But Beck was facing the lake. She turned and smiled at Vivian. “One last jump?”
Vivian knew that soon the leaves would change color on the trees. The apples in the orchard would be plucked, the rotten ones left on the ground for the deer. The sunflowers would be harvested or left to wither. Autumn would come, and summer, it turned out, didn’t last forever. But every memory that Vivian had of Cassie and Beck was flooded by sunshine.
When the three of them were together, their summer was infinite.
We Can Be Heroes
Season 3: Episode 25
“The Survivor”
[Audio clip]
VIVIAN HUGHES: What Congresswoman Roberts is proposing would mean real change in the way we respond to relationship violence. We are relieved that, at least in some way, what happened to Cassie is being acknowledged. This legislation, if passed—and please, call your representatives and let them know you support it—would keep someone else safe. Cassie deserved so much more. But we are holding her memory close while we fight for these changes. Fight to protect the next girl.
MERIT LOGAN: Welcome back, listeners, to We Can Be Heroes. It’s hard to believe that we are starting our third season of the podcast. Thank you for listening. For believing survivors’ stories. You just heard from Vivian Hughes, Cassandra Queen’s friend and a survivor of the shooting that took Cassie’s life. Vivian is also part of the lawsuit aimed at Bell Firearms.
Last summer, we told the story of Bell through a series of interviews. At that time, the entire town was caught up in the gun control debate, its own tragic history with a school shooting, and a series of vigilante art pieces targeting Bell Firearms in Cassie’s name.
At the conclusion of those events, we saw the sheriff of Bell step down in disgrace following a public outcry over his gross mishandling of Cassie Queen’s case and his direct collaboration with her abuser’s father, Steven Bell. Shortly after that, Mr. Bell resigned from his position as CEO of Bell Firearms.
We are still tracking two lawsuits related to these events, a civil suit in which Steven Bell is expected to settle, and another against the company itself. Last Tuesday, the Supreme Court of the United States agreed to hear the case against Bell Firearms. The outcome of this case could change the landscape of gun violence culpability going forward.
And lastly, as Vivian Hughes just referenced, Congresswoman Maria Roberts recently announced new legislation that calls for sweeping gun reform and protections for survivors of domestic violence. This legislation restricts firearm access, strengthens protection orders, funds new research on gun violence, and establishes a national PSA campaign on teen dating violence to increase awareness.
The title of this legislation is the Cassandra Amendment.
Cassie
I am running
through a field
of sunflowers
(and I think,
perhaps,
it goes on forever).
The sun is warm
on my shoulders,
and I’ll gladly stay
in this summer
forever.
Or at least
until my friends
can meet me.
Vivian is the no
to Beck’s yes
and from the time
I am eight
they keep me in check.
In my childhood, they are
the vibration of tires
on a long stretch of highway.
The soundtrack,
the white noise,
the familiar hum.
They are mechanical
and reassuring,
even after hundreds
of miles together,
because if the tires are moving,
then you haven’t crashed,
or gotten lost,
or stranded yourself somewhere.
It means you are going
the right way.
And I always was,
with them.
And I know,
maybe better than most,
that life isn’t all laughter
and it isn’t all sunshine,
but thanks to Vivian and Beck
I also know that
a lot of the time it is.
My memories of them
are push and pull.
And always,
one is the honey
to the other’s sting.
They are the inverse
of each other,
as necessary as inhale, exhale.
They only needed
the reminder.
I wonder if maybe
all along,
they were balancing
the whole world
the way they balanced
each other, and me.
Maybe they kept
everything
in check, riding
on overburdened shoulders,
and the simple belief
that evil men
should face
consequences.
And if you’d laugh
at the thought of three girls
being at the center
of absolutely everything,
I would say
that you obviously
haven’t met any girls.
If you don’t know
Beck’s humor, or Vivian’s grace.
Their riotous, righteous anger.
That’s what girls
are made of.
I would know, because I’ve seen it
and because, for a brief time,
I was made of
all those things, too.
And I have also seen
the way they bent time
and space, like their grief
held a gravity
that could not be denied.
And when it gave in,
the strangest thing happened.
It let me come back to them,
for a time, perhaps just
long enough
to remind the world
what we girls are capable of.
Like when Cassandra
saw the future,
when Ariadne
escaped the maze,
when Circe cursed the men,
and Helen started a war,
when Medusa was hunted,
and Andromeda was sacrificed
for her city.
If you already know
the truth about girls
(if you’ve been lucky enough
to see it)
then you already know
it is possible for three girls
to be at the center
of their own stories—
to be at the center
of everything.
You already know that
we can be heroes.
Acknowledgments
THE PODCAST IN THIS BOOK WAS inspired by the Take Back the Night rallies that I first attended (in awe and gratitude) and later organized on my college campus. A lot of my feelings from that experience are woven into this story—empathy for fellow survivors, frustration with the systems that failed us again and again . . . and anger. Anger that we needed rallies at all to be heard. Anger that we needed to gather in numbers to feel safe.
I’ve listened to hundreds of stories from survivors of violence, as an advocate, a counselor, a friend. And the thing that always struck me was the echo in the room. There was the trauma itself, infuriating on its own, and then there was the follow up: not being believed. Living with a fear that is never quite taken seriously enough.
This book is for everyone who shares their stories anyway. It can be incredibly scary to do that. But it makes the world a little safer every single time. Every single story. We Can Be Heroes is just one story. And it’s fictional. But the heart of it is the most true thing I’ve learned: we get to be the heroes of our own stories.
I know that sophomore novels are notoriously difficult, but
writing this book in a global pandemic was a particular challenge. Now that I’m on the other side of it, I’m not surprised that I wrote a story about grief and anger and how it can shape us into new people.
But I’m also not surprised that I wrote a book about friendship, and how it endures. I’m so grateful for the incredible network of family and friends who found ways to encourage and support me this year—despite long distances, and without ever seeing each other in person. Thank you, Jenny Perinovic, for cheering me on in my writing journey for almost a decade now. Your friendship means the world to me. I’ve been so lucky to make new friends in the writing community this year who are deeply kind and thoughtful and generous. Thank you, Dante, Rocky, Liz, Alex, and Nora. What an unexpected gift out of an awful year.
Thank you to my wonderful agent, Suzie Townsend, for being the best advocate for my books (and for me). Thank you to everyone at New Leaf Literary—your passion for your authors is unmatched. I’m so grateful to Katherine Tegen for helping my stories find such an incredible home. A huge thank you in particular to: Jessica Berg, Gwen Morton, Joel Tippie, Amy Ryan, Kristen Eckhardt, Lisa Calcasola, and Aubrey Churchward for their work on Heroes; Samantha Mash, for creating the stunning cover for this book; and Tanu Srivastava, for answering my many questions and being so gracious about them. And finally, thank you to my editor, Ben Rosenthal, for your incredible insight, and for helping me dig through the messy early drafts of this story and find the heart of it. It’s really such an honor to work with you.
I’m so grateful to my mom, who continues to find a million new ways to tell me she believes in me. Who taught me to love books in the first place by always having one in her hands. Thank you for setting the example for me, on how to love books and how to be a mom. I’m very thankful for my dad, who always believed that art was worth pursuing just for the sake of it, and taught us to believe the same. Thank you for encouraging me to love music and lyrics, my first early attempts at writing.
And lastly, thank you Jackson, Kayleigh, Katharyn, and Andrew, for being my earliest readers and my best friends. I’m so incredibly lucky to have you. Rowan and Theo, thank you for leaving me sweet notes slid under doors, left in my notebooks, stuck to the walls of our home, and on the keyboard of my laptop, and for being the absolute greatest joys of my life.
Resources
We Can Be Heroes is about the worst that can happen in an unhealthy relationship. It’s about warning signs missed and a life stolen. But there are so many organizations doing incredible work to provide people with an entirely different outcome for their own stories. If you would like to learn more about intimate partner violence, organizations dedicated to reducing gun violence, and the laws impacting these issues, resources are listed below. Please remember that abusers can track activity, and only access these websites from a safe device and location.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline: Advocates are available 24/7/365 to answer calls and provide information and resources. The website has a live chat feature to message with an advocate, an escape button if you need to quickly exit, and Spanish translation. www.thehotline.org
1-800-799-7233
1-800-787-3224 (TTY)
Love Is Respect: Highly trained advocates offer information and support for young people experiencing dating violence. Also provides resources for concerned family members, friends, teachers, counselors, service providers, or members of law enforcement. Free and confidential phone and texting services, available 24/7. This website has an escape button, live chat feature, and Spanish translation. www.loveisrespect.org
1-800-331-9474
1-866-331-8453 (TTY)
Text: “loveis” to 22522
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence: Provides education, advocacy, policy, and resources related to domestic violence. Hosts “Action Alerts” to help users engage in policy action calls for legislation and VAWA renewal, including graphics and suggested language to use on social media to raise awareness and call political figures to action. www.ncadv.org
Everytown for Gun Safety: Researches causes of and solutions for gun violence. Provides advocacy and grassroots coalition building by state. Helps elect gun sense candidates. Demands accountability for gun violence. www.everytown.org
Sandy Hook Promise: Establishes education, research, advocacy, and organizing to end school shootings and protect children from acts of violence in their homes, communities, and schools. www.sandyhookpromise.org
About the Author
Photo by Brittany Frisch
KYRIE MCCAULEY spent her childhood climbing trees in dresses and reading novels during class. She holds a master of science in social policy from the University of Pennsylvania and has worked in advocacy and development for nonprofit organizations. Kyrie lives near Philadelphia with her family, three rescue cats, and a dog that eats books and is never sorry. She is also the author of If These Wings Could Fly, winner of the William C. Morris YA Debut Award. You can visit Kyrie at www.kyriemccauley.com.
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Copyright
Katherine Tegen Books is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
WE CAN BE HEROES. Copyright © 2021 by Kyrie McCauley. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.epicreads.com
Cover art © 2021 by Samantha Mash
Cover design by Joel Tippie
* * *
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: McCauley, Kyrie, author.
Title: We can be heroes / Kyrie McCauley.
Description: First edition. | New York, NY : Katherine Tegen Books, [2021] | Audience: Ages 13 & up. | Audience: Grades 10–12. | Summary: “After a girl is killed by her ex-boyfriend in a school shooting, her two best friends attempt to memorialize her in a town economically dependent on the shooter’s family”— Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021016819 | ISBN 978-0-06-288505-0 (hardcover)
Subjects: CYAC: School shootings—Fiction. | Gun control—Fiction. | Dating violence—Fiction. | Social media—Fiction. | Mural painting and decoration—Fiction. | Ghosts—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.M42213 We 2021 | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021016819
* * *
Digital Edition SEPTEMBER 2021 ISBN: 978-0-06-288507-4
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-288505-0
2122232425PC/LSCH10987654321
FIRST EDITION
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