“It would have been healthy—”
“Oh, fuck that! You didn’t give a damn about my health. You were just pissed you lost your sidekick and it took you a while to regroup!”
Silence. Then JD blew out air. “I shouldn’t have said anything. Forget it. It’s ancient history.”
“Yes, it is.” Ben shook his head.
“You want another hit?”
“Sure.” He inhaled and handed the joint back.
JD said, “Don’t get pissed at me, because I’m telling you this as a friend . . . or an ex-friend . . . or whatever . . . Vicks, you’ve got to get out of here.”
“Aw, c’mon! Not you too.”
“Ben, New Mexico isn’t going anywhere. Go back east to MIT or Harvard or Princeton. Isn’t Ro’s father an alum from Princeton?” Another toke. “Go activate your brain, Vicks. At the very least, follow Ro. I know she loves you. Always has. Man, that girl went after you like a drug dog sniffing pot. Lord only knows why.”
Ben said, “She lost a sister.”
“Huh?” JD whipped his head around. “What?”
“Ro lost her older sister to cancer around three years ago. You’re not supposed to know.”
“Ah . . .” JD took another toke and gave the joint to Ben. “Now it all makes sense.”
Ben gave him back the joint. “No more. I’m already floating.”
“That’s the point.” JD took another toke. “So that’s the bond? Dead siblings?”
“That’s the bond and you don’t want any part of that.” Ben checked his watch. “I really need to get back. I can walk from here.”
“You’re still pissed at me for Ro,” JD said.
“Of course I’m pissed at you.”
“’S’right. I’ve been pissed at you for years.”
Ben turned to him. “JD, you and I have been competing since we were two. Banging her while we were dating was just one more matchup, so don’t blame me for your poor behavior. That’s plain cowardly.”
Silence. JD’s jaw was working overtime.
Finally, he said, “It was a rotten thing to do. Sorry.”
“’S’right.” A shrug. “It’s better this way. She was a distraction from my research when we were together. I mean, she helped me, for sure . . .” He thought about her gift. “She really put herself out there. But it’s time for me to go it alone.”
“Have you ever thought of asking me for help?”
“And when would you fit it in, James David? Between your baseball games and your two-hour-a-day workout schedule? Or maybe you could squeeze it in when you’re not memorizing the playbook for Duke for next fall? Or how about you do it when you’re not running track or running the school or screwing all those girlfriends of yours.”
JD extinguished the joint with his fingertips. He threw up his hands. “I tried.”
“I’ve changed. We both have changed. Something that monumental makes you change. But that doesn’t mean I don’t remember what things were like, that I don’t mourn my past.”
No one spoke.
“Whatever,” JD said. “Are we cool?”
“Yeah, whatever.”
“For the record, I’m not fucking around on her anymore.”
“Good for you.”
“She likes you better than me.”
“I know,” Ben said. “But you’re better for her than me.”
“I know.” JD looked down. “God, was she really cherry?”
“That’s what she told me.” There was a small smile on his lips. “Maybe it was her period.”
JD didn’t speak. Then he started laughing. “You dog!”
Ben laughed as well. “Gotcha, motherfucker.”
“Fuck you!” JD punched his arm. “Okay. If you’re cool, I’m cool.”
“I’m cool.” Ben went silent, considering how much to say and how to say it. “Just . . . keep an eye out for her, okay? Keep her safe.”
“Safe?” JD wiped his swollen nose. “Is something going on I should know about?”
Ben sat back. “Put it this way. The monster who murdered Ellen hasn’t been caught.”
A long silence. JD said, “What are you saying?” When Ben didn’t answer, he said, “You think he’s coming back? Here?”
“Maybe.” There was a long pause. “I believe my sister was murdered by a serial killer.”
JD looked horrified. “A serial killer?”
Ben nodded.
“Jesus . . . how do you know? Shanks told you?”
“No, I told Shanks.” Ben looked at him. “This is what I’ve been doing for the last three years . . . holed up in my room, looking for some answers.”
“Christ!” A pause. “Any ideas?”
“Some ideas, but no name.” Not yet. “The thing is, I may be getting closer, and that’s the problem. The killer might know who I am even if I don’t know who he is. Which is why I don’t want Ro associated with me anymore. Do you still own a gun?”
JD was still digesting the information that had been thrown at him. “Yeah, of course.”
“If you’re alone with Ro in the car, have it on you, okay?”
“This is totally weirding me out.”
“Sorry to lay this on you—”
“No, no, it’s all good, I can take care of her, for sure.” A pause. “Do you carry a gun?”
“In the glove compartment of my dad’s car.” Ben forced a smile. “Maybe now you can understand why I’m so protective of Haley. Just be vigilant, okay?”
“Right.” A beat. “Although after tonight, I don’t know if Ro will talk to either one of us again.”
“Maybe that would be a good thing.”
“Does she know about this? I mean the serial-killer thing?”
“She does.”
“Wow.” JD made a face. “Should I be worried about my sisters?”
“I don’t know for sure, but I think it’s me he’s after although I don’t know why.”
“It’s good you told me. I’m a good shot. If anyone comes close, I’ll blow his fucking head off.”
“You’ll have to wait in line,” Ben said. “How’s your nose?”
“Hurts. How’s your lip?”
“Hurts.”
“We’re cool?”
This time Ben’s smile was real. “We are cool.” He turned to JD. “We’re so cool that we don’t need the cold war anymore. It’s officially over.”
“Good to be talking again.”
“I don’t remember that we ever stopped talking except recently.” Ben shrugged. “You cheated on her, she cheated on me, I embarrassed you, big deal. It’s high school. I mean, like WTF.”
“I really like her, Vicks.”
“She’s smart, she’s witty, and she’s stone gorgeous. But it’s not like you two are forever. Once you get to Duke, you’ll have to beat girls off you just to take a piss. Especially when they see you come alive on the field. Like, how many colleges and universities tried to recruit you before you decided on Duke? Like a billion?”
“Twenty-six.”
“Stop talking like a moonstruck little girl.”
JD let out a laugh. “Yeah, you’re right.” A pause. “It’s all coming back. Why we were friends.”