BooksBarbecue
Back When We Were Bright and Beautiful Save as PDF
Chapters (72)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Epigraph
  4. Part One
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. Part Two
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. 31
  37. 32
  38. 33
  39. 34
  40. 35
  41. 36
  42. Part Three
  43. 37
  44. 38
  45. 39
  46. 40
  47. 41
  48. 42
  49. 43
  50. 44
  51. 45
  52. 46
  53. 47
  54. 48
  55. 49
  56. 50
  57. 51
  58. 52
  59. 53
  60. 54
  61. 55
  62. 56
  63. 57
  64. 58
  65. 59
  66. 60
  67. Epilogue
  68. Author’s Note
  69. Acknowledgments
  70. About the Author
  71. Also by Jillian Medoff
  72. About the Publisher

Billy nods. Still, he held firm. He didn’t see her for a while and felt more in control of his life. Then, last week Diana invited him to a party. Billy doesn’t drink. He’ll have a beer to loosen his tongue, but alcohol blunts his speed on the track. Plus, he had to study. He told Diana no, but she kept texting him: Don’t blow me off, it’ll be fun, come say hi, cajoling him until he finally relented.

“And you have all these texts?” I ask.

“Cops took my phone, but yeah.”

Billy figured they could talk, rationally, like adults. But by the time he got there, Diana was wasted. He downed two beers and a shot of whiskey to catch up. Unaccustomed to the alcohol, he got very drunk, very fast. They went to a back bedroom and ended up fooling around. A little while later, they left the party together. They stopped in a playground, where they kissed on a tire swing then moved to a grassy area. After that, Billy says, it’s hazy and distorted. He felt Diana unzip his pants, pull down his boxers and reach for his—

Billy is shaking, his eyes glazed. “I t-told her n-n-n-no. I sssaid n-no.”

She started to stroke his penis. He was too far gone to stop. Her dress got hiked up. Billy recalls being inside her but not for how long because he was hit with a wave of nausea. He stood up and pulled down Diana’s dress—he distinctly remembers that she wasn’t wearing underwear. He turned and vomited, when he was suddenly tackled by what felt like a gang of men. He kept trying to get up, but they had him pinned. He threw up again, which made him dizzy, so he closed his eyes. Next thing he knew, the police were there.

“Did you talk to Diana during any of this?” Nate asks.

“No idea.”

“Did you think she blacked out?”

“Hell no.” On this point, Billy is adamant.

Nate and I put our arms around him. “We believe you, Billy,” we tell him. “She won’t get away with this.”

14

OUR HOUSE IN SOUTHAMPTON SITS ON A HUNDRED AND fifty acres. Along with a blueberry patch, heated pool, tennis courts, and boat dock, we have a private beach that’s surrounded by deep and dense woods. Large parts of the area are rough and isolated, so our parents forbid us from exploring. But with Nate in charge, we roamed far and wide. He was a genius at finding things. Under his direction, Billy and I dug for strangers’ castoffs, which we treated like buried treasure: loose playing cards told our fortunes, Scrabble tiles spelled out hidden messages, a set of keys opened imaginary doors.