“I can’t believe you guys got all dressed up.” I open the lid to the basket and am shocked with all the goodies inside: chicken and mashed potatoes and some kind of vegetable casserole. I pull out each item and place it on the blanket.

“This is awesome, guys,” I tell them. “Thanks so much. I love all you guys for being here.”

Trey takes the stuffed penguin from Ash and hands it to me. “Here,” he says.

“I love penguins. Trey, this is perfect.”

We start eating while Jet, Ashtyn, and Derek play music through the loudspeaker and act as our personal butlers. After dinner, the three of them leave so we can be alone.

Trey wraps a blanket around us, then turns off the fake candles so we’re almost in total darkness.

But as close as we are physically right now, I feel like our thoughts and emotions are a million miles away from each other.

I sit up.

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

I don’t want to tell him, but I don’t want to keep up the façade any longer. It’s not fair to either of us. I want to be in a relationship, but I suddenly realize I don’t want to be in a relationship with him.

“This seems so fake, Trey.” I turn to face him. “Don’t get me wrong. I love what you did for me tonight. It just seems so… forced.”

“I concur.” He sits up. “Let’s just make it through homecoming, Monika.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to go to homecoming with you. Everyone knows you’ll be voted homecoming queen…”

“And you’ll be king,” I say.

He runs a hand through his hair. “I just don’t want to shake things up right now.”

“Then why are you obsessed with texting a girl named Zara? I think that’s pretty much shaking things up.”

“You don’t know anything about her,” he says, defending her like he’s her boyfriend.

“Because you won’t tell me! You pretend like there’s nothing going on between you and this girl, but it’s obvious. I mean, you’re so preoccupied with texting her, it’s like you don’t even care about me anymore. On top of that, you taking those pills freaks me out. I’m not blind or clueless. I know what’s going on.”

Trey’s cell rings.

“We need to finish this discussion. Don’t answer it,” I say, but my words fall on deaf ears as he gently nudges me aside.

“Hey, man, what’s up?” His eyes go wide. “No way!”

“What?” I ask anxiously. “Who is it?”

“I’ll be right there,” Trey says. “Yeah, I got it. All right.” He hangs up the phone. “Vic’s in trouble.”

Panic swells in my chest. “What happened? Where is he?”

Trey starts packing up the food. “Jail.”

Chapter Nineteen

VICTOR

“I’m tellin’ you I didn’t do anythin’.”

I look at the shiny silver nametag with OFFICER THOMAS STONE engraved on it. He’s a big dude who acts like he’s some sort of FBI agent or something as he sits across from me in an interrogation room. He was the one who cuffed me and shoved me in the back of his squad car an hour ago.

“Listen, Victor,” he says as he looks me straight in the eye. “I’m going to be completely honest with you. Getting in a fight with Matthew Bonk isn’t a good idea. His father is a valued community member.”

“I’m tellin’ you I didn’t touch his Jeep. I was just there to get my sister, and Bonk stood in the way. He swung at me first. I don’t know why the hell I’m the one sittin’ here and you just let him go.”

Officer Stone sighs. “Everyone in this precinct knows about the troubles you’ve been in. Your record isn’t squeaky clean. Witnesses said you came there with your fists swinging and Matthew didn’t throw a punch.”

“Everyone there was from Fairfield, Officer. Of course they’d take Bonk’s side.”

“Are you saying the witnesses were lying? All of them? Even your own sister?”

“Yeah. That’s what I’m sayin’.” I lean my head back, tired of trying to prove to this guy that I didn’t come there looking for a fight. I went there to fetch Dani so she didn’t get into trouble.

The officer has pegged me as a troublemaker. Nothing I say or do is gonna change his mind.

Officer Stone leaves me, then comes back with a thick file folder. “So tell me, Salazar. Do you have gang ties?”