Gabriel walked down the silent halls, his shoulders hunched, his backpack a dead weight.

The guidance office? If you were in trouble, they called you to the principal’s office. He knew that routine by heart.

The guidance office called if there was a college recruiter here for an interview—and that had happened exactly zero times in Gabriel’s high school career. The guidance office called if you were involved in an altercation with another student, and Vickers thought you could talk it out—but that wasn’t something they’d call you out of class for.

Then he remembered the first week of school, when Allison Montgomery had been called to the guidance office during chemistry. Her father had been killed in a car crash.

Nick. His heart stopped in his chest.

But then it kicked back into action. Nick was here, at school. If something serious had happened, Gabriel would have heard about it. Same with Chris.

Michael.

But if something had happened to his older brother, wouldn’t he be running into Chris and Nick in the halls, right this very second?

Then he remembered what had happened last night. Gabriel had no idea whether Ryan had made it to school today, but he remembered the way they’d found Simon in the girls’ locker room. The way the poor kid had had the crap kicked out of him.

Maybe this had nothing to do with Gabriel at all.

He pushed through the double doors into the main office. Completely empty. No secretary behind the desk, no students waiting on the bench outside the principal’s office.

Weird.

But he shoved through the swinging door into the guidance area. The school worked hard to make it look welcoming: a red and blue shag rug covered the tile, and four plush armchairs lined the back wall.

The five policemen standing there killed the welcoming vibe.

Gabriel stopped short. He actually felt the blood drain from his face. Didn’t they send cops to tell you something bad had happened to your family?

He couldn’t even remember the last words he’d said to his older brother.

And where were Chris and Nick?

Fear had his chest in a vise grip. He had no idea how his legs were holding him.

Ms. Vickers was standing in front of her closed office door. She looked as pale as he felt. “Gabriel?”

He’d never seen Vickers look rattled. His mouth was dry. “Yeah.”

One of the cops stepped forward. He was the oldest of the five, probably in his late forties with salt-and-pepper hair. “Gabriel Merrick?”

“Yeah. Yes.” His voice cracked. He could barely get the words out.

“Could you set the bag down, please?”

The backpack? It hit the floor with a thunk. “What happened?”

The officer took another step forward. “You’re under arrest.”

CHAPTER 35

CHAPTER 35

Layne sat with her father and Simon, but she couldn’t eat her dinner.