Page 17 of Amnesty

My eyes flew to his. “What the hell, man?”

Robbie looked horrified. “She’s relentless!”

“Hardly.” She scoffed.

Robbie nodded emphatically. “It was like the Spanish Inquisition up in here!”

Amnesia laughed. “I’ve never met anyone so dramatic. You should be on reality TV.”

Robbie drew back as though she’d insulted him.

I reached out and patted his shoulder. “Relax. Reality TV is her favorite shit to watch.”

His expression smoothed, a cocky glint coming into his eyes. “Yeah?”

“Definitely.” Am nodded. Since Robbie was suddenly proud of himself, she turned to me. “You didn’t say anything.”

“We’re supposed to be taking it slow, remember? I’m not supposed to overload you with too much information too soon.”

Robbie leaned close to her. “Told ya.”

“So you all were friends?” Am asked. “You two and Sadie?”

They nodded.

“And you made the dare.”

Robbie nodded. “Biggest regret of my life.”

“Mine, too.” I cleared my throat. “Doing it, I mean.”

Amnesia turned toward Robbie. “So that was the stuff you said you guys had been through?”

“Jesus, Rob, did you tell her our entire life story in the five minutes I was gone?” I groaned.

“It was like ten, and I’m telling you she’s intense.”

Amnesia laughed.

Or maybe Robbie carried around a shit ton of guilt just like me and was too drawn to the chance to clear his conscience with the girl who might have been the victim of our dumb games that night.

I felt her curious eyes, the questions she asked without even saying a word. I couldn’tnotexplain; it was too late for that now. Sidling up closer to her side, my palm hooked around her hip. Her body angled into mine, though she was still between Robbie and me.

“I hated him for a long time,” I said, recalling how angry I’d been those first few months after Sadie vanished. “I was mad at everyone, but Robbie… I was mad at him the most.”

Robbie nodded. I saw the memory in his eyes. It couldn’t have been easy to be so young and the target of so much malice.

“I didn’t mean it.” Robbie’s voice was hoarse. “We were just dumb kids. I thought we were just being harmless.”

Am reached out to him. “You were.”

He looked down at where she touched him, so innocent in the way she tried to make him feel better. The worst victim of all, more concerned with others than herself.

“I ruined lives that night. Maybe even cost one.”

I paused, fully expecting Amnesia to tell him he hadn’t, that she was right there, her life still intact.

She said nothing.

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