Take the Fall(19)

“Threaten me?”

She frowns. “Sasha Fadley said he came to the diner and said all kinds of crazy things.”

I hesitate. “He did come to the diner, but he just ordered a coffee.”

“Oh.” Her face flushes and she adjusts her books. “Maybe Sasha heard wrong.”

As we round a corner the air goes still. I look up to see a lone figure standing in front of a row of yellow lockers. It would be obvious which one was Marcus’s even if he wasn’t standing in front of it, ignoring everyone like it’s his job. The purple door stands out from the surrounding yellow lockers, but someone’s also drawn a big X over it in black. A few people near me whisper Killer. And Can you believe he had the nerve to come back? One girl giggles. Students move around him down the hall, but everyone maintains a wide berth.

Including me.

I feel him watching as we pass. Marcus has never been much of a talker, but there’s always something going on behind his eyes and I’ve spent too many hours wondering about it. I focus on my locker, just past his along the same wall. I’m not sure when I’ll get the chance to speak to him, but it’s not going to happen in front of the whole school. Aisha glues herself to my side, taking a position in front of me like a sentry.

Someone behind us whispers: “So, could he get lethal injection?”

“Nah, he’ll just rot in jail for life.”

“Fuck off, all of you.”

Yuji walks by with a scowl, pushing past everyone. He goes right up to Marcus, clapping him on the shoulder as if they’re talking tennis or football.

“Douche,” someone mutters.

You might never think to pair Yuji, the tennis player, with Marcus, the brooding artist. But Yuji’s dad got into financial trouble with his company right about the time Marcus’s parents went to jail. The Himuras lost their house, their car, and just about everything else you can lose and still maintain a shred of dignity. Marcus lost his family. I think he and Yuji found something in common in their respective aftermaths. Something besides a depressing amount of pity.

“Sonia!” Haley rushes down the hall and catches up to us, out of breath. “Oh my God, I just heard—are you okay?”

“I’m fine, why? What’s going on?”

Haley stops short, scanning my arms and face. “Jill Barkman said Marcus came into the diner last night and pulled a knife on you.”

Aisha and I exchange a glance. I hold up my hands. “I’m okay. See?”

“But—” Haley stares at me like stab wounds might appear on my body at any moment. “She said there was an ambulance, and the place was crawling with cops.”

I look over my shoulder toward Marcus, who’s openly watching us now. I shake my head. “Didn’t happen. He just came in for coffee.”

Haley’s eyes widen when she sees him. She leans closer. “You’re joking. What did he say?”

I need your help.

“Not a whole lot before Dina kicked him out,” I say quickly.

The first bell rings. Haley glares openly as Yuji and Marcus move past us, and then she startles me with a quick hug before leaving for class. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

People start heading in the direction of their homerooms and I’m trying to focus on my locker combination and the books I need this morning when a shadow passes over me and lingers at my shoulder.

“Just hear me out,” Marcus says.

My heart races. I stare at my closed locker, thinking of all the ways I planned to approach him, but I’m not prepared for it to happen now. “The bell’s about to ring.”

“Fuck the bell, Sonia, just listen to me.”

There’s a failing fluorescent light fixture blinking like a bad dream over our heads. I look up into his face, expecting bared teeth or an angry snarl—something murderous. But the desperation in his eyes makes my hands shake. “I need to go.”

He steps in front of me. “I slept with her that night, okay.” His voice is low. He wipes his hand over his face. “It was consensual. But I think the cops are trying to spin it like it wasn’t.”

I hesitate. Gretchen disappeared at the party—I’m not sure for how long. I was in the basement playing the first level of UltaShock with Kip and a couple of junior guys, and I was winning. When she came back, she was in a hurry to leave, but before I could ask what happened, she and Kirsten got into it. I’d heard the rumor about Marcus and Gretchen hooking up, and I guess I’d been hoping it wasn’t true.

I open my mouth, but before I can speak, a voice growls behind me.

“She doesn’t look comfortable talking to you, Perez.”

Marcus looks up wild-eyed from under the brim of his ball cap as Kip Peterson places a hand on my shoulder. I freeze, the weight of his touch noxious against my skin. People are closing in now, forgetting the bell, positioning themselves to get a good look if anything happens. I slide out from under Kip’s heavy palm, backing away to where I can safely blend with the other students. When I stare across the semicircle I notice Reva Stone among the vultures.

“You know, I thought you were nuts, or maybe just an *, when you showed up here today,” Kip says, moving closer. “But I’m starting to think all you are is stupid.”

“This is none of your business,” Marcus mutters.