We drive in comfortable silence, every now and then a scream of tires making me jump, or a clang of metal machinery like a shovel against a head making me shudder.
As we approach Ali's drive, a familiar beige pick-up truck slides into my view. It feels like a long time since I've seen that. Does it belong to someone at school? Who's seeing Ali that I know? Or is it Jason's, maybe?
As our feet crunch on the small pebbles of the driveway, I try to think who the truck could belong to. We climb up the steps to the porch, and Em rings the front doorbell. My stomach feels like it's being infested by flittering moths as the reality of what's about to be revealed hits me.
Someone much taller than Ali opens the door. At first I think it's Jason. Then, those cold blue eyes meet mine and warm for a moment as I'm taken back to junior year - that mysterious murder suspect I looked down on, only to fall in love with a few weeks later.
Only to be betrayed a year later.
That's who the truck belongs to.
Toby.
...
After a few seconds of awkward silence, Em says,
"Toby? What are you doing here?"
"I..was just coming to see Alison...it's, uh, been a while..." he mutters out his words, glancing up, only at her, from time to time.
"Uh...why are you here?", he directs the question at her - I might as well not be here.
"We came to see Ali," I blurt out, not being able to be ignored any longer. His eyes meet with mine again but this time they don't warm.
"I'll go get her. Come in." He says coldly.
As I watch the back of his head get smaller and disappear round the corner, a tiny spark ignites in the pit of my stomach, barely noticeable, but it seems to scare the moths away.