One of Us is Lying

Bronwyn studies Nate’s face in the video and concludes that he is putting up his defensive walls. She thinks about the Nate she knew in elementary school and the Nate she has been getting to know over the last month and believes these versions represent the true Nate. When Maeve asks if Bronwyn thinks he might be guilty, she replies with a forceful no. Convinced Nate will need more than a public defender to avoid conviction, she phones Eli. He tells her he is too busy to take on another case but agrees to meet with Nate’s mother to discuss resources. Maeve wants Bronwyn to consider the possibility that the police have found something damning, but Bronwyn refuses. She is determined to find Nate’s mother. Maeve agrees to join her. They drive to the Motel 6 where Mrs. Macauley is staying and leave a note for her. When they return, a line of news vans is parked in front of their house.

Bronwyn’s mother is waiting for her in the kitchen. Bronwyn reflects that she never kept things from her mother until she cheated in chemistry, which turned into a disaster. Bronwyn decides to disclose her relationship with Nate and apologizes for keeping secrets from her mother. Her mother agrees that Nate deserves to have a good lawyer, especially given the police’s mishandling of the case. A stressed but sober Mrs. Macauley returns Bronwyn’s call.

At the time of Nate’s arrest, Cooper is playing an exhibition game. He is heckled, but he pitches well. A few college scouts attend, but Cooper suspects they do so more for PR than sincere interest. After the game, Cooper hears that Nate has been arrested from a reporter. As he and Luis push past the reporter, Luis tells Cooper this means that he is “off the hook,” which had not occurred to Cooper (283). In the car with Cooper and his father, Luis says Nate is the obvious perpetrator, but Cooper thinks about how Nate was the only person who stood up for him in the cafeteria. Without Nate’s intervention, Cooper’s situation at school could have become much worse.

When they arrive home, news vans are parked outside. Cooper’s father tells Cooper he hopes his “choice” was worth it (285). Cooper replies that none of it “is a choice” (285). Inside, Nonny asks him about his game, and he tells her that he pitched well but nobody cares. She tells him to be patient then instructs him to bring Kris by for dinner. When he reminds her that his father would hate that, Nonny replies that he will have to get used to it. Bronwyn phones to remind him to speak with Luis’s brother about the red Camaro from the accident on the day of Simon’s death. Cooper hesitates as he contemplates how Nate’s arrest diverts police attention from himself but ultimately agrees.

Bronwyn and her mother join Mrs. Macauley at her meeting with Eli at Until Proven’s offices. It is frantically busy, as is Eli, who asks Mrs. Macauley for whatever information she has. She discloses that the police found Simon’s water bottle and EpiPen along with all the missing EpiPens from the nurse’s office in Nate’s locker, despite it and his home having been previously searched. They also found a computer with the Tumblr posts in Nate’s closet. Mrs. Macauley notes that the house is never locked. She adds that although Nate is currently being held in juvenile detention, the police are talking about moving him to an adult prison. Eli grudgingly agrees to take Nate’s case. When Bronwyn offers to provide him with everything she knows about the case, he tells her that is illegal, and she needs to leave so he can consult privately with Mrs. Macauley.

Addy’s home no longer has news vans parked out front. At dinner, her mother, who is not eating because she is doing a cleanse, serves Trader Joe’s dinners to Ashton and Addy. The doorbell rings; it’s TJ, dropping off Addy’s science book. He offers to study with her for their quiz the next day, but she shoos him away. Her mother has dated continuously since she was 14 and does not know how to be alone. Addy does not want to end up that way. Her mother chides Addy, saying that since she has let herself go, she should consider herself lucky to have TJ’s attention. Addy tries to explain that she does not need a boyfriend to be happy, but her mother reminds her that she is not “college material” and should find a “decent boy with a good future” who is willing to take care of her (295). Ashton interrupts to point out that her mother’s scheme has not worked out so well for either herself or Ashton.

Bronwyn phones Addy in tears and asks her to come over. Cooper is coming, too, to discuss the case and how to help Nate. At Bronwyn’s, Maeve and the three former murder suspects go over the Tumblr posts, which the police now accuse Nate of having written, to look for anything out of place. Cooper notices one line that never happened: “the four of us even caught Detective Wheeler eating a pile of doughnuts in the interrogation room” (299). Addy freezes: the donut-eating never happened, but Addy told Jake that it did.