“I look great on paper.” Diana pauses. “Not even ‘great.’ Compared to my classmates, I’m average. But inside, I never felt smart enough. Or pretty enough. So I had to work feverishly to catch up. I studied all the time and got perfect grades. Picture a pudgy girl with glasses who hides in the library. A country mouse from Pittsburgh—not even Pittsburgh, a tiny town nearby. So yes, when he asked me out, I was overwhelmed. He was, he was . . . I don’t know . . . everything—”

Again, she blushes deep red. But this time, I am moved by her honesty. Diana Holly has become real to me, and I see the girl I liked when we first met.

“Billy is handsome and smart. And way out of my league. He’s also charming and seductive. Truth be told, I got seduced by his looks, by his money, by all of it. Then, as I got to know him, and saw he wasn’t perfect, we became incredibly close. I couldn’t bear to be apart from him, even for a day.”

“But there were problems?”

“Yes. Billy is troubled, emotionally, I mean. Everyone has issues, of course, but Billy’s problems were deeper and more dangerous than I first realized. They affected every aspect of his life, including our relationship.”

“What kinds of issues?”

Diana looks at her hands. “Anger issues, drugs—marijuana mostly.”

I glance at Billy. Though he appears relaxed, I can tell from the line of his shoulders that it’s taking every ounce of his strength not to react.

“Pornography,” Anderson says. Though it’s not a question, no one objects.

When Diana nods, a lock of hair falls in her face, and she tucks it behind one ear. “Yes. But the problem wasn’t just drugs or porn. It was quantity and intensity. Billy gets stoned every day. Same with porn. Billy watches a lot. It seemed normal at first, at least for a college-aged guy. But by July, I realized he was hiding how often he watched.”

“How so?”

“He’s on his devices all day. But if I so much as glanced at his screen, he’d scramble to close it. He wasn’t always fast enough. I saw people having sex, orgies or whatever. Other times, it was the opposite. He’d stare at his computer with his eyes glazed over, completely unaware of my presence. It was creepy and unsettling.”

“So what did you do?”

Diana shakes her head. Her eyes fill with tears. Anderson waits.

“Nothing,” she whispers. “I was insecure, and so grateful he liked me. I was afraid if I said anything, he’d break up with me.”

“You just let it go?”

“I tried to talk to him about it once, but he told me to mind my own business and I stopped bringing it up. But when school started, I told him he needed counseling and we should spend time apart.”