Page 13 of Diem

Dixie was loved.She didn’t deserve this and being here, I realize how badly I want the man responsible to be punished.

Who could do such a senseless thing? A monster, that’s who.

Shivering in the stale air, I glance around surprised to find my dad and Mr. Carhart, the principal seated two rows down and across from us. He never mentioned he was coming. Weird.

Even more surprising, Diem is leaning against a wall in the back. Sensing my gaze, he turns his head and stares at me blankly before looking away.

What’s he doing here?

Turning back to the front, I wonder at his presence because as far as I know they were never friends.

The ceremony is long, and after a while, I lean my head against Bone’s shoulder and fight the painful memories of my friendship with Dixie. She was a bright soul blighted by her home life and made mistakes she couldn’t live through. I miss her more now than I ever did.

She would’ve kicked Diem’s ass out the gate for his mistreatment. The thought makes me smile because he wouldn’t have known what hit him.

Afterwards, while we’re walking to Bone’s car, I search for Diem, but he must already be gone. Just as well, because we don’t have anything to say to each other. We never truly did.

Bone says something I don’t hear and when I look up, I spy Penny, Dixie’s sister walking toward us.

She’s thinner than ever, pale with dark circles around her brown eyes, currently staring at me intently. Sorrow pulses in my chest at her fatigue, the grief written across her face in fine lines and peaks.

I don’t know how it feels to be confronted with something so horrible, but I suspect she'll never escape the reality of her sister’s end. It's a specter that never truly goes away.

“Hey,” I murmur, “I’m so—“

Waving me off, she rasps, “Listen, I looked through Dixie’s shit before the police took it anyway. Dixie was talking to some guy. She never mentioned him and the way they spoke, I get the impression it was meant to be a secret. Did she say anything to you?”

“No,” I say with a frown. “We spent a lot of time together. If she was seeing anyone, it wasn't often.”

“Hm,” she says, looking away with a sigh.

I follow her gaze, rubbing my neck, where the hair stands on end. Nothing is out of place though and there are so many people here it could be anything, so I try to shake it off.

“Maybe…,” Bone says beside me as I step further into the crowd, turning in a circle. Why do I feel so yucky suddenly?

When a dark shadow forms over my shoulder, I shudder as Diem says, “Maeve?”

“Yeah?”

“What’s wrong?”

The deep rasp snaps me from my reverie and I clench my fist because that’s all it takes to have me pulsing in delicate places—his damn voice. I’ve spent a damn year yearning for this bullshit though and I’m done with it. Since my only recourse is to go on the offensive, I turn to him with wide eyes and say, “Why are you here?”

If he thinks I’m going to bare my soul to him, like we’re besties, he’s more fucking delusional then I thought.

“What? I can’t come to the funeral?” he huffs, and I flinch at his tone.

Maybe he truly did know Dixie? And now I’m acting like a bitch while he’s grieving. Nice.

“Of course, you can,” I stutter, except he’s not looking at me. He’s scanning the crowd.

For what?

“Diem? Who are you looking for?”

His eyes snap to mine and he searches my gaze before he pulls up a devilish smirk but something about his stiff posture makes me pause.

What’s going on? The Sinners always seem to know more than they should, considering they’re teenagers. Does he have information about Dixie?

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