They stood perfectly still until Diego appeared farther along the rocky wall. He stopped when noticing Anthony, who already felt his temper rising, although he tried to keep it in check.
"You're early," Diego said.
"I know,” Ricky replied. “But a lot has happened.”
Diego nodded in his direction. “What’s he doing here?”
“I won’t be staying long,” Anthony said, blood pounding in his ears. “But I would like a word with you before I go. Alone, preferably.”
Ricky seemed confused.
“It’s fine,” Anthony assured him. “I’ll see you at school. Okay?”
Ricky nodded. “Okay. Thanks for driving me out here. Um…”
“Wait inside,” Diego said. “It’s all set up.”
Ricky got a funny smile on his face before going in the direction Diego had come from.
“The police got the tape?” Diego asked as he approached.
“Yes,” Anthony said tersely. “And you’re being very naïve. You can’t make this go away by hiding in a cave. Graham’s dad is a lawyer, you know.”
Diego seemed surprised by this news. “He is?”
“Yes, and I don’t know if he’s buddy-buddy with any judges, but he’s a total jerk like his son and won’t let this get swept under the rug just because you’re hard to find.”
“I’ll survive.” Diego eyes narrowed. “And also, mind your own fucking business.”
“Are you kidding me?” Anthony snorted and shook his head. “This is my business. My dad nearly lost his job because of you!”
“So what? He’s off the hook.”
“He got suspended,” Anthony growled. “That’ll be on his record forever, and it’s not a joke like getting in trouble at school. This is his career! He never had a single problem before you got him in trouble.”
“Me?” Diego snarled. “I didn’t do shit! He shouldn’t have said those things to Graham’s dickhead father if he didn’t want blowback.”
“Nobody cared until you tried to burn down his house!”
Diego bared his teeth. “Point the finger at me again and I’ll fucking break it. I’m sick of getting blamed for all your problems! And now you want to heap your dad’s shit on top of it all?”
“Fine,” Anthony said through gritted teeth. “You’re right. My dad shouldn’t have said what he said, but you lit the fuse.”
“Just like how I burned down the garage?”
Anthony pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to calm himself. “Listen, this isn’t about you and me anymore. You should be thinking of Ricky.”
“What about him?”
“The police know he was involved.”
“What?” Diego’s eyes widened. “How?”
Anthony didn’t reply, wanting to protect his best friend.
Diego reached his own conclusion. “Omar fucked up, didn’t he?”
“That doesn’t matter. Ricky is going to take the fall. Just like you did with the garage. And you’re right, it wasn’t fair back then, and what will happen to Ricky isn’t fair either. But we both know how the world works. Someone always gets the blame.”
“That’s your world and your rules,” Diego shot back. “I make my own.”
“By hiding in a cave? From the cops? That might be your world, but it’s not Ricky’s. I’m sorry that you were dealt such a bad hand. I really am. But you’re going to drag him down with you.”
Diego scowled. “So I should just curl up and die somewhere, huh? Leave the precious middle class to their perfect little lives.”
“It’s not about money,” Anthony said. “You know my family never had much either. I guess…” He shook his head and sighed. “I guess I hoped he could save you.”
“From what?”
“Everything that happened,” Anthony said, his anger abandoning him. “I didn’t know how to back then. I still don’t. But you can save Ricky. Turn yourself in. If you really care about him—if you love him—that’s what you’ll do.”
He watched Diego clench and unclench his fists, like he couldn’t decide if he wanted to punch Anthony or not. Which was relatable. At times Anthony thought he hated Diego. At others, thinking about the tragedies his former friend had suffered through made him want to cry. And yeah, he was to blame for some of that. And by extension had played a part in what was happening now. “I’m sorry—” Anthony began to say.
“Don’t!” Diego walked toward him menacingly. “I don’t want your fucking pity! Understand?”
“It’s not pity,” Anthony croaked.
“Then what is it?”
Love? Regret? Sorrow? The emotion was too complex to put into words, so he merely swallowed and shook his head.
“Don’t worry about Ricky,” Diego said as he turned around. “I’ll take care of him.”
“I’m sure you will,” Anthony murmured while watching him walk away. “But who’s going to take care of you?”
CHAPTER 27
May 22nd, 1993
Diego was used to people hating him. That was easy to deal with. What he wasn’t used to anymore was love and how complicated it made everything. Anthony’s words had cut to the bone, like they so often did. When he returned to the cave, he saw Ricky in a different light. He looked small. And innocent. Especially in the way he walked around touching the lanterns that Diego had bought, since they would need more than candles. There were plenty of those too, not yet lit, mostly because he knew that Ricky would expect them.
He wondered if it was true—if his bad luck was enough to ruin his boyfriend’s life too. If he walked away from it all right now, if Diego made Ricky go home to his parents and refused to ever see him again, would he live a happier life? He couldn’t stand the thought. Diego should already be on his way to Texas, but he’d needed this weekend just as much, because he felt addicted to Ricky. He didn’t know how else to describe it. And besides, the world was a cruel place. Bad things happened to good people all the time. His father had run his own business, had a wife who loved him, and son who practically worshiped him. He’d had no shortage of friends. And yet, he had still blown his own brains out. Diego didn’t know why and it drove him nuts. But there was no denying what he did know: Sometimes a good life wasn’t enough. Sometimes, no matter how happy you were and how closely you stuck to the rules, what other people did around you could still ruin it all. Was that his role now? Was he about to fuck up someone else’s life?
“This is nice,” Ricky said, still smiling like Diego had done it all for him. Which he supposed he had. If he’d been on his own and needed to avoid the cops, he would have slept in his car rather than go to all this effort. Hell, he’d be halfway to El Paso by now.
“I got some canned stuff to heat up for dinner,” Diego told him. “And there’s milk in the cooler so we can have cereal tomorrow. I don’t think it’ll last much longer than that.”
“The bed is especially nice,” Ricky said demurely. “Where’d you find such a big sleeping bag?”