She raised an eyebrow. Kane wondered where he was going with this very obvious lie. He desperately tried to recall how people did football. He’d seen a few movies, and sometimes the start of the Super Bowl after the most important part ended, which was the national anthem.

“Yeah, he invited me to…bring him his coin.”

“His coin?”

“For the coin part.”

“Do you mean the coin toss?”

“Yes.”

Kane picked up his pace. Ursula followed. They were behind the football bleachers now. The stadium had locker rooms, and Kane could use the back entrance to get through the fence.

“Oh, you know what? I have a coin in my equipment bag. I’ll bring him one! Why don’t you head home, okay? I’ll talk to O’Brien for you. Isn’t that what friends are for?”

Kane was out of excuses and out of patience. His hands were shaking. Actually shaking. Ursula disgusted him with her desperation. He disgusted himself with his desperation to believe her. His eyes burned, a preview to tears. The fence didn’t turn the corner, and he readied his escape.

“Kane, you’re looking kind of pale. Why don’t I just drive you home?”

“Stay away from my house.”

Fear opened on Ursula’s face. “What?”

“Don’t play dumb,” Kane spat. “I heard you talking in the boiler room with Elliot and Adeline.”

Ursula went white.

“You were following me that night on the path, weren’t you?”

“Kane, listen—”

“What’s a reverie, Ursula? Why are the lobsters glowing?”

“Kane—”

“What happened to Maxine Osman?”

The dimple between Ursula’s eyebrows spread into a series of disbelieving lines. Her head shook in slow horror.

“Did you guys kill her?”

“Kane, stop, you don’t understand. You’re confused, and if you’d just calm down—”

“I’m not confused, and don’t tell me to calm down.” His voice smoldered. “I thought you were my friend!”

She looked hurt, as though she actually cared. “I am! I was going to tell you, but not like this!”

His withering glare was his only response before he pivoted toward the locker rooms.

“Kane!” she called. “Just wait a second, okay? We can find a place to go. I’ll explain it. I’ll explain everything. Just give me a chance.”

“I gave you your chance,” he called back, done listening. He was going to find out for himself what Ursula was hiding. Like a cresting wave, the betrayal swept him into a jog.

“Kane!” Ursula screamed. “You can’t go in there!”

He ignored her.

“STOP!”

It wasn’t a plea. It was a command. Kane had to look back. Ursula’s hands were bunched in the chain links, her face dark with sudden contempt. And then, in one swift motion, Ursula tore the fence apart like a curtain of beads.