“Not Eddie.”
A bigger eye roll. “How would you know? He’s your first boyfriend.”
Maybe the boys Ingrid dated were like that, but Eddie was different. He was wonderful, and after everything that had happened in her life, Kara felt she deserved a little bit of wonderful. Now she sat in the treehouse, kissing him and thinking how lucky she was.
“Kara?” It was Ingrid, her distant voice odd—squeaky and breathless at the same time. “Kara!”
Eddie sighed.
“I know,” Kara said. “Sorry. Let me get rid of her.”
“Nah, it’s okay. She’s your friend. I just wish…” He made a face and shook his head. “Never mind. Come on. If she wants to hang with you for a while, I’ll cut a few lawns and we’ll meet up tonight. Watch the sunset from up here.” He grinned at her. “Or that’s what we’ll tell your mom.”
They climbed down. Kara made it almost to the ground before she caught sight of Ingrid and missed the last rung. Eddie grabbed her before she fell.
“Inge?” Kara said, staring as her friend staggered toward them. Ingrid’s T-shirt was ripped, her lip split, dried blood on her chin, her blond hair half out of its ponytail. The worst, though, was her eyes, round and empty. Then Ingrid stopped walking and teetered there, staring at Eddie.
“You…” Ingrid said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“What happened?” He started toward Ingrid, but as her chin rose, eyes blazing, he stopped short. “Inge?”
“Don’t call me that,” she spat. “And don’t youdareask me what happened, as if you don’t know.” She turned to Kara. “He came to my house.”
Eddie blinked. “Sure. I was there this morning after football practice. You invited me?—”
“—to talk about Kara’s birthday. Not to—to?—”
“Wh-what?” Eddie stared at Ingrid. “Are you saying I…” He trailed off, as if he couldn’t find words to finish.
“You know what you did, you bastard.”
Eddie wheeled on Kara, his eyes as wide as Ingrid’s had been. “I have no idea what she’s talking about. She asked me to come over, and we talked about your birthday and when I left, she was fine.” He reached for Kara. “I swear?—”
“Don’t you touch her,” Ingrid said, her voice a growl now.
He looked at Ingrid. “It was the Vitamin R, wasn’t it?” Back to Kara. “She offered me some, but I said no, and that’s when I left. She must have taken some after and…” He looked at Ingrid, blinking as if trying to figure it out. “I don’t know. Fallen down the steps? Hit her head and got confused and?—”
“Youbastard,” Ingrid spat the words. “You know what happened to me. I kept telling you to stop, and you wouldn’t. Not until you got what you wanted.”
Eddie’s eyes looked ready to pop as he spun to face Kara. “I-I would never—ever—ever—” He reached out again as Kara stood there, frozen.
“I said, don’t touch her.”
Ingrid pulled something from her back pocket. Kara saw what it was. Saw and didn’t believe it, her brain stuttering, certain she was mistaken. Eddie had his back to Ingrid, his fingers wrapping around Kara’s arm as he begged her to believe him. Ingrid’s arm swung up. Thegunswung up.
“No!” Kara grabbed for Eddie, to push him out of the way, but he misinterpreted the move, letting go of her fast, stepping away and saying, “It’s okay. I’d never hurt?—”
Ingrid fired.
May 3, 2012
Karawoke on the basement floor. Chained to the basement floor. The music had stopped, replaced now by sobs. At first, still dazed from the beating and the drugs, Kara thought they came from her. But as she focused, blinking past the pain throbbing through her skull, she realized the sound came through the wall.
Kara tried lifting her head, but it hurt so much she gasped and lay down again.
“Inge?” she said, as loud as she dared.
The crying stopped. “Kara?” Then, before Kara could say another word, “Now do you believe me? Do you finally believe me?”
