I might have a concussion, but it takes approximately thirty seconds to see that something is wrong with Meg and maybe five more to see it’s directly related to her uncle. As soon as she walks in the house, I meet her, leaning to press a kiss on her mouth, but she turns to the side, offering her cheek instead. She looks like she’s in pain as I help her remove her coat and she refuses to take off her hat. I raise my eyebrow at Vada, who shakes her head, silently communicating, Don’t ask.

James is sitting at our table, sipping a beer and talking to Brian, but when Meg enters the kitchen, her arms full of rolls and some cookies she brought, James gets quiet. It occurs to me that they came separately. Everything is strained through dinner. Meg lets me hold her hand under the table, but she barely looks at me. After dessert, I ask if she and Vada want to come up to my apartment to watch a movie or something, and she declines for them.

“Cash misses you,” I whisper.

She draws back from me, misery pooling in her navy eyes. “I miss him, too.” But it feels like she’s trying to say something different. My little sister asks her to read an Anna and Elsa book, and Meg cuddles up with her on the recliner, leaving me alone on the love seat. Vada jumps up, offering to start the dishes, and drags me with her.

When we enter the kitchen, my mom is getting started, but Vada waves her off. “Please, Mrs. Lundgren, let me. I’m a terrible cook, so doing dishes is all I can do to show my gratitude.”

My mom looks like she wants to argue, but Vada is already reaching for the dish in her hand, and that is that.

After making sure we’re alone, Vada presses me into a chair. “You sit and keep me company. You nearly died a week ago.” I wouldn’t dare call Meg’s best friend pushy, but she sure is goal oriented. She leans toward me, bright red hair falling in her face and hiding her mouth as she speaks in a low tone. “Some youth group mom saw you leaving Meg’s on Halloween.”

I slump back against my chair, catching on immediately.

“Exactly, and Mrs. Busybody went to James who in turn went and chastised Meg for her witness or some bullshit like that?”

“James did?” I ask in a strangled whisper.

“Yeah. So, my best friend, the sweetest, purest human on the planet, told me she feels dirty and thinks she’s wronged the ever-loving church.”

I lean forward on my elbows, cradling my head in my hands and feeling like I’ve been socked in the gut.