“I was thinking we would, you idiot. That’s why I said not to do anything without me. I’m not dumb, Zach. We could have confronted Horton on our own and forced him to stop supplying Tank.” She makes a fist with her right hand and punches her open left palm. The smacking sound makes me flinch. “I sent you those files thinking I could trust you. I wanted to trust you. Look where that got me.” She pauses. It’s hard to hold her gaze. That’s how pissed she is. “The most important thing was to keep Tank out of it, to keep him anonymous,” she adds. “Well, congratulations, you just totally screwed that up.”

“It’s not just about Tank!” I yell, not caring if I wake anybody up now. “Jesus, Sarah, don’t you see that? It’s not just Tank. It’s everybody Horton’s supplying. I stand by what I did. The cops needed to know.” I pause. “And now they know.”

“Yeah,” she says. “Let’s talk about what they know. Now my dad and the police know that Tank Foster, all-state wrestler bound for greatness, maybe even Olympic gold, uses steroids supplied by a legendary high school football coach. I mean, my God, when the media gets hold of this—and you know they will, Zach—they’ll have a field day. It’s too juicy to resist.”

“I don’t know what’s going to happen, Sarah. And neither do you, so stop speculating.”

“Oh no,” she says, shaking her head and pointing at me again. “Don’t you dare tell me what and what not to think. Right now I’m telling you what to think. So think about this. When the story breaks and Tank’s name surfaces, what college is going to offer a wrestling scholarship to a guy involved in a high school steroid scandal?” Silence. “Got an answer for that one, Zach?” Silence. “The answer is none. So there you go. That’s what you’ve probably done. You’ve probably ruined Tank’s … Blaine Escape Plan … or whatever the hell you call it.”

“Again, you don’t know any of that will happ—”

“But what if it does? I mean, how will you feel, Zach?” She pauses. “You should have waited for me.”

Silence.

Then quietly I say, “I didn’t want it to come to this, Sarah, but would you like to know the real reason why I did it?”

“Yeah, Zach. I think that’s the least you could do for me.”

“Okay.” I pause and take a deep breath. “I did it because Tank’s my best friend … and you’re not.”

She looks at me for several moments. I’m waiting for her next verbal assault, but it never comes. She opens her mouth to say something but decides against it, shaking her head slowly a few times as if in disbelief.

Then she turns and walks away.