“Oh really?” I asked gingerly. I didn’t want to have a repeat of what happened when I asked before. I definitely didn’t want him to think I was trying to push for information and shut down. But I also wanted him to know that he could trust me and talk to me about his family. It got past the point of a normal pause in conversation, but Oakley still hadn’t said anything. So I sat there silently, taking a little nibble of my salad. I wanted to let Oakley decide if he wanted to talk or change the subject.

He got a faraway look in his eye as if he was remembering something pleasant and painful at the same time. After an almost uncomfortable amount of time, he said quietly, “Yeah, she was always teasing me about how fast I ate and would say that I couldn’t even be tasting it if I devoured it like a starving animal.”

I decided to push it, just a little bit, and asked, “She was always teasing you?”

Oakley looked down for just a second but then looked directly at me. “I don’t really talk about her much. She was an amazing big sister, and everything feels so empty without her. She died almost two years ago.” He didn’t break eye contact with me as he continued, “It happened on campus. She went up to the roof of the math building with a couple of her sorority sisters to see the moon. It was full that night, and they wanted to get pictures with it for Instagram. Daisy started walking on the ledge. She used to be a star gymnast and was trying to do some of her old tricks and she fell. There was nothing anybody could do, and they said she didn’t feel anything.”

I sat there in stunned silence. My heart panged for Oakley and his family. I tried to filter through my memory to see if I’d heard anything about this. Universities were quick to sweep deaths under the rug. No one wanted to send their kids away to schools with a bad reputation. It was Public Relations 101. No wonder Oakley could get away with anything. The school probably liked having him here and definitely wanted to show that they’d managed to support the Davis family.

“I was offered a full ride here, you know,” he continued bitterly while staring at his plate. “I didn’t take it though. My mom didn’t want any of the university’s blood money. They made my sister sound like some stupid party girl. And don’t get me wrong, she had her fair share of fun, but I didn’t like how the university was quick to drag her name through the mud to save their ass. She didn’t even have that much alcohol in her system, according to the toxicology report.”