I spot Mr. Szymanski lounging in a lawn chair next to the same blond woman who beckoned him earlier, and I quickly tug Perry in the opposite direction. There are so many people I gather a fistful of his shirt at his waist just so I don’t lose him. A bottle rocket whistles nearby, momentarily illuminating the sky in a burst of red sparks.
“Coma Girl!” someone croons. I stiffen. A swirl of neon green, pink, and blue bobs toward us, and I recognize the newcomer as one of Devin’s friends from earlier—the short-haired blond.
“What did you just say?” Perry’s voice is sharper than I’ve ever heard it.
The guy—I can’t remember his name—squints one eye in Perry’s direction. “Holy shit, is that Perry? What’s up, Pear Tree?” He lifts his hand, offering a high five.
Perry folds his arms across his chest. “Not much, Mikey.” Even in the meager light cast by Mikey’s multiple glow-in-the-dark necklaces, which he’s wearing on his head like a lopsided crown, I can tell Perry’s face is as stony as a statue.
Mikey drops his hand. “Long time no see. Still slinging flowers?”
“Still crushing beer cans with your face?”
“You know it.” Tipping his head to the sky, he howls like a coyote.
“Where’s Devin?” I say, cutting in.
“Dunno. Last time I saw him, he was over there.” Mikey motions widely, indicating half the party. Helpful.
My phone vibrates against my hip. Maybe it’s Devin.
It’s not. It’s a text from my mom wishing me a happy Fourth of July. A photo pops up—a selfie of her, Rob, and the twins waving tiny American flags while they stick their tongues out at the camera. My chest aches. I miss my brothers. At least I’ll get to see them tomorrow when I go to Mom’s house for brunch. I text her back, Thanks, you too Hug Liam and Jackson for me! and fire off a text to Devin.
I’m back. Where are you?
I stare at the screen for a few seconds, but he doesn’t respond. Sighing, I add another text—Meet me by our cooler, k?—before stashing my phone in my pocket.
“We should get going,” I say.
Mikey sways as he lifts his beer. “Right on. Catch you later, Coma Girl—”
“Cass. Her name is Cass.” Perry looms over the shorter man, his hand balled into a fist at his side. Gratitude fills me, as warm and sweet as honey.
Mikey backs up a step. “Sorry. Cass. Got it.” Saluting us with two fingers, he clicks his tongue. “Gavin, you son of a bitch, where’d you go with my brownie?” he shouts as he stumbles away.
Perry watches him leave with narrowed eyes. “Sorry about Mikey,” he yells over the drunken chatter.
“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. People shouldn’t make light of what happened to you. Calling you Coma Girl isn’t cool.”
Unbidden, tears prick my eyes. I blink them away. I didn’t realize how good it felt for someone to understand my situation without having to explain. “Thanks for sticking up for me.”
“Anytime.” His eyes gleam in the moonlight.
“If you had waited another second, I would have grabbed his beer and dumped it on his head.”
Perry chuckles. “Too bad. That would have been a sight.”
I take two steps before my curiosity gets the better of me and I turn. “Pear Tree?” I ask.
“Oh, that,” he grunts. “I started a gardening club in high school, and ‘Pear Tree’ sort of stuck. Mikey’s the only one who still calls me that though.”
I shake my head. “Some people never leave high school, even after they graduate.”
“Isn’t that the truth. Any word from Devin?”
My stomach flips. I check my phone again. “Not yet. I told him to meet me by our stuff.”
“Good call.”
We continue on through the crush of bodies. A minute later, I spot the place where we set up camp. “There it is.” I squint through the darkness, but I can’t tell if anyone’s still there.
I catch sight of an indistinguishable mass stretched out on our blanket, no more than a dim shadow writhing in the dark. I frown. What the…？ Perry keeps walking and I throw out my arm to stop him. “Wait,” I whisper, heartbeat accelerating.
I click on my cell. Pointing the screen toward the ground, I edge forward slowly. Lifting the phone by degrees, I focus the screen’s dim light on the blanket… and immediately clutch my phone to my chest. I double-time back to Perry.