She was like Rain Man. I couldn’t remember what I ate last week, and she was telling me stats about a player from four years ago who had been on the team for one semester. Was she real?
She nodded to herself. “Yeah. I don’t think I remember much else.”
“You remember that from a freshman who played one semester four years ago?” Noah asked her, clearly impressed, and I was so glad it wasn’t just me who thought Ava’s memory was extraordinary.
I looked at Jett. “Just accept you’re losing every argument. She doesn’t forget anything.”
Ava laughed. “Football stats for the Alabama Lions, I remember. Where I put my phone when I’m holding it, not so much.” She looked at Dante. “I’m sorry that wasn’t much help.”
His gaze flicked to mine; it was more than we had, and I turned back to her with a wide smile. “You did great.” Savannah and I exchanged a look. “What high school?”
Ava looked pleased at the praise. “Um... ooh. Now that, I forget... He was a southerner, though — not Alabama, Tennessee maybe?”
“Tennessee?” Savannah asked sharply. “Chattanooga?”
Ava thought about it. “Maybe?”
Mia was on her phone. “Hartwell Hawks, one Mason Sterling.” She turned it to us. “This him?”
“You found that already?” I asked, taking it off her.
“Ava said he was a good player. The suburbs hold on to the memories of the glory days.” Mia shrugged. “I took a punt.” She turned and looked up at Ash. “Did I just make a football reference?”
He grinned down at her. “Yeah, you did.”
Savannah and I looked at the phone. I quickly snapped his picture with my own phone.
“That’s, like, five years old, he’ll look different now,” Mia reminded us.
“This is so helpful,” I told Ava and Mia honestly. “Thank you.” I turned to Dustin and the others. “We good?”
“I’m still waiting to hear why,” Gray rumbled.
“Got some trouble at school,” Dustin told him without missing a beat. “Need to know more before we know if we need to act, and the implications if we do.”
Gray’s gaze flicked between the three of them, lingering longer on Dante. “Draft-stock implications?”
“Possibly.” Dante looked like he was carved from ice.
All three Santo men exchanged a look. The specific shorthand of people who’d been in enough situations together to recognize the shape of another one.
“Let us know if you need us.” It was Jett who spoke; he said it to Dustin, but he glanced at Dante.
I’m sure I wasn’t the only one whose mouth had dropped in surprise. He didn’t give warm vibes, but he sounded sincere.
“And remember—” Gray gave us all a hard look — “we told you nothing.”
Dante’s smile was media perfect. “I’ve already forgotten I was here.”
Five minutes later, we were outside, getting into the two cars, and driving away.
I turned to Dustin. “That was intense.”
He huffed out a laugh. “That was the Devils on a good day.”
* * *
The quiet settled in like a third passenger.