He’s standing outside a window, watching Dani and her father. My heart stops.

Mr. Davis is still talking. “The sites will only be up until the end of the school year. If you want to keep your site, you’ll have to purchase a web address. I can help you transfer it to a new server…”

“That was my seventeenth birthday.” Dani points to the picture. “We’re at this restaurant in North Beach that has the best tiramisu…”

“What is your last name?” My voice cracks as I brace for what she’s about to say.

“I thought told you. It’s Batista.”

“You have to take this site down!” I push Dani out of the way. Her chair slides to the side and hits the wall.

She’s pulling at my arm, trying to stop me, trying to ask me what’s wrong. She doesn’t know the man standing in the window. I don’t want to be the one to tell her. I don’t want to be the one to ruin her life, again.

“Matt, what is going on?” She grabs my hand and yanks the mouse from me. It disconnects from the computer.

“Fuck!” I drop to the floor and battle nine months’ worth of dust to plug the mouse back in. I climb from under the desk and sit in my chair. She’s glaring at me like I’m a crazy person. She doesn’t know. I point to her slide show. The picture is frozen on the screen. I notice my finger is trembling and pull it away quickly. “Have you ever met Will Walker?”

“You’re telling me that man is Nick’s uncle Will?” I point at the screen. At the man staring into the restaurant. The man my father argued with on the street.

“Yes. We have to take the site down right now.”

“Do you think he…” I can’t bring myself to say it. I can’t even think it. “How does he know my dad?”

“I don’t know anything for sure, but we were sitting in Will’s bar a couple of weeks ago and two cops came in. Will said they were harassing him about a case, a murder case.” Matt looks around to make sure nobody else is listening. “It was a lawyer and his wife.”

I don’t believe him. Matt is a known liar after all. “He was being questioned about a case, so what. That doesn’t mean he was involved.” I don’t believe anything I’m saying, but I don’t want to jump to any conclusions. “Did he tell you something?”

“He just said he was getting heat…there was a wit—” Matt cuts himself off. “He thinks there’s a witness that can identify him.” Matt’s voice cracks, and all the color drains from his face.

He’s not lying. Nobody can fake that kind of fear.

“The cop said the lawyer had a daughter that witnessed the whole thing. He knows who you are and now you just published where you are.” He points to the computer screen, to the Eureka High logo in the bottom right corner.

My hands start shaking. This can’t be happening. “I didn’t see anything. Maybe it’s a different—”

“No, it’s you. The guy’s name was Batista.” Matt clicks the mouse around the screen. “I knew your stories sounded similar. I should’ve figured it out, but I got high instead. I guess I just hoped it wasn’t you. You said you didn’t see anything. You said the witness was a waiter.”

“It is, I didn’t see anything.”

“Well, that’s not what the cops said.” Matt finally finds what he was looking for and starts to click through folders to find my student file.

“Why are you doing this?” I gesture to the screen. “He can’t find me from one picture I posted on a school intranet.”

“I don’t want to take any chances. He said he’s got some technology to find people online.” Matt reaches for my hand and I pull away.

I stand up and reach for my backpack. My pocket starts to vibrate. I pull out my cell phone and check the caller ID. “It’s Nick. Does he know?” I shove the phone back in my pocket without answering it.

“Yes,” Matt says and spins around to look at me.

I sit down and put my head in my hands. I don’t know if I’m going to cry or scream. “I don’t understand. Nick’s uncle is looking for me because he thinks I saw him shoot my parents. Which I didn’t. And you guys just do nothing?”

Matt grabs my chair. “It made me sick to think he killed those people.” I see him swallow hard. His Adam’s apple bobs up and down. Matt is just as scared as I am. I can see it in his eyes, hear it in his voice. “What was I supposed to do? It isn’t like I had any evidence. Shit, the cops don’t even have anything to tie him to the shootings. If they did, he’d be in jail. There was nothing I could do.”

Matt’s right. Will Walker doesn’t know who I am. Nobody does. “If we take down the site, chances are he didn’t see it. I’m still ok.” It sounds reasonable. “It’s only been up one day.”

“He has resources that can find you. If one of them got a hit on this website, then they know where you are.”

“This is a school intranet. You have to know what you’re looking for to find it. The odds are in our favor.”

“Odds? You want to talk odds?” Matt spits through gritted teeth. “You are dating the nephew of the man that shot your parents!” Matt whispers not so quietly. The girl in front of me turns in her seat slightly.

I tell him to keep it down and let him go back to hacking the Eureka high server. There has to be an explanation for all of this. Something I can do. I didn’t see anything that night, I was asleep in the back. The cops know I didn’t see the person who shot my parents. Why would they tell Will Walker I was a witness if it wasn’t true?

“I can talk to Nick, he can explain that I didn’t see anything. He can tell him the cops lied.” I don’t know if what I’m saying will work. I want to believe it will. “We should call Nick.”

“No!” Matt grabs my hand. “Nick is loyal to his uncle.”

Matt has lost his mind if he thinks Nick would do anything to hurt me. To put me in danger. “Nick is loyal to me.” I push Matt’s hand away and take out my phone.

I have a voicemail.

“Hey babe, it’s me. Something came up with my uncle. I’ll call you later. I love you.”

I relay the message to Matt, and his head explodes.

“Did he say what’s going on? Is Will coming here? We have to go to the police.” Matt puts his face in his hands. “We’re so fucked. I’m so fucked.” He’s mumbling to himself. He’s scared. I’m not. Nick will protect me. This is all just a misunderstanding. Will might be freaking out because he thinks they are trying to pin a murder on him. He’s desperate, and desperate people do stupid things. Those are my father’s words. Someone like Will, someone on the opposite side of the law who feels like they will never get justice, will go to great lengths to protect themselves. Even commit another crime.

“Nick can explain the situation, tell him I didn’t see the shooter.”

Matt looks at me like I just kicked him in the stomach. “What are you saying?”

The bell rings and we both jump. The room starts to empty, but Matt and I stay in our seats.

“The cops are assuming it’s him. He didn’t actually confess to killing anyone, did he?” I try to state the facts. Matt and I both understand the law. He knows I’m right. If the cops had evidence, Will would be in jail, so chances are they are just trying to scare him. It’s a tactic they use to get people to rat on their friends. “Maybe Will is innocent, and he’s just scared. Or maybe he’s lying to you and he isn’t looking for anyone. Did you ever think about that?”

Matt looks me in the eyes and just stares at me. “You’re in shock. That’s why you’re saying all these ridiculous things.”

Mr. Davis clears his throat near the door. He looks at me and Matt huddled behind my monitor with a curious expression.

“Let’s go, I can’t leave you here alone.” He snatches my backpack and heads out the door.

We walk three blocks without speaking. Matt’s too busy scanning the street. He actually thinks someone might be following us.