“What happened to Andy? Did his dad really kick him out? I thought he was, like, the star player of the football team and everything. And you've been going through therapists like crazy—what happened?”

Sam scratched his head. “We, uh…” One of the streetlights flickered out. He rushed to change the subject; “You know, there's, um, this nice little place out on the edge of town. Great view. And I know you're going to say no, but just hear me out, Jen,” he pleaded. “I don't think you're giving me a fair chance. I—I have a blanket in the back seat and everything. At least think about it, Jen.” He gave what he hoped was a winning smile. Please say yes, come on, stop turning me down.

Jenny sighed. “Listen, Sam, for the last time, we're just friends,” she said in exasperation. “I mean, I love you, yeah—as a friend. I just—I have some people I have to meet, alright? Could you just drop me off?” She rested her chin on her hand, staring out the window with a frown and twirling a lock of hair.

Sighing, Sam nodded. “Okay, where to?”

“Downtown, in front of Macy's.”

They didn't speak for most of the ride. He gazed blankly through the windshield, where the rain was sliding off in buckets, and his eyes narrowed. The Volkswagen's speed fell to 20, and Jenny frowned. “Drive faster,” she said quietly. Sam didn't respond. “Drive. Faster.” Still nothing. She swelled with annoyance. “I know you're upset, Sam, but come on. This piece of crap doesn't have a heater, so I'm freezing and now my best friend is being a stupid dick.”

He slammed his foot on the brakes and slowly turned to look at her. “Are you done now?” he asked quietly.

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, Sam, I'm done,” she replied mockingly. “Seriously, can we go?”

“First, there's something I have to tell you. Can you keep a secret?”

Noting the serious tone of his voice, Jenny nodded, her expression softening. “Yeah, sure. What is it?”

He looked around, then leaned closer. His voice lowered conspiratorially as he said, “That skirt you're wearing is pretty short, and I wanna take a look up.”

Fuming, she pushed him by the shoulders and undid her seat belt, opening the passenger door and stumbling out into the rain. “God, Sam, when did you turn into such an asshole?” she screamed, glaring back into the car at him.

He scrambled out and jogged around the car to her just as she plopped herself down on the curb, curly hair plastered to her forehead. His expression of fury seemed to match hers. “When did you turn into such a slut?” he countered. “If you don't want people thinking about you like—”

“I don't care what people think,” she snapped. “I just really thought you were better than that, Sam.” She shook her head and reached into her pocket, pulling out her phone. “I'll just have Michael pick me up or something once he's done with his shift…”

“Mike?” His heart jolted. “W-why Mike?”

Her eyes rolled back to him as she sneered, “He's my boyfriend.”

Sam's face distorted unpleasantly, skin turning bright red. “That's—but—”

“Just go home, Sam.”

He knocked the phone from her hand. “No,” he said coldly.

Jenny stood and looked him in the eye, then raised her hand and slapped him. “Cut the crap, Sam. Not everything's about you. If you want to take the fact that I'm dating Michael personally, fine. Go right ahead. But quit acting like you have some sort of claim on me, just because we've known each other for our entire lives.” She squatted down to pick up her phone, cursing as she saw the screen was cracked. “We had a good thing going on, and you just had to go fuck it up, didn't you?”

That did it. He lunged forward, cheek still stinging, and spun her around. She cried out before he clamped a hand over her mouth. His grin was wild as he said, “Don't worry, Jen, I'm not letting you go. I'll hold you close until the very end, just like I did for Andy.” Her screams were muffled and her eyes wide with horror as he slid a hand up her skirt. “Calm down, Jenny. We don't need to worry about anything right now.”

She tried everything—biting his hand, kicking him, struggling—but to no avail. She closed her eyes in pain as her tears disappeared into the rain water, the same water that was causing her makeup to run all over her face. She was too tired to struggle after a while and instead prayed that he would stop. Unfortunately, he appeared insatiable.

It was over eventually, and his hand finally slid from her mouth. She sobbed and curled into a ball on the ground, but he picked her back up. “Don't cry, Jen,” he whispered, then kissed her softly. She shook her head and tried to push him away, but his hands were clutching her arms too tightly. “It'll all be over soon.”

His hands wandered down to her throat, where they slowly began to squeeze. Her face turned purple, then blue. She made a quiet choking noise, squeaking at the end. Gradually, her shoulders stopped shaking. Her eyes bulged before turning glassy.

Sam let out a sigh, smiling. “Well, that's that,” he said, looking up at the stars that had just begun to twinkle in the sky like a chandelier; the rain had finally ceased, clouds on their way past the horizon. He looked back down to Jenny, who hung limply in his arms. “Let's head down to the beach and go for a swim, shall we?” Cheerful, he opened one of the car doors and set her down carefully, wrapping her in the fuzzy wool and positioning her body just so—just in case an officer pulled him over for any reason.

He pulled up into the beach parking lot just before midnight. She felt light as a feather as he drug her through the wet sand. “Well, Jenny, I guess you were right. You can keep a secret,” he said, laughing. He waded in until he was waist-deep, then waited for the tide to come in.

A wave hit him and he stumbled back, and as it receded he let her go, watching her body float out to sea.

I know what you want
I wanna take you a midnight show tonight
If you can keep a secret
I got a blanket in the back seat on my mind
And a little place that sits beneath the sky
She turned her face to speak, but no-one heard her cry:
Drive faster, boy
Drive faster, boy

I know there's a hope
There's too many people trying to help me cope
You got a real short skirt
I wanna look up, look up, look up, yeah yeah

We were just in time
Let me take a little more off your mind
There's something in my head
Somewhere in the back said
We were just a good thing
We were such a good thing

Make it go away without a word
But promise me you'll stay
And fix these things I've hurt
Oh make it go away!

Drive faster, boy
Drive faster, boy

Oh crashing tide can't hide a guilty girl
With jealous hearts that start with gloss and curls
I took my baby's breath beneath the chandelier
Of stars in atmosphere
And watch her disappear
Into the midnight show