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twenty-seven

Mark

H ow long can you go without sleep and not die? I guess I’ll find out. I haven’t slept much at all this week. I’m faking the flu for my classes, but I know that excuse will only get me so far. I hope my professors will understand, and thankfully most have sent me my assignments.

I may not have Hunter, but I’m going to graduate from this fucking place if it kills me.

That is, unless I’m going to jail.

Honestly, the day after Noah’s party I half expected the police to turn up at my dorm, and each day that passes where I’m not behind bars makes me wonder what Hunter is doing?

I haven’t seen him at all. He knows my schedule and I’m sure he’s avoiding me at all costs, but I’d expected him to march right down to the station and tell them everything.

I’m not any closer to getting Derrick to confess either.

Or like, at all. I’m fucked. I haven’t seen him since the party, and now I have no hope of even getting my watch back.

All I know is that there’s no fucking way I did it.

How could a firework do all that? Not for the first time I want to throw up.

Hunter’s right, though, I should have said something.

I should have let him in, told Sawyer. Just something.

I feel horrible for Sawyer’s mother and sister.

I couldn’t imagine living with that kind of fear, and I’ve been ignorant to think that just because no one was physically hurt, no one was hurt at all.

Thinking about his sister and what she must have gone through makes me want to puke all over.

Derrick’s a fucking monster and he deserves to be put away.

The reality is that people like Derrick get away with shit, though.

It’s like I have all these puzzle pieces, but there’s one big piece I haven’t considered yet.

Sawyer’s sister.

I know what I have to do. Getting dressed, I grab my phone, ignoring the clench in my gut from not seeing any messages. All I see is my lock screen with Hunter from the ice rink. Noah hasn’t talked to me much either, but that’s my fault. After three days of me ignoring his texts, he just stopped.

I stare at the screen for a moment then unlock my phone, swallowing the rush of emotions. I’m ready to turn myself in if it gets Sawyer’s family closure. First, I need to talk to him. I should have done this months ago. I should have let him know my suspicions.

Instead, I hid like a coward.

Hunter was right.

I jump at the knock on my door. What the hell? Knock! Knock! Knock! The pounding gets louder. “Open up, asshole. I know you’re in there!” It takes a moment for the vaguely familiar voice to register.

Shit!

Well great, I don’t have to travel to my death. Apparently, the grim reaper offers room service. Opening the door, I reel back, as white-hot pain splits across my face, spreading into my fucking eyeballs. “What the fuck!” Pulling my hands back, I don’t see blood, but this fucking hurts!

“You deserve that, you prick!” Sawyer moves around me, coming inside my room.

“Please,” I say behind my hand, kicking my door shut. “Come right in.”

“I want to beat the shit out of you right now.”

“Yeah?” I rub my nose. “Why don’t you just go to the police?”

“Oh, that’s the next place I’m going, you dick. I just want you to grow a spine and tell me yourself what you did!” Sawyer sits himself in my computer chair, grabbing his phone. “Let’s go. I want to record your confession.”

“Fine.” Whatever. I want this to end anyway, and if this gives them closure, I’ll do it. While I didn’t do the crime, I am just as guilty. If this will help, I don’t care about punishment anymore. “Hunter, he—”

“Don’t you dare talk about him. Just tell me what happened.”

Fine. Whatever.

Here goes nothing . . .

Four months earlier.

Sipping my drink, I watch my friends. Friends? No, that’s not right. These assholes are not my friends. They’re the people I fell in with during my sophomore year and who I’m currently trying to shake. I don’t want to hang out with them anymore.

Derrick grins around his beer, keeping his attention on the extremely drunk girl hanging off his shoulders. I stopped drinking a while ago now to keep an eye on her. She’s gotten drunk so quickly, and no one here right now is in their right mind to watch her.

Two of Derrick’s friends light cherry bombs and tiny rockets in the field. We’re in town and it’s only a matter of time before the police will be called, I’m sure of it. We’re in the community field, drinking, at the last summer party before school starts.

Derrick leans in, whispering something to the girl.

My attention stays on them. She’s smashed and Derrick is probably on his way.

She pulls back with a grin and they both stand up, and my stomach drops watching her loop her arm through his.

“Hey, Derrick.” He stops, turning to look at me. “Getting her a ride home?”

“Getting her a ride somewhere.” He winks as she giggles at him.

I pull up rideshare app, calling and getting a ride and paying her fare. There’s no way I’m letting him go off with her anywhere. “How about I get her a ride?” She whines, clinging to Derrick.

“I want to go with him,” she whines.

Gently, I grab her hand off Derrick’s shoulders and pull her toward me. “You’re in no state of mind to make any decisions, sweetheart. Come on. Come with me.”

“Aren’t you gay?” I bristle, turning my head to glare at Derrick’s friend.”

“What’s your fucking point?” I challenge. “She’s drunk off her ass. She needs to go home and sleep it off.” I look at the girl she came here with. “You need to get your friend home safe.”

Bleary-eyed, she blinks up at me. How did they get so drunk?

We’ve only been out here for a couple of hours, and there aren’t even that many drinks.

“Hey!” I snap my fingers at her. “Get your friend home.” I see headlights splitting through the trees.

“Get home. Get her some water and make sure she falls asleep on her side.”

“What a fucking pussy,” Derrick mutters. I ignore him, watching the two girls stumble across the field to the car. “This isn’t a gang bang. We won’t fuck you just because we’re out of options.”

“Oh no, whatever will I do without the STDs that would probably come from that?” Derrick holds his friend back as I ignore them both, sitting in a lawn chair and desperately trying to act like they don’t bother me.

Internally I’m shitting myself. I am very much aware I’m alone with Derrick and his friends.

While there are businesses right outside these trees, we’re still alone right now. I just want to go home.

His friend sets off another firework near me, trying to intimidate me.

I don’t let them shake me. If there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s how to fight bullies.

I’ve done it my entire life. I may have been smaller than most kids in high school, but I took every fight, every shove into my locker, and every trip in the halls as a lesson.

“I need to piss.” Derrick gets up, disappearing down the field and through the trees.

“You fucked up now,” his friend mutters.

“He’ll be fine. You both should be happy. Now’s your chance to suck his dick.” I shake my head, taking a pretend sip of my beer and ignoring their murderous stares. I play idly with my watch. It’s the only thing keeping me grounded right now. The only ounce of comfort I have.

“Here, try one.” I look up as Derrick’s friend hands me a firework. Shaking my head, I give it back. “Are you just allergic to fun? Don’t be a bitch. Try one.”

“Peer pressure? How very high school.”

“I don’t even know why Derrick hangs out with you. You’re fucking boring.”

Whatever. If it gets them to leave me alone, fine. I’m going to call a ride. I need to get out of here. I am so over this. Standing, I light up the little rocket and back away. They’ve been lighting them all evening. I watch the rocket shoot up about fifteen feet before exploding.

“So electric.”

Kade grabs one, lighting it up. This one’s a bit bigger, with a bigger explosion.

Devin grabs another, and I sip my drink as it shoots a bit higher, almost above the tree line, straight up.

“One more,” he says, handing the last one to me.

I light it, and patiently wait for it to soar up into a bright explosion.

Only . . . this one doesn’t.

At all.

It goes sailing off across the field like a tiny missile, exploding with a thunderous boom in the surrounding trees. Smoke singes my nose. “What the fuck was that?”

“Holy shit, that was amazing.” Kade whoops, punching the air, but looking at the trajectory, something feels off. That’s when I smell it. Smoke.

“What the hell is that?” Confused, I see someone running in the distance. Derrick. He’s flying through the field, running fast. “What’s wrong?”

“Shit, run!”

“What?” He nearly collides with me, grabbing my wrists. “Who lit that fucking firework?!” he screams.

His friend points to me. “It was Mark.”

“What’s going on?”

“The fucking firework hit the restaurant, dude!”

“What?”

“The Blue Lotus, it’s on fire! Blew through one of the windows and the place went up.”

“What are you talking about!?” I smell it, though—the smoke. Then I see behind the trees. Light. No, not light. Fire. “We need to call the fire department. Now!”

“I did. What the fuck!” Derrick yells at us.

“It was Mark! It wasn’t us. He grabbed the wrong one.”

“You handed it to me,” I scream.

Derrick shakes his head. “You need to get out of here. Go!”

“We need to call—”

“I did! Now get the fuck out of here!” I don’t know why, but I run, so fucking confused.

I call a ride home, running down the street when I see it arrive.

I also hear the sirens in the distance. None of this makes sense.

How could a firework do that? Hell, how the fuck did it fall through the window?

The possibility of the trajectory going through the trees and into the restaurant . . . There’s no way.