“It’s hanging,” I deadpan, playing with the food on my plate. My appetite is effectively slaughtered as I try not to cower under the weight of so many stares. “Is it my imagination or is everyone looking at me?” Rose sends me a sympathetic look. “Not my imagination?”
“’Fraid not.” She scoops up a mouthful of pasta. “Ignore them and they’ll go away.”
Brad snakes his arm around my waist and draws me in close to his side, kissing the top of my head. “We’ve got your back, babe.”
Rose’s fork clangs off the table as her mouth hangs open. “What the heck did I miss the last couple of days?” Her gaze bounces between us.
“I’ll tell you later.” I wink conspiratorially.
Zoe plops into the empty chair beside Rose and I visibly stiffen. Zoe is Lana’s best friend and the last person I expected to sit with me. Silence engulfs the room, and everyone waits with bated breath to see how I’ll react. “What are you doing?” I hiss.
“Eating lunch.” In typical Zoe fashion, she looks at me with her “duh” face on.
I lean forward on the table. “Have you heard from her?”
“Nope.” She grimaces. “Not sure I want to either.”
I frown. “What do you mean by that?”
Zoe looks around, before leaning across the table. “Look, I’m not your cousin’s biggest fan,” she whispers, and I snort. That’s putting it mildly. She and Kal are like two hangry grizzly bears whenever they meet. Butting heads is par for the course with those two. “But what Lana’s doing is wrong.”
Icy chills rip up and down my spine. “What do you know?”
Zoe looks around her again. “Not here. Can you meet me after school? I’ve got an hour before the vigil. I’ll explain then.”
“Okay.” Our heads are almost touching and we’re in our own little bubble which is why I don’t see or hear Peyton approaching until she’s on top of me.
Something wet and cold slides down my back, and I jump up, knocking my chair over in the process. “What the hell?” I peek over my shoulder, spotting the rivulets of brown liquid sluicing down my back, staining my white sweater.
“Oops. My soda spilled. My bad.” Her smirking grin is nothing new, and I’m tempted to dump my glass of OJ in her face, but then all hell will break loose, and I’m really not in the mood for dealing with Addison’s trashy cousin today.
“Grow up, you idiot.” I tug my wet sweater up and over my head. My white vest is technically lingerie but it can easily pass as outerwear until I reach my locker where I now have a stash of clothes for occasions like this.
“Wear this, babe.” Brad hands me his hastily removed sweater, gesturing sideways with a subtle nudge of his head. My gaze lands on the table where most of his football teammates sit with drool on their faces. “Best not to give them another show,” Brad murmurs in my ear.
“Going for sloppy seconds again, Brad, hhmm?” Peyton asks with a conniving sneer as panic climbs up my throat. What the hell does she mean by that? She can’t know about Ky and me? Can she?
“I’d watch that nasty mouth of yours, if I was you, Peyton,” Brad replies coolly. “It’s liable to get you in a lot of trouble one of these days. And you should be careful before you start slinging mud. Not unless you’re prepared to have it thrown back at you.”
“What’s going on, McConaughey?” Lance, Peyton’s boyfriend and Memorial’s quarterback wanders over to our table. Peyton nestles under his arm, sending me another smug look.
“You need to ask your girlfriend that question, Fielding, and while you’re at it, tell her to lay off my girl.”
“Your girl?” Lance quirks a brow as his greedy gaze fixates on my chest.
“Put that on,” Brad says through gritted teeth, thrusting his sweater at me again. “Yeah, my girl.” He moves in front of me, shielding me with his impressive body. “Eyes up, Lance, unless you’re happy for me to eye fuck your girl’s tits in return.” I shuck Brad’s sweater on and stand beside him, threading my fingers in his. Brad’s mouth lifts in a half sneer as his eyes roam briefly over Peyton’s chest. “Second thoughts, I’d rather keep my lunch down.”
A muscle pulses in Lance’s jaw, and I squeeze Brad’s hand in caution. I don’t want to cause any issues for him with the football team.
“I’ll let you have this one time, man, but don’t push it with me. Either of you.” Lance’s gaze alternates between us.
“Keep your woman away from mine, and we’ll have no problem.” Brad doesn’t back down, and I respect him so much for that.
“Consider it sorted, bro.” They high-five, and I somehow resist the urge to roll my eyes.
Peyton is biting her lip, clearly furious this didn’t go her way. It pleases me no end. Already this fake boyfriend scenario is paying dividends. “You shouldn’t scowl. It’ll give you wrinkles,” I tell her, shouldering my bag.
“Faye,” Brad mutters a warning under his breath.
I smile sweetly at him, in a great mood all of a sudden. Keeping a hold of my hand, he leads me out of the cafeteria. “I do not understand what Lance sees in that spiteful bitch.” Brad shakes his head, guiding me toward my locker.
“I bet she fucks like a porn star,” I joke. “She’s had plenty of practice, no doubt.”
Brad barks out a laugh. “Miaow. You certainly don’t need those claws sharpened.”
“I’ve dealt with my fair share of Peytons. I know the type and how to deal with them.” I rifle through my locker until I find a spare hoodie. My vest lifts as I tug Brad’s sweater up over my head. My hair flies around my face, blocking my vision. I’m untangling the mess when I feel a surge of warmth against my belly. Brad’s fingers linger on my skin as he slowly pulls the hem of my vest down. An undercurrent zips through the air making me uncomfortable. “I got it.” I remove his hand from my stomach, thrusting his sweater at him.
He shuffles nervously from foot to foot. “Um, sorry.”
I zip my hoodie halfway up my body so the lacy edge of my vest is showing. “Thanks for standing up for me back there,” I say, choosing to ignore whatever just happened.
“No problem.” He makes eye contact with me, looking a little sheepish. His piercing blue eyes probe mine with intensity. “Do you want to head outside?”
I scrunch my nose. “Not particularly.” I’m afraid to even poke my head outside for fear the vultures will have expanded exponentially. “I’m going to try and wash out some of the sticky shit in my hair.”
Brad walks with me, and I’m just pushing the bathroom door open when the sounds of approaching footfalls tickle my eardrums. “There you are!” Rose sprints toward us. “Wanted to check you were okay.”
“I’m grand.” Brad and Rose both grin. “I’m fine.” I enunciate the word, rolling my eyes as I do. “I just need to clean up.”
“I’ll wait here,” Brad confirms, and I step into the bathroom with Rose hot on my heels.
I stick my head in the sink and turn on the taps, running my fingers through the icky soda mess in my hair.
“Here.” Rose hands me a towel from her bag. “I always keep a spare in case I can fit in a few lengths in the pool.”
“Thanks.” I wrap my head in the towel and straighten up. “So what have people been saying all day?”
“You sure you want to hear?”
“Yep.” I rub the towel over and back across my head. “I’d rather know so I can prepare myself. So far it’s been low key, but I’m sure that won’t last.”
She props her butt against the counter. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say this town was waiting for something like this to happen. I swear I’ve never seen such a swift turnaround in opinion. All I’ve heard all morning is how the Kennedys had it coming to them and that Kalvin clearly takes after his womanizing father. Sympathy for Lana is huge.” I sigh, rubbing my head more vigorously. “Is it true t
hat James cheated on Alex?” she asks, and my hands stop moving.
“That’s out in the open?”
Rose extracts a crumpled paper from her bag. “My parents still insist on a real paper. Thought you might like to see it.” I take a glimpse over my shoulder. “No one is here but us,” she assures me. “I checked when we came in, and I locked the door.”
The headline stares mockingly at me. THE KENNEDY CURSE STRIKES AGAIN. I skim the article which focuses on James’s alleged affair with an employee of Kennedy Apparel—thankfully, Courtney’s name isn’t mentioned, although I’m sure it won’t take long for them to identify his mistress—and references Kal’s arrest for rape and sexual assault.
“How do they get their hands on this stuff so fast?” I shake my head in frustration as I hand the paper back to Rose. “You can burn that.”
Her tongue darts out and she wets her lips. “Is it true? About Kal and Lana?” she asks quietly.
“No. Kal is a lot of things but he’s no rapist.”
“Yeah. That’s what I thought.” She folds her arms over her chest. “What was Zoe saying back there?”
“She implied that she knows something is fishy, but she didn’t want to say anything in front of a packed cafeteria. I’m meeting her after school to find out more.”
“I don’t get it. Lana never struck me as the dishonest type. Why would she make up such an allegation if it weren’t true?”
“I don’t know, Rose.” I fold up the towel and hand it back to her. “But I fully intend to find out.”
Chapter Seven
“Kennedy scum!” A boy with grungy shoulder-length hair shouts at me as I close my locker door at the end of the day.
“Is that the best you can do?” I shout back at him, flipping my middle finger up.
A muscular arm snakes around my waist from behind, and I flinch. “Relax,” Brad says. His warm breath leaks over my skin, and I shiver involuntarily. “It’s only me.”
“We need to discuss boundaries,” I murmur, unnerved by the level of touchy-feely stuff going on already.
“Peyton and Lance are watching,” he whispers, nuzzling my hair with his nose.
I turn in his arms, locking my hands around his neck as he presses me back against the locker. “Alrighty then. Let’s give ’em a show but no kissing on the mouth,” I whisper back.
Brad dips his head to my neck and starts planting a trail of feathery-soft kisses across my skin. I throw my head back, moaning, as I lift my leg up to his waist. His hand grips my thigh, holding my leg in place, as his lips continue to worship my neck. Shivery tingles flood my body, and bile swirls in my mouth.
Faking it is one thing, but actually enjoying it is another matter entirely. I need to shut this down before it escalates.
Looking behind Brad, I spot Lance’s and Peyton’s attentive gazes. “That’s enough,” I rasp, lightly pressing on Brad’s shoulders. “They’re buying it.”
He straightens up, snatching my bag and swinging it over his shoulder. Gripping my hand, he urges me forward. “Let’s ditch this place.”
He doesn’t need to say it twice.
Zoe is waiting for me outside, just in front of the entrance. “Where do you want to talk?”
Max steps out of the waiting car, opening the door for me. My eyes flit to the gates, and I notice the growing media swarm outside. “Let’s talk in the car,” I suggest, walking toward it with my hand still in Brad’s. Once we are all seated inside, I ask Max to park around the back of the school, and he raises the privacy screen without complaint.
“Right.” I swivel around to face Zoe. “What do you know?”
“Lana’s lying.”
Tell me something I hadn’t already figured out. “Why? And what exactly happened with her and Kal because I know something was going on between them.”
Zoe crosses one knee over the other. “Lana has been in love with Kalvin since they were little kids. Honestly, it was borderline obsession at times. She has gone on dates over the years, but even if she liked the boy, she always stopped it before it could become serious. She always said she was saving herself for Kal.”
“And he knew this?”
“Not at first, but I’m pretty sure she told him that lately.” She looks absently out the window. “I knew, with his rep, she was going to get hurt, but she wouldn’t listen to reason.”
“That’s why you don’t like him.”
She gives me her undivided attention. “As far as I’m concerned, he’s been stringing her along these past few months, and she didn’t deserve that.”
“What exactly went down?”
“She plucked up the courage a few months ago to tell him how she felt. At first, he brushed her off, but then he said he had feelings for her too, but he didn’t know if he could commit to one girl.” A dour expression wafts over her face. “Spoken like a true player,” she snarls. “Anyway, they kissed a bunch of times, even though there were no labels or exclusivity or anything, but Lana kept on hoping. A month ago, she told me he’d said he loved her and he wanted to give them a try, but he wanted to keep their relationship secret because his mom wouldn’t approve.” Zoe scoffs again, and the more she talks, the angrier she’s getting. “I can’t believe I’m actually helping him because thinking about all the shit he put her through is almost enough to convince me he deserves to be locked up.” She scowls.
“Go on,” I implore, deliberately ignoring her little anti-Kal outburst.
“So, Lana was all ‘heads in the cloud’ in love, and she gave him her virginity because he promised her there was no one else for him, that he was done messing about with other girls.” Zoe pierces me with hateful eyes. “Then Addison told her that Kal had come on to her and she’d slept with him. It broke Lana’s heart, and she was inconsolable. She told me he was going to pay for playing her like a fool, and I guess she came up with the perfect revenge.”
“I bloody knew it! I knew that bitch had a hand in this somewhere.” I’m seething.
“I told Lana not to trust Addison, but she fell for it completely. I mean, I don’t even know if it’s true!” My face betrays me, and Zoe’s eyes flare with liquid hatred. “Your cousin is a fucking asshole.” Her skin turns puce.
“There’s more to it than you think. Addison is playing some angle to get Ky back, and she set Kal up, pounced on him when he was drunk. He hates himself for it.”
“Oh, boohoo! Drunk or not, he should’ve kept it in his pants!”
“I know, and he’s an idiot, but he’s not a rapist, and no matter how much you hate him, it isn’t right that he’s being accused of something he didn’t do. Unless Lana said he did?”
Zoe trails a hand through her hair as she sighs. “Nope, she never said that. Things were pretty strained between us after she told me what Addison had said, and I was pissed that she wouldn’t listen to me. I’ve been her friend for years, and that bitch blows in, spouting crap, and Lana believes her in a heartbeat. I was so freaking mad.”
“That’s understandable, and ordinarily, I don’t think Lana would’ve been swayed by Addison, but she was clearly brokenhearted and vulnerable, and Addison used that to her advantage,” I surmise.
“That’s her usual MO, but I don’t know how you’re going to prove anything.” Brad cuts in for the first time.
“Can you try talking Lana around?” I suggest.
Zoe shakes her head. “I have no way of contacting her. Her cell is disconnected, and she’s shut down all her social media accounts. It’s as if she’s disappeared off the face of the earth.”
“Would you testify? Would you tell the court what you told us?”
Her face contorts unpleasantly. “I’d really rather not, but … if the case goes ahead and I’m needed, then I’ll do it.” She looks down at her lap. “I can’t stand your cousin, but he doesn’t deserve to go to jail just ’cause he’s a
jerk. Besides, I will always be on the side of justice.”
“Thank you.” I take her hands in mine. “I appreciate it.”
Brad leans forward in his seat. “Is this about Jessie, too?”
I’m startled when moisture starts to form in Zoe’s eyes. “A little.”
“Who’s Jessie?” I ask with a frown.
“She was my cousin.” Zoe sniffs, and I shoot a curious look at Brad.
“Jessie was kidnapped and found a week later, buried in the woods. Today is the one-year anniversary,” Brad quietly explains.
“I’m so sorry, Zoe. I didn’t know.”
She stares at me as she speaks but it’s like she’s looking right through me. “Another girl went missing around the same time, two years previously. The police are clueless. They still have no leads, and no one has been arrested for their murders. It isn’t right!” Her voice raises an octave. “How can someone get away with that?”
We don’t respond because there are no words. There is absolutely nothing either one of us could say that would make her feel better.
She creaks her neck. “I better go. The vigil is starting soon.” She wipes under her eyes. “Let me know if you need me to talk to the police or your cousin’s attorney.”
She has one foot out the door when I clasp her elbow. “Wait. Can we come? To the vigil?”
She shrugs. “Free country. Do what you like.” Aaannnd the familiar Zoe is back in her body. She walks away without another word or look.
After checking in with James, and okaying it with Lenny and Max, Brad and I attend the vigil which is being held in a little hall at the back of the school building. Jessie was a student here, and according to Brad, she was a sweet girl who never harmed a fly. News of her murder was a massive shock.
A framed picture of a pretty girl with dark hair and blue eyes rests on an elevated stand at the top of the room. A bunch of assorted flower arrangements surround the photo, along with some personal affects including a Wellesley Memorial sweater, a worn-looking teddy bear, a One Direction poster, and a sketch pad. My heart aches for the sweet girl whose life was ended before it had properly begun.
Losing Kyler (The Kennedy Boys Book 2) Page 6