Rapid Falls(67)

I looked up at it, pretending to be confused. “It must have burned out.”

“Jesus Christ,” Wade grunted, pushing Jesse over. “He’s out cold.” Wade stepped back and wiped mud on his jeans, and I slid over Jesse and shut the door quickly so Wade wouldn’t see his empty stare. Jesse’s head lolled to the side and hit the window. His skin looked bluish. He didn’t look passed out. He looked dead.

“Yeah,” I said, stepping behind Wade to direct his gaze away from the truck. “Maybe I should get him to the hospital. His nose was smashed up when he came back here. It got all over my shirt. Probably yours too.” I was taking a huge gamble, but I knew it was what I was supposed to say.

Wade looked down at his shirt. “Cara, I saw the punch he took. It wasn’t that hard. I think Jesse just had too much whiskey. My nose bled more than his widdle one.” He said the last sentence in a baby voice, designed to mock Jesse, as if he could hear it.

“You’re probably right. He just needs to sleep it off.” I was relieved that it didn’t sound rehearsed. Adrenaline coursed through my body. It focused my mind. I felt sharp. I felt ready. Wade turned back toward the fire, and I followed with the doctored wine cooler in my hand. I needed to find Anna.

We walked back to the party, nodding at people beginning to stream away from the tight circle of spectators. Anna was standing by the fire next to Sandy. They both looked tired, sober people surrounded by a sea of drunks. I needed to finish this. We walked over to her, and Wade slung his arm around Anna’s shoulder.

“Little Piper! How’s your night?” Wade said.

“Amazing.” She smiled, pretending she was having as much fun as she thought we were.

“How are you feeling, Cara?” Anna asked.

“Great. Jesse is completely passed out,” I said with what I hoped sounded like gleeful abandon. “We just put him in the truck to sleep it off.”

She looked at me with concern. “Is he okay? Was he in that fight earlier?”

I took too long to answer as I tried to contain my rage at her thoughts for Jesse. “Yeah, he’s okay. Just wasted. I brought you a wine cooler.”

She looked at it dubiously. “I’m pretty tired. If Jesse is passed out, maybe we should just go home.”

“Anna, it’s my graduation night. I just want to stay a little longer. Have a drink with me!”

“What will Jesse say when he finds out we left him crashed in the truck?”

“He’ll never know,” I said. It was the truest statement I’d ever made. I felt sick at her familiarity, her assumptions about the man who was supposed to have loved only me.

“Wade, you up for another drink?”

“Sure.”

“See! Come on!”

Anna hesitated.

“Don’t worry about Jesse. He and I had a private celebration. He’s never felt better,” I lied, watching Anna’s face closely. A flicker of disgust crumpled her forehead, and I dug my nails into my hands to stop myself from tearing at her face.

“Okay, fine, I’ll have a drink.”

I handed her the wine cooler, watching carefully as she raised it to her mouth.

“Bottoms up!” I held the bottom of the bottle. Her eyes widened, but she still managed to finish the contents in one go.

“Cara! Slow down,” Anna said. Her voice sounded froggy and she coughed, trying to clear her throat.

“One more? For the road?”

Anna shook her head but took the can when Wade passed her another drink. I looked around. The music was still blaring, but I could hear truck engines revving as people began to drive home. The party was beginning to die. Wade, Anna, and I sat in silence as we finished our drinks. Anna barely touched hers, and I watched her carefully, hoping that what I had given her was enough. Wade was too drunk to talk. I was too angry. Anna swayed slightly beside me. The stars were beginning to fade. We had to go. She took a step backward and stumbled a little on a bottle behind her.

“Should we call it a night?” I asked.

She grinned. “Lead the way.”

“Happy graduation, ladies,” Wade slurred as we hugged him. He was slumped forward on a tailgate, the bottle of whiskey hanging loosely in his hand. He waved at the last of his farmer friends still at the fire.

“You going to catch a ride down with them?” I said.

Wade nodded cheerfully and slammed my body with one last hug. Choruses of goodbyes followed us, and Anna smiled happily, waving at everyone like she was the star of the show. Fury crept up my spine. We walked to the driver’s side of the truck, and I pushed ahead of her to block her view as I climbed into the middle seat. She seemed wobbly, drugged, but I couldn’t take the chance. From this angle, I was relieved to see that Jesse looked convincingly passed out.

“The keys are in the ignition,” I said.

“Why isn’t the interior light coming on?” Anna asked.

“I don’t know. Let’s just go.” My leg touched Jesse’s. I did my best to ignore it. Anna turned the key and the truck roared to life. I shoved a tape into the stereo and turned it up loud. We didn’t talk, just let the music flow over us as she navigated around the rocks and craters of the Field, steering toward the back road. Everything in me turned black with hate as I sat sandwiched tightly between Anna and the body of the person I used to love. The back road felt rougher than usual; tree branches whipped the windshield. Jagged boulders loomed as if admonishing me. Jesse’s head rolled, and I squeezed down my disgust and leaned hard against him to lessen the movement.