“You don’t live here anymore. I don’t need you waltzing in, telling me I’m fat, and acting like you give a shit about what happens to me.”

“Of course I give a shit,” I tell him. “But you’re right. I have been wrapped up in myself. I am sorry for that and will make it up to you. In the meantime, I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere. Billy, I can see you’re scared. We all are. I want to help you, so let me, okay? First, you have to sit up. Please? Look at me.”

Groaning theatrically, Billy complies. He won’t meet my gaze, but I place my hand on his arm. “Billy.” My voice is gentle. “Is there anything about Diana you didn’t tell DeFiore?”

“What are you really asking, Cassandra?”

“Will you take me through the night one more time?”

At first, Billy doesn’t reply, as if considering where to start. Oh good, I think in relief. We’re going to talk. But I misjudged his silence.

A beat later, he explodes, like gunpowder packed into a pipe.

“Who the fuck are you?” He’s so enraged he is spitting. I had no idea he harbored such fury. “Seriously, who the fuck do you think you are?” Up on his knees, he shouts in my face. “I told the cops everything! I told the lawyers everything! I have been over that night a hundred times. So, no. I have nothing more to say—not to you.” Billy pushes me back. “Get out of here, Cassie. I’m serious.”

I don’t move. Hey, Elmo, where are you? What happened to you? I study him closely, try to catch a glimpse of my brother in this stranger’s red face. His eyes fill with tears. Embarrassed, he swipes at them with the back of his hand.

“Hey,” I say softly, just as he shoves me, hard, with both hands.

Flying off the bed, I land flat on the floor. My back hits with such force that my breath gets knocked out. Looming above my face, Billy grabs my T-shirt and raises a fist. His eyes are glazed. His jaw is set. He’s assessing me with a cold calculation that freezes my blood.

“Do it. I dare you, Billy.” He wants to hit me; we both feel it. And I want him to. We feel that too. “Do it, please.” My body is jacked up; every nerve, every fiber is tingling. The feeling is as intense, as demanding, as the desire to fuck. “Please, Billy. Just once.”