“It was Tim’s idea,” Matthew said, “but everyone agreed. Just like Standedge helped us to grow up, I think he thought it was holding us back. He thought we could be friends without the rigid structure.” Matthew stopped.

“Go on.”

“I think Tim—and the others—kinda wanted to leave Marsden behind. I guess the Claypaths were done living in their dad’s shadow. And Edmund, Pru and Robert...well, maybe they thought they were destined for something bigger. They were prepared to turn their backs on where they came from. And turn their backs on...” Matthew couldn’t finish the sentence.

“Turn their backs on you?” Robin said.

Matthew nodded, sniffling. “I never thought I was bigger than Marsden. I never wanted to be. I love it. It’s my home, and it has done just as much for me as I have done for it. I knew I was never as clever or as creative or as handy as my friends—but I never wanted to be. I wanted—want—a quiet life. And Marsden is perfect for that.”

Robin didn’t even want to think, let alone say, that that future was gone for Matthew McConnell. Even if he were totally exonerated, Marsden—and the people in it—would likely never forget his part in what happened in Standedge. Matthew’s love for Marsden was as genuine as Marsden’s hate for him. But looking at Matthew, he realized that he didn’t have to say it. Matthew already knew. And that made Robin feel a pang of the young man’s pain.

Robin pressed on. “When did your friends start to exhibit some of these feelings?”

Matthew didn’t need to think. “When school started pushing us to apply for universities, that was when it came to the forefront, I guess. But even before then, I suppose. They were always more than the town, more than me. Tim and Edmund were razor sharp so fell into Physics and other Sciences. Rachel understood people so was a natural psychologist. Pru wanted to know how things worked and Robert could write a mean story. If they’d stayed in Marsden, they would have been bored. I guess that’s what it really comes down to. Boredom.”

Robin knew what he meant. He had often wondered if Sam was bored with their life. She was so much more—so much more than him. “It’s only natural you felt angry.” And Matthew saw his understanding and warmed slightly. “When the group started to pull away, you must have felt incredibly upset.”

Matthew surprised him by giving a joyless laugh. “That’s the thing. Looking back now, I see I was kidding myself. But I had never really known that they were going to leave me until that day. The Incident. But then I saw it—life without them. I guess that’s what I’m living now.”