by Mia Belle
“You okay?” Caden asks him. “Did you run here?”
“Something like that.”
“I could have sent Simon to fetch you,” I tell him, but he waves me off.
Out of all four of us, Daphne’s the only one engrossed in the movie. I think she’s paying more attention to it than to us. But I don’t blame her. This trust we’re trying to build takes time.
Once it ends, Daphne looks at the time. “I’d better get back to the diner.” She pushes some dark brown hair out of her eyes. “Thanks for the movie.” She lifts from her seat.
I get to my feet. “I already told you we’re coming with. The dinner rush will be crazy and your parents can use all the help they can get. What about you, Eric?”
He shifts from one foot to the other. “I should probably head back to Phoebe.”
Caden places his hand on Eric’s shoulder. “Are you sure everything’s okay? You look like you’re about to collapse.”
He pulls away. “I’m fine. Can you guys drop me off?”
I decide to give Simon a break and drive myself. We climb into the car and head toward the diner. Daphne’s in the passenger seat, staring out the window. I have no idea if she feels a little better about me and the guys. I hope so, because I really like her as a friend. She’s strong and determined.
She turns to me. “Are you staring at me?”
I pull my eyes away, to the road. “Was just thinking that you’re a good person, that’s all. Your parents are so…normal.”
She lifts a brow. “Normal?”
I clear my throat, averting my gaze. “My dad doesn’t want me on the swim team.” I don’t normally go around announcing my problems to the world, but I want to tell Daphne. Maybe I want her to see me as more than just a rich jerk.
“Oh, that sucks. You’re such a good swimmer.”
“Not like Eric,” I say.
She turns toward the back, where Eric’s pretty much slumped in the seat. “Did you quit the team because of your brother? I never said this, but I’m really sorry he died. I felt terrible when it happened. Like maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.”
He’s wide awake now. “No, you did the right thing. The rest of us were too stupid to not believe you. I’m really sorry.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” She turns toward the window, staring out as she twiddles her thumbs.
Is she still uncomfortable with us? I wish she’d see that we don’t mean her any harm. Hanging out with her is fun, kind of like she belongs. I’ve never felt like that before. It’s always been me and the guys.
We reach Eric’s house and he zooms out like his ass is on fire. I stick my head out the window. “Hey.”
He faces me.
“Say hi to your dad and Phoebe. Feels like forever since I’ve seen your dad.”
He smiles tightly. “Yeah, he’s working a lot. See you guys later.” He rushes up the steps, slamming the door after him. What’s up with that?
Caden and Daphne watch him, too. I catch my bud looking at me through the rearview mirror.
“Zoe thinks he has an older woman,” Daphne blurts.
We turn to her, eyes wide. “What?” I ask.
Caden shakes his head so quickly it’ll pop right off. “Hell no. Eric’s not like that. But what’s he hiding?”
I steer the car toward the diner. “We need to give him time.”
Caden nods, but it doesn’t look like he likes it. I don’t, either.
We talk about the movie, but I’m the guy holding the conversation. Daphne’s busy with the passing trees and houses while Caden seems to be deep in thought. Probably about Eric.
Daphne’s mom is very excited when we return. She keeps smiling at Caden and me and asks where Eric is. It makes Daphne a little uncomfortable, but her face is relaxed. Hopefully she had fun today and realizes we’re not so bad.
I hope so, because like I said, I really like her as a friend.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Daphne
Monday morning, the Kings gather around my locker. I don’t know why I thought they’d change or something. Like maybe they’re done feeling sorry for me and won’t talk to me anymore. But no, as soon as they walked in, they headed straight for me.
Ryder leans against the locker next to mine, an easy smile on his face. “I heard a lot of good feedback from my dad’s friends. Your mom’s diner is a big hit.”
I smile. “Thanks for all your help. My parents were talking about hiring some new workers if this keeps up.”
“That’s great.”
I catch Avery and her friends glaring at us from across the hall. Ryder notices, too, but pretends not to. Isn’t she his girlfriend? Did they break up? Why do I even care?
Fine. The guys aren’t that bad. I actually had fun with them this weekend. But does that mean I’ve completely forgotten what they did to me? Of course not. But I’m going to keep an open mind.
Avery is still glaring so hard I can practically see steam shooting out of her ears. With her crew behind her, she marches over to us.
“Ryder, we need to talk.”
He hardly looks at her. “No.”
She scowls, then her poisonous eyes flick to me. “Stupid bitch.”
Eric backs her into the wall, pressing his palms on either side of her. “What did you call her?”
“You heard me.”
Ryder lazily pushes off the locker, turning to her. “Didn’t I tell you what would happen if you don’t shut your damn mouth?” He bends close. “Leave Daphne alone or you’ll be sorry.”
She scowls again.
Eric lets her go and she stomps down the hall. Ryder chuckles softly before turning to me. He waves his hand. “You don’t have to worry about her. She’s harmless.”
“I’m not scared of her,” I say.
“Good. You shouldn’t be,” Caden says.
The bell rings.
“Sit with us at lunch?” Eric asks me.
They still want to sit with me? “How much longer are you guys going to feel sorry for me? I’ve forgiven you, so you don’t have to pretend to be my friends anymore.”
They exchange glances, their eyebrows furrowed.
“We’re not pretending,” Caden says. “I like hanging out with you.”
“Same,” Ryder says with a smile. “You’re invited over for movies or whatever whenever you want.”
I just stare at him, not believing a word. These guys are the most popular kids at school. I still don’t understand why they want to hang out with a nobody like me.
Ryder pushes some strands of hair away from my face. “We’ll see you at lunch.” He walks off.
Caden gives me a sweet smile before following him.
Eric and I remain. He shifts from one foot to the other. “I still can’t forget what I did to you, Daphne. I’ll go right now to Ms. Simmons and tell her I messed with your homework and she should give you a second chance.”
“It’s fine.”
He shakes his head. “It’s anything but fine.”
He takes off toward class. I trail him inside and watch as he heads over to the teacher and starts to explain. I can’t hear what he’s saying, but whatever it is, it seems to convince Ms. Simmons.
When he’s done, he nods to me with a tight smile before leaving the classroom and going to his. Ms. Simmons calls me over to her desk.
“Daphne, you have another chance at that report. Please don’t disappoint me.”
I’m in a daze as I find my seat and drop down. Eric actually did that for me. Everything the guys are doing...it’s going above and beyond what’s required of them. And I’m not sure they’ll leave me alone any time soon. I mean, I doubt this will go on forever. They will find better girls and move on. But for now, they want to be around me.
Should I be like Zoe and just go with it? I’ll always keep my guard up, but I’ll let them slowly chip away the wall I’ve built around myself.
***
Every
one stares as the guys wave me over to their table in the cafeteria. They’re probably as shocked as I am that the guys still want to hang out with me.
“Hey,” Caden says as I slide in next to him. “Anyone giving you a hard time?”
I take a bite of my burger. “Just some side comments and snickers, but nothing major. I guess it’s to be expected. It’s not like everyone knows the truth or why you guys are suddenly nice to me.”
“True,” Ryder says. He glances at my greasy food. “You’re eating that? Hell no.” He pushes his plate of some fancy pasta dish toward me. “That’s your lunch.”
“It’s fine.”
“No way,” he argues. “You can’t eat that shit.”
I shrug. “I’m not really hungry anyway. I was up all night thinking.”
“About?” Caden asks.
My eyes meet Eric’s. I’m not sure if what I’m about to say will hurt him. He looks so…broken and exhausted. And that’s all because he learned the truth about his brother.
“What is it?” he asks.
“We need to show the cops that video. Blake confessed to the crime. Jackson shouldn’t sit in jail for something he didn’t do.”
They’re quiet as they think it over.
“It’s true,” Ryder says. “Jackson took the blame because he wanted Blake to follow his dreams. Now that…” His voice trails off as he avoids Eric’s eyes.
Eric sighs. “You can say my brother killed himself. It’s not like an anvil will hit you from the ceiling or something. He killed himself. Whatever.”
The three of us stare at him.
“Dude, are you okay?” Ryder asks.
Eric rubs his hand down his face. “Fine.”
“You don’t look fine,” Caden points out.
“I said I’m fine.” He turns to me. “You want us to take the video to the cops so they’ll release Jackson.”
“Yeah. It’s the right thing to do, but um…” I take a breath. “The whole town will find out the truth. It’ll taint your brother’s image.”
He doesn’t say anything, eyes on the table. “People think he took his life because he was depressed. They’ll learn the truth. Phoebe will…” He shuts his eyes for a second. “She’ll think so differently about him.”
No one says anything, and the only sounds are from the chatting and laughing kids.
“It’s the right thing to do, Eric,” I say. “Jackson doesn’t deserve that kind of life. He’s innocent.”
Eric bends forward, hands digging in his hair. “I never once visited him in jail. I couldn’t. I thought he was a cold murderer.” He massages his temples. “How can I tell my little sister that her older brother murdered someone?”
“You don’t have to tell her,” Ryder suggests.
He shakes his head. “She’ll find out eventually. It has to come from me first.”
“Okay,” I say. “I was hoping we could go after school today, but if you need some time…I just want him out of there as soon as possible.”
Eric lightly bangs his fist on the table. “Why did he take the blame, damn it? Maybe if Blake hadn’t felt so guilty about it, he’d still be…” He shakes his head like he can’t continue that thought.
We’re quiet again. I wish I knew what to say to make him feel better. It looks like his friends are at a loss too.
“And now everyone will know my brother killed that girl.” His hand tears at his hair again. He leans back, frustrated. “I know it’s the right thing to do. We can go after school, but I have to be somewhere at four thirty.”
“What about Phoebe?” Caden asks. “When will you tell her?”
He sighs. “I’ll have to tell her before everyone finds out. It needs to be tonight, after we go to the cops. I can’t push this off.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Eric
I’m not concentrating on any of my classes. I keep thinking about what me, the guys, and Daphne will do after school. Before lunch ended, I called my boss Hal, asking him if I could start an hour later than usual because I had a family emergency. He wasn’t too happy about that, but he said okay.
Now the last class of the day is about to end and I’m going out of my mind. The second the police have the evidence, Blake’s secret will be out in the open. My perfect brother wouldn’t be seen as the poor guy who was in so much pain he didn’t know how to handle it and killed himself. He’ll be seen as a killer.
I wish he would have told me the truth, but there’s no point thinking about the past. I can’t change it. What I can do is stop an innocent guy from serving time for a crime he didn’t commit.
Daphne…she’s got a huge heart. I never would have even considered going to the police with the video. She’s a good person, someone I definitely need in my life. My life is one big pile of shit, but she’s kind of like a light. She’s strong, pushes through whatever obstacles are thrown her way. Maybe I could be strong, too. I need to if I’m going to protect my sister.
This morning was crazy. Dad was drunk and raging like a madman. I threw Phoebe out of the house and dealt with him myself. Got punched in the stomach when I wouldn’t buy him beer, but ended up going anyway and was nearly late to school.
I know my friends are curious about me and I’ve thought about telling them the truth, but I can’t. It’s too hard, especially because of what we’re about to do today.
How would Dad react when he learns the truth? Would he be sober enough to care?
The bell rings, jerking me out of my thoughts. Grabbing my stuff, I meet the others in the hallway. The kids are still staring like they can’t believe we’re talking to Daphne, but their looks don’t bother me. They need to accept that Daphne is one of us now.
One of us…I like the sound of that.
“Hey, man,” Ryder says once I’ve reached Daphne’s locker, where they’re gathered.
Daphne shuts the door, eyes meeting mine. “Are you ready? Oh, shoot. I need to help my mom after school. I told her I’d go there straight away.”
“We’ll go,” Caden says. “All four of us aren’t needed at the station. You and Eric go and Ryder and I will help out at the diner.”
She plays with her backpack strap. “I told you that you don’t have to help out.”
“Daphne, you’re not getting rid of us that easily,” Ryder says with a grin. “So stop fighting us and let us be your friends.”
She looks from Ryder, to Caden, to me. “Fine. My mom would love to see you. She keeps gushing how sweet you are.”
I exchange a glance with my friends. Sweet? Us? Maybe Caden, but Ryder and I are far from sweet. Especially me. What I did to Daphne…I’ll never forget it as long as I live.
Ryder and Caden take off toward the school exit, leaving me and Daphne together. She looks at me, then away.
“You don’t have to feel so sorry for me,” she says.
“I don’t.”
“Yes, you do. I see it all over your face. You tormented me because you thought I lied about Blake. Now you know I was right all along.”
I flinch. “I was an asshole.”
“And I don’t want to talk about it.”
I follow her toward the doors.
“I don’t hate you,” she says as we make our way to the police station. It’s a few blocks away from school.
“But you don’t like me, either.”
She stops walking. “It’s not that. I mean, I know you weren’t in a good place. You were hurting and had to do something about it. But—”
“Bullying is wrong,” I say. “No matter the reason. I’ve never hit a girl in my life…then I was hitting you…”
She shakes her head. “You apologized and I forgave you, so maybe it’s best we don’t talk about it.”
I nod and follow her. She’ll never be friendly with me, not like she is with the others. Caden never harmed her and Ryder is a friendly guy. I see why she’d rather hang out with them and not me.
We walk in silence, like there’s a brick wall between us.
Of course I don’t expect to climb over to her side. She’s protecting herself. I would do the same.
“You called off the bullying,” she says after a little while. “Thanks for that. You could have let the kids do whatever they wanted to me.”
“Of course I called it off. I can’t bear anyone hurting you again.”
We stop in front of the police station. I finger the flash drive in my pocket. I’ve had it with me since I found it in Blake’s room. As long as it’s with me, I don’t have to worry about Dad or Phoebe finding it.
Now I’m glad I have it to give the cops, but I’m worried. I don’t know what effect this will have on my family and the rest of town.
“Are you ready?” she asks.
I blink and clear my throat. “Yeah.”
“Do you want me to give it to them?”
I shake my head. “I should. He was my brother.”
She waits for me to muster the courage to walk through the doors. Once I do that, everyone will know Blake’s secret.
I take a deep breath, let it out, take one more, then walk through the door. Daphne follows close behind.
There’s a woman at the front desk and there are many more desks in the distance. Her head lifts. “Can I help you?”
I swallow, feeling Daphne’s comfort radiating off her body. It’s as if she’s telling me I can do this. “I have information regarding the Jackson Fuller case.”
She narrows her eyes. “All right.”
I clear my throat before reaching into my pocket and handing her the flash drive. “There’s a video on there that explains what really happened that night.”
“Thank you.” She places the drive on her desk, then asks me a few questions and to fill out some papers before returning to whatever she was doing. I guess there’s nothing else left for us here. The cops will see the evidence and decide how to proceed.
Daphne gives me a reassuring smile as we walk out of the precinct. I slide down the wall, raking my hands through my hair.
Daphne drops to my side. “You did the right thing.”
I nod. “This is what he wanted,” I say. “He wanted someone to find the video, or else he wouldn’t have made it.” I drop my hands, taking in another breath. “He wasn’t brave enough to go to the cops on his own.”