eyes. Americans need to travel more.”
“Wow,” Allie said, though up close, she could see that Sasha had changed. She was beautiful, but seemed brittle, more world-weary than world traveler. It didn’t show on Facebook, but in person, that happy, confident spark Sasha used to have was gone. Sasha had been salutatorian, headed for law school like her mother, but she’d dropped out of college. Allie guessed it was because of Kyle, no matter what Sasha said now.
“Anyway, Allie.” Julian cleared his throat, as if he were starting a business meeting. “It was good to see you at David’s funeral. Sasha happened to be in town. I didn’t expect that shit show with the boyfriend.”
“Awkward.” Sasha blew out a cone of smoke, which smelled unusually acrid, like French cigarettes.
“Did you guys know David was gay?” Allie asked.
“I didn’t.” Julian reached over to Sasha, and without his asking, she handed him her cigarette and he took a puff.
“Me, either.”
“Julian, did you stay friends with David, afterward?” Allie didn’t explain what she meant by afterward. They knew.
“No. Different schools, all that.” Julian took another drag on the cigarette. “We never spoke, and neither did Sasha and I. It was for the best. It’s why everything turned out fine.”
“You think everything turned out fine?” Allie asked, taken aback.
“Of course, don’t you? It’s all good, right?”
“Totally.” Sasha tilted her chin upward. “Allie, don’t you think so? We didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I think we did something wrong,” Allie shot back, incredulous. “We killed Kyle.”
Julian’s eyes flared, and he frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“What are you talking about? How did a bullet get in the gun?”
“I have no idea.” Julian shook his head. “I didn’t know the gun was loaded. All I know is I didn’t load it and neither did Sasha.”
Sasha nodded.
Allie thought they might be crazy. Or lying. Or both. “Then what happened? If you didn’t load the gun, who did?”
“I have no idea.” Julian shrugged in his fancy suit, the padded shoulders shifting up and down. “Anything is possible. It was an old gun buried in the ground. Anybody could have found it. Maybe the owner of the gun came back and loaded it.”
“Possible,” Sasha chimed in. “Or some other kids found it and loaded it. They could have known about it before we did, for that matter.”
“Really, guys?” Allie eyed them, not disguising her skepticism. “On the same day we agreed to play that stupid prank?”
“Whatever, I didn’t load it.” Julian’s manner remained businesslike. “And you know what, David could have.”
Allie glared at him. “Why would he?”
“He was the only one of us who knew about guns, remember? His uncle had handguns and rifles. He taught us how to load the gun.”
Sasha sucked on her cigarette. “I remember that, too.”
Allie wasn’t having any. “David didn’t have any reason to want Kyle dead. He only met him the night before.”
Julian nodded. “What if he had a crush on Kyle? David got married and had a boyfriend, too. He was obviously conflicted about his sexuality. It’s possible that David had feelings for Kyle and decided to kill those feelings. Then what if he felt guilty about it, all this time? And that’s why he killed himself.”
Sasha nodded. “That’s totally possible.”
“David got a crush on Kyle in a single night?” Allie asked in disbelief.
“Well, you fell for David that fast.” Julian’s eyes glinted in the sun. “I could tell, and Sasha could, too. You were all over him.”
Allie flushed, feeling shamed. “That’s hardly likely.”
Julian raked back his hair. “I knew David better than you, Allie. Sasha and I both did.”
“I understood him,” Allie said, though she couldn’t be sure how much she truly understood about David, how much she remembered, and how much she projected. She hadn’t known he was gay, but then, they hadn’t, either.
“There’s another possibility.” Sasha opened her palms, the cigarette between her slim fingers. “Maybe David left the gun loaded by accident. That’s possible, too.”
“This is bullshit.” Allie couldn’t stand to hear them blame David, a convenient excuse now that he was dead. “I don’t believe you. I think you loaded the gun, Julian. Or you, Sasha. Or you did it together—”
“Whoa.” Julian’s eyes flared open. He recoiled, frowning. “Are you seriously accusing me of murder? I shouldn’t even dignify that with a response, but just so we’re clear, once again, I didn’t load the gun, either intentionally or unintentionally.”
Sasha glowered, an icy blue stare. “Allie, come on, I didn’t load the gun, either. I told you. We didn’t kill Kyle.