It's not a huge part of the novel but I want there to be a little mystery in why a main character, Regina, left town for a while and then came back...
Mystery Idea #1 - Regina pressured her boyfriends ex-girlfriend to have an abortion, even though she thinks it's wrong, so the ex-girlfriend wouldn't have his child, which would tie her to Regina's boyfriend for life and could threaten their relationship. However, the girl suffered complications during the abortion and was left infertile was a result, and Regina left town because she was distressed over what happened.
Mystery Idea #2 - Regina hit and killed a girl from her school while driving along with a friend, but as they were on cocaine at the time of the accident they knew they would be in serious trouble for the accent, so they threw the body into a ditch and did not report the accident. Regina leaves town after guilt from the accent tears her apart, but eventually decides to return, where she is disturbed to see her friend living life like nothing as happened. Eventually, it is discovered the girl really survived being hit, and she was being recovering in a treatment center after the accident left her with amnesia. While she has remembered who she is, she still can't remember details of the accident, and she asks Regina, who works on the school newspaper, to help investigate who really ran her over.
Mystery Idea #1 - Regina pressured her boyfriends ex-girlfriend to have an abortion, even though she thinks it's wrong, so the ex-girlfriend wouldn't have his child, which would tie her to Regina's boyfriend for life and could threaten their relationship. However, the girl suffered complications during the abortion and was left infertile was a result, and Regina left town because she was distressed over what happened.
Mystery Idea #2 - Regina hit and killed a girl from her school while driving along with a friend, but as they were on cocaine at the time of the accident they knew they would be in serious trouble for the accent, so they threw the body into a ditch and did not report the accident. Regina leaves town after guilt from the accent tears her apart, but eventually decides to return, where she is disturbed to see her friend living life like nothing as happened. Eventually, it is discovered the girl really survived being hit, and she was being recovering in a treatment center after the accident left her with amnesia. While she has remembered who she is, she still can't remember details of the accident, and she asks Regina, who works on the school newspaper, to help investigate who really ran her over.