Free Very Bad Things by Susan McBride

stale doughnuts. She texted her mom every day to say I’m OK , and she watched people in a way she hadn’t before.
    She noticed that Charlie Frazer was suddenly going out of his way to avoid her. Whenever she saw him and waved, he’d cross the grass or duck into a building so he wouldn’t have to pass her. Every time she turned around in AP Biology, she caught Steve Getty watching her with a barely there smile on his face, like he knew something she didn’t know. One day, Katie lingered at her desk after class, waiting for Steve to leave first. Then she’d followed him as he’d crossed campus and snuck up on Joelle Needham while she sat on a bench near the library. He’d slipped his arms around her, andJoelle had jumped, spilling books from her lap. She looked fit to cry and pushed Steve away. Whatever she said to him made his face screw up, and he’d stomped away, hands in pockets, looking truly pissed.
    Tessa seemed to be even more out of sorts than usual, too. Several times when Katie’s weird dreams had awakened her in the middle of the night Tessa wasn’t in her bed. When Katie asked where she went, Tessa got defensive. “I watch TV down in the media room. Is that all right with you, or do I need a permission slip?”
    Weird, maybe. But nothing worth reporting to the police.
    Katie hardly saw Mark the entire week after The Box, but he texted her all the time. Under orders to lie low , he told her. I miss u .
    She missed him, too. They hadn’t broken up, but they weren’t together, not the way they had been. And all because of this mess with Rose.
    No one’s seen her in a week, Mark texted. Where is she?
    I don’t know , Katie replied. But someone must.
    Yeah, but WHO???
    Katie wondered the same thing. Because someone
had
to know what had happened to Rose. But whoever it was obviously wasn’t talking.
    The only talk Katie did hear was gossip. She couldn’t even go to the toilet without getting an earful. One night when she was just about to flush, she caught two girls dissing Mark.
    “If it happened by accident, you know, like rough sex, why wouldn’t he just dump her somewhere no one could findher?” one of them said. “Why would he chop off her hand and give it to his girlfriend?”
    “He plays hockey,” the other remarked. “Those guys are vicious.”
    Katie was about to flush the toilet and throw open the door to confront them when she heard the
tip-tap
of heels across the tile floor and then Joelle Needham’s angry voice.
    “Mark Summers might be a smug bastard, but he doesn’t rough up girls.
Ever
. So maybe you should just shut up.”
    “Sorry, Joelle,” the girls murmured.
    “Yeah, you are.”
    When it was quiet again, Katie flushed and stepped out of the stall, thinking she was alone in the bathroom.
    Only Joelle was still there, staring into the mirror, tears bright on her cheeks.
    Katie was about to ask if she was okay when Joelle sniffled and wiped the damp from her face. “So you heard that?” she said.
    “Yeah.”
    “Stupid frosh. They don’t know which side of their butts to wipe.” Joelle leaned toward the mirror, using her pinky to clean up smeared mascara.
    “Thanks for sticking up for Mark.” Katie went to the sink and washed her hands. “You didn’t have to do that.”
    Joelle tugged her auburn hair over her shoulder. “Mark might not be mine at the moment, but I know who he is. He may be vicious on the ice, but he wouldn’t hurt that girl, not even if he was ripped out of his mind. He’s not the onewho likes it rough.” She stopped and held on to the rim of the sink. “Tell Mark something for me, okay? He won’t listen to anything I say.”
    “Sure.”
    Joelle pursed her lips for a moment. “Tell him I didn’t want it to happen. That it wasn’t what he thought.”
    Katie shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
    “Mark will.” Joelle’s hands were shaking. “Look, it’s late. Go to bed, Katie. You’ve got bags under your eyes. You need