Haven’t you heard the news? But Matthew’s not exactly a news kind of guy. The only current events he keeps up on are the street prices for various drugs.

No.

Bunch of people shot at mall. I’m OK. 5 of us hiding in Culpeppers. SWAT coming.

r u joking?

Sadly, no.

His next text is a four-letter word, and then nothing more. Miranda waits for a declaration of love, or at least an expression of anxiety, but there is none. Maybe Matthew just can’t get in touch with his feelings.

Or maybe they don’t go much past vague annoyance at this disruption to his routine.

Despite how much her head hurts, Miranda realizes she’s seeing things more clearly than she has in months. Matthew knew the basics of what happened with Parker, but he never protested. He simply took the money Parker gave her and handed Miranda pills in return. Matthew isn’t her boyfriend, the way she’s tried to tell herself. He’s not even really a friend.

He’s her dealer. That’s the plain truth of it.

Stiffening her spine, Miranda makes herself spell everything out, literally and figuratively. If I get out of this alive, then I’m done. I don’t want to see you.

After she hits the send key, she feels lighter. Even her head feels better. As she deletes Matthew from her contacts and blocks him on everything, she tunes into Cole’s whispers to Grace.

“Who knows what’s really in immunizations? Look at all those kids with autism. That can’t be a coincidence.”

Javier lifts his arm from his face and pushes himself up on his elbows. “Do you really believe that? In Mexico, babies die because they didn’t get no immunizations.”

“You think Americans are really any better off?” Cole retorts. “It’s just not as obvious how bad things are here. Corporations like Pfizer and Monsanto are the ones actually running this country. Politicians take their millions and look the other way while they poison everything: our food, our air, our water.” His stormy gray gaze goes from one person to the next. “People need to wake up and open their eyes.”

“And what would they see?” Miranda asks.

“That people are dying.” A muscle flickers in Cole’s jaw. “Six months ago, my dad died because he ate a hamburger.”

Amina had started fiddling with the computer. Now she looks over, her eyes wide. “A hamburger? Did he choke or something?”

“No. The meat was contaminated with E. coli. None of the antibiotics worked, because the government lets factory farms use them to fatten up animals, and all the bacteria have gotten resistant. My dad died just so chickens and cows can grow a little bit faster.”

Grace gives Cole’s hand a squeeze, but he doesn’t seem to register it.