Michael shook his head, then smiled a little sadly. “She didn’t. It started . . . something.”

Nick didn’t smile, because he knew how this story ended. “Something.”

“We never went out or anything. It never got that far. Just . . . there was something there. But then there was her family, too. Tyler was young, but he had a lot of friends. They hid in the back of the truck and jumped me. Tyler put a butane lighter against my face and I couldn’t control myself. I almost killed them.”

“But you didn’t.”

Michael’s expression tightened. “No, I didn’t, and I’ve wondered a thousand times how that day would have ended differently if I’d killed them right then.”

The waitress appeared beside their table. “Can I bring you anything else?”

Michael cleared his throat. “I would really, really like a beer. Anything on tap.”

She hustled off.

“First time I haven’t gotten carded,” said Michael.

“Haircut,” said Nick.

“I owe you.” Michael paused and his voice resumed its former gravity. “We ran. Emily and me. We took a trail down to the back side of the quarry. Tyler and his friends chased us. We jumped in the water and swam like hell. She wasn’t a strong swimmer, but I knew if we could get near the other kids who were swimming on the far side, they’d have to back off.”

He shook his head. “They didn’t. We made it, but they were right there. I could feel the rocks overhead were loose, but I thought we were okay.”

He stopped and took a breath. Nick studied him. “Mike—you don’t have to tell me this.”

“It’s all right. She—she went back to them. We were there in the water, near the wall, facing off. There were six of them, and Emily was a tiny girl. I think—I think she thought they’d go away and leave me alone if she went with them. She swam toward them before I could stop her, going to Tyler. I remember him looking at me, all victorious, like she’d run from me. I know that wasn’t it. She was trying to protect me.”

He went quiet for so long that Nick wasn’t sure he was going to keep talking.

“So what happened?”

Michael glanced up. “She never got a chance to say anything. The rocks fell. I tried to stop it, but I wasn’t strong enough—or maybe I just wasn’t fast enough. They hit her and two of the other kids. I went down to get her, and came up with one of them. Same thing again. By the third time I went under, I only found her body. I knew it looked like I’d killed her.” He paused. “I ran home. You remember.”

Nick did remember. “Wow.”

“Yeah, no kidding.”