I give her a nod of thanks. “Who do you think killed Angela?”

“I don’t know.” Mandy looks away, toward her house.

Something catches her attention, and I hear shouts from inside. It jolts us both.

“What’s going on?” I jump off the swing.

“I wish they’d all just leave.” Mandy shakes her head. “My parents wanted me to have this more than I did. They think it will distract me.”

The noise gets louder. Yelling, cursing. We run across her yard and into the house, following the sounds of the fight. The crowd is gathered in the living room. As I get closer, I see Cuddy and Demarcus shoving guys out of the way. The crowd chants, “Fight. Fight. Fight.”

I touch my face when I see Quincy pinned in a corner with Scott.

I step closer to the chaos.

CRASH AND BURN

Quincy and Scott are shoving each other, throwing punches when they can reach. With each movement, Quincy is off balance, but so is Scott, since he’s clearly drunk. Dean cuts past me, and some of Scott’s friends think he’s there to help Scott, but he’s not. He pushes Scott off to give Quincy space.

Scott sees me, and the anger in his eyes makes me take a step back. He’s thin, but drunk he’s scrappy and doesn’t seem to mind the punches from Quincy. Like he’s numb to the pain he’ll feel tomorrow.

“Get the fuck out.” He charges at me. “You don’t belong here.”

I try to dip away, but the crowd is pressing in on me, shoving me back toward Scott. He rips at my arm, and I feel my socket pull. Then he’s yelling at me. My heart races, and I try to back up, but the crowd is locked up tight. Keeping my friends from being able to help me.

“We can’t get Jamal, so how about you pay?” Scott says low and deadly as he grips my arm.

My chin trembles, trying to form words, but all I can let out is a weird, throaty sound. I look back, hoping to spot an escape. A place to catch my breath and think. Far away from here.

Quincy frees up from the crowd and jumps at Scott. Cuddy and Demarcus join him. The mob finally opens up to avoid the blows. Chris makes his way through the crowd, my first time seeing him. Dean shoulders his way in front, blocking Chris from joining in.

“Cool it, man,” Dean says.

“Get the fuck out,” Chris says. “You people, get the fuck out. I’m calling the police.”