Rose killed herself.
Finn is innocent.
And I still have so many questions.
“You okay, sweetie?” my mom asks.
“I, uh,” my mind whirls. What about the SugarBabies account? What about the keycard I found? “I guess so. It’s just a lot to process.”
“Poor Rose,” mom says, giving me a tight smile. “I know that when you two stopped being friends it was really hard on you, but I won’t deny that there have been times I thought it may not have been the worst thing for you.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
She takes a deep breath and glances at my dad. “It was pretty obvious she was getting involved in some risky behavior. The parties, the sneaking out, the pranks, drugs, her intense relationship with Finn. I wanted you to have a little more time to grow up first.”
“You knew about all that?”
“We may be old, Ken, but we’re not dumb. It’s a small town and people talk, including parents. Rose was on the fast track to trouble, and I’m not sad you weren’t a part of that. I am sad that it ended this way for her, though.”
I glance back up at the TV and see they’re rehashing the past few weeks. “I think I’m going to go to bed.”
“Night, sweetie,” my dad says.
“You let us know if you need anything, okay?”
I nod and head back upstairs, feeling more numb than anything else. When I get in my room the first thing I see is bright light coming from Finn’s window. My heart leaps and I rush over to the desk, climbing on top to get it open. A moment later I’m on the roof, peering across the space, searching for him.
“Kenley,” a voice says from right behind me.
I yelp and fall backwards. Strong hands catch me, pulling me back upright.
“Mother of—” I gulp for air. “Finn?”
“I’m sorry,” he says, removing his hands once he’s sure I’m not going to fall off the roof. “I know you told me not to jump over here again, but I had to see you. I looked in the window and you weren’t there. I figured I’d just wait.”
It’s good to see him, smell him, but I hesitate. He may be free, Rose’s case may be solved, but we left things in an awkward place.
“You scared the shit out of me,” I confess, “but I wanted to see you, too.” I look him up and down. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I just…well, I’m sure you saw the video. The police had questions and I had answers. Things I wasn’t ready to admit or really, accept yet.”
I take his hand and lead him to the edge of the roof. We sit, like last time, side by side. Unlike last time, I hold his hand the whole time.
“Tell me everything.”
And he does, starting with the fight at the gas station and the revelation that he broke up with Rose that night and angrily took back the necklace. He explains how he tossed it over the bridge, which is why it was found in the water. And how all of this, along with the other evidence, convinced police that Rose really committed suicide.
“The truth is that I was scared to face that truth the whole time, because if Rose killed herself, it was likely I had a hand in pushing her over the edge. Not literally,” he adds quickly, “but emotionally.”
“Trust me, I get it. If I’d talked to her that night, maybe none of this would have happened. She needed forgiveness, and I didn’t give it to her.”
He wraps his arm around me and holds me tight. There’s no need for either of us to offer the other absolution. It’s time to own up to our part in all of this. Ezra is probably carrying the same kind of guilt.
“I’m sorry I stormed out of Ezra’s house the other day. Seeing you in that outfit, it shook me. It scared me. I don’t want you going down the same dangerous path as Rose, even if it’s fake.”
“It was a stupid idea.”
He shifts to face me, lifting my chin so we can look into one another’s eyes. “It wasn’t. It was deviously smart. And scary. It proves how dedicated you are to your friends—even when they don’t deserve it. Rose would have been impressed.”