Joy started from the beginning, from her plan to tag along with Judy to the graduation party, to the meltdown on the driveway. She’d promised Taryn that she’d be there. But her parents refused to let Judy give her a ride. And her tantrum did nothing but serve her a one-night sentence in her room.

She told Dylan about the car, explaining the issue with the seat belts. But that hadn’t stopped Joy. She’d stowed away in the back, hiding on the floor under a blanket. She had her plan all worked out. She’d meet up with her friend Taryn, whose parents had a cabin down the street from the hosts of the graduation party. They’d invite Kevin over to Taryn’s for popcorn and movies, and then Joy would sneak back into Judy’s car before her sister left, and be home before her parents. No one in her family would know Joy had left her bedroom.

But her sister had no intention of driving home that night.

“I misheard my mom about the time Judy had to be home. I thought she meant eleven that night. She’d meant eleven the next morning. Then I find out that Taryn and her family canceled their plans to go to their cabin that weekend. Thing is, I didn’t know that until after I got up there and found their house dark and locked up.”

“What did you do?” Dylan asked, his thumb tracing circles on the back of her hand.

“I tried to lie low until it was time to go home,” she explained. Then she told him the rest, about Kevin, Judy, the dock, and Judy’s sudden announcement they were leaving.

“What happened? Where’s Todd?” Joy had asked her sister, breathless from running after her.

“Screw Todd,” Judy spat. She headed toward her car and Joy glimpsed her sister’s face under a streetlamp. Moisture reflected the light on her cheeks. Her eyes, red and puffy, darted away. Her ponytail hung limp and lopsided like a shamed dog’s tail.

“What did he do to you?” Joy asked. Judy loved Todd, and Joy liked him. He talked to her like she was a real person, not a bratty kid sister, when he came over to their house. And he was over the moon in love with Judy. He couldn’t keep his hands off her sister. They were always kissing when they didn’t think Joy could see them.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Judy said.

They reached the car. Judy yanked the door handle, then smacked the window with a flat palm. She glanced back toward the Dulcotts’ house. Joy could hear Pink’s “Get the Party Started” blaring through the outdoor speakers.

Judy swiped her wrist under her nose and sniffled. “I don’t have my keys. Mrs. Dulcott does.”

The key basket. “Go get them.”