The static hissed and Red wondered whether she could see it now, somehow, stippling across the back of her eyes as she tried to watch Oliver. Danger in the movement of his shoulders, in the widening of his eyes.โ
โDonโt say anything else!โ he shouted at Reyna, his breath blowing through her black hair as he came too close. She didnโt move, didnโt react. Red didnโt either, but she had been right, they were hiding something, just like she was. That was what the last few hours had been, Red understood now: escape plan after escape plan, searching for a bug and then a mole. It was all Oliver, trying to hold on to this secret. But his time was up.
โWell, itโs too late now,โ Simon said. โWe all know you two have a secret.
Thereโs no going back.โ
โOliver?โ Maddyโs voice was small, confused. โWhatโs going on? What happened?โ
He didnโt answer, because he was staring down Reyna, and she was staring back.
Simon laughed, a hollow sound. โYou going around with your witch hunt, accusing one of us of being a mole. And here you are, you knew all along you were the one with the secret.โ
โThis is not about that,โ Oliver said through gritted teeth, eyes still on Reyna.
โIt could be,โ she answered. โIt could be his family out thereโโ โStop!โ
โNo, Oliver, I wonโt fucking stop!โ Reyna snapped, coming alive, dark hairs sticking to the sweat on her forehead. โIf this is about what we did, we have to say! Weโre the oldest here, weโre supposed to be looking after them. Theyโre just kids. He said heโd let them go if we give it up. We have to!โ
And maybe Reyna was the most natural leader here after all, standing up to Oliver, unblinking. What could they possibly have done? Something bad enough that a man with a ri๏ฌe would trap them here to get it out of them. Two men.ย There are two of us.ย What was bad enough for that? Red could only think of one thing.
โOliver,โ Maddy said, shakily. โWhat is it? What did you do?โ Maddy must be thinking the same thing.
โI didnโtย doย anything,โ Oliver said, and then, suddenly: โFucking mosquito,โ slapping his hand against his sweat-slick neck. He stopped, looking back at the rest of them, all eyes on him. He might be Oliver Lavoy but it was ๏ฌve against one here. He paused on Maddy, and Red saw the shift, the moment he gave in, hand sweeping his hair back, stepping forward to drop into the booth. He held his head. โIt was an accident,โ he said, staring back, daring the others to not believe him.
โWhatย was an accident?โ Maddy pressed, gently, coming to sit down across from her brother.
โIt was in January,โ Reyna said, burying her hands inside her sleeves. โWhen we went back to college for the semester. Weโโ
โโIโll tell the story,โ Oliver cut her o๏ฌ. โYou wonโt tell it right. You wonโtโฆIโll do it.โ
He shifted in his seat, the material creaking as he did, or was that the sound of his bones? โKeep going, Red.โ
โHuh?โ she said.
โThe channels. Keep going.โ
Right. Red glanced down at the walkie-talkie, pressing the + button, spooling up, the static ๏ฌickering out every time she clicked.
Oliver waited, until Red was past channel eleven and still going. Then he cleared his throat and began.
โWe went to a bar one afternoon. Near school. Just me and Reyna. We were watching the game, Eagles versus Cowboys. Reynaโs not from Philly, you know, but she gets it. Canโt miss a game.โ Oliver sni๏ฌed. โWe drank a couple of beers, watching the game. I was driving, though, so only two. And as weโre watching, I notice this random guy who works there, he keeps looking at Reyna. I donโt think Reyna noticed, but I did.โ
Reyna shifted, ๏ฌngers ๏ฌddling inside her sleeves.
โAnd thatโs ๏ฌne, you know, sheโs a beautiful girl, people are allowed to notice.โ
A twitch by Reynaโs mouth, pulling at the smooth skin of her cheek. โAnyway, we watch the game, and stay for a couple of hours after. Iโve
forgotten about the guy by this point. But itโs getting later and weโre thinking about dinner, so we decide to leave. We walk out into the parking lot, toward my car. Thereโs no one else around. And then I realize Iโve left my scarf inside. So I leave Reyna in the parking lot and run back inside to ๏ฌnd the scarf.โ
Reyna sucked in a breath, wet through her teeth, loud enough for Red to hear. What was coming? What did they do?
Simon sat down on the sofa behind, watching the story play out, gaze ๏ฌicking between Reyna and Oliver.
โIt takes me a few minutes to ๏ฌnd the scarf,โ Oliver continued. โItโs not at the table we were sitting at because someone had already handed it in at the bar as lost property. So it takes a few minutes. And by the time I get outside again, I see Reyna standing by the car. And thereโs that guy, the one who worked in the bar.โ
Oliver paused, ๏ฌngers tapping at the table in an irregular pattern, beating out of time with Redโs heart.
โAnd heโs bothering Reyna,โ he said. โHeโs up in her face, talking to her. Heโs even holding her by the arms. And Reynaโs trying to break free, push
him away.โ
A silent tear fell down Reynaโs face, pooling at the crack in her lips.
โSo, of course, I run over and tell this random guy to get lost, to stop bothering my girlfriend. And then this guy, he turns to Reyna and he says, โAm I bothering you?โ So Reyna, of course, says that yes he is.โ
Red was watching Reyna, and maybe she was wrong, but she thought she saw the slightest movement in Reynaโs head, moving side to side. Reyna stopped when she noticed Redโs eyes.
โSo I pull Reyna away from the guy and I tell him to leave her alone,โ Oliver said. โAnd then this guy loses it. He shoves me and Iโm asking him what his problem is. And then he hits me, punches me right in the face.โ He paused, sharpening his focus on Maddy. โHe hit me ๏ฌrst, thatโs very important. He hit me ๏ฌrst. So I did what any other guy in the situation would do: I hit him back. And maybe it was too hard, I donโt know. But I think the guy gets knocked out. He falls back on the pavement and, you know, heโs breathing heavy like heโs unconscious. Heโs not bleeding or anything. Just out.โ
Oliverโs ๏ฌngers ๏ฌexed and balled again, like he could still feel the guyโs face imprinted against his ๏ฌst. Reyna was crying now, tears racing and crisscrossing each otherโs tails.
โAnd we talked about calling an ambulance, or going back inside the bar and telling someone,โ he said. โBut it was only a few seconds, and then his eyes are opening and heโs awake again. He seems a bit dazed, but he was ๏ฌne, started to sit up. So Reyna and I decided to leave before he got up and tried to attack either of us again. We got in the car and drove away and the guy was ๏ฌne. He was walking away. We saw him. He was ๏ฌne. He was ๏ฌne.โ
Oliver repeated it, like if he said it enough times he could change the past and make it true. Because the guy wasnโt ๏ฌne, that must be why Oliver kept saying it.
Oliver cleared his throat. โSo, we go to dinner, we donโt think about it again.โ
Reynaโs face tensed. She had, sheโd thought about it again, Oliver wasnโt speaking for her, Red could tell.
โEverything is ๏ฌne.โ Fine.
โAnd then two days later, Reyna is working at the local hospital, on this shadowing program Dartmouth runs for premed students to get clinical experience.โ Oliver paused, wiping the sides of his mouth. โAnd while sheโs there, she learns of a patient that just died that morning. It was him. The guy from the bar. He was called Jack something. He died of bleeding on the brain.โ
โEpidural hematoma,โ Reyna said, voice thick and her eyes far away, not in the RV anymore, back in that memory that only she could see.
There was silence, only the hissing of static in Redโs hands. โSo,โ Simon said slowly, carefully. โYou killed him?โ
Oliverโs hands slammed down on the table, making them all jump. โI did not kill him!โ he shouted, voice spiking at the edges. โHe attacked Reyna and then he attacked me. He hit me ๏ฌrst. I was only defending myself, defending Reyna.โ
โDid you tell anyone?โ Arthur asked now, his voice low and steady. โAfter you found out he died, did you tell anyone?โ
โTurn myself in, you mean?โ Oliver looked at him, blinking too fast. โNo, we didnโt tell anyone. We said we never would, unless someone asked. I guess there werenโt any cameras in the parking lot, because no one ever came to speak to us about it. Maybe the guy hadnโt told anyone about the ๏ฌght after, maybe no one knew. But let me be clear.โ Oliver rolled his shoulders. โIt wasnโt my fault. He hit me ๏ฌrst. It was self-defense. But we couldnโt go to the police, because the right prosecutor might have been able to argue that it was a manslaughter case and press charges against me.โ
โSo you kept it secret?โ Maddy asked, voice even smaller than before. โJust the two of you.โ
โOf course we kept it secret,โ Oliver replied. โHe hit me ๏ฌrst. Why should I be punished for him attacking me, attacking my girlfriend? And I couldnโt do that to Mom,โ he added, directing the words to Maddy. โSheโs about to become fucking district attorney, sheโs worked so hard. A son with a criminal
charge would destroy her career. Not to mention my own legal career. He hit me ๏ฌrst.โ
But Oliver must have hit him harder.
โSo,โ Arthur said, speaking tentatively, careful not to set Oliver o๏ฌ again. โYou think itโs possible someone knows what happened, or suspects at least. The guy out there with the ri๏ฌe, he could be a friend, or family? Wants you to admit what you did, how Jack died?โ
โI donโt know,โ Oliver said, a small shrug in his too-wide shoulders. โThis whole thing is so fucked. It was an accident. I didnโt mean toโฆโ He drew o๏ฌ, gaze circling in front of him. โI didnโt mean to.โ
Oliverโs face rearranged, softening between the eyebrows, a twitch in his lower lip, pulling at his chin. His eyes glazed, almost with the threat of tears, and he looked down before anyone could see. But Red saw, she was watching. And she knew that feeling better than anyone. The guilt a physical pain in your gut, twisting and twisting, like a hunger that never ended. The hot-faced feel of shame. And, despite everything, Red didnโt want Oliver to feel that way, to feel like she did. She wouldnโt wish it on anyone.
Red stepped forward, to Oliverโs side, and he glanced up as the static hissed closer to his ear.
โIโm sorry, Oliver,โ Red said, looking down at him. โI know exactly what that feels like, that itโs your fault someone died. And Iโโ
โIt wasnโt my fault.โ Oliver cut her o๏ฌ, the words rasping into empty sounds in her throat. โHe hit me ๏ฌrst. I was just defending Reyna. He hit me ๏ฌrst. It wasnโt my fault.โ He repeated it, like it was important she understood that. They werenโt the same, she and him, and she shouldnโt make that mistake again. That was what he meant. But Red hadnโt even got to explain what she meant, whoโd died because of her.
There was a snu๏ฌe to her right. Reyna was still crying, wiping her nose across her sleeve. She didnโt look relieved that the story was over, that it was ๏ฌnally all out.
โHow old was he?โ Maddy was the next to speak, a cautious glance at her brother.
โDonโt know, around our age, I guess,โ Oliver said.
โTwenty-two,โ Reyna added, a moment later.
Oliver shot a look over at her. Red stepped back so he could see, clearing the way between them.
โHow do you know that?โ he asked. โFrom the hospital? You never said before.โ
Reyna sucked in a deep breath, eyes side to side like there was a war going on in her head, and there she was, stuck between both sides. She blew the breath out through gritted teeth, decision made, one side chosen. Reyna blinked and looked back at Oliver, Red caught in the middle again. She backed away into the kitchen. The story wasnโt ๏ฌnished, was it? It wasnโt complete. Reyna clearly knew something Oliver did not.
โIโm sorry, Oliver,โ Reyna said, voice croaky and raw, a new tear dancing down the lines of her face, in and out of the other tracks. โHe wasnโt a random guy. I knew him.โ
