Take the Fall(11)

The first guy snorts too and now I recognize Kevin Fowler, Gretchen’s onetime indie rock boyfriend from last summer. “Oh man, if she’s anything like her sis—”

“Excuse me.” I push between them before I have to hear any more. Kevin was bent out of shape for months after Gretchen dumped him for Marcus. He was also at the party Friday night. I add him to my list.

Haley waves me over to where she’s sitting against the far wall and I pull my backpack to my chest, scanning the room for Kirsten, even though I know she isn’t here. I need to talk to her, ask if she’s okay—only that immediately strikes me as stupid. Of course she’s not. By the time she stumbled home after midnight Saturday, Gretchen was already missing. Kirsten looked up to her so much, following us around since we were little, trying to look and act like her big sister no matter how often Gretchen pushed her away. It was like she thought if she just kept trying, Gretchen would change how she felt about her.

Someone leans over from the row behind us. “Hey, anyone seen Perez?”

My neck goes hot.

“He wouldn’t dare come to this.”

“Heard someone tossed a brick through his window last night.”

A couple of guys in front of us high-five.

“Assholes.” We all turn to look at Yuji Himura, Gretchen’s longtime tennis opponent and one of Marcus’s few friends. “He didn’t do this.”

Haley gives him a cool look. “Does that mean you know who did?”

Yuji holds her gaze. He and Haley were a thing freshman and sophomore years, until Yuji started playing extra tennis games with Gretchen on the weekends. “Gretchen had a lot of exes. It could have been any one of them.”

“I heard they had sex at the party before she died,” Haley says.

“So what if they did?”

There’s a tap on my shoulder and Brianne Prashad leans over from the next table to hug me. “Sonia, I can’t believe this. I just keep thinking how we were all at my house Friday night.” Her voice wavers and a lump forms in my throat. “Did someone really go after you too? Do they think—” She looks at my face. “Oh God, I’m sorry.”

I know I should say something, tell her it’s okay, but everyone’s breath and bodies seem so close, it’s like suddenly there isn’t enough air. I cross my arms and look away, wondering if it would make a scene if I fled the room, but then Aisha lands in the seat next to me, practically squirming.

“You guys aren’t going to believe what I just heard.” She looks at her phone. “Right before Gretchen was reported missing, her parents came home and surprised an intruder in her room.”

My mouth drops open. “What?”

“Get out,” Haley says. “Did they see who it was?”

“I guess her dad caught a glimpse of him as he ran out. They think he took something with him.”

“Where did you hear that?” I ask, my eyes darting around the room.

“My mom.” Aisha lowers her voice, shifting in her chair. “She said the cops have been trying to keep it secret.”

My breathing goes short. Aisha’s mom is a high-profile lawyer and not generally a gossip, but if this is true, it changes how I’ve been thinking about the whole night. If someone was in Gretchen’s bedroom, were they waiting for her to come back, or did they break in after the attack? And in either case, why? I bite my fingernail, wondering if they could be the same person who went after me. “God, it might’ve been anyone.”

“Yeah, maybe even Derek.” Haley snorts.

Derek looks up from his smartphone. “What did I do?”

Aisha sighs.

I can think of a handful of boys who have snuck in and out of Gretchen’s room under more benign circumstances—Kevin Fowler, Marcus Perez, and Tyrone Wallace, to name a few. But I hesitate saying so since this might be news to Aisha. “Hey, didn’t your brother come home Friday?”

Derek rolls his eyes, tucking his phone away. “Of course. Beautiful white girl gets herself killed, let’s blame every black dude in town.”

“No.” My face flushes. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just thought . . . it’s just that Tyrone and Gretchen did go out a few times. If it was him, maybe it was something innocent.”

“It wasn’t Tyrone.” Aisha frowns and takes Derek’s hand.

I reach for her, but she pulls away. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“Maybe it was Kip,” she says brusquely.

“It was Marcus,” Haley says. “The guy’s family is bad news.” When I don’t say anything, she raises her eyebrows. “Please don’t tell me you’re going to defend him too.”

“I’m just not sure what to think,” I mumble.

“I thought you guys couldn’t stand each other.”

My skin flushes hot.

Maybe if I understood why Marcus hated me I could genuinely share the feeling. At least it’s easy to mimic. It seemed just as well Gretchen set her sights on him before I could make a fool of myself thinking he might be interested in me.

Principal Bova taps the microphone at the front of the room, instructing everyone to please take their seats. Sheriff Wood stands beside her and I sink in my chair, curious and a little nervous about what the police are going to add.