are sinking in cement when she stares over at us. Kedsey’s gray eyes peer back at me and narrow quickly.
Brax squeezes my hand in his and steps forward, giving me an extra pull to get me started. I fumble forward, but he doesn’t stop until we’re on the other side of the register, in front of her.
Two years have aged her. Now that we’re close up, I spot a few speckles of gray hair have mixed in with her red hair. Wrinkles and dark circles are present along the outside of her eyes.
“Braxton, Ella.” Our names leave her lips with disdain, making it known that she’s aware we’ve been sleeping with the enemy.
“Hi, Mrs. Bishop. Can we talk to you for a second?” Brax speaks first since my voice is lost somewhere I can’t find.
“No. I’m busy.” She punches some numbers in the cash register and then breaks away from people, pulling us over to the side. “I know why the two of you are here, and I will not step back from this issue. Crosby Lynch has no place in this town.”
“Please, Mrs. Bishop. Listen to us. It was a mistake, and I’m sorry for Kedsey, but it was a car accident,” Brax pleads his case.
“Braxton Brentwood, what do you care? You are what this town is about, and I’m not going to stand for this craziness of bringing some hero back to reclaim his life. It’s a lie. He should have gone to prison for what he did.”
My blood boils with each word that leaves her mouth, but my parents taught me to respect my elders and never talk back.
“He’s coming, no matter what.” Brax lets go of my hand and crosses his arms over his chest, as though that’s the end of the conversation.
His intimidation tactics will not work on Mrs. Bishop, like they do with the freshmen in his booth at the bar.
“Not if I can convince Sheriff Greg to stop him at the border.” Mrs. Bishop matches Brax and crosses her arms over her chest. “You’ve always been a good boy, Braxton. Don’t let him deter you.” She looks over at me. “I guess you’re a lost cause.”
“Go to hell, Mrs. Bishop.” My hand flies up to my mouth when I realize what came out.
Brax chuckles next to me before biting his lip to stop himself.
“What, Ella?”
I swallow and own what I said. The wrath of Ella Keaton to Mrs. Bishop has been brewing for two years.
So, saying a quick prayer that my parents don’t disown me, I continue, “You heard me. It was an accident. Crosby wasn’t doing anything wrong. Kedsey unbuckled herself. She was an amazing friend.” I look up at the stained ceiling of Bishop’s, as though Kedsey is high in the clouds. “I’m sorry,” I whisper and square my eyes toward Mrs. Bishop. “She wasn’t perfect, Mrs. Bishop.”
Her arms tighten further, but she says nothing.
“She partied with us, she drank with us, she smoked her first cigarette with us. We were teenagers, and the more you pressed your thumb down on her, the more she wiggled to escape. She wasn’t even going to return to this town after she went to college. She and Noah had plans. They were going to make a life together. Kedsey wasn’t some virgin Catholic girl.” Tears prick my eyes, and I swallow the lump that’s quickly blocking my airflow. “She was pregnant.”
Brax and the crowd listening gasp, and Mrs. Bishop’s eyes become slits.
This was common knowledge since the coroner was married to the town gossip. I’m not sure how many believed her, but I knew it before then. I’d found out when Kedsey told me the afternoon before the accident. She and Noah had snuck off Friday during lunch and taken the test. They were scared but happy.
I’ll leave out the details that they didn’t miraculously conceive and that it wasn’t their first time, and, bam, she was pregnant.
“Ella Keaton”—Mrs. Bishop’s arm extends that pointy finger toward the door—“get out. I never want to see you again.”
I glance over my shoulder to the stunned faces.
This is the moment. I have half of the town’s ears right now. It’s time to save Crosby.
“He’s a good guy. He’s done nothing wrong, and you’ve convinced this town to loathe him for something any one of us could have done. The blood tests revealed no alcohol and no drugs in his system. He was stone sober. Give us a reason to hate him, to ban him from this town,”