The Thrashers

by Julie Soto

Zack was Jodi’s best friend. But she was only one of Zack’s many best friends.

Lucy always seemed pretty badass when she had a few drinks in her, but Jodi knew that the real reason she stole guys’ drinks was because she knew they wouldn’t be drugged.

Jodi sipped her Pellegrino, wondering how drunk Julian had still been when he was driving twice the speed limit to get them back to Sacramento.

Jodi finished a window. “Dad never let me near a pool because my mom drowned in our bathtub after taking too many painkillers.” And after a pause, “I was in the tub with her. I think she wanted me to die, too.” Her throat felt choked again, that same sensation from earlier. There was nothing else she could say without cracking into a million pieces. It was too quiet. The silence forced her to face him. There wasn’t pity in his gaze or a rush to say the right words. He just looked at her and saw her. “Maybe she did. But I don’t want you to,” he said. Like it was as simple as that.