now something had shifted. Matt wasn’t looking for her to simply reflect his personality back to him. He cared what she thought. For the first time, she mattered.
He tapped his hands on the tabletop and stood. “Anyway, just wanted to tell you. You don’t have to worry about me.”
“Who said I was worrying?” Devon looked up at Matt, an eyebrow raised. Now that she wasn’t in an official role, it was fun to play along. He patted her on the shoulder.
“We both knew you were,” he said. “You suck at lying, Mackintosh. Hutch always said that about you. One of the things that made you different.”
Devon watched as he walked out of the library. It was true, she had worried about him. But she was a better liar than he gave her credit for. Hutch was a liar, too, of course. She was still going to keep that book.
DEVON HAD DEBATED ABOUT whether or not to tell Raven about Maya’s secret, but considering Raven already knew that someone was pregnant, it didn’t seem as big of a betrayal. Maya had asked for Devon’s help, yes. But Devon needed to talk with someone else to figure out how to help her. Preferably that talk could happen off the Keaton campus, away from prying eyes and ears.
The moment classes ended Friday afternoon, the red Volvo whisked her through the Keaton gates.
“I really don’t believe it. Like, really don’t believe it.” Raven licked the end of a hand-rolled cigarette as the car idled at the bottom of the hill. Devon couldn’t help but keep her eyes on the rear view mirror. Getting in trouble for smoking a cigarette or smelling like smoke was not another notch she wanted on her punishment belt.
“Why is it so hard to believe? Maya’s pretty, really pretty. Their families probably know each other. Couldn’t Maya have run into Hutch this summer? And Hutch could have stolen the pregnancy test for her. I did see her barfing that week, could have been morning sickness.”
On instinct, Devon gripped the right iPod speaker as Raven turned up the road toward Reed’s house.
“I’m sure in theory it fits, yeah, but I don’t know.” Raven exhaled a cloud of smoke out the open window. “There’s more to it. I think the Hutchins and the Dover families totally hate each other. Like, full-on Montagues-and-Capulets hate each other. Reed mentioned it once, something about him and Edward moving to California together ages ago, but I don’t know the history there. He wouldn’t go into it.”
“Seems like there’s a lot Reed doesn’t like to talk about.”
Raven took another drag and shook her head. The car pulled into the gravel driveway and she cut the engine. “That’s not true. He just doesn’t waste words. Bodhi’s the same way. It’s a science thing, I guess.” She and Devon sat in the car a moment longer, looking at the guest house. “Okay, say Hutch bought Maya the pregnancy test, how does that get Hutch killed that same night? They have to be related, right?”
“They don’t have to be related, but it’s hard to imagine the pregnancy didn’t matter. Hutch didn’t have enemies, but getting someone pregnant could change that.” Devon tapped her index finger along her door handle. “It doesn’t fit for some reason,” she said. “Like there’s another piece we don’t know yet.”
“Well, let’s run it by Bodhi. He’s always good for an idea.”
Devon followed Raven through the front door, across the courtyard to the kitchen. French doors were opened on the patio packed with herbs growing in old wine barrels. The thick smell of the basil followed Devon inside.
“Anybody home?” Raven called out to the empty kitchen. She dropped her keys and straw purse on the wooden countertop. No one answered. “Bodhi?” She kicked off her flip-flops and walked down the carpeted hallway. “Help yourself to anything in the fridge!”
“Thanks,” Devon yelled back. She wasn’t hungry or thirsty, but the idea of opening a fridge just to see what was inside was a pleasure she hadn’t had since the summer. It was the small ways that boarding school life was different from being home that caught up with her every now and then. Her heart sank. A half-loaf of sprouted wheat bread with organic peanut butter and seedless raspberry jelly were the only items on the shelf. The jelly looked sticky with congealed globs caked around the lid. PB&J. Hutch probably made his sandwiches for Raven from these supplies. Devon felt sorry for the leftover condiments: pets