit at that. “Come in.”The door slowly opened, and she peered in. I’d given her the day off, but she showed up anyway. Her husband had come by earlier in the day as well, offering his help in any way he could.They were both good people. Better than I probably deserved.“I made some soup,” Karen said. “Chicken noodle.”“Thanks, but I’m not hungry.”Karen’s forehead wrinkled in worry. “You didn’t eat any lunch.”“I’m fine.”“And you barely had breakfast.”I started to ask if she was my mother, but I held my tongue. In a way, Karen was just that. My parents lived states away. I hadn’t told them about Raven yet, and I knew why. A part of me felt guilty for keeping her away from them for so long, for only taking her on a handful of trips to see them over the last seventeen years. Raven barely knew her grandparents, and it was all my fault. Danica’s parents had
Lanie“So.” Erica settled onto her couch, curled her legs under herself, and looked at me with a dramatic pause.I raised my eyebrows, waiting.“What do you want for dinner?”“That’s what you were gonna ask me?”“Yeah. It’s Thursday night.”“I remember.”“I have that recipe for white bean stew.” She ticked it off on her finger. “And then we could make lasagna.” Another tick. “If we want anything else other than frozen waffles, we’ll have to go to the store.”“Ugh. The store.” I grabbed the folded blanket hanging from over the back of the armchair and tossed it over my legs. “It’s so cold out there, and the store is so far away.”“True. A block.”“Don’t you have some leftover candy from that Halloween party you went to?”“I don’t want to die.” She pulled her phone from her pocket and started scrolling, eyes on the screen.“That stuff has, like, enough preservatives to make it last for the next century.”“I’m ordering pizza,” she announced, clicking away.“No arguments over here.” Pulli
AndrewI cocked my head, listening as the shower spray hit the tiles around me. Was that …?Killing the shower, I jumped onto the bathmat and yanked my waiting towel from the hook. Tearing ass out of the bathroom so fast I slid slightly on the floor, I careened into my bedroom. The phone, sitting on my bedside table, still rang. I hadn’t missed the call.Gasping, I snatched it up—and blinked in surprise to see Lanie’s name.“Hello?” I answered, heart thundering in the base of my throat.She hesitated. “Hi.”I gulped. “Hey.”It had been three days since she left the hospital, and I wondered often if I’d done the right thing by sending her away. I’d thought I had it all figured out the other night, but the more I mulled over it, the more I realized I didn’t know what the hell I was doing.“How is Raven?” Lanie asked.I could barely draw the breath to answer. “The same.”“Oh,” she said in a quiet voice.“Yeah.” I looked down, noting the wet spot I was creating on the carpet. “How are you
Andrew“Mr. Marx.” Jason hesitated. I stared him down, letting him take his time, hoping his skin crawled and chills shot up his spine. “I’m sorry,” he finally gasped.“Uh-huh.”His eyes bulged. “I really am.”“I’m sure you are,” I tartly answered.Jason made a little choking noise and looked down at his lap. “It was my fault this happened,” he whispered.“I know. So what were you on?”“Huh?” He looked back up, acting like he didn’t understand.“What substance were you on?” I slowly enunciated every syllable. “Or substances.”“Nothing,” he insisted.“I’m not the police, Jason. And I’m not your parents. Actually, I’m probably a hell of a lot more diligent than all of them put together. I know there’s something you’re not saying, and I’m going to find out the truth.”He paled. “I wasn’t taking anything, Mr. Marx. I swear. Raven and me, we went to this party, but I didn’t have anything to drink—because I was driving, see?”I rested my clasped hands on the desk and leaned into them. “I kn
LanieStanding on the front porch of the house that was already so familiar, holding a plastic shopping bag of groceries, my knees shook. Gulping, I went to ring the doorbell, but the door flew open and Karen stepped out.“Hello, dear.” She gave me a one-armed hug. “Just in time. I’m headed to the hospital now.”“How is she?”Karen’s lips twitched like she was trying to smile but couldn’t. “Oh, you know.”I nodded. So the same.“It’s good you’re here,” she said in a lower voice. “He can use the company.”Patting me on the shoulder, she went down the steps and to her car.“Hello?” I called, stepping into the front hall.Andrew appeared from the living room. “Hi.”“Hey.” I couldn’t stop my eyes from sweeping over him. Tight, long-sleeved shirt. Hair damp and slicked back. The aroma of his soap filling the air. Despite the awful situation, we were in the middle of, the sight of Andrew still brought butterflies to my stomach.I started to ask how he was, but he stepped forward and took my
LanieThe thought that he had me made me pull my hand back. I would be by Andrew’s side no matter what, but he had to invite me over first. And I didn’t know what this evening spent together meant. At any moment, he could open his mouth and announce he wanted to be alone again, and I would have to respect that.“Sit with me on the couch,” he said, his eyelids heavy.I nodded and stood. Andrew took my hand, leaving his drink behind.In the living room, he pulled me into his shoulder and ran the back of his hand down my face. “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured.Tears filled my eyes, but I didn’t know why. Maybe they were the result of the all-around emotional week. Or the result of mine and Andrew’s entire relationship, which had been a roller coaster from nearly the beginning.“Is this all right that I’m here?” I asked, the question having been burning in my mouth since I walked through the door. “You said you wanted some time alone, and I want to make sure—”“I know.” Andrew dropped h