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Bakari returned to his seat and glared at Mike, his expression pure hatred. Bria picked at her bandage until Bakari caught her eye. He shook his head at her, staring until she stopped picking.
“Just so everybody can get it out their head…I didn’t do anything to Nyleah. I talked to her that night just like I talked to everybody else,” Bakari said pointedly in Mike’s direction.
Jace rose from his chair in the corner to grab another carrot stick. Bria thought to herself that he always seemed to be on the outside of everyone. In his own little world.
Every time they went somewhere as a group, whether it was on one of their trips to Fernbank, the High Museum, the Capitol, touring the AUC and Georgia Tech—wherever they went, someone had to check on Jace and bring him out of his shell. He and Mike were buddies, but the job usually fell to Bria. Her father was the founder of the Twelve, after all, and keeping the Gordons happy was a priority. But despite all their conversations, she still didn’t feel like she knew him all that well. And he seemed to like it that way.
“I don’t believe anybody here did this. I just don’t,” Bria said quietly. “And that’s what I told the police.”
“Yeah, about that. What all did they ask you?” Avianna said.
“They asked how did I know her, if we were friends, if we had disagreements. What she was doing during the party. Oh, and for some reason, they were asking me about lifting weights and did I have a dog.”
“A dog?” Mike said. “Why would they care about that?”
“I asked, but they didn’t tell me.”
They all sat silent for a moment until Jace called out from the corner. “I have a dog.”
So did Bakari, and Bria wasn’t sure what that meant.
“I know why they asked about weights,” Mike said. “Because if she didn’t kill herself, that means somebody lifted her up and hung her.”
Bria tapped her bandage. It didn’t do anything for her until she tapped it hard enough to make her cut sting. Danielle frowned and put her hand over her mouth. “I don’t wanna think about that,” she said.
“Well, look. I didn’t come here to be depressed,” Mike said. “What’s really good, Bria? Why are we here?”
“Don’t y’all think it’s weird that our parents don’t want us to talk to each other about it?” she said.
“They want us to forget about it,” Bakari said. “My folks do, anyway.
Mike nodded his head. “Same. Jace, what did your pops say?”
“We don’t talk about it.”
“And that’s not weird to y’all?” Bria asked. “We all knew Nyleah ,and they knew her mother. And I know some of us had issues with her, but still. I feel like—if it was one of us, there would be more…I don’t know. What’s the word I’m looking for?”
“Support?” Jace said from the corner.
“Yeah. But I haven’t heard my mom say anything about Nyleah’s mom. Usually, she would be baking cakes and stuff.”
Mike looked around and sighed. Then he laughed. “Yo, it ain’t obvious to y’all?” When he got no response, he shook his head. “They’re hiding something.”
“Like what?” Bria asked.
“I don’t know. Buy my guess is they know one of us did it—”
“Would you stop saying that?” Danielle said, her voice shrill and shaky. “Are you trying to get us upset? Why are you so sure one of us would kill somebody? That’s a messed up thing to think about your friends.”
Mike was quiet for a minute. “I apologize. For real. I shouldn’t play around about it. Sorry.”
Danielle nodded, and Bakari whispered something to her. Bria saw it and was caught off guard by the pain she felt in her chest.
“But like I was saying, I think they’re trying to cover up whatever it is so that none of us goes to jail. That’s why they want y’all to say Demetrius was hanging around Nyleah.”
Bria frowned. “But my dad told me—”
“Bri,” Mike said, “you my girl and all that, but sometimes you’re like a little baby deer that got lost in the woods.”
