What do you want to know?

It is not the reply I expected, but it’s better than being ignored.

I want to know why Evie lied about Amy’s dad and if there was anything suspicious about her parents or her brother. She was a closer friend than Nia was. At least, that’s what Amy suggested.

“We were best friends,” she’d said. “And then, one day, she hated me.”

I heard a story about her dad. What can you tell me about that?

I sound like I’m interrogating her, but it’s too late, now.

When the reply comes, my nerves spike.

It says call me, followed by a phone number.

If there was nothing to say, Evie would ignore me. And that scares me more than dialing the number, because, whatever information she has, she wants to say it out loud.

I stare at my phone for so long it goes blurry. Then I blink until the world snaps back, take a deep breath, and call.

“Hello.”

“Evie?”

“Yes, is this Tom?”

“It is.”

“Cool. I have to say your message caught me by surprise.”

“So did your reply,” I say, and she laughs.

She doesn’t sound like I imagined she would. I thought Evie’s words would have sharp edges, but she seems genuinely happy to talk.

“How do you know Amy?” she asks.

“She goes to my school,” I reply, and then, because I want to say everything, “and I moved into her old house and can see her new one from my bedroom.”

Evie laughs, then stops when she realizes I’m serious. “Oh. That’s a bit creepy.”

“I know how it sounds, but it’s not like that. I met her parents. Her dad seems…”

Protective…scary…strange? What I really want is Evie to finish the sentence for me, but it turns out she can’t.

“I never met him,” she says.

“So the rumor…”

“The rumor is bullshit. And how did you even hear about it?”

“Amy told me.”

Evie doesn’t reply for a long time, and, when she finally does, she sounds like she’s carefully selecting every word.

“Well, I guess I know who started it, then.”

“Why would Amy set up her own dad?” I ask.

Evie breathes down the phone, then says, “Amy did a lot of strange things.”

“But you were friends.”

“Not really. She was the year below me. I only knew her because of my sister, Pippa.”

“How did they know each other?”

“Amy mentored her. They do this thing at St. Gregory’s where they pair an older kid with a first year. My sister got Amy. They were supposed to meet once a week to discuss any problems Pippa might have had. But Amy wouldn’t leave her alone. My sister didn’t mind. She thought it was great hanging out with an upperclassman. But we thought it was weird.”