I glanced up the stairs where Henry was pointing. I had never gone upstairs in Mayra’s house before and certainly hadn’t been in her room. I felt the tingle of panic wash over my skin but then reminded myself that not only had her dad asked me to come over, but he was pointing the way, so it must be okay for me to go in there.
“Matthew, I should tell you something.”
I turned my head to look at him, but I had to drop my eyes to his shoulder. The mustache waving around in the middle of his face was just too distracting.
“I got a call a while ago—from Officer Gregory. They caught one of the other guys—Mark Johnson. He must have been pretty freaked out and ended up giving them a full confession. Apparently there was some sort of bet between Lords and the coke dealer. Mayra heard me talking on the phone about it.”
“Bet?” I was pretty sure I didn’t want to know, but I asked anyway.
Henry growled under his breath as he turned his head to one side. His right hand balled up into a fist.
“Lords bet his buddies he could…have sex with Mayra. When they broke up, he stood to lose a lot of money to the coke dealer. This was his way of winning the bet.”
My hands started to shake as I processed what he was saying. I had to close my eyes and breathe slowly for a few minutes before I could even speak again.
“They followed us,” I said.
“Yeah,” Henry confirmed. “I don’t think they were counting on you to offer much resistance and figured they could threaten you both into silence. I’d say you gave them a bit of a shock.”
“What about the fourth guy?” I asked.
“The police have a name,” Henry said, “Steven Blake. They haven’t found him yet. At least they hadn’t as of a couple of hours ago. They have a warrant out for the assault charges, especially considering he was the one who busted you up the most. His brother is the dealer—the other guy you knocked out.”
“I’d never even seen them before.”
“I think Mayra has,” Henry said, his voice low. “Mayra’s mentioned their names before. I think Justin was hanging around them when she was still dating that…that…”
He growled again.
“Henry?” I said quietly, trying out his name for the first time.
“Yeah?”
“I kind of wish…wish I hadn’t stopped hitting him, you know?”
“Yeah, kid,” Henry said with a sigh. “I do know.”
Henry reached out and clapped my shoulder with his hand. I tried not to flinch, but I really couldn’t help it. I knew he was trying to be nice, and I knew he was grateful, but that didn’t stop me from cringing anyway. He pulled his hand back and dropped it at his side.
“Sorry,” I muttered.
Henry shook his head and waved his hand dismissively. He looked toward the stairs, scratched at his mustache, and tapped his foot a few times.
“She’s in her room,” Henry finally said. “Go on up if you want.”
Taking a deep breath, I walked up the stairs slowly and then peeked into the partially opened door. Mayra was lying on a twin bed with her legs hanging partway off the side. There was a blue and white comforter lying most of the way on the floor, which Mayra had apparently recently kicked off.
Her eyes were closed, but she was restless.
I approached her slowly, walking softly across the floor before kneeling next to her bed. I reached out and touched her arm gently, and she jumped. A second later, she sat straight up and screamed.
“Mayra! Mayra! It’s just me!”
“Matthew!” she cried as she grabbed hold of my shoulders. I hugged her to me, her body shaking under my fingers.
“It’s okay,” I said quietly. “It’s just me.”
She tugged at me until I was lying down next to her. As soon as we were side by side, she nestled her forehead against my chest and closed her eyes.