"We should go shopping tomorrow," Allison said. "I'm going to need time to find the perfect dress. You," she pointed between Matt and Seth, "are in charge of getting Neil something real to wear. I've seen everything he owns. I don't trust him to choose something appropriate."

"I could just not go," Neil said.

"You have to go," Dan said. "It's a team event."

There was a knock at the door. Dan was closest, so she got up to answer it. Nicky was waiting in the hallway, smiling but visibly tense.

"How bad is it?" Dan asked.

Nicky winced. "Does your armcandy there know how to install a window?"

Matt looked over his shoulder at the bedroom window. "I can try, but I'm not going anywhere near him tonight."

"Tomorrow's cool, too," Nicky said. "Just, you know, preferably before Coach comes around to check on Kevin again. There's three hundred bucks in it for you if it's fixed before noon."

"You get Andrew out of the room and I'll see what I can do."

"Awesome." Nicky looked at Neil. "Andrew wants to see you."

Neil looked at the clock and did the math. If Andrew took his midday dose on time, he should be popping another pill any minute now. Neil wondered if he'd really take it and idly hoped he would. If withdrawal didn't upset Andrew enough, being able to finally react to this morning's events without drugs in his veins would make him downright murderous. Neil wouldn't want to be Kevin tonight.

He got up and followed Nicky down the hall to Andrew's suite. He hadn't been in their room since he'd come to yell at them for breaking into his things, and they were pretty good about keeping their door shut, so it was weird to step inside again. He spotted Kevin first, curled up on one of the oversized beanbag chairs facing away from the door. Aaron was washing dishes in the kitchen and didn't look up as they went by. Nicky pointed down the hall and went to sit with Kevin. Neil went alone into the dark bedroom and closed the door behind him.

The cousins had pushed two of their dressers against the wall under the window. Andrew sat on top of them, leaning forward so he could fold his arms across his knees. Neil smelled blood and looked past Andrew at the window. Andrew had taken the screen off in the main room so he could smoke, but this window still had one. It was probably all that saved his hand when he punched a hole in the glass.

Andrew wasn't looking at him but at the bloody hand dangling between his knees. He flexed his fingers occasionally as if checking the extent of the damage he'd wrought.

"You could have destroyed your hand with a stunt like that," Neil said.

Andrew laughed. "Oh my, where would I be then?"

"Off the team," Neil said. "Where would Kevin be then?"