One of Us is Lying

Bronwyn and Addy narrate Chapter 5, which takes place four days after Simon’s death.

Bronwyn is home on a Friday night with her younger sister Maeve, who suffered from leukemia from the ages of 7 to 14. Bronwyn feels responsibility to achieve partly to take the pressure off of Maeve. They chat about Yale, with Maeve insisting that Bronwyn will get in, and Bronwyn being less certain. Looking out the window, Bronwyn sees Nate’s motorcycle in the driveway. Her Columbian father loathes the stereotype of the Colombian drug dealer, and Bronwyn suspects he would not approve of Nate. Nevertheless, she invites him in, as she has had a crush on him since elementary school. Maeve encourages Bronwyn to play the piano for them, and when she’s finished, Nate says, “That’s the best thing I’ve ever heard” (58).

Addy is at home, being interrogated by Officer Budapest with her older sister, Ashton, and their mother. Officer Budapest asks Addy why she was at the nurse’s office the afternoon of Simon’s death. At first, she denies having gone to the nurse’s office, but he points out that the nurse’s log recorded a visit from her. She tells him she was there for period cramping, and he blushes, saying the police are investigating why there were no EpiPens in the nurse’s office.