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
Olivia and Gabriela follow behind us, and my sister lifts both hands in the air, flipping off the entire crowd, which probably helps my cause about as much as when she punched the lacrosse player in the face.
Behind Olivia, Daniel films everything. My former best friend.
Something comes flying from overhead and splats onto the field between Dad and me, sending up a spray of liquid that hits our pants and shoes. A giant soda from McDonald’s. Then a rock the size of a baseball flies past us, skidding across the ground.
It’s bad. It’s dangerous.
We’re out of the stadium and halfway across the parking lot, but the voices from the stage still reach us, rolling across like thunder.
“Look. He’s running away,” Laura says. “It’s not that he can’t remember. It’s that he just doesn’t want us to know the truth.”
Eighteen
We ride home in awkward silence, except for the satellite radio, which, as usual, Dad has tuned to the ’80s station. It’s the music he and Mom listened to when they were in school. As if things couldn’t get any weirder, the song from the TikTok video comes on. Now I know the name of the song. “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out” by The Smiths.
I smack the power button. “Can we just…not?”
Chad texts me: That was a shitshow. Need anything?
With dad. It’s cool.
Dad keeps his eyes on the road. Olivia and Gabriela are in the back seat, and Olivia starts going.
“That was such bullshit back there,” she says. “How can that woman say those kinds of things about Hunter? In public? Public? She basically accused him of murder in front of the whole town.”
Dad speaks in a steady voice. “Grief is difficult. It makes people do strange things.”
“You’re making excuses for her, Dad,” Olivia says. “I want to fight back. Hunter is being bullied at school.” She must not be wearing a seat belt, because she leans so far forward her voice is right in my ear. “Did you tell him about the video?”
“My video?” I ask.
“No. The TikTok.”
“What is all this?” Dad asks.
“It’s nothing,” I say.
“It’s not nothing.”
“Livvy, why don’t you sit back?” I say. “Put on your seat belt.”
Olivia throws herself back in the seat and makes a loud groan of frustration. She speaks to Gabriela as if we’re not there.
“Can you believe these two?” she asks. “All hell is breaking loose, and they just want to sit there and do nothing. People are harassing us. And they do nothing. Can you believe it, Gabby?”
“I should stay out of it,” Gabriela says.
“Stay out of it?” Olivia asks. “Is that really what you want to do?”
“Oh, look, it’s my house. Thanks for the ride, Dr. Gifford.”