Page 13

As the blocks went on, and the rows of smaller houses that characterized Isa’s neighborhood gave way to larger and morespacious lots, with gates and gardens that hid the homes from view, Mandy wasn’t so sure they made the right choice. Yes, she was hurt, and angry, but maybe it had been Mandy’s fault. Maybe Mandy needed to be a better girlfriend. Maybe there was more Mandy could’ve done.

Amber streetlights cast an almost ominous glow along their journey. Somewhere in a tree nearby, an owl hooted. Or maybe he was saying, “Go home. Go home.”

Mandy glanced back again.

“Stop doing—”

“Car.” Mandy pulled Isa out of the road and behind some garbage cans, her heart ricocheting in her chest faster than a rogue pinball. “That was close.”

“We aren’t going to get caught.”

Mandy didn’t know how Isa could be so sure, but she also didn’t question her when she got like this. When Isa was determined it was best to go along with it.

As soon as the passing car’s taillights faded to black, Mandy and Isa emerged from their hiding spot and continued down the road. And before Mandy had the chance to second-guess herself again, they’d arrived.

Brandon’s house looked exactly the same as it had the last time Mandy was there—except it was a lot darker out. Her parents had picked him up for an afternoon Dodgers game, so the porch light wasn’t on and there had only been one car in the driveway, but the yellow paint looked just as sunshiny, and the bushes under the windows still had a few blooms. The grass was still neatly mowed, and the little sign alerting passersby that a dog was “on duty” still hung from the wooden gate that led to the backyard. Not that Mandy had ever been in the backyard, orinside the house for that matter, but she was pretty sure they didn’t have a dog. She had never heard it bark when she came knocking to pick Brandon up, and wasn’t that what dogs did?

“Come on.” Isa’s voice jarred Mandy from her thoughts. “You start over there, and I’ll do this side.” She shoved a roll into Mandy’s hands.

The paper seemed heavier—just as soft, but heavier.

Isa launched her roll into the avocado tree, the paper snagging on a branch and then cascading to the ground. The white strip rippled in a passing breeze like the water in Mandy’s backyard fountain when her mother turned it on. Isa mumbled something under her breath ending with “Alison” as she launched the roll back into the tree.

And that was all it took to snap Mandy into action. No, it wasn’t Alison’s fault. Mandy wasn’t mad at her. Brandon probably didn’t even tell her about Mandy. About all the games she brought him to because Mandy loved Brandon, and Brandon loved baseball. He loved it so much that it was all he ever talked about.

That was it, wasn’t it?

Baseball, not Mandy.

It had never been about Mandy, had it?

Rage burned in Mandy’s chest, and she launched her own roll and then another. Sweat dripped down her neck, soaking into the band of her black sweatpants as tentacles of white all fluttered in the wind, making the yard look more like a papier-mâché project gone wrong than a place someone lived. Empty cardboard tubes littered the manicured lawn, and the bags that had been full what felt like moments before were practically empty.

“You know, this feels good.” Mandy panted.

“Shhh…”

“You’re right. He’s a pendejo.”

“SHHH…”

“A really, really—”

The porch light flipped on, and Mandy’s heart turned off.

Oh no.

Mandy froze mid-throw—arm back, roll clenched in her hand.

Locks clicked. The door creaked as it started to open.

“Come on.” Isa’s fingers wrapped around Mandy’s wrist and yanked.

Mandy’s brain might not have been working, but her feet got the message as she took off with Isa.

“Hey!” someone yelled, but no way was Mandy checking behind them now. No. They had to get out of there. But what if someone raced after them? Was that the sound of a car door slamming? No way could they outrun Brandon’s dad’s pickup truck.

This wasn’t good. They’d get caught, and they’d get in trouble. They needed to get out of sight and lie low for a while, and quick. Bright lights rounded the corner behind them. Now it was Mandy’s turn to grab Isa and pull her off the main road.