“Wait a minute, wait a minute.” A pause. “What play-by-play?” Another pause. “What deets?”
It was JD’s turn to be confused. He turned to Ben. “You didn’t—”
“Just shut the fuck up!” Ben took Ro’s hand, but she pulled away. “We need to go.”
“Absolutely not!” She stared at JD. “Details of what?” When he didn’t answer, she said, “What did you see, Vicks?” He was silent and so was the room. And then it dawned on her. “You’ve been cheating on me?”
No one spoke.
“I’m in my prime, toots.” JD’s voice went down a notch. “A guy’s gotta do what a guy’s gotta do.”
“You actually cheated on me?” Ro was stunned. “With who?”
“Why don’t you ask Vicks? He was there.”
Ben was irate. “You are such an asshole!”
She turned her anger on Ben. “You knew about this and didn’t tell me?” Her eyes darted between the boys. The blue orbs welled up with tears and she ran out of the room. Ben was on her tail.
“Ro, stop—”
She turned, her face filled with fury. “What was that all about, Vicks?” She shoved him in the chest. “Some kind of bro code?” She pushed him again. “You knew he was cheating on me and you never said a word?” When he didn’t answer, she said. “You know what? He’s despicable, but you’re a real douchebag. Give me the keys to my car!”
“I don’t think you should be driving—”
“Give me the goddamn . . .” She stuck her hand in his pocket and pulled them out. “Go to hell!” She ran to her Explorer and peeled away.
Ben sighed, staring at the empty curb, trying to figure out what had just gone wrong. A moment later JD came out, hands in his pockets. “Cold outside. Why don’t you come in?”
“I’m going to pass.”
JD said, “Are you banging her?”
“No, I’m not banging her.” Ben bit his lip. “She’s been totally true to you.”
“Misplaced loyalty.” JD sighed. “I’m really in the shits right now. I just lost my girl and I broke the flat screen.” He sighed again. “Need a ride home, Vicks?”
“No . . . I’ll walk.”
“It’s looking pretty nasty outside.”
“’S’right.” His jaw was working a mile a minute. “I’ll walk.”
“Suit yourself.” JD returned to the warmth of his house and his friends.
Ben put his head down, stuck his hands in his pockets, and braced himself against a bitter wind.
Chapter 26
Walking was a bad decision. Within minutes, it started to rain. It wasn’t the gentle rain of spring. It wasn’t even the warm downpour of a monsoon. It was a cold rain with big fat droplets, pelting him in the frost of late autumn. It was a sharp rain that came with pinpoints of ice, the weather definitely heralding winter. He kept a poncho in his backpack. River Remez was unpredictable at this time of year. Unfortunately, his knapsack was in Ro’s car.
It soon became the rainstorm from hell: lightning bolts so close they almost buzzed his head and blinded him. Thunder crackled with anger and vengeance. He should have taken off running, but after the past week, he had no reserves of energy to draw on. Walking and shivering, soaked to the skin. The blare of a horn made him jump. The Explorer slowed and Ro rolled down the window and threw out his knapsack. It fell into a rain puddle with a thud. Then she took off again.
As he bent down to get it, she put the SUV in reverse and gunned the engine. She passed him a second time going in reverse, splashing him head to foot. The she put the car back into drive, pulled up alongside him, and rolled down the window. “Get in.”
“No.”
“Stop being an idiot. Get in!”
“I don’t want to talk to you right now. Go away.”
“It’s dangerous outside. Get in or I’ll call the cops!”
Ben picked up the dripping backpack and stepped into the passenger seat. Ro floored the gas and the SUV took off, the wheels screeching in a giant skid headed for the cliff. Ben grabbed the wheel and hooked left, falling on top of Ro to steer into the turn and ride out the skid. As soon as he could manage to get a foot on the brake, he pulled over to the side of the road. Pulling the key from the ignition, he fell back in the passenger seat, trying to catch his breath.
“Are you fucking crazy? You almost killed both of us.”
“Who?” When he didn’t answer, she said, “Who was JD screwing?”
“Lisa Holloway.” He bent forward and turned up the heat. There wasn’t an inch of dry space on his clothing. He wiped a wet hand on a wet shirt. “I’d leave this minute except I’m worried that if you drive, you’ll kill yourself. Move over and I’ll drive you home.”
She didn’t budge. “How’d you find out?”
“Move.”
“No. Not until you tell me how you found out.”
“You don’t want to hear this.”
“Yes, I fucking do want to hear it. How?”
“They were in the supply room. I walked in on them.”
“God, what a total asshole! And she’s a total whore!” She glared at him. “How long have you known?”
“A couple of months.”
“And you never thought to tell me?” Silence. “The guy was playing me for an idiot and it never dawned on you to tell me?”
“I didn’t want to make you unhappy.”
“Do I look happy now?” She brushed tears away from her eyes. “How would you feel if it was the reverse?”
“That’s different. I’m always miserable. To have a girl cheat on me would feel ego-syntonic.”
“Ego . . . where do you come up with these words?” She pulled off her jacket and tossed it into the backseat. She was staring out the windshield. “Don’t call me anymore. I don’t want to see you again either.”
“Fine. Don’t see me again. But you know that’s not fair. He was the asshole, not me. I was just trying to spare your feelings. And if that was a mistake, that’s all it was. A mistake.”
She didn’t answer. Then she said, “I’ll take you home.”
“I’m not driving with you.”
“Fine. Then walk.”
He started to get out, but she held his arm. “You can drive to your house. But then I drive myself home.”
“Okay. So move over.”
She didn’t move. “Anything else I should know about? Like are you doing it with one of my friends? Because that would upset me . . . not that you were doing it, but that you didn’t tell me.”
“Are you fucking blind? Everyone in the entire school knows that I’m thoroughly besotted with you. I hang around you like a dog waiting for table scraps.”
“When you’re not acting like a weirdo and a ghoul and going through murder files.”
“Now you’re getting personal. Either let me drive home or I’m leaving.”
Ro’s lip quivered. “How could he cheat on me?”
“Because he’s a prick. You should have known that from the beginning.”
“What’s wrong with the guys in this school?”
“It’s not the school, Ro, it’s guys. God knows how I might have been had Ellen not died. I told you, before it happened I was an asshole. Sometimes I’m still an asshole. Now kindly move your butt so we can get going.”
“Are you really besotted with me?”
“Totally. Can we go now?”