Perry's POV
Perry's heart thudded in his chest. He was sitting in his room, iPod in his ears, but he could not hear the music, even with the volume turned all the way up. He was staring at nothing, just thinking.
He couldn't forget what had happened today. He couldn't forget the sound, the pops of the gun. Of Paisley's gun.
Well, it wasn't Paisley's gun.
He turned over on his side, not allowing the thought to intrude. Suddenly, his phone rang.
He picked it up. "What?" he snapped hotly.
"Perry?" It was Christopher.
Ugh. He really didn't need to deal with him right now.
"Yeah?" he said, trying to tone down the hostility in his voice.
"I was just calling…" Christopher didn't need to finish.
"You were calling to check up on me, yeah, I know," Perry said, pressing Pause on his iPod.
"I thought you might, you know, want to talk about what happened today," Christopher said, sounding hurt.
"Not really," Perry said. "But I know you do. So talk. I'll listen."
Well, not really.
He pressed Play. And Christopher's voice started right in tune with the song.
"I just, like, felt so bad for poor Paisley," he said. "I can't imagine how she must've been feeling…oh, the poor girl. She was so nice. Why do bad things happen to good people, Perry?"
Perry wasn't listening.
"Perry?"
"Oh, um…I'm sorry?" Perry turned the volume down.
"Why do bad things happen to good people?"
"That's just the way of it, I guess." Perry angled the phone between his ear and chin, trying to lay on his side.
"Oh, God…and did you hear what she was saying?"
"Yeah, I know." Perry didn't actually hear her. He was on the other side of the quad, he couldn't hear her.
"Maybe she was already crazy," Christopher continued. "Maybe she was, you know, like, ready to crack."
Perry bit down on his tongue, trying not to say anything. All he mumbled was a pained, "Mm-hmm."
"You okay?"
"No." Perry said. "Look. I'm tired, okay? I'm going to try and sleep."
"Oh. Okay," Christopher said dejectedly. "Bye."
"Bye."
Perry hung up the phone and switched off his iPod. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was around ten. He turned off the light and rolled over onto his back. He tried to close his eyes, but they refused to cooperate, and he lay there staring at an old water stain in his ceiling. It was last summer when his ceiling started leaking. The roofers had come, but Perry had never painted over the stain. It was shaped sort of like a rounded star.
He lay in his bed for another two hours; then he couldn't take it anymore. He walked stealthily and silently down the stairs and out the door.
It was cool outside. There were no clouds, and the stars and moon were luminescent. Perry started walking. He wasn't sure where he was going, but his steps led him straight to school. To the quad.
He walked around the familiar paths, stood where Paisley had been arrested. The whole place was lined with yellow "Do not cross" tape, but Perry stepped over it and right into the crime scene.
He was staring at the place where Brittany was murdered. He didn't cross the yellow tape there, but he could still see some spots of blood where she had fallen.
Sighing, he listened to the insects chirping away, concealed by the darkness. He closed his eyes, imagining the party.
The party that had triggered it all.
"Hey."
A voice split the peacefulness, and Perry whipped around. But it was only Ranger, walking toward him, his long shadow cast by the moon. Perry grit his teeth, managing a stiff nod.
Ranger smiled and jerked his thumb back toward the yellow tape.
"Pretty useless, huh?"
He nodded again.
"Why are you here?" Ranger asked kindly.
But Perry was hostile. "I could ask you the same question."
But Ranger only laughed, not troubled at all by Perry's enmity.
"You could, but that'd be pretty…I don't know. Obvious, huh? I've done worse things than cross a police line."
Perry stiffened. "Mm-hmm."
"Weird, isn't it? This whole thing? Who'd guess Paisley Reed would be the one to crack?" He laughed again. "Well, I guess she wasn't all there to begin with. You ever see her car? With the gum wrappers?"
Perry nodded. He had seen Paisley's car. She'd been hoping to finish coating it in silver paper eventually. Now she would never be able to. Perry wondered how long Paisley would be in jail for. She wouldn't get off easy with this.
Perry wondered what it was like to walk around with the knowledge that you'd killed somebody.
"I'm leaving now," Perry announced and walked away. He was aware of Ranger watching him, but he didn't care. He couldn't cry in front of Ranger.
He knew what that knowledge would feel like.