brothers.

76~ Fallout

Happy (belated) Heavenly Birthday to my Abuelita

Harry

The big 'WINTER FORMAL' banners were getting on my nerves. School dances didn't require a date, but I would've liked one. At least I wasn't alone; Tommy was single now. Honestly, he was better off. He seemed a lot more relaxed and less depressed since he broke up with Shirley, and he'd stopped looking at those websites.

I felt pretty bad, even so. With that rumor having gotten around, it would be hard for him to find anyone else to date if he wanted to. We didn't hold it against Diana, since we were really mean to her at the time, but it made a huge impact on both of us.

I stopped in my tracks when I saw Lucas's old friends down the hall. I didn't feel like dealing with them. I was next to the lockers, too— not a good position to be in when a group of enemies was around.

I quickly turned the corner, speed-walking. With this new route, I could be late to class.

"Oof!" I dropped my books. "I'm sorry!" I crouched, picking up the person's notebook. It read, 'Mildred Dawson' on the cover.

"Oh, hey!" She smiled, taking her book. "Sorry about that."

"You're good," I said. "Haven't seen you since Kyle's party."

"Yeah... that was pretty short-lived."

"I'm sorry about all that. And I actually thought about inviting you... a-and everyone else, too, but since it was Kyle's party, and-"

"Harry." She stopped me. "Don't worry about that. It's not a big deal."

I nodded, still feeling a bit awkward. "Have you talked to any of the other girls? Like... Blanche, or anyone?"

She inhaled. "I'm not that close with Blanche, to be honest. I only know all of them through Diana. I know Blanche has been having a hard time with her mom lately... she talked about it in the group chat. I was surprised Diana didn't say anything... now I know why she hasn't talked to us."

"So none of them ever told you?"

"No. They're not allowed to, are they?"

"I guess... not." She hoisted her backpack further up her shoulder. "So... the guy that murdered his wife was... Di's uncle? Supposedly?"

"Yeah. When her parents died, they took her in, and CPS took her out because they abused her, and their kids. Diana needs to prove he was abusing his wife... and tell them she saw him carrying the body."

"She saw him carrying the body?!" she exclaimed.

"Shh!" I glanced around us. "She didn't realize it. It was dark. But it was him."

Mildred cursed under her breath. "What about Thelma and Kate? What do they have to do with it?"

"Thelma recognized the truck, so she's gonna confirm it was his same truck. And apparently, Kate saw him looking for the wife's body in the lake, and she called the cops."

"She called the cops?" Mildred shook her head. "What are the odds? Why didn't she say anything, though?"

"I guess she was scared." The bell rang, reminding me I had a class to get to. I cursed. "Sorry, I held you up."

"I have a free period. You're fine."

"Aw, about time the single pringle has a girlfriend." Ivy and Lisa's faces appeared, approaching us with venomous smiles. "I'll be honest, Harry, I thought you'd be single forever. It's nice to see how things turned out," Lisa said with an irritating smile.