Paper Flowers (Pretty Plastic People) ★

051. Unkept Promises

"You know, babies are born in hospitals," says Liam when I mention this. "They're not always bad."

"Well I've never experienced that. All I've seen come out of these buildings are bad things."

He snorts. "You were there for your own birth. Obviously."

Usually I'd laugh, but today I'm not in the mood. I flick to the next page of my magazine and set in on an article about a messy divorce. It's easier than dealing with everything urgent pressing into my mind.

But I can't focus. A second later I've thrown the magazine back on the table. "Who drove Liam's car last?" I ask.

"Before tonight?" asks Liam. "I gave it to Cassidy yesterday to run to the convenience store."

Cassidy nods. "Why?"

"Well why didn't you take your Jeep to the store?"

She blinks, caught off guard. "Am I being questioned?"

"Something was wrong with Liam's car. That's why he and Nathan crashed." My hands are desperate for something to do. I toy with the unfastened lid of Brynn's coffee cup, snapping the buttons. It feels satisfying, like playing with bubble wrap.

"Do you know what was wrong with it?" asks Cassidy. "I didn't have any issues yesterday."

"Something about the brakes. Nathan said they were sticky."

"I don't know."

"Anyone else?" I glance around our loose huddle.

I don't know what I'm looking for. A confession? To what? This accident was just that—an accident. A car that malfunctioned, went out of control. Spencer and Nathan are lucky to be alive. I shouldn't be turning on my friends.

"So was there a lot of blood?" asks Celia, setting down her magazine. "Like, was it really gory?"

"Celia!" admonishes Allison.

But Celia looks angelic as always. "I'm just saying! I mean, we know Spencer and Nathan are gonna be all right. It's not insensitive. It was just a question."

I purse my lips. "Yeah, there was some blood. Spencer hit his head. He was still conscious, though."

I'm just repeating facts now, because they're the only things I know for sure. I don't know who caused the crash or what's going to happen between me and Spencer once he's released. Not even what'll happen to Liam's car.

I've circled back again, to worrying about a culprit in the collision. There isn't one. I'm still so paranoid—it's aftermath from Aquino High. Maybe I'll be paranoid for the rest of my life.

A nurse approaches us, stopping in front of me. "You can go in to see Spencer now. In small groups, please. Don't crowd. Nathan is just getting his vitals checked and he'll be released. We're asking that Spencer stay the night."

"Is he gonna be okay?" asks Taylor. I'm shocked that he'd chosen to tag along, and even more shocked that he pipes up now. Is it all an act to get on our good side? Is he only acting concerned? Or is there a tiny part of him, deep down, that still cares about us?

"He'll be fine," says the nurse. She brushes back her curly dark hair. "He's lost some blood, but he can head home in the morning."

I split from the group to go see him. Liam and Brynn follow—everyone else stays behind to visit later. The three of us are probably his closest friends, but we pale in comparison to what he and Taylor used to be. They'd been brothers.

How much had it hurt Spencer when Taylor turned on him? I'd never really asked. I'd been too concerned with how the drama affected me.

The nurse leads us down a narrow hallway and cracks open a door, gesturing for us to step inside. I slip through the tiny space and Liam and Brynn follow. It isn't the nicest or the biggest hospital—we have to stand close together in the room just to get the door shut—but it services a small town.