“I’m not sure,” I say. “He was telling me about it when you walked up. That’s all that was happening. Talking. And he was upset, so I tried to—I hugged him. Maybe that was wrong, but he had no one else.”
“He had me and Henry,” Adam says, but his tone lacks conviction. This whole situation, this case, it’s caused even more cracks in their relationship than the ones that already existed.
“I asked you last week if you thought Bram was seeing Kennedy in secret before she died. You lied to me.”
He tries to protest, but I don’t let him.
“You think he did something to her, don’t you?” I ask. “Just like you think he did something to Mariana.”
“No, I don’t,” he says firmly. He’s bent over me now, teeth gritted. “And you’re not going to say anything about this to Henry or Bram. Got it?”
I hesitate, then clench my jaw and work up my nerve. “Tell me where you were during the fire alarm, and we’ve got a deal.”
He sneers. “You don’t exactly have the leverage to be asking questions, do you?”
“Tell me why you never came to class, and why you weren’t outside during the emergency drill. Then I’ll keep quiet.”
He grunts and punches into his bed with his good hand. The mattress takes the brunt of it, but there’s a crack as the base of the bed buckles under the force. “Fine. But it’s not going to make you feel better about Bram.”
“Why not?” I ask, my pulse racing.
“Because I was helpinghim. He asked me to play lookout, while he pulled the fire alarm.”
“What?” My spine stiffens against the chair back. “Why would he pull the fire alarm?”
His lips press flat together. “Why do you think?”
And then it’s obvious, isn’t it? To cause a scene. Chaos. So everyone would be scrambling around, distracted. So teachers wouldn’t have time to take roll properly. So no one would notice that he and Kennedy were the only ones missing when she was killed, becauseeveryonewas out of class. Everyone was outside.
Except he didn’t count on one thing: the security cameras.
“Did you see him take Kennedy into the woods?” I ask, my voice weak.
Adam shakes his head. “I went and sat in the car for the rest of the period. If you’ll remember, I wasn’t in the best of spirits after the little incident in the cafeteria. The school has footage of me walking out the front door. But the cops are saying my head was down, and because of the hood, they can’t confirm my alibi.”
So the exact kind of footage they’re trying to use against the brothers, they refuse to use in their exculpation. “And you really don’t know what this evidence is that the cops now have against Bram?”
“No, but I’ll find out soon enough. We’ve got a meeting with our lawyer tomorrow, after my dad gets back from his trip.”
Of course. Even in the midst of all this drama, Mr. Abbott can’t be bothered to stick around. “Whyisyour dad on a trip right now, Adam? You obviously need him.”
“Apparently, it’s business this time. We’re about to spend our entire fortune on lawyers, so for the first time in his life, he actually needs to find a way to pay bills. The auto shop is obviously never going to bounce back.”
I think of Dr. Russo’s lost investment and wonder if Adam knows the extent of the damage his father has caused. “And your mom?”
He lets out a soft, vacant laugh. “Couldn’t cope. Loves the spotlight but not the unflattering sort of lighting. And I think… They haven’t said anything, so don’t tell Henry. But I think they’re separated. They’ve been arguing a lot more this past year. She hasn’tbeen around in ages, and she let the place go to shit. Not likely she’s coming back here.” He gnaws on his lower lip. “I think Mom blamed Dad for letting Dr. Russo butcher my face. For allowing one of her beautiful boys to turn intothis.” He points at his scars, a sardonic expression on his face that warps into a grimace. “For letting the family name get dragged through the mud. So all of this with Kennedy—it’s just added stress.”
“I’m really sorry, Adam,” I say, not knowing how to comfort him.
He shrugs. “You of all people don’t need to feel sorry about my parental situation.”
“But I do.”
“Yeah, I know.” His eyes flick up to mine. “I won’t say anything to Henry.”
“Because nothing happened with Bram,” I say, indignation coating the words, even though I’m no longer convinced they’re true. “I won’t tell Bram about your vodka-infused rambling. I know that’s all it was.”
I say this to reassure him. I say it to reassure myself.
