“Has nobody ever told you it’s creepy to watch people like that?” he asked.
I shrugged. “You were concentrating. I didn’t want to interrupt.”
The ball hit the floor another two times as he stood there staring at me. “Is there something you want, Jess?”
“Do you have Lily’s phone number?”
He palmed the ball. “Why do you want her number?”
“She left a sweater in Anna’s room. I wanted to get her address and send it to her. Charlie said you might have it.”
He didn’t say anything. This, I felt, was harder than it should be.
“Do you have it or not?” I asked. “If you don’t, I’ll ask her mom.” I didn’t relish this idea, since Lily’s mom was a new age hippie type, prone to trying to read my aura, but I’d do it if I needed to.
Brian deliberated for a moment, then shrugged. “Fine, I’ll check.” He walked over to his jacket, took out his phone, and made some quick flicks across the screen.
“I guess I do have it,” he said, and held his phone out to me.
I took it and added Lily’s number to my phone. Then I paused, curious, and scrolled from the Ls to the As. There was an entry for Anna.
“Were you and Anna friends?”
“Me and Anna?” He paused, as if surprised into considering this idea. “We were lab partners and our friends were together,” he said eventually. “We weren’t exactly close or anything.”
“She said you were a good lab partner,” I said. “Better than she’d expected, anyway.”
His mouth twitched. “Funny, that first part sounds like her, and then that second part sounds a lot more like you.” He stuck out his hand and motioned with his fingers. “Time to give back my phone, Jess.”
WHEN I GOT BACK FROM school, I headed right to my bedroom. I braced myself against my bed and stared at Lily’s number glowing on my phone screen. Then I hit the call button.
Lily answered on the second ring.
“Hello?” She sounded relaxed, bouncy—her normal, hair-tossing self.
“Hi, Lily,” I said.
There was a long pause during which I realized she probably had no idea who I was.
“It’s Jess,” I said. “Jess Cutter.” I wasn’t sure why I felt the need to include my last name.
“Oh,” she said. “Hi.” Her voice lost its bounce, becoming guarded.
“How’s Florida?” I asked. “I bet it’s, uh, sunny down there.”
“Yeah, it is.” She paused. “Why are you calling me?”
I led with the easy part, hoping she’d relax again, let her guard down. “I found a sweater of yours,” I said. “I was wondering if you wanted it.”
“A sweater?”
“Yes. It has a hood and blue stripes. You must have left it here.” I looked at it on the bed where I’d laid it out. “It’s…cute,” I added.
“Oh—I know which one you mean,” she said, her voice lightening. “I totally forgot about it. I really like that sweater. I mean, I don’t really need sweaters outside much, but the air-conditioning down here can be brutal.”
“Sure. Did you want me to send it to you?”
“Yeah, that would be great. I’ll give you my address.”
“Sure,” I said. “Give me a minute—I need to find something to write with.”
There was a pen right in front of me, but I wandered around my room, buying myself time.
“I actually wanted to talk to you about something,” I said. “About how you said that Anna was supposed to meet you that night. That the two of you were going to hang out.”
There was a pause on the line. “That’s right,” she said carefully. “She didn’t show up. I already told the police that.”
“Weren’t you worried when she didn’t show up?”
“No.”
“No?”
“Why would I be? This is Birdton we’re talking about—the place where nothing happens, not somewhere she’s going to get jumped in the middle of the street. Besides, it’s not like we hadn’t done it before—”
She stopped abruptly.
“You’d done it before? A lot?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“It’s what you said.” I doubled down. “So who was he? The guy? The one she was going to meet. Her boyfriend?”
I expected another pause, but this time her response came back right away. “She didn’t have a boyfriend.”
I flinched at the hardness in her voice. I hadn’t expected her to lie. Maybe to deflect or avoid the question. Not to lie outright, though. Not to me.
“I don’t want to get anyone in trouble. I just need to know.”
“There was no boyfriend,” she said.
“I know there was a guy. I’m sure of it.”
“Look, I need to go.”
“Why can’t you tell me?”
“Jess…” Then she stopped.
I waited, thinking she might be wavering.
“She was coming to see me,” she said eventually. “We were going to hang out. That’s all.”
I shook my head in frustration. I was done with waiting now, done with being patient.
“Was it Mr. Matthews?”
“Mr. Matthews?” Her voice came out strange, the syllables of his name elongated. Because I was wrong? Because I was right? I couldn’t tell.
“Yes,” I said. “Mr. Matthews. Was she seeing him? Were they…together?”
The line filled with another long pause, like she was weighing whether to say anything. I held my arm tight, making myself stay quiet, willing myself not to rush her.
“Look, I have to go,” she said finally. “I’m sorry about Anna, Jess. I really am. I wish…I wish she was still here.”
Her voice broke, and I believed her. Believed she hadn’t just left Birdton for Florida for the sun, for bragging rights. Believed that she missed Anna, if only a fraction of how much I did.
“Maybe we can talk later—” I tried.
“No,” she said, her voice suddenly firm. “I’m sorry, but don’t call me again. I won’t answer if you do.”
Before I could say anything else, the dial tone sounded in my ear.
She hadn’t even given me her address.
I’D THOUGHT LILY MIGHT BE bluffing. After three calls that rang only once before going to voicemail, though, it was clear that she’d already blocked my number.
I was still mulling over what to do two
