Chapter 14: Terms

Keira's POV

Drew was waiting on the diner step when I came out the back door at closing.

He had a folded sheet of paper in one hand and dust on both knees.

"I went up the water tower," he said. "Keeley has a second video."

"Of what?"

"She wouldn't show me. She said I'm in it."

I took the paper from him and read the Satterlees' letter under the porch light.

Her mother had written that I struck a classmate.

I read the sentence twice, and then I folded the page along its creases.

"You took this out of a copy shop," I said.

"It was in the output tray."

"And you've had it all day."

"I came here as soon as I could stand up straight."

He did look bad.

His eyes were red, and his jacket hung off one shoulder.

I sat down on the step.

After a moment he sat one stair below me, with his back to me.

That was his idea, and it was a good one.

I could not have said it to his face.

"You want to know what I saw," I said.

"Only if you want to say it."

"I want to say it once, and then I never want to say it again."

He nodded without turning around.

"Her hands hit my chest, and my heel caught the stone."

"Keira, you don't have to."

"I fell back, and I knew before I landed that it was going to be bad."

The word bad sounded stupid out loud.

"Everything went slow. I saw the lamp over the gate. I saw the ring of them."

His shoulders had gone stiff.

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