Along for the Ride(40)

‘Oh, sorry.’ Maggie pulled out a piece of gum, popping it in her mouth. ‘Eli and Abe were both really, really good at riding bikes. So good they got paid to go around and compete at various events, and that’s why they were in Brockton.’

‘And it was after the event,’ Esther said, ‘when they were driving back from a party, that the accident happened.’

‘The accident,’ I said.

Leah nodded. ‘Eli was driving. And Abe was killed.’

I heard myself gasp. ‘Oh, my God.’

‘I know.’ Maggie folded the gum wrapper she was holding, first once, then twice, down to a tiny square. ‘I was with Jake when Eli called. We were at his house, and I could hear Eli on the phone. He was at the hospital, and he was trying to talk, but all I could hear was this awful sound he was making…’

She didn’t finish, instead just looked out over the water, dark on either side of us. Esther said, ‘It wasn’t his fault. They were going through a four-way stop, and someone just ran it and hit them.’

‘A drunk,’ Leah added.

Esther nodded. ‘It tore Eli up, big-time. It was like Abe took some part of him when he went, you know? He’s never been the same.’

‘He gave up all his sponsorships, the riding, everything,’ Maggie said. ‘He’d gotten into college at the U and deferred to keep competing, but he didn’t go there either. He just got a job managing the bike shop and stopped riding altogether.’

Leah glanced at me. ‘Or so we thought.’

‘I just saw him doing it that one night on the boardwalk,’ I told her. ‘It was really late. Or early, actually.’

‘Well,’ Maggie said, ‘I guess that means something. What, I don’t know. But something.’

There was a sudden burst of noise from behind us: when I turned, I saw one of the fishermen pulling something over the rail of the pier. It was flopping, catching the light here and there, before he eased it down behind a tackle box, out of sight. The other people fishing took note, then returned to their own lines.

‘And Belissa,’ I said, warming my hands around my cup. ‘What’s the story there?’

‘They’d dated since sophomore year,’ Leah told me. ‘She stuck with him through the funeral, and a couple of months after, but eventually things just fell apart. She dumped him, is what I heard. Although apparently she sees it differently.’

‘Apparently,’ I said.

Leah smiled, shaking her head. ‘I swear, when she asked you what kind of a name that was, and you were about to answer her… I almost just took off running and left you there to fend for yourself.’

‘She asked me a question,’ I said.

‘She didn’t want an answer, though.’

‘Well, then why did she ask?’

‘Because,’ Leah said, ‘she was gearing up to smacking your face. God! Don’t you know anything about dealing with jealous ex-girlfriends?’

‘No,’ I said. ‘Not really.’

Maggie smiled. ‘Well, you just got a crash course, then.’

‘Crash being the operative word,’ Leah added. ‘I mean, did you see how pissed off she was? And then she tells you to get lost, or else, and you say…’

‘“All right,”’ Maggie said.

Esther’s eyes widened. ‘No.’

‘She totally did. And said it just like that, too. Like she was doing her a favor by agreeing.’

‘I did not,’ I said. Leah and Maggie just looked at me. ‘Did I?’

‘Yup.’ Leah shook her cup, then took another sip off her straw. ‘Which was either incredibly ballsy, or incredibly stupid. I’m still not sure which.’

Esther laughed, and I just sat there, looking down at my coffee and remembering how completely out of my element I’d been at that party, and that moment. Never before had it been so obvious that although I’d spent my entire life learning, there was a lot of stuff I still didn’t know. Enough to get me into big trouble, apparently, if someone hadn’t been there to help me out.

‘It was stupid,’ I said out loud, thinking this. They all looked at me. ‘I mean, what I said. The truth is, I didn’t have much of a social life in high school. Or ever, for that matter.’

This was greeted with an extended silence. Or maybe it just felt that way to me.

‘You know,’ Leah said, ‘that actually explains a lot.’

‘It does,’ Maggie agreed.

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ I asked.

‘Nothing,’ she said quickly. Then, glancing at Leah, she added, ‘I mean, just how you came to town, and hooked up with Jake right away, and then were surprised when people, um, drew conclusions about you.’

‘And by people,’ Leah said, ‘she means us.’

‘Got that,’ I replied. ‘Thanks.’

‘Plus,’ Esther added, ‘there’s the way you’ve always kept to yourself.’

‘Except for tonight,’ Leah pointed out.

‘Except for tonight,’ Maggie agreed. ‘I mean, we just figured you thought you were better than us. But maybe you just didn’t know how to hang out.’

I wanted to believe it was the latter. But I knew in my heart of hearts, my truest place, that I had assumed my superiority. In Maggie’s case, with a single glance.