“Yeah, but Silas lived with his grandfather out in the country. The only reason he got to attend Katy High School is because a friend of his grandmother’s allowed him to use her address. The administration knew he didn’t live in the district, but he was too good of a football player for people to say anything.

“Sometimes I wonder if Silas would have been better off going to Morton Ranch High. It’s possible we would have never met, which would have been better for him.”

He heard Taylor’s sharp intake of breath. “Why would you say something like that? He was your best friend.”

“He was.” Jamar swallowed. The lump in his throat had grown bigger in the last couple of minutes, to the point that it felt as if he’d choke on it. “And he lost his life because of it. Because of me.”

Taylor vigorously shook her head, her wide eyes bright with dismay. “Don’t say—”

“It’s true,” Jamar forced out, the words like acid on his tongue.

A familiar, punishing weight pressed against his chest, a crushing millstone he accepted as his penance for the role he’d played in his friend’s tragic death. For the hardships his actions had caused Silas’s family to endure all these years.

He should stop right now. Taylor wasn’t his therapist. She wasn’t some trash dump here to accept all his garbage.

But keeping this inside was slowly killing him. He needed someone to hear him, to allow him to finally unburden himself of the suffocating guilt he’d harbored for so long.

She took his hand and squeezed it. “Jamar, talk to me. That’s what I’m here for.”

His eyes fell shut as a staggering wave of gratitude crashed over him. How did she know exactly what he needed?

He swallowed several times before he could speak.

“On the night—” His voice still broke. He cleared his throat. “On the night of the accident, the Katy Tigers were playing our biggest rival. There were so many fans there, including scouts from some of the top NCAA programs in the country.

“I had my best game of the season, possibly of my entire high school career. Silas had an amazing game too.” Jamar huffed out a humorless laugh. “But then he always did. That was the problem.”

Taylor’s forehead creased in confusion, as he knew it would.

“The town had dubbed us this amazing duo, but Silas was the real star. He would never admit it, because I’ll be damned if you could find someone more humble than him, but he was a beast on the football field.”

“I think you’re the one being humble,” Taylor said. “I’ve read enough articles about you to know that you were one of the best players in the country.”