"Hey, uh... sorry to interrupt whatever you're doing," she said, waving at his notebook. Math equations. "Your homework or whatever, but I need to talk to someone. I need to tell someone what I know. Or what I think I know. I've got to get it off my chest, and I'm not sure who to tell. And I mean, maybe I shouldn't tell anyone. Maybe I shouldn't tell you. But I can't keep it to myself anymore, and I figure out of everyone I know, you're the least likely to blow a friggin gasket over it."
Gavin cocked his head to the side. "Gabby?"
"Yeah."
He shook his head as he closed his notebook and waved the pen her direction. "You look different not dressed like Morticia Addams. What are you doing here?"
"Did you not hear what I said?"
"Not really," he admitted. "I was busy trying to figure out why some lady wearing scrubs was suddenly sitting across from me."
"Sorry," she mumbled. "I didn't want to interrupt, but I need to talk to someone."
"That someone being me?"
She shrugged. "I guess."
"Okay," he said, drawing out the word. "I have to warn you, though. I'm terrible at relationship advice, so if this is about a guy…"
"It's not." She paused. Crap. Was that a lie? "Well, it kind of is, but it's more than that. I don't need relationship advice. I need help."
"I'm better at helping." He leaned closer to the table. "What do you need?"
"I need to tell you something, but before I do, I need you to promise you won't go all crazy, or that you won't think I'm crazy."
"I'll do my best."
Gabriella glanced around the cafe, surveying the people near them, making sure nobody was around to overhear. She didn't recognize any faces, but it wasn't as if she would. She didn't know many people who belonged to those families.
"I, uh..." She turned back to Gavin. "I don't think they're dead."
She said nothing else. That, alone, had been hard enough.
He stared at her, expression blank. "Who?"
"Matty," she whispered, "and Genna."
She expected him to laugh or scoff or tell her to get the heck out of his face, like she was some conspiracy theorist without an ounce of common sense. But he continued to just sit there, nothing showing on his face. Not shock. Not awe. Not confusion. Nothing.
"You don't think they're dead," he said after a moment.
"No," she said. "I don't think they were in the car."
More silence.
"I live across the street," she continued, figuring she ought to explain. "I was home that night. My mom called to check on me, to tell me about Enzo's funeral. I felt bad, because I hadn't gone, and when I looked out my window, I noticed a car. Matty's car. I recognized it parked down the street. I thought about going outside to see him, to tell him I was sorry about his brother, but before I could…"
The car had exploded.
She could still see it when she closed her eyes.
It was as if it happened in slow motion.
The lights on it flashed, as if someone had unlocked it, seconds before it came to life, seconds before it exploded. The detonation had shaken her building, the fire escape rattling as the floor beneath her feet trembled.
It felt like an earthquake.
Windows shattered. Pictures fell from the walls. The fireball lit up the neighborhood.
Through it all, she stared at the car in horror.
Not a single soul had approached.
"I didn't see anyone," she said quietly. "I would've seen them."
Gavin shifted in his seat as his gaze turned to the table between them. He rubbed his mouth, as if deep in thought, like maybe he was considering what she had to say.
Her heart raced as she awaited his reaction.
After a moment, he sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Interesting. And you haven't told anybody else, right?"
"Right."
"Good," he said. "Don't."
"Because I'm crazy?"
"Because you're right."
Whoa.
She blinked rapidly. "I'm right?"
Her words were louder than she meant, coming out as a screech, drawing attention from people around them. Gavin frowned, waiting until everyone looked away before nodding in confirmation.
"You knew? Why haven't you said anything?"
"Because I'm not going to," he said, "and you aren't, either."
"But—"
"Listen to me, Gabriella," he said, his voice dropping low, a hard edge to it. "You know what'll happen when people find out those two are alive? They'll die. That car blowing up wasn't an accident. It was a hit on Matty's life. They planned to leave before it happened and were committed to spending the rest of their