by Kai Juniper
"She fucking played me," Braden says. "Telling me she was done with Novak and wanted to get back with me? It was all a fucking lie. She just wanted to get in my room so she could frame me for murder."
I hadn't thought about that but maybe he's right. She was only in his room a few minutes. Did she hide the bracelet and leave, then tell the police to search his room?
"How did the police know you had the bracelet?" I ask.
"An anonymous tip," Braden says. "But I know it was her. She fucking planted it in my room. There's no other way it got there."
"You need to rest before we meet with the lawyers." Brock walks up to Braden and hands him some pills. "Take these. They'll help you sleep."
Braden tosses them in his mouth and swallows. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted her." He looks at Trystan. "This is why you don't get involved with women. They're all fucking bitches who fuck you over."
His eyes dart to me, indicating I'm one of those bitches, then he turns and storms out of the room. We hear him stomp up the stairs and his door slam shut.
"How long do we have?" Trystan asks Brock.
"Hopefully six hours, maybe longer. I gave him two, which would knock me out for the night but I doubt they'll have that effect on Braden."
"You drugged him?" I ask.
"Sleeping pills," Brock says. "He needs to sleep. He won't be as angry if he gets some rest."
"I doubt that'll help." I get up and bring my plate to the sink. "I'm going back to Jackson's to study."
"I'm going to the gym," Trystan says.
Brock blocks us as we try to leave. "I want both of you back here at four. Braden will be up by then and I want us all to go to dinner."
"You want to leave the house?" Trystan asks. "With Braden? You sure that's a good idea?"
Brock nods. "I suppose you're right. I'll have Ana come over and make something. Regardless, we're having dinner as a family so I expect both of you to be home."
We agree and he lets us go.
After a quick shower, I grab my backpack and return to Jackson's place. Before we study, I tell him Braden's theory about Kristen.
"I could see her doing that," Jackson says. "She always believed he did it."
"She thought Braden killed Andrea?"
"Not on purpose. She thought he did it by accident, then tried to cover it up."
"So she wanted him to pay for what he'd done."
"Not just that, but all the other stuff."
"Like what?"
"Beating up on girls. She knew he'd hit more than just her. And he's been accused of rape more than once."
"By who?"
"I only know about Alyssa. The others didn't want to give their names. They filed a complaint with the school but nothing ever happened."
"Why the school? Why didn't they call the police?"
"Wealthy families don't want this stuff getting out. It's messy and ugly and not something pleasant to talk about. They want people to think they live in a perfect world where nothing bad happens."
"They're willing to let a rapist go free to protect their reputation?"
"In most cases, yeah, especially if the guy is also from a wealthy family. And with someone like Braden, star of the football team, you keep quiet. Saying something bad about him will only get you enemies. That's why Braden gets away with this shit."
"He may not get away with it anymore."
"They need more than a bracelet to convict him. The bracelet may not even be accepted as evidence in court."
"So what do they need to convict him?"
"Proof that he did it, which they'll probably never have."
"Then the same should be true for you. They can't convict you without any real proof."
"It's different for me. Kristen was murdered. Andrea's death was ruled an accident. They'd have to go back and prove it wasn't an accident and then prove that Braden did it. That's not going to happen." He picks up his chemistry book. "Let's study. I'd rather read about electrons than think about the case."
I don't ask him anymore about it. We need a break from it. It's all we ever talk about. We should be having fun senior year, not talking about murders and lawyers and whether or not he'll go to prison.
When I return to the house at four, Ana is making dinner. We all meet up at the dining table at five. Braden is there but still drugged from the pills Brock gave him. His eyes are droopy, he eats really slow, and best of all, he's quiet. After dinner he goes to his room and we don't see him for the rest of the night.
Monday morning at school, Peyton shows up as I'm putting stuff in my locker.
"Hey, bestie." She leans against the locker next to mine. "How was your weekend?"
"It was okay. How was yours?"
She just smiles.
"Let me guess, it involved a sailboat?"
She laughs. "You know me so well."
"Hey." I shut my locker. "Can I ask you something?"
"Is it about dating older men? Because this guy I'm seeing has a friend and—"
"No! Gross! I'm not into old guys. And I have a boyfriend."
"Then what do you want to know?"
"The night Kristen died, I heard you went over to her house."
"Yeah, I went to get her ass out of bed so we could go to a party."
"And what happened?"
"Her loser dad wouldn't let me in the house. He wouldn't even let me talk to her."
"Do you know why?"
"He said she was sleeping. He told me to go so I left. I texted her later but didn't hear from her."
"Had you talked to Kristen earlier that night?"
"I didn't talk to her but she texted me, saying she wasn't going to the game. She said she wasn't feeling well but she was fine at school that day so I think she made it up. Why are you asking me all this?"
"I just wondered why you never told anyone you were there that night."
"I told my parents. They told me not to tell anyone."
"Why not?"
"They didn't want me getting involved. But then the cops showed up at my house, saying Principal Edwards named me as his alibi, and what was I going to do? I had to tell them."
The bell rings.
"See you at lunch?" she asks, smiling at me.
"Yeah. See you then."
Jackson was right. Rich people don't want to get involved. They want their perfect lives to remain perfect, or at least look that way.
At lunch, Braden is already at the table when I sit down. I don't look at him, hoping he'll ignore me. I saw him in the hallway earlier and noticed he was more alert, like the drugs had worn off.
"I want everyone there at seven," Braden says. "No excuses."
"That's right after regular practice," Wyatt says. He's sitting in Alyssa's seat today. She must be skipping lunch. "We can't do that much practice in one day. We risk getting injured."
"I don't give a shit. You want to win this Friday or not?"
"If you're not playing, it's probably not going to happen," Miles says.
"You can at least not get your asses kicked as bad as last week," Braden says. "Barron's agreed to show up tonight. I just need the rest of you fuckers to be there."
"Just give us the plays," Dante says. "We don't need to go over them."
Braden stands up, glaring at Dante. "Did I ask for your fucking opinion?"
Dante doesn't answer.
"I'm in charge of this team," Braden says. "I decide what we're going to do. Any questions?" He looks around the table. "See you at seven."
He takes off, leaving his tray of dirty dishes on the table.
"I'm getting really sick of him," Wyatt mutters.
"Me too," Dante says. "He doesn't have the authority to schedule a third practice. We should talk to Coach."
"He isn't going to care," Miles says. "He wants us to win. If he thinks Braden can make that happen, he'll tell us to do it."
"When am I going to study?" Kade asks. "I have a test tomorrow and I haven’t even read the damn book."
"If I could I'd freaking do it. She'd get an A without even studying."
"What are you worried about?" I ask. "If you get a bad grade, the teacher will just fix it."
"Yeah, I guess." Kade looks at his teammates. "So what do you think? We show up tonight?"
"Show up where?" Alyssa asks, coming up behind Kade.
"Hey, babe." He turns and kisses her.
"Hey, I was thinking we could study at my house tonight." She smiles. "My parents will be gone."
"Can't tonight. Braden's making us meet for practice at seven."
"You already practiced this morning. And you're practicing after school."
"Braden doesn't think it's enough. He scheduled a third practice."
"And you're going along with it?" She puts her hands on her hips. "You're just going to do whatever he says?"
"Babe, you know how he is. It's just easier to go along with him than try to fight him."
She looks at the other guys. "Are the rest of you going along with this too?"
They all nod.
She huffs. "I can't believe you guys. Why don't you stand up to him for once?"
"Babe, why are you getting so upset?" Kade reaches for her but she backs away.
"I'm sick of Braden getting whatever he wants. We had a date tonight, Kade, and you're canceling it because of Braden? Why don't you just date HIM, because we're over." She storms off.
Kade jumps up, grabbing his tray. "Babe, wait!"
He follows after her.
Dante laughs, holding his hand out to Miles.
"They didn't officially break up," Miles says.
"She just said it's over. That's a breakup, right Rumor?"
I shrug. "Sounds like it to me."
Miles sighs and reaches in his pocket for a twenty. He hands it to Dante.
"They'll be back together by Wednesday night," Dante says.
"Thursday afternoon," Miles says.
"You're both wrong," I say. "They'll be back together tomorrow."
"You're getting in on this?" Miles asks.
"Sure. Why not?"
"Okay, you're in," Dante says. "Why tomorrow? They usually wait a couple days before getting back together."
"Yeah, but he's already going after her. He usually waits."
"She's right." Miles sighs. "Shit, I'm gonna be out another twenty."
"Why'd he go after like that?" Dante says. "He didn't even finish lunch."
"He's horny," Wyatt says. "Told me this morning he was hoping to get with her after school."
"Do I still win if that happens?" I ask.
"Yeah," Dante says. "It's whoever's closest."
I smile about the money soon coming my way. Finally, something good's going to happen. I'm so tired of things going wrong. Maybe this will be the start of more good things.
Chapter Twenty-Five
"Hey, you guys got any juice?" Miles asks.
"I stopped doing that shit," Dante says. "Haven't had any all year."
"I haven't used since the first game," Wyatt says. "Made me feel like shit so I stopped."
"What are you guys talking about?" I ask.
They all look at each other, then Miles says to them, "It's not a secret. She lives with Braden. He pops that shit like candy."
"You mean Adderall?" I ask.
"Shut up," Wyatt whispers. "You don't fucking call it that. You want to get us in trouble?"
"What do you call it?"
"Juice. Caffeine. Energy shot. We change it up but we never use the actual name." Miles leans over to me. "Could you get me some? Braden keeps it in his bathroom."
"Not anymore. Now he keeps it in the kitchen."
"The kitchen?" Dante laughs. "He doesn't keep that shit in the kitchen."
"That's where I found it."
"Braden didn't put it there," Wyatt says. "He keeps that shit in his room. Hides it in an aspirin bottle."
"Blue pills, right?" I ask. "With markings on them?"
"Blue?" Wyatt looks at Miles. "Since when is he using the blue ones?"
"Beats me," Miles says.
"They're not blue?" I ask.
"The high strength ones are," Dante says. "But we don't use that shit. It fucks with your heart. We do the lower strength ones. They're white."
"The pills I found were blue," I say.
"Maybe it's something else." Wyatt gets up. "I have to stop at my locker. See you guys at practice."
As the rest of them get up to leave, my mind goes back to those pills. They were definitely blue and Brock confirmed they were Adderall or some other kind of amphetamine.
The bell goes off and I go to English. Ms. Pruitt is still out. I should go visit her. I want to know what's going on. Did Principal Edwards really force her out so he could replace her with some hot young teacher?
After school, Trystan leaves on time for once. As we're driving home, I get a text that looks like spam with just some numbers and dashes and a message that says 'open me for the truth'.
"What are you looking at?" Trystan asks.
"This text I got. I think it's a scam. It wants me to click on a link."
"Don't do it. You'll get a virus."
I go to delete it but accidentally click the link instead. "Shit, I just clicked it."
"Is it porn?" He reaches for my phone. "Let me see."
"It's not porn," I say, looking at the screen. "It looks like a video."
"Of what?"
"A Twisted Pine football game," I say, noticing the uniforms on the players.
"Why would someone send you that?"
"They wouldn't. It must've been meant for someone else."
"What'd the message say?"
"Open me for the truth."
"The truth about what?"
"I don't know. Should I watch it?"
"Up to you. I still think there's a virus attached. If you want to risk ruining your phone, go ahead."
I click on the video. It's taken from the bleachers, a few rows up from the cheerleaders who are on the sidelines warming up. I recognize the girls but they look different. This girl who now has blond hair has brown hair in the video, and another girl who now has long hair has short hair.
"How old is this?" I say, looking for a date. I see it at the top. "October sixth. Last year."
"October sixth?" Trystan looks at me. "That's when Jason died."
"Last year?"
"Yeah. He died during the game."
"The game I'm watching," I say, getting a chill. "Why would someone send this to me?"
"I don't know. That's creepy."
The video ends before the players even go on the field.
"That's it? The video was only a minute. What the hell?"
"What was on it?"
"It just showed the cheerleaders warming up before the game. They were on the sidelines and some of the players were next to them."
"Watch it again."
I press play and look closer at the football players. Dante is there, laughing at something Wyatt said. Miles is stretching next to Korbin. Barron is smiling at one of the cheerleaders. And off to the side is Braden with a guy I don't know."
"What did Jason look like?" I ask.
"Big. Muscular. Why?"
"There's a guy in the video I don't recognize."
"Shaved head with tats?"
"Yeah."
"That's him."
I zoom in on the video. Braden is handing something to Jason. He takes it, puts it in his mouth, and tips his head back.
"Wait. What'd he give him?" I watch the video again and zoom in closer. It's the blue pills. Braden's giving Jason two of the blue pills. The high strength amphetamines. A stimulant. Pills that affect the heart. They could kill someone with a heart condition.
"Oh my God," I say, staring out the window as Trystan parks in the driveway.
"What?" Trystan asks.
"Watch this." I start up the video again, zooming in on the secti
on with Braden. "Those pills were in Braden's drawer in the kitchen."
"Yeah, he takes them before games."
"He gave them to Jason." I look at Trystan. "Those pills can cause sudden death in someone with a heart condition." I pause. "Did Braden know?"
"Who gave you that video?" Trystan asks, not answering my question.
"I don't know. Someone sent it to me. Did Braden know Jason had a heart condition or not?"
"Everyone on the team knew but nobody knew how serious it was."
"Jason never should've taken those pills. Do you know if he'd taken them before?"
"No, but by your theory if he had he would've died before the game that night."
"We have to show this to the police."
"Are you fucking insane? We're not showing that to the police."
"Your brother gave pills to a guy knowing they could kill him and you don't think we should tell anyone?"
"Jason didn't have to take those pills. It was his choice."
"What if Braden didn't tell him what they were?"
"It's still his choice. He could've said no."
"You really think that would've happened? You know how hard it is to say no to Braden. The football team's doing a third practice today because they're all too afraid to tell him no. Dante's twice Braden's size and even he won't tell him no." I hold up my phone. "You saw the video. Braden's up in Jason's face, shoving pills at him. He wasn't asking him to take them. He was forcing him to."
"I'm not listening to this. Braden didn't kill him so just shut the hell up." Trystan gets out of the car, slamming the door shut.
I wait until he's in the house, then run down to Jackson's place.
"I have to show you something," I say when he opens the door.
"No hello kiss?"
"Sorry." I reach up and kiss him, then go inside to the living room. "Someone sent me this video. You have to watch it."
I get the video going and hand Jackson my phone.
"What do you think?" I ask when it's done.
"Where did you get that?" he asks.
"Someone sent me a text. I don't know who. What should I do? Braden gave Jason those pills, hoping they'd kill him. That's murder. I have to tell the police."
"A court wouldn't call it murder. Maybe manslaughter but even then, he'd still probably get off on just a drug charge."
"But he pressured Jason into taking them."