I can’t stop staring at Shane. The flash of anger has faded and now he’s hanging his head. I knew he was kind of a wild kid in middle school, but I had hoped now that after joining the football team, he kept his nose clean. But maybe Tim is right. Maybe he is a bully.

“It was just a broken rib anyway,” Brandon says. “He didn’t even spend the night.”

“Oh, is that all?” Tim retorts. “Just a broken rib?”

Brandon’s eyes flash as a crack of lightning makes his face glow eerily. He throws his cup on the coffee table so harshly that the orange liquid splashes out. “You want to be next, Reese?”

“For Christ’s sake, shut up, Brandon,” Shane growls. He turns to look at me. “It was stupid. Really stupid. We had just lost a game the day before and when I heard him say those things about my mom—I mean, it’s my mom—anyway, I just… like I said, we were being stupid.”

Tim’s eyes meet mine. I can see the question written all over his face. Are you buying this bullshit? I have to look away.

“Brooke?” Shane says.

“Just…” I touch my snowflake necklace—my fingers always go there whenever I’m anxious. “Don’t do it again.”

After all, he’s sorry. Everybody does stupid stuff in high school. I can’t expect Shane to be perfect. I’m sure not.

“All right.” Shane clears his throat loudly. “It’s my turn again.”

We all turn to look at him, our drinks ready.

“Never have I ever,” he says, “been on a date with Tracy Gifford.”

Shane is staring at Tim as a bolt of thunder shakes the room. Tim raises his eyes, and a look passes between them that I can’t quite identify. We all sit there, our hands frozen on our paper cups. Tracy Gifford is the girl who was found dead over the summer. Obviously, none of us have been on a date with her.

But then Tim raises his cup. And he takes a drink.

Chapter 13

PRESENT DAY

I can’t believe after all these years, I’m going on a date with Tim Reese.

No, correction: it’s not a date. We’re just getting drinks. As friends. For all I know, Tim has a girlfriend. After all, he’s good-looking and charming and has a decent job. Tim is a catch. It seems almost impossible that he would still be single.

But I get the feeling he is.

I had wanted to take separate cars, but Tim pointed out that we are leaving from pretty much the same block, so “for the sake of the environment, we should carpool.” I couldn’t argue with that logic. And I didn’t argue when he offered to drive.