"Is that really okay?" Dan asked. "It didn't sound like a 'Long time no see' kind of phone call. What if someone's dug up some past crime of his that could get him taken off our court? Maybe Phil was calling to warn him about an investigation."

"Andrew will take care of it," Nicky said.

"That's not comforting," Dan said, but she let it drop.

Somehow Nicky and Kevin ended up eating dinner with them. It was the first time since the upperclassmen moved to campus in June that Neil had seen any of Andrew's lot socialize with the rest of the team. Neil attributed it to the twins' absence. He'd heard Nicky complain to Aaron about the cousins' isolationist stance, but Aaron hadn't been swayed by Nicky's unhappiness. Now, without Aaron to distract him or Andrew to shepherd him out of the way, Nicky was free to do as he liked.

They ordered delivery so they wouldn't have to leave again, and Dan put in a movie to avoid another unpleasant conversation. The film was over before any of their teammates made it back, but that was as far as Nicky cared to press his luck.

"Good night," he said after he'd helped clear away the dinner trash.

"See you in the morning," Dan said, and closed the door behind him and Kevin. When she let go of the knob, she turned a strange look on Matt. "That was weird."

"Yeah," Matt agreed. "Chances of it happening again?"

"Matt," Dan said, but hesitated. She glanced at the far wall where Seth's desk had been as if she wasn't sure she dared say her next words aloud. "What could this mean for our season?"

Because Wymack purposefully recruited troubled individuals, the Foxes had been a fractured mess from day one. They were a team with no concept of teamwork and they determined their hierarchy through force. But when summer practices started, ninety percent of conflict on the court began with Seth. Seth was always ready for a fight with Kevin and the cousins. He wouldn't work with them on the court and refused to deal with them off it. It constantly forced the Foxes to take sides.

Matt's expression was guarded, like he wasn't sure they could have this conversation so soon after Seth's death, but he answered. "Don't get your hopes up. They don't care about Seth. They won't rally behind him like this."

"But," Dan said, because she and Neil heard it in Matt's tone.

"But," Matt agreed, and looked at Neil. "We finally have an in."

Neil looked from one to the other. "I don't understand."

"We saw this once before, with Kevin," Matt said. "They staked a claim on you. They're going to drag you down their rabbit hole."

Dan put her hands on Neil's shoulders and fixed him with an intent look. "Don't go so deep you forget about us, okay? Put one foot in their hole and keep the other up here with us. You've got to be the piece that finally brings this team together. We can't make it to championships without them. Promise me you'll try."