Ashlee took one last look over her shoulder at Mr. Garr’s house, and with a sad heaving shrug she turned down the winding road, kicking dust and rocks with the toe of her shoe. She blinked back a blinding tear and let it fall slowly down her cheek and into the choking dirt below.

She shook her head. It’s stupid to cry, she thought. Darla was gone, she couldn’t bring her back. But Ashlee couldn’t brush off that stinging pain of guilt that stabbed at her constantly. She wondered if Bradley felt the same thing. He was there, he knew the truth. But did he feel the pain of guilt? Did it attack him and make him want to scream?

Ashlee looked up from the ground. More and more frequently she had blinding flashbacks of that night. She hated dwelling on it. She had so much to look forward to, she was finally a senior at high school, she was dating Darla’s gorgeous old boyfriend Bradley, and her new prom dress hung proudly in her room. But the guilt kept eating away.

Poor Darla, she didn’t even have a chance.