“A little,” I say. “He’s beating himself up a little, I think, but you know how he is.”
He didn’t get the nickname Captain America just for the abs.
I shovel the cereal in fast, finishing just as my phone vibrates. Somehow Kenley and I have fallen into the pattern of her picking me up for school. I rake a hand through my hair, then tug on my cap, heading toward the front door.
“Try to have a good day at school!” Mom calls.
“I will,” I reply out of habit. I open the door and see Kenley’s car in the driveway. She smiles and waves. Even though it should be hard to have a good day right now, it’s not. I wave back to Kenley. She’s the reason why.
I secure a pass during my free period and head to the yearbook room. Room is an exaggeration. It’s more like a large closet. But there are computers, the internet, and limited supervision. It’s the perfect place to start fulfilling my promise to Kenley; I’m determined to find out what happened to Rose.
It’s not that I don’t believe the police can do it. I’m just not sure they understand Rose Waller the way the rest of us do. Underneath the smile and confidence—beyond the glittery cheer bows and the teacher’s pet is a girl that spray painted “fuck you” on her best friend’s garage door and then went to a high school party to celebrate, never looking back. There’d long been rumors that Rose was full of drama, stuff I’d never paid much attention to, but usually there’s a spark of truth to gossip, especially in a town the size of Thistle Cove.
Because one thing is sure as hell, watching her dad on TV today, the city councilman and possible future mayor, I realized something. He said all the right things while also saying he was okay with the search being over. What are the chances he doesn’t want people to dig too deep?
I boot up the computer and take a minute to think about what I know about Rose Waller.
She never showed up for the first day of school.
Alice saw her on the bridge that day while driving Kenley’s car.
She’d been distant lately to Finn.
Her charm was found down current near the banks of the cove.
Police have ended the water search.
The door creaks open and I look up, expecting Kenley. It’s Ezra.
“Hey,” I say, minimizing the screen. “What are you doing in here.”
He seems surprised to see me. “Looking for Kenley, actually.”
“Yearbook business?” I hold up a flyer stacked on the desk. “Want to place an ad?”
He laughs, and it’s more noticeable that he’s gained a bit of weight and doesn’t have the hollowed out, stoner-look, anymore. “Nah. I was just wondering if she talked to the police again.”
“Not that I know of.” He gives me a questioning look. “She drove me to school today. I feel like she would have mentioned it.”
He drops in the seat next to mine. “Probably.”
“How was your interview? I got called in to confirm Kenley had been at the bonfire all night.”
“Yeah,” he runs his hand through his dark hair. “I’d talked to her that night. Up on the bridge.”
“Are you kidding? Why didn’t you tell anyone?”
“Because the person with a record is always the first suspect. I was hoping she’d turn up before they got to me.” He frowns. “Obviously that didn’t happen.”
“What happened when you saw her?”
He leans back in his chair, stretching out his long legs, and tells me what he knows. Rose had been buying weed from him for a while. That night she wanted something harder—a party drug. She’d had a wad of cash and complained about Thistle Cove being boring.
“No wonder you thought she took off.”
“She seemed restless.”
“Do you think Finn knew she was using that much?”