Deadly by Sarah Harvey Page B

him?”
    â€œNicki took pictures of you and Shawna outside the party. And of Shawna and Jason putting you in the Beemer. You were pretty out of it. My guess would be Shawna put something in your drink.”
    â€œI don’t remember anything past getting in the car,” Amy says. “Nothing at all.”
    â€œI would have been here sooner, but Mom needed the car.” The minute I say it, I realize how lame it sounds. “I mean, I had to have a car to follow him. But it looks like you figured a way out anyway.”
    Amy is silent.
    Detective Rayburn finally comes on the line, and I say, “I found her. I found Amy. We’re over by the lake. Near the brewery.” I give him the address.
    â€œWe’ve been getting calls about some girl screaming and waving a flag near there,” he says. “And some guy’s windshield got smashed by a falling glass block. Squad cars are on the way. Anything to do with you?”
    â€œProbably,” I say. I turn to Amy, who is staring out over the lake. “You know anything about a glass block and a flag?”
    She nods but doesn’t speak.
    â€œYeah, that was Amy,” I say. “I guess she had a plan.”
    â€œSmart girl,” Rayburn says. “If you hadn’t turned up, we would have been there soon though.”
    After I hang up, I sit beside Amy on the wall and put my arms around her.
    â€œThe cops will be here soon. They’ll have a lot of questions. You want to call your mom first?” I punch in the number.
    She nods and says, “Speaker” through clenched teeth. She is shivering uncontrollably now. I can hear sirens. Lots of sirens.
    Her mom answers the phone. “Hello? Eric, is that you?”
    â€œIt’s me, Mom,” Amy says. Her voice is steady, even as her body shakes. “It’s me, Amy.”

Chapter Fifteen

Amy
    Jason’s trial won’t happen for ages. He’s locked up somewhere. Nicki helped the cops nail Jason, so they only charged her with aiding and abetting or whatever. She’s free to run around blabbing about what a bitch I am. It’s total bullshit. She may not have raped anyone, but she helped plan the whole thing. She paid Shawna. Nicki says it was all meant to be a joke. Jason was going to let me out after a few days. He wasn’t ever going to hurt me. Tell that to Vanna Bryson. She charged him with rape. I charged him with kidnapping and unlawful confinement. We’ll both have to testify. It will be worse for her. I got away. She didn’t. Except for that first day, I never felt totally helpless. She must have, because she was. I hope she’s okay, but I can’t imagine that she is. My lawyer says I’m not supposed to talk to her. I’m not sure why. But I texted her anyway, to say I was sorry. She never texted me back.
    I’m okay—barely. I see a therapist once a week. I have nightmares. I can’t stand to be in any room with the door shut. Dr. Milne says that’s normal, but it makes using the bathroom hell. My appetite is all over the place. I crave weird things that I haven’t eaten since I was little. KD with hot dogs. Coke floats. Mom gets me whatever I want. Beth sits with me and watches Sex and the City (which she hates). Eric comes over every day after school and stays until I fall asleep. Or longer. A couple of times I’ve woken up in the night, and he’s been asleep on the floor beside my bed. No one says anything about him staying over. Dad calls every day. But none of them really understand. How could they? I know they’re trying, but it’s pretty lonely sometimes. Dr. Milne says it will get better. Mom says to trust Dr. Milne. I try.
    My essays were all found in the glove compartment of Jason’s Mom’s suv. His IQ really is smaller than his shoe size. The originals are all in an evidence locker somewhere, but I asked Detective Rayburn for copies. I showed them to Mom, and she