Bottles on the door shelves jingled. Devon noticed the small green bottles, the cursive ‘G’ on the metal lids. The bottles from the Palace, the imported German label from the car.
“When did you get here?”
Devon popped her head out of the fridge. Bodhi was walking toward her down the hallway, barefoot. He took a seat at the kitchen table.
“Um, Raven brought me over. Weekend off campus.” Devon couldn’t pry her hands away from the door handle. The cool air snaked its way up her bare legs. The bottles at the Palace had to have come from this fridge. Right?
“Lame off-campus weekend. Why not actually leave the mountain?” Bodhi kicked his bare feet up onto the table.
“Good point. I guess anything that isn’t Keaton is off campus.” Devon laughed, hollow and weak. Bodhi drank these beers at the Palace with Hutch. It was him.
“Hey, would you grab me a drink from the fridge while you’re up?”
He wants to drink the beer! Theory proven! Be calm, Devon. Don’t freak him out. “Sure.” She picked up a beer bottle. The cool glass felt slippery in her sweaty palm.
“Oh no, sorry. I should have said.…” Bodhi’s feet plunked back to the ground and he plodded over. “I don’t do alcohol. Not my thing. Those are Eric’s. Aren’t there any more bottles of water?” Devon moved away to give Bodhi the full view of the fridge “Damn, I’ll get some from the main house later.”
“Hey, dude,” Raven said as she joined them in the kitchen. “Oh, are those Eric’s?” She reached past Bodhi and Devon and grabbed one of the beer bottles. She held the lip against the kitchen counter, and with a snap of her hand, popped the metal cap right off. “Don’t tell him. I love stealing his shit.” She took a sip of the beer, the bubbles slipping through her smile. “Dev, you want one? We are off campus.”
“I’m cool, thanks,” Devon managed. “Umm, can I use your bathroom? I don’t feel so hot.”
CHAPTER 17
Saturday, October 13
Devon,
I’m in the lower parking lot. Find me before I leave.
— Isla
Before I leave? DEVON found Isla’s note on the dry erase board on her dorm door, but it didn’t make sense. Where would Isla be going? Away for the long weekend? Why would she tell Devon?
She hurried down the Bay House hall to Isla’s room. Empty. Beyond empty: stripped bare. Her bare mattress with its faded blue case was the only hint of color in the stark white room. Gone were Isla’s bright and hypnotizing tapestries and pile of clothes. Jesus. She’s leaving for good. When Devon dashed outside she immediately noticed the bright red Prius, crammed full with suitcases and shiny black garbage bags. The red reverse lights were on as it silently backed out of its parking space.
Isla was in the passenger seat. She and Devon spotted each other at the same time. Her hand reached toward the steering wheel, and the car came to an abrupt stop. Isla said something to the driver, a man with pale arms—probably her dad—and she hopped out. The Prius clicked off behind her.
“Hey,” Isla said. “You got my note.”
“Yeah, where are you going? Is everything ok?” Isla was looking even skinnier than usual. Her hair was tied in a knot at the top of her head, but she was smiling. Devon hadn’t seen that smile in a while.
“I met with Mr. Robins.”
“How’d it go?” Obviously not so great if Isla was leaving school.
“It was good. We talked about stuff.”
“Oh.” Devon couldn’t help but feel a pang of something—regret or jealousy or both. Isla had actually talked to Mr. Robins during his first session, something she’d never been able truly to accomplish.
“Matt said I should talk to him. It was his idea. I used my Get Out Of Jail Free card* and told Robins everything. He and I figured I should take some time away from school. Get some things worked out, ya know?”
“What kind of things? Grief things, or …?”
“Or pills. Matt said it was getting out of hand. I don’t know how it happened, but I guess after Hutch it kind of spiraled out of control. I see that now. I’m going to go to rehab for a bit, detox from all this, figure my shit out.”
Devon nodded. The bitter feeling melted away. She was genuinely relieved. “Wow, that’s a big step. I’m impressed.”
“Yeah, well, Matt said I should thank you. You were the only one that really