Harrison nodded. “Don’t make me regret this.”
On Thursday night, the vibe in the summer house was weird.
They hadn’t met on Wednesday evening, and Thursday had been a heads-down, don’t-talk-to-anyone day during school, in prep for Friday’s planned, final explosion between Belle and Sadie.
Friday night was the party and Jules was getting tense about it—they all were.
But there were things to do. Sort of. He’d delivered Mr. H’s video camera into Shelly’s capable hands, and she and Meg were experimenting with it now, testing how it operated in low light.
Sadie, Belle, and Tom were rehearsing their upcoming final scene under Hobbit’s critical gaze, which left Jules and Rod standing off to the side, watching.
Belle and Sadie spat out another round of harsh, before Tom stepped in to confirm that he and Belle, despite theirrecent arguments, had patched things up and were staying together. Leaving Sadie out in the cold.
Which Sadie did not take well.
It was noisy, ending with the usual go-dog-go as Sadie stomped away.
The plan was to present this scene at the end of the school day, after which Sadie would blast her way out the main doors and just walk home. Eventually she’d end up at the party, “heartbroken” that Tom had chosen Belle instead of her. She’d start pouring herself copious red solo cups of wine while Rod would snicker at her and tell his idiot soccer friends—including, hopefully, Suspect X—that she was crazy, she was a lush, she was a slut—and whatever other misogynistic and hateful words he could come up with off the top of his extra-large head.
“He’s still mad at you, huh?” Rodney asked now as Hobbit had Sadie, Belle, and Tom start the scene again from the top.
The first surprise was that Rod was talking to him—to Jules—and the second was that Jules didn’t have a screaming clue what Rod meant because as he said the words, the boy was gazing solidly at Sadie, Belle, and Tom. WasTommad at Jules...? But then he realized... “Hobbit’s not mad at me.”
Rod nodded his giant head, still focused on the scene being enacted across the room. “Maybemad’snot the right word. It’s more like he’s... sad at you.”
Hobbit wassadat him...? What did that even mean?
But Rod wasn’t finished. “Sadie told me that David’s real.”
Oh-kay. “Are you... giving me relationship advice?”
Rod glanced at him, a flash of amusement in his usually flat eyes. “Yeah, well, I don’t know David, but he sounds likea real piece of shit. You know, back in fourth grade, Sadie was my best friend.”
The non sequitur was dizzying, but okay. “Yeah, she, uh, mentioned that,” Jules said.
“I’m talking... center of my universe. She was so much fun. She always had some game or puzzle or obstacle course going. She was fearless and... It was never boring, hanging at her house—and her mom and dad were really nice to me, too. God, I was so stupid. But I was on this Little League team—baseball—and this one kid started teasing me. About her. And then they all came at me and it was like,You can’t be best friends with a girl.AndWhat, are you going over to her house to play with her dolliesand all this stupid sexist bullshit, and it completely crushed me. So I told her I couldn’t be friends with her anymore.” He glanced at Jules. “And I meant it. So, you know, piece of shit recognizes another piece of shit, and David checks all the boxes.”
“Yeah, well, I’m pretty sure I’m still in love with him,” Jules said. “Piece of shit or not. I’ve been trying really hard to not be, but...”
“That’s why Kevin’s sad at you,” Rod said. “Sad at you, and for you. Like, he didn’t quite believe you really were that stupid until you had that fake fight—which must’ve kinda felt like it came from an alternate universe. A different timeline, and... Shit, that’s what it feels like for me, fake fighting with Sadie. Except mine’s the real, ugly-ass timeline and the alternate—the one where I didn’t walk away from her like the fucking coward shithead that I am—that’s where I wish I could be.”
“I think you’re working your way back there,” Jules said.
“What kind of piece of shit needs his little sister to be raped to get his head out of his ass?” It was possible that tearswere glistening in Rod’s eyes. Jules didn’t know for sure, because Rod walked away.
“Okay,” Hobbit said from across the summer house, after Sadie flounced out of the scene. “We’re ready.” He looked over and met Jules eyes and...
Rod was right. Jules could see that Hobbit was sad.
“Hob,” he said, but the younger boy had already turned away.
“I gotta run,” Hobbit said briskly. Tonight he’d ridden his bike over and it was a scant mile, all downhill, to his house from here. “Be safe.” He hugged Sadie. Glanced once more over at Jules. “See the rest of you guys tomorrow, in the bushes outside of Carter’s house. Jeans and long sleeves, people! Socks in dork-mode, up over your pants! Just say no to Lyme disease!” And with that he slipped out of the tent-flap door, leaving Jules to gather up the video equipment—and drive Shelly home.
He tried calling Hobbit’s house later that night, but a man—deep voice, unfriendly—told him that Kevin couldn’t come to the phone. He didn’t offer to take a message; he just hung up.
Which was maybe for the best because... what was Jules gonna say?Please tell Kevin that I’m sad, too.
CHAPTER THIRTY
