To my surprise, everyone else fell into their old positions, leaving me up front. Teeny was on my left. Aidy was on my right. Bigs rode behind his sister, and Ruby rode at the back, the box in her basket. The V was misshapen without Harrison and Nick.

“I’ll just run,” Harrison said.

“Sounds good,” Aidy told him.

Nick didn’t even bother to come close to the rest of us, instead heading off with a small bob of the head.

The formation wasn’t exactly right, but it would have to do. My legs burned the instant I began pedaling. I pushed on, turning onto Albany, pedaling up the hill and over. As delicate wind pressed into my face, a tear rolled down my cheek. The kids of Albany Lane, united again.

“Close your eyes!” I screamed, my voice sounding like Marley’s.

And they did.

July 11

Five Years Prior

Everyone was still asleep by the time Marley and I made it back to her house. Even her mom. Her dad had gone out of town for a week, something we weren’t allowed to ask any questions about. When Officer Bricket was home, his fights with Mrs. Bricket underscored every sleepover, an erratic heartbeat beneath our less-than-innocent games of Truth or Dare and Never Have I Ever.

There was a hose in Marley’s backyard, meant for rinsing feet after pool time. Her dad was so strict about it I once took off for home in the middle of his reprimands, barefoot and belittled. Marley picked my foot up as I rested my hand on the side of her house. The hose blasted icy cold water onto my sole. “Don’t scream,” Marley warned. I bit my lip to keep from yelping out. “It’s clean now,” she announced. I stepped my left foot onto the towel beside the hose while Marley washed my right.

When we repeated the process on her, she smiled. “I love cold water,” she told me. “Wakes you up like nothing else.”

We went into her house through the back sliding door that was always unlocked. “Let’s pretend to sleep for at least another hour,” she whispered as we crept down the hallway, past her parents’ bedroom, into her own.

I wondered why it was necessary but decided not to ask. I was always wondering with her and rarely asking. I hoped one day that would change. Or maybe the questions would start to answer themselves.

The air inside her bedroom had grown thick from the warmth of bodies. The night before, we’d draped colorful sheets from bookshelf to bookshelf, tenting her bedroom. We’d hung string lights in random patterns across the cotton ceiling and rolled out our sleeping bags underneath. There wasn’t enough room on the floor for all of us, so Marley slept in her bed. Only Aidy was allowed to share it with her.