Page 140 of Pride High 2: Orange

Ricky nodded.

Omar took a deep breath. “We didn’t know it was suicide. Not back then. Diego was different after his dad died. He was super quiet most of the time, but sometimes he’d lose it and start hitting stuff. He punched a hole in his bedroom wall while we were over there. No idea why. We were just hanging out and he flipped. It was crazy.”

Ricky swallowed. “Did he ever hit you?”

Omar shook his head. “Nah. It was more like he hated everything and wanted to destroy it. That’s what happened during the worst summer ever. Which was supposed to be thebestever, because all three of us had plans to fly down to Florida. My aunt and uncle live in Orlando. I’ve got a cousin our age who had this amazing itinerary planned out. We were gonna go to Disney World and Epcot Center. Oh, and Kennedy Space Center, which is freaking NASA, right? We were supposed to hit the beach that same day. My cousin always brags about all the babes he sees there, and we were horny as hell back then.” He cocked his head. “That hasn’t changed much. It might have gotten worse actually.”

“So what happened?” Ricky pressed.

“We were all set to go. Plane tickets, permission from our parents, pocket money, the works. We only had to wait until summer. All three of us made sure our grades were good. I was nice to my little sister. You know, the sort of good behavior you only trot out before your birthday. We were nailing it too, until Diego burned down the garage.”

Ricky shook his head. “The one where he works?”

“Nah, man. The one on this property that I can’t show you, because it doesn’t exist anymore. My parents built a new one where it used to be, except out of bricks, so the big bad wolf couldn’t burn it down again.”

“That’s not how the story goes,” Ricky said absentmindedly as he tried to put the pieces together. “Why would he set your garage on fire? Had you fallen out by then?”

“Nope. We were still BFFFs. I know that sounds dumb and doesn’t make sense, but there was an ‘F’ for each of us. We came up with it when we were little. We even swore an oath that it would be for life.”

“Then why did you break it? Just because you guys didn’t get to see Disney World?”

Omar looked uncomfortable. “It’s hard to explain without it sounding lame. All I can say is that it wasn’t an easy decision. And boy did we have time to think about it, because our asses were seriously grounded. Hey, I’m getting hungry. Let’s figure out what we’re going to eat and watch some movies.”

Ricky nodded his agreement but remained frustrated. He had finally gotten more pieces to the puzzle, but not enough to form a complete picture. Omar must have noticed him struggling with it all.

“Anthony was right,” he said. “I shouldn’t have told you any of that. It was a long time ago. We’ve all changed since then. I feel bad sometimes, seeing Diego so alone. Part of that is definitely his fault." Omar’s brow knotted up before he swallowed. "But I like that he’s got a new friend. And a good one too. Keep an eye on him, okay? I don’t want him to be sad or whatever. Diego was like a brother to me.”

“I’ll take care of him,” Ricky promised.

“And yourself too. If it gets weird, bail. Or come talk to one of us.” Omar ruffled his hair. “Now help me choose a place to order from before I resort to cannibalism. You’d make a nice juicy meatball.”

Ricky laughed and, as best as he could, set his concerns aside to focus on all the fun they had planned.

CHAPTER 31

January 9th, 1993

Mindy was so excited that she found it hard to concentrate on the present moment, her head too filled with visions of where this date might lead. Wedding invitations? A gaggle of adorable red-headed children? A pair of rocking chairs on the front porch as a balding version of Troy waxed nostalgic about a fateful night at the bowling alley? That brought her back to the present. She glanced over from the passenger seat, relieved to see that Troy was still young. He looked so handsome too. His hair had some sort of styling product in it to give it lift and keep it in place. Beneath a navy varsity jacket from his old school, he wore a gold silk dress shirt. And he smelled like the citrusy cologne he’d worn on the first day of the semester. Mindy was thrilled, because all that effort was forher.

In the same way that she had chosen one of her cutest miniskirts, which was green plaid, even though it was much too cold outside. So she had paired it with white leggings and a mint-colored sweater. Even her older sister had said that she looked pretty without Mindy having to ask. She actually felt good about her appearance, which was rare. Her date had noticed.

“You sure are beautiful, Mindy.”

That was the first thing Troy said as they drove away from her house. She had practically melted into her seat! Since then, Troy had mostly talked about the car, which was shiny, sleek, and probably expensive. She wondered if his parents had money because it seemed new. He had already told her more details about the engine than Mindy was willing to remember. But she did like how enthusiastic he could be. Like during the school week, when he repeatedly mentioned his love of NASCAR, his blue-gray eyes lighting up each time.

“Is there a police station around here?” Troy asked as they turned down a street. “Or any speed traps?”

“None that I know of,” she replied.

“Perfect.” Troy grinned and pressed down on the accelerator.

Mindy felt like she was about to melt into the seat again, but for a different reason. The g-forces were intense! The car didn’t slow, even when a pair of brake lights appeared ahead of them.

“Troy,” she said warningly.

“I’ve got this,” he said, zipping into the oncoming traffic lane.

Mindy saw the shocked face of an older man as they overtook his car, her expression nearly the same as his. Especially when Troy stayed in the left lane so he could pass more vehicles. And now they were heading directly toward a set of headlights. He kept shifting gears, but she had only ridden in cars with automatic transmissions and wasn’t sure what he was doing.