how could I protect Molly when I couldn’t even protect myself? “Or that I am, like, suited for that task.”
“It’s just that I know Ted and Hugh hang out a lot. So I kind of figure that if she’s with them, you’ll be there, too. I don’t really go to those parties anymore. I know she can be a huge brat, but Molly really looks up to you.”
“Well, thanks. But if she were my sister, I’d be more concerned about the times when they’re alone, not with Ted and me. I mean, Hugh doesn’t spend
all
his time with us.”
Lucky for me
. But not, I realized, for Molly.
Elaine twisted her mouth up ruefully. “I know. Whatever Molly thinks, she
is
a little naïve, and, well,” she looked me dead in the eye for the first time, “you know Hugh.”
“I won’t let him, or anyone else, mess with her while I’m around,” I said. “But I can’t be with her every second.” I didn’t want Hugh to hurt Molly, but I also didn’t know how to protect her without admitting what he’d done to me.
“I don’t suppose you’re going with them to the Martindale game Friday night,” Elaine said. It was common for Country Day students to go to the football team’s away-games on Friday nights, though I only went with Ted occasionally. I found football boring, and game nights usually ended in a lot of driving around, hoping for a party to materialize that never did.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I wasn’t really planning on it.” The thought of being stuck in a car with Hugh all night made me feel sick, even if Ted was going to be there and it was for the express purpose of protecting Molly.
“Well, whatever you can do, I’d appreciate it.” Elaine stood up, grabbed her golf club, and left.
It was the longest conversation we’d ever had.
Chapter 5
That afternoon, I met Lexi in the juniors’ parking lot, as promised. She drove an ancient Cadillac convertible of which I was a little jealous—it was straight out of
La Dolce Vita
(Palme d’Or, Cannes, 1960). We took the long way to her house, and she told me her story in a flat, frank voice while the two of us chain-smoked.
Just after school had started, a couple of weeks before the party at Melissa’s house, Lexi went down to Echo Bridge with her camera. It had been a dry summer, and the Souhegan had shrunk down between its banks, allowing Lexi new vantage points for shots of the pilasters and arches. She was doing a photo essay on abandoned spaces.
Hugh had called down to her from the top of the bridge.
“He said he was on his way to play video games at Ted’s house,” she told me, shooting me a quick glance as she dragged heavily on a cigarette.
For the first time it occurred to me that Ted might know about the things Hugh had done. But that was impossible. Ted was a Boy Scout (metaphorically and literally—he claimed Eagle Scout was a pretty useful resume bullet, although I was skeptical); he never would have let anything like this happen to anybody, never mind
me
. It was true they were best friends, but it wasn’t hard to imagine that Hugh had been hiding his proclivities from everyone. After all, I’d known Hugh for over three years, and though I had always thought he was kind of a dick, I never thought he was a monster. Before, anyway. So I just motioned for Lexi to go on.
Hugh had a joint on him and offered to share it with her. I knew this to be a part of Hugh’s and Ted’s Sunday video game routine, for Hugh, at least—Ted had never smoked pot in his life. Lexi had done all her homework the day before; her entire plan for the day was to wander around in the early fall sunshine and take pictures, an activity that she felt would be drastically improved by being stoned. So she took Hugh up on his offer and climbed the stone steps to join him.
“When we’d burned it halfway down,” she said, “he put his hand on my back. I told him it wasn’t going to happen. But he just looked at me and said, ‘Yeah, it is.’” She shuddered
“It’s just that I know Ted and Hugh hang out a lot. So I kind of figure that if she’s with them, you’ll be there, too. I don’t really go to those parties anymore. I know she can be a huge brat, but Molly really looks up to you.”
“Well, thanks. But if she were my sister, I’d be more concerned about the times when they’re alone, not with Ted and me. I mean, Hugh doesn’t spend
all
his time with us.”
Lucky for me
. But not, I realized, for Molly.
Elaine twisted her mouth up ruefully. “I know. Whatever Molly thinks, she
is
a little naïve, and, well,” she looked me dead in the eye for the first time, “you know Hugh.”
“I won’t let him, or anyone else, mess with her while I’m around,” I said. “But I can’t be with her every second.” I didn’t want Hugh to hurt Molly, but I also didn’t know how to protect her without admitting what he’d done to me.
“I don’t suppose you’re going with them to the Martindale game Friday night,” Elaine said. It was common for Country Day students to go to the football team’s away-games on Friday nights, though I only went with Ted occasionally. I found football boring, and game nights usually ended in a lot of driving around, hoping for a party to materialize that never did.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I wasn’t really planning on it.” The thought of being stuck in a car with Hugh all night made me feel sick, even if Ted was going to be there and it was for the express purpose of protecting Molly.
“Well, whatever you can do, I’d appreciate it.” Elaine stood up, grabbed her golf club, and left.
It was the longest conversation we’d ever had.
Chapter 5
That afternoon, I met Lexi in the juniors’ parking lot, as promised. She drove an ancient Cadillac convertible of which I was a little jealous—it was straight out of
La Dolce Vita
(Palme d’Or, Cannes, 1960). We took the long way to her house, and she told me her story in a flat, frank voice while the two of us chain-smoked.
Just after school had started, a couple of weeks before the party at Melissa’s house, Lexi went down to Echo Bridge with her camera. It had been a dry summer, and the Souhegan had shrunk down between its banks, allowing Lexi new vantage points for shots of the pilasters and arches. She was doing a photo essay on abandoned spaces.
Hugh had called down to her from the top of the bridge.
“He said he was on his way to play video games at Ted’s house,” she told me, shooting me a quick glance as she dragged heavily on a cigarette.
For the first time it occurred to me that Ted might know about the things Hugh had done. But that was impossible. Ted was a Boy Scout (metaphorically and literally—he claimed Eagle Scout was a pretty useful resume bullet, although I was skeptical); he never would have let anything like this happen to anybody, never mind
me
. It was true they were best friends, but it wasn’t hard to imagine that Hugh had been hiding his proclivities from everyone. After all, I’d known Hugh for over three years, and though I had always thought he was kind of a dick, I never thought he was a monster. Before, anyway. So I just motioned for Lexi to go on.
Hugh had a joint on him and offered to share it with her. I knew this to be a part of Hugh’s and Ted’s Sunday video game routine, for Hugh, at least—Ted had never smoked pot in his life. Lexi had done all her homework the day before; her entire plan for the day was to wander around in the early fall sunshine and take pictures, an activity that she felt would be drastically improved by being stoned. So she took Hugh up on his offer and climbed the stone steps to join him.
“When we’d burned it halfway down,” she said, “he put his hand on my back. I told him it wasn’t going to happen. But he just looked at me and said, ‘Yeah, it is.’” She shuddered
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