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“What happened to Ami, Scarlett?”
“End of tenth grade, she ran away. The whole damn town was out looking for her. She left Malachi a note saying she couldn’t take it anymore. That she didn’t belong in a place like Credence. Her family was beside themselves. When the cops finally found her on the Greyhound with a one-way ticket out of this hellhole, they up and left town. Just like that. We didn’t hear from her again. Malachi changed after that. Withdrew. I don’t think he ever forgave himself for not doing more.”
“Why didn’t someone report it to the principal?”
“And go up against a family like the O’Hares? They’re not stupid, Becca. Teachers knew, some even witnessed it. But Kendall’s momma is a mean bitch, and her daddy, well, he got involved in some bad shit when he lost his job. Now, he’s involved in all kinds of bad.”
I tilted my head against the window, absorbing her words. It wasn’t hard to believe Kendall had driven a girl out of town. She was a classic bully. Mean and relentless. But knowing her family history gave me some insight into how she ended up that way.
Things must have gotten really bad for Ami to run away. I only stood up to Kendall because I’d made a promise to myself—to my parents—that I would make Credence work. Maybe under different circumstances, things would have been different. But I’d witnessed, firsthand, the evil that existed in some people. It would take a lot more than a few notes and idle threats to drive me out of town.
“Did Evan know Ami?”
I remembered the tension between Malachi and Evan at Rogues now. Something lingered between them. Tethered them.
Scarlett shrugged. “Not really.”
“Oh.” There was more, I could see it in her eyes.
“But she had a thing for him. He never gave her a reason to think there was anything there, but she was kind of obsessed. You’re not the first girl to roll into town and fall under the Evan Porter spell.”
My voice quieted. “Is that why there’s tension between Malachi and Evan?”
“I guess.” She frowned. “Nothing ever happened with them, Becca.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Yeah, okay.” Sarcasm filtered through her words, but I didn’t reply. How could I explain our relationship to anyone when I still didn’t know where I stood?
“You’re wasting your time with that one,” she added. “Porter doesn’t let anyone in.”
Why did people keep saying that?
What did they know that I didn’t?
CHAPTER19
“Hey girl.”Cindy smiled as she wiped down a table. “It’s just you, me, and Rusty. Mitch had to take off.”
“Okay. I’ll dump my bag then be right out.”
Once back, I smoothed down the collar of my pink shirt. The uniform Mitch had us wear was awful, I looked like a giant marshmallow.
“Could be a quiet one until the post-game rush later.”
She was right. The Credence Wildcats were playing their first home game tonight. Mischa had managed to persuade Lilly and Jay to go watch, much to Scarlett’s disapproval, since it meant they couldn’t hang out in his garage bar.
I was busy wiping down tables and refilling the saltshakers when the door swung open, and a child’s laughter filled the room. “Becca, you look like a giant piece of candy.” Eli ran over to me and started tugging at my shirt.
“Hey, little guy.” I ruffled his hair. “What are you doing here?”
“Mom was—”
“He needed to be fed, so I thought we’d stop by.” Evan scooped Eli up. “What’ll it be, E, burgers or dogs?”
“Dogs!” he shrieked, clapping his hands excitedly.
“We’ll be over there.” Evan motioned to a table in the corner, and I nodded. “Wait,” I called after him, and he spun them around walking backward. “Did you know I worked here?”
