“Oh, they’ll notice.” Lily’s sigh was almost a laugh. “We have to go. Trust me. Everyone is going to be looking at you tonight, Maria. We can’t let them down.”

15

THE VERY PAINTING OF YOUR FEAR

They had to have the moment of goddamn silence while he was still standing on the goddamn stage.

They’d just crowned the homecoming court. If Mateo had put a single second’s thought into the homecoming court before this moment, he probably could’ve predicted how it would go down, but he hadn’t. He hadn’t paid the slightest bit of attention to what was happening at the dance either. By the time he arrived it had already been going on for an hour. So when they called his name from the microphone, his first thought was that they’d figured out he was carrying a flask in his suit jacket and were calling him up to see the dean.

The goddamn dean. The dean, who had pulled Mateo aside when he first got there and told him that he’d spoken with “the authorities” about what Mateo had told Ross that morning, and that there wasn’t enough evidence to pursue it. Case closed.

“I know it’s hard to accept, son,” the dean had said, “but what’s happened at this school has been nothing but a series of tragic accidents. I know when you’re young you want there to be a bad guy you can fight back against, but the truth is, in this world, sometimes bad things just happen. Even to nice people like your good friend Brandon.”

There were so many things Mateo wanted to say then. All he could choke out was “Brandon and I weren’t good friends.”

The dean just patted him on the shoulder and motioned for him to go into the ballroom.

Mateo was on his own. No one would believe him. Brandon had been the only other person who knew what was going on, and Brandon was gone.

It was all awfully convenient for Maria.

Now, on the stage, the dean was smiling that same condescending smile. Mateo wasn’t sure who he hated more, Maria or Dean Cumberland.

When the dean called Mateo’s name, announcing him as the damn homecoming king, of all the stupid-ass things, there had been dozens of arms pushing Mateo forward. All the rich, pretentious assholes in tuxedos and shiny strapless dresses. Clapping and smiling and wiping away fake tears.

Mateo had stumbled up onto the stage, because that’s the direction all those arms were pushing him, and the dean had put a crown on his head. While he was still trying to understand what was happening, the dean called out Maria’s name as homecoming queen, and then she was up there too.

Then the dean said that instead of the traditional homecoming-king-and-queen dance they were going to have a moment of silence, and Mateo figured it out.