Her words are a gut punch. And I’m not mad at Noah for telling her shit about me, but she’s got it all wrong.
That’s when I hear it. A low, distant pulsating thrum on the warm air. At first, I think it’s the music coming from inside Scotch & Smoke.
‘Hollie, I’m grateful for what you did. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about how I reacted after Mo died, all right, it’s not exactly my finest moment.’
She covers her face with her hands and lets out a growl of frustration. ‘Why am I even here?’ she says, more to herself. ‘I am trying really hard not to like you right now, because, hey, been there, done that, didn’t get me anywhere! And I was done, you know? I’d managed it! I barely even thought about you anymore…’ She turns her back on me, her hands sliding away from her face. ‘I need to go home. I need to stop clinging to this place. I have to stop waiting to start living my life!’
She’s ignited something deep inside me. ‘Hold up… you like me? Since when?’
Around us, the sound intensifies. I hear sirens.
Hollie whirls around. ‘Since I got here! In high school! And the worst thing? I couldn’t even bring myself to hate you, even though you sat back and let Chase make my life hell! And then I find out Amber Bradshaw was yourgirlfriend—’
‘—Nah-uh, Amber pushed herself on me—’
‘Of course she did, AJ!Oops, you just fell on her tongue! You were just too dumb to realize—’
‘Realize what?’
Light and noise flood the sky. A helicopter above our heads.
‘That it wasme!’ she hollers back. ‘I kissed you in that fucking closet at that stupid party! And I walked away because two minutes later, you had your tongue down Amber’s throat!’
It’s another smack in the mouth. My breathing is erratic. Itwasher. All this time, it was her.I knew it, I fucking knew it.
I’ve never seen Hollie Palmer this mad. But I can’t think straight because there’s a police chopper above our heads, floodlights filling the sky.
We both look up, squinting into the glare, the dust kicking up violently all around us. Up above, somebody is hollering through a megaphone, but I can’t make out the words.
We face each other. Hollie looks at me, her eyes wide, but the white light gives away her tears. She turns and marches away.
‘Hollie!’ I yell, but she’s already gone.
I follow. We round the corner and come to an abrupt halt.
A convoy of about six or seven Canyon Police Department squad cars have pulled up around the entrance to Scotch & Smoke, together with county sheriff patrol cars, the whole area lit by their beamed headlights. Behind them, further down the street, two full-sized battered silver coasters are also pulling up.
The sheriff and other officers enter the bar. Within seconds, the rock music from inside has stopped dead and they’re using loudspeakers inside the building.
‘Exit the premises immediately!’ a voice is saying. ‘All Canyon residents will have their names taken and be transported back to the city.’
‘What’s going on?’ she asks.
I can take her upstairs. We can escape all of this.
I put one hand on her upper arm. I can’t have her getting caught up in all this, because I’ll warrant her stepmother has everything to do with it. ‘Stay with me,’ I say.
I see college kids filing out of the premises, some of them shaking their heads.
We watch as Echo comes out the front entrance and begins arguing with the officers.
‘Cool it, Echo,’ I mutter under my breath.
The two antiquated coasters are driven closer, engines rumbling. I watch as people are lined up. An officer with a clipboard takes their names and checks IDs before they are herded onboard.
‘I should go,’ she says, and pulls away from me.
‘Hollie!’ I say after her. ‘Hollie, don’t go. Come back.’