Bryce sat in the darkness of Aunt Jill’s living room after everyone else had gone to bed. The only glow came from the television as he clicked through the various cable channels, paying little attention to the pictures on the screen. His mind sorted through all that had happened since last Thursday. Five days had passed and it still seemed as impossible as it did that first night.
Dad, how could you do this? You’ve never been angry enough to kill someone. Were you sick? Depressed? Is that why you killed yourself?
Bryce clenched his teeth and clamped his eyelids shut to stop the flow of emotions, but tears still forced their way out. He swiped them from his cheeks then gave in to the silent sobs he’d been fighting for nearly a week. So many things he’d miss out on without Dad. Never again would he stand on the pitcher’s mound and hear Dad yelling, “You got this, Bryce! Strike him out.” And graduation. Dad wouldn’t be there to see him walk across the stage. Or to help him move into a dorm room on the first day of college. The idea nearly suffocated him.
A soft knock sounded on the front door. Who could that be? Bryce mopped the tears from his face. Flipping the switch for the light outside the front door, he peeked through the side window. Ty gave him the peace sign. Then out of the darkness, Aaron and Ashlynn appeared. He wasn’t in the mood for company, but wiping his face once more, he opened the door.
“What are y’all doing here?” He kept his voice low.
“Figured you must be missing us,” Ty said. A 6-pack of Dr. Pepper hung from one of his hands.
“We brought food.” Aaron held up a large box of pizza.
“Shh-h, you’ll wake everyone up.” Ashlynn gave Bryce a quick hug as she came through the door. Ty and Aaron followed.
“What’d y’all do? Sneak out?” Bryce asked, closing the door behind them, and leading the way into the kitchen. He turned on the low under-cabinet lights.
“Nah, we’re here legally,” Ty popped open a can. “Talked our parents into letting us come over.”
Ashlynn opened the pizza box and frowned. “No napkins?”
“Who needs napkins?” Aaron lifted a large slice of pizza in the air, tipped his head back, and lowered half the slice into his mouth.
Ashlynn rolled her eyes, then tore a paper towel off the roll on the counter. She placed a slice of pepperoni pizza on it and held it out to Bryce. “Want some?”
He shook his head. He’d had no appetite since the shooting. Just the smell of the pizza made him nauseous. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and raised the pizza to her mouth. Bryce moved next to her, slid his arm around her waist, and pulled her close.
“Thanks for coming,” he said, looking at each of them. Ashlynn glanced at him with an odd smile then looked away. She didn’t lean into him like she usually did.
“You want something to drink?” he asked.
“I can get it.” She squirmed out of his embrace and set her pizza on the counter while she wrestled a can of soda from the plastic yoke.
“Bryce, you’ve gotta see Last One Standing,” Aaron said. “Lots of action. It’s awesome.”
Who cares? Bryce said nothing, still fighting the emotions. He caught Ashlynn watching him, caught the slight shake of her head toward Aaron as he described a violent scene from the movie. The three of them concentrated on their pizza until Ty spoke up.
“Hey, you missed a good game tonight. Hunter scored twenty-six points and four of them were three-pointers.”
“Except we lost by three points.” Aaron took another slice of pizza.
“Yeah. We could’ve tied it and gone into overtime if Jarod hadn’t missed that last basket,” Ty added.
Bryce crossed his arms to hide his hands curling into fists. Heat flushed through his body.
“Are we out of the playoffs yet?” Ashlynn asked.
“We’ve got one more chance this Friday,” Aaron said. “If we lose that game, we’re out.”
Bryce slammed his hand flat on the counter. “Who gives a flying rip?”
Ty, Aaron, and Ashlynn froze. They stared at him, wide-eyed. He choked back the tears. “I’ve lost my dad. Don’t you understand? My father is dead, and two other people died because of him. Do you really think I care about a stupid basketball game?”
An awkward minute of silence followed with everyone avoiding eye contact. Bryce turned and stalked into the dark living room. He stood before the television, taking deep breaths to calm himself. He sensed someone behind him before a hand gripped his shoulder.
“Sorry,” Ty said. “We didn’t think. It’s hard to know what to say, y’know? We, um, we’re praying for you.”
“The whole school is,” Aaron came up behind him on the other side. “Doc Robinson led everyone in prayer for your family in chapel on Friday.”
Bryce looked around in time to see Ashlynn sink onto the sofa, her gaze downcast. Ty sat beside her while Aaron stood nearby crossing and uncrossing his arms, then shoving his hands into his pockets.
“There’s, um, there’s a lot of talk around school about your dad and the radio station,” Ty said. Ashlynn looked at him and frowned.
“What are they saying?” Bryce asked, not certain he wanted to know.
“Ah, never mind,” Ty said, waving his hand in front of his face. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Come on. Tell me.”
“No, it’s nothing.”
“Just a stupid rumor,” Aaron said. “Not worth mentioning.”
“Then go ahead and tell me,” Bryce prodded. “You brought it up.”
His three friends exchanged looks. Finally, Aaron spoke up, “They say some people think your dad—because he lost his job—that it was revenge.” Ashlynn pinned him with a withering look, and Aaron shrugged. “I didn’t say I believe it. Jeez!”
Another awkward silence, this time broken when Ty stood up. “Guess we might as well leave.” He headed for the door, and Bryce met him there.
“Hey, I’m sorry I went off on you,” Bryce said. “I’m glad you came.”
“No worries, man.” Ty gave Bryce a man-hug. “Let us know if there’s anything at all we can do for you. Seriously.”
“Even if it means telling us to shut up,” Aaron offered. He followed Ty out the door and Bryce gave him a fist bump.
“Wait for me,” Ashlynn called. But instead of leaving, she got up and went into the kitchen. Bryce closed the door and joined her.
“There’s still some pizza left,” she said, “and these drinks. You want me to leave them here?”
“Sure,” he said. She put the pizza in the fridge and left the remaining drinks on the counter. Bryce caught both of her hands in his and leaned against the counter. “I didn’t mean to go off like that.”
“It’s okay.” She spoke softly and stepped closer. “We probably shouldn’t have come. My dad didn’t want me to.”
“Why not?”
Ashlynn shrugged, averting her eyes, and biting her lower lip.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She brought her gaze back to him and smiled, but it didn’t look genuine. “When do you think you’ll be back in school?”
“I don’t know. Maybe next Monday? I hope so anyway. It’s boring sitting around here all day.”
“I bet.” She paused, then said, “It’s late. I need to go.”
They walked to the front door and Bryce pulled her into his arms. She fit perfectly, her head under his chin. He tipped his head for a kiss, but Ashlynn pulled away.
“Goodnight, Bryce.”
“’Night, Ash,” he said, opening the door. He waved when she reached Ty’s car. Ashlynn waved back and mouthed Goodnight as she stepped into the rear seat. He wasn’t sure but he thought a tear glistened on her cheek.
Wait, was that goodnight? Or goodbye?