There was no room for us to fall apart now.
Charlotte pulled out her phone with her free hand, a move she must’ve made before. “Come get Margo’s baby, please,” she said. After a beat, she rolled her eyes, hardened her voice. “No, you are not being paid, for the love of God, Whitney.” She hung up and sighed, smiled tightly when she saw me looking. “Two teenagers will be the death of me, I swear.” Then she froze, her shoulders stiffening. “Sorry. That wasn’t funny.”
Charlotte watched through the blinds of the front window until Whitney hopped up the steps. Charlotte met her at the front door, passing Nicholas into Whitney’s outstretched arms just as Margo returned from the bathroom.
“Oh,” Margo said, hands held awkwardly in front of her, like she was reaching for something.
Charlotte pushed the front door shut, put a hand on Margo’s shoulder. “No worries. Come. Relax. You can pick him up after at my place. The girls will keep an eye on him.”
Margo’s gaze trailed after Whitney through the dining room window, but she nodded, following Charlotte into the Seavers’ living room.
There were two brown leather sofas with matching ottomans, all angled toward the large-screen television over the fireplace. The layout of their house was almost identical to mine, except in mirror image, and they’d closed in the upstairs loft, turning it into a third bedroom, which they used as a shared office.
Mac had saved me a spot beside him on the couch. Tate and Javier were on the sofa beside ours, Tate looking slightly more nauseated than normal. Tina squeezed in beside Tate, and Tate winced as she shifted to make room.
“When are you due again?” Tina asked, like we were here for a friendly catch-up.
“Three more months,” Tate answered.
Charlotte seemed to be waiting for something. “Is this everyone who was at the party?” she finally asked, eyes skimming over all of us.
We looked at one another, each performing a silent tally.
“Not Pete,” Javier said. “Or the Wilsons.” Those must’ve been the people who’d left as soon as Ruby arrived.
“I meant the people who were there… during the fireworks,” Charlotte amended.
“Preston’s not back yet,” Mac said.
“Well,” Charlotte said. “You can fill him in later. Go ahead, Chase.”
Tina’s parents weren’t here, either, but no one mentioned that, not even Tina.
Chase stepped to the front of the living room, and Charlotte took his place, perching on the armrest. Apparently, Chase had worked his way back into our good graces, too. How we needed him. How we welcomed him.
“Some of you may have noticed the agents from the state police,” he said.
At that moment, the front door opened, and Preston walked in, then stopped abruptly in his tracks at the sight of us.
“Where’ve you been?” Mac called.
“With Madalyn. Sorry I’m late.” The second statement was directed Charlotte’s way.
Chase gestured for Preston to join us in his own living room. “As I was saying, there are agents from the state police who’ve been going door-to-door, asking questions. Preston, what’s going on with Madalyn?”
“Well, she’s totally freaked. I told her to go home for a little while. There’s nothing for her to say anyway. She didn’t see anything.”
“She’s a student?” Tate asked, cutting her eyes at him.
His jaw tensed. “Grad student. But yeah, she’s going back home to Ohio for a little while, I think.”
“She okay with it?” Chase asked. I couldn’t keep up with the conversation. I felt like I had just walked in instead of the other way around.
Preston nodded, then addressed the rest of us. “Madalyn wasn’t feeling well, so we left early,” he said, and it took me a minute to understand what he was saying. That she didn’t see anything. That none of us did. That she wouldn’t discuss any fight with the police or the things Ruby had said—the way she had turned on us all.
Chase nodded. Keep it simple. Keep it contained. For once, I was on the inside.
“The agent came to our house yesterday,” Tate piped in. “We didn’t answer the door.”
Tina nodded in agreement. “My mom answered the door, so we had to talk to him. Just gave him the general rundown.” She flicked her hand like we’d all been through it. Knew what she had seen, what she had said.
Margo raised her hand and started speaking. “I’m sorry, is no one going to mention the foul-play suspicion? We were all there. We were all witnesses.”