“At first he didn’t want to talk to me,” Aaron said. “But then he sent his ladylove over to his car so he could speak to me alone. And when we were there talking, and I asked him about that night and what really happened, he suddenly seemed very eager to tell his tale. I just really wanted to know what the truth was. Because I’d started to have my own doubts while I was in prison. I’d replayed it over and over, and I started to remember that you, Ryan, were behind the wheel when we left Sigil and Shield.”

Everything grew silent. The absence of noise felt oppressive, like an unseen force filling the wide-open basement. I waited for Aaron to go on, but he didn’t. I couldn’t stand the waiting and the silence.

“What did he tell you?” I asked. “The truth, right? What I just told you.”

Aaron cut his eyes toward me, and then he nodded slowly, like a man who knew a secret.

“That is what he told me,” Aaron said. “He told me the same version you just gave. The truth.”

But Aaron laughed a little after he said it.

“The truth,” he said again, looking down at Blake. “Is that still the story you want to stick with?” When Blake said nothing, Aaron asked, “Well, is it, Blake?”

CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO

I waited for his answer. Anticipating.

Aaron wore such an eager, excited look on his face, it unnerved me. He seemed like a man who knew something the rest of us didn’t. But for the life of me, I couldn’t guess what it was. So I waited along with Aaron in the cool, dark basement. And I watched Blake like he was an oracle about to intone.

After what felt like half an eternity, Blake nodded his head, an almost imperceptible movement. It failed to satisfy Aaron, who pushed harder with the gun.

“What was that?” he asked.

“Yes,” Blake said. “That’s the story. That’s what happened that night. We kept feeding you drinks. We told you to get the sign. And Ryan was driving when we had the accident. And I made it look like you were driving, Aaron, and you took the fall for it because you couldn’t really remember. And Ryan couldn’t either. I set the whole thing up.”

The words, spoken out loud the way they were, sent a hot wave of shame-induced nausea cascading through my body. The rush came on so strong I almost staggered backward, and I wished for something to lean against to support my body. But nothing was there, nothing nearby. I had no choice but to stand on my own while those awful words and memories swirled around us like angry bees.

“It was Ryan driving,” Aaron said.