and tried to comfort her after what Julian had done. The next morning, with my head pounding like it had never hurt before, I’d eaten breakfast with Willow and her parents. Her father had talked enthusiastically about the Shepherd’s Bay pilot, while her mother had sat quietly and listened. He had sat next to me with his iPad and had shown me detailed footage of the show. Whereas before there’d been scenes with other kids, this footage was almost entirely of Willow. As stunning as Willow appeared in these scenes, the show seemed unbalanced and too narrowly focused, but I just had kept nodding and agreeing with him, determined to keep my mouth shut.
When it was time to go, Willow had given me a quick hug. Then her father had driven me home. My head had ached during the ride, and I’d been forced to listen to him drone on about the potential success of Shepherd’s Bay.
Willow continued to ignore me at school. I tried talking to her, but she gave me short, clipped answers. No eye contact, either. It bothered me quite a bit, because I had no idea what I’d done to deserve this cold-shoulder treatment. I’d invested quite a lot in our friendship. By aligning myself with her, I’d given up all my other friendships, apart from Drew. I certainly didn’t want to spend the next year and a half isolated and alone, wondering what crime I’d committed against her. Sure, I had Drew to fall back on, but Drew alone could not sustain me for that length of time. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to be with Drew, and so stringing him along like that seemed cruel.
After school, I confronted her as she walked to her car. That’s the thing about me. I can be stubborn when I need to be. She stopped in front of her car door, looking none too pleased.
“Why did you ignore me all day?” I said.
“You must be tripping, Katie. I did no such thing.”
“You most certainly did . . . treating me like I have a disease or something.”
“Get over yourself. Everything’s not always about you.”
I laughed. “Me? You’ve got to be joking.”
“Ummm, do I look like I’m joking?” She opened her car door and placed a foot inside.
“Everything’s about you. This entire show your father’s filming is all about you.”
She looked furious. “What’s your point?”
“Are you mad at me because of what happened the other night? Because I didn’t protect you from Julian?”
“Protect me from Julian? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I think you do. I found you crying in your room, and so I stayed with you through the night. Remember? You were so drunk, you could barely talk.”
“If I’m not mistaken, you were pretty wasted yourself. Maybe you imagined the whole thing.”
I hesitated. Had I imagined it? Maybe Julian hadn’t hurt her. But it had seemed so real. I remembered the trickle of blood running down her upper lip. And yet . . . I had gotten drunk that night. Maybe my eyes had deceived me and I’d not seen Julian sleeping in that spare bedroom, passed out in his cherry-red boxers. He hadn’t breakfasted with us the next morning. Had he slipped out of the house before anyone got up? Because of what he’d done to Willow? Or maybe he had never been there to begin with. I suddenly realized I couldn’t trust my memory or what I thought I had seen that night.
“Look, Katie, I’m not mad at you.” She got in her car and held the door open. “Want a lift home?”
“Drew’s supposed to give me a ride.”
“Forget that loser and get in.”
“He’s not a loser, Willow.”
“He’s, like, a major loser.” She made an L over her perfectly shaped forehead using thumb and forefinger. “You could do so much better than him.”
“Like Julian?” I rolled my eyes, even though I knew I’d crossed a line.
“You don’t know Julian like I do,” she said. “What if Drew finds out that you were crushing on Dakota that night?”
“You wouldn’t.” It scared me to think Drew might find out about my casual fling with Dakota.
“Then get in the car, Katie.”
Scared, I walked around the hood and let myself in. “Please don’t say anything to Drew.”
“Chillax.” She turned the key, and her Beamer roared to life. “Dakota told me you could get your hands on some.”
Some what? I turned and stared at her.
“Were you just saying that to impress him, Katie? Because if you were,