“You don’t have to be an asshole to prove you give a shit that Robbie’s gone.”

The voice is quiet, but it’s so unexpected that it renders everyone else silent. I don’t know where Cara Whelan’s been hiding—especially this Cara Whelan—but she’s back, and she has clearly got something to say.

Taking advantage of the silence, she turns to Amber, whose nails are digging into my arm so deeply, I can feel them through my suit jacket. “I owe you an apology. I didn’t know what to do with my grief and I took it out on you.” She glances at me. “Both of you.” And then, she turns to Miguel. “And you. I knew what he was doing to you.”

Miguel looks like he wants to spit fire in response, and I don’t blame him. “You ever think of stopping him, maybe?” he snaps, and Malcolm reaches for his hand and squeezes it. “You know what hell it is, being on a team with someone who’s blackmailing you? Having to work with someone who wants to ruin your life?”

Whispers spring up like brushfires, and all I can think is I do. No wonder Miguel was willing to piss off everyone else to come to my side.

“I can’t imagine,” she says, her eyes on the floor. The way her jaw is working at the words, it’s like she’s prying everything out with a crowbar. And maybe that’s what it feels like, because if there’s one thing I’ve learned about Atherton, it’s that people don’t take kindly to dragging Robbie Oakes through the mud. “I should’ve stopped him. And I should’ve told you I knew the truth about y’all,” she adds to Amber. “I was in love with him and it all sounded right, but you are the one person who’s always been there for me. And I don’t wanna hurt you for anybody. Even if I don’t … understand everything about you.”

Well, I could’ve done without that last part, and judging by the tic in Miguel’s jaw, he could’ve done without any of it. It seems to be enough for Amber, though, or maybe she just needs some little sense of closure. For the first time that night, she lets go of my arm, going to hug Cara. I feel strangely cold without her body heat. But a moment later she’s back, and all feels right with the world, especially when Cara declares she just wanted to say that and now she’s going home.

With so much to process, everyone’s forgotten about the four of us for a minute, and we quickly escape to the drinks table. “So what happened with the infamous Terry Lawrence?” Santiago asks. “Did you get to talk to him?”