The Thrashers(66)

Jodi drew a sharp breath, letting the hazy scene clear and reform in her mind.

Hannah. Hannah Mills, in her sister’s orange shoes, with her sister’s hair and eyes, was floating over to a table with empty Cheetos bowls and greasy pizza boxes. Before Jodi could get her breathing to even out, she watched Hannah accept a pipe from some dude, artfully tilt the lighter, and inhale. Jodi stared in shock as Hannah blended right into the crowd.

Oliver’s drunken cackle from next to the barbeque pulled her attention, and Jodi made a beeline for him. She tugged on his sleeve, and he stepped aside with her.

“Hannah Mills is here. She’s fourteen!”

His lips twitched. “Don’t pretend you don’t know how long your bestie Zack has been smoking pot. Or how old Lucy Reed was the first time she had her stomach pumped.”

“But … they’re different.”

“Jodi. Hannah Mills has been buying from me for six months.”

Jodi reeled back. “Oliver, she’s really vulnerable. That doesn’t seem right.”

He scoffed, stealing the joint back from her. “You really want to argue with me about how to treat vulnerable people?” He brought the joint to his lips and muttered, “Your friends did far worse things to a Mills girl, you know.”

Jodi frowned. There was something specific here. He stared down at the cement patio and pressed his lips together, like he wished he could swallow something back.

“What did you mean before, when you said there were things I didn’t know?”

He leveled guilty eyes at her. Extending the joint back to her, he said, “Hit this. So I can pretend you won’t remember this in the morning.”

Jodi blinked. She brought it to her lips and inhaled, waiting for him.

Oliver stared out over the party. The two of them were tucked into a corner near the fence. No one else could overhear.

“I was finishing the set for The Miracle Worker last spring, and I was the last one in the theater lab. When I left, it was like seven or eight. There were only a couple of cars left in the lot, but one was driving slowly around. I only remember because that was weird.” He met her eyes. “Then it sped up. And I heard screaming. That’s when I saw Emily Mills on the hood.”

Jodi’s heartbeat leapt as she realized what he was saying.

“I’d seen you guys play the game before, so I knew what was happening.” He sniffed, and readjusted his septum ring. “The car took a sharp turn, and I heard her tell them to stop. She was screaming, ‘Stop! Stop!’ She was begging, Jodi.”

“There’s … there’s a safe word. You have to say ride or die.”

He shrugged. “Whatever. I’m just saying, she wanted it to stop.” He stubbed out the joint and blew out a deep breath. “She slid off the car. I watched her tumble down and roll. When everyone got out of the car to check on her, she started laughing, but I don’t know if that was just what she thought they wanted.”

Jodi croaked, “Who’s ‘they’?”

He locked eyes with her and said, “Lucy Reed. Paige Montgomery. Julian Hollister. And Zack Thrasher.”

It felt like a cold hand had reached inside of her chest and grabbed hold of her heart. She nodded, looking down at their shoes. “And you’ve told the cops this.”

Oliver said nothing. “When I got home, I saw you carrying in groceries. I told the cops that, too.”

She realized then that this was a key piece to the case and a key reason why she was never formally charged.

“Who was driving?” she asked softly.

“I don’t know, actually. I was watching Emily to see if she was even moving after falling off the hood. I didn’t see who got out of the driver’s seat.” He turned to her completely and put his hands on her shoulders. “Listen. When they question you, you know nothing, okay? There’s no reason for you to know about it. It’s okay if you lie. But I thought it was important for you to know that your friends didn’t care about Emily Mills at all. You were the only one that did.”

Jodi remembered the night she’d taken Emily to the movie in stead of letting her play Ride or Die—because she had known in her heart that it would end like that.

Jodi felt like screaming. There was some part of her that was white-hot at the idea that she wasn’t invited somewhere and Emily Mills was, and they never told her. They never spoke about it again. Was it on purpose? Was there a conversation about not inviting Jodi, not telling Jodi later? How often did something like that happen?

She was suddenly unsure if Lucy was really in Tahoe. If Paige was really staying in tonight. Were they in Napa with Julian and Zack without her?

She shook herself. “When was this? March?”

“April.”

Something slithered against her spine. She saw it clearly in her head. Emily started laughing because she was supposed to laugh when she got thrown from the hood. Emily went home and realized she could have died. Emily realized no one would have stopped until she died. Emily tried to kill herself that night.

Jodi breathed deeply. “Do you have more weed? I need something else.”

Oliver draped his arm over her shoulder. “Come on.”

He steered her inside. Nikita was sitting on the couch, giggling and passing a bong back and forth. Jodi started to head her way, but Oliver led her toward the kitchen.