Chapters (95)
- Front Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- Video #1
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Video #2
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Video #3
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Sixty-Nine
- Seventy
- Seventy-One
- Seventy-Two
- Seventy-Three
- Seventy-Four
- Seventy-Five
- Seventy-Six
- Seventy-Seven
- Seventy-Eight
- Seventy-Nine
- Eighty
- Eighty-One
- Eighty-Two
- Eighty-Three
- The Final Video
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Back Cover
We enter through a gate on the side of the stadium where a couple of volunteers hand us candles. One of them, a girl about Olivia’s age, does a double take. Her eyes get wide, but she doesn’t say anything. She’ll now have a story to tell her friends. Another volunteer directs us to a box full of matchbooks. Dad grabs a pack, and we stop at the back of the south end zone and try to blend in. Now that we’ve settled on a spot, I text Olivia, Chad, and Cameron to tell them where we are.
A temporary stage has been erected in the middle of the field, right over the spot where our mascot, Billy Bobcat, is painted onto the grass. It’s the same setup they used to announce the king and queen after the homecoming game just over a week ago. The night before the accident and Chloe’s disappearance. A group of us went to the game together, and Chloe, even though she hates football’s brutality, painted a blue “GMH” for Garrett Morgan High on her cheek. She always says there are worse things than sitting outside on a fall night, watching young men try to kill each other.
We lost the game, 42–10. Chloe laughed when Basher threw his third interception of the night, and we all mocked her for having dated such a terrible quarterback.
“Are you jealous?” she asked.
“No,” I said. “I just wanted to see us win our homecoming game once before I graduate.”
Tonight, all the school and town big shots are on the stage. The principal, Dr. Jackson, is next to the assistant principal, Dr. Whitley, and the superintendent, Dr. Olsen. The mayor is there, too, in a black skirt and white shirt, tapping away at her cell phone.
And Chloe’s parents at the end of the platform, holding hands.
Her parents—Scott and Laura Summers—always seemed to like me. Sure, it was low-key awkward when Chloe and I first started dating, and they’d have me over for dinner, and we’d have to stumble through those weird conversations parents always have. How is your dad doing? How is your sister? Where do you want to go to college? Did you know Chloe has plans to go to medical school? What do you want to do, Hunter? Oh, you want to be a writer? Isn’t that interesting…