Killer Moves (Horror High Series Book 3)

by Carissa Ann Lynch

  ***

  An hour later, I woke up from a nap, feeling refreshed but groggy. Those laps in the pool really had worn me out, and Dakota swam faster than she let on. Probably because of those long arms and legs…

  Yawning, I made my way to the kitchen. It had to be nearing dinner time.

  My brother slid open the screen door, darting inside the house. The look he gave me was strange.

  I set down the carton of milk I was holding. “What?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

  I knew that look—there was something he didn’t want to tell me.

  “What?” I asked again, shooting him an annoyed, impatient stare. “Tell me.”

  “There’s nothing to say. Just look.” He pointed out toward the pool.

  I ran over to the sliding door and peered in the direction he’d pointed.

  Ronnie was on top of Dakota in the lawn chair. They appeared to be making out even though she was dating Andy…

  Chapter

  Twenty-Three

  Sydney

  “Do I look silly?” I was standing in front of my full-length mirror, wondering if my leggings and frilly skirt looked childish. “I don’t want it to look like I’m trying too hard…”

  “Honey, you look fabulous. And it’s okay to try, but you don’t have to. Everyone loves you, especially me.” My mom kissed the top of my head and stared at my reflection in the mirror.

  I still couldn’t believe she and dad were staying home—no trips during the school year. No leaving me alone.

  My mom left me to finish getting ready, reminding me it was almost time to get going. I slipped my backpack over my shoulders, took one last look in the mirror, and headed out for my first day of eleventh grade.

  It took only a few minutes for me to reach my destination—Dakota’s house. We’d done a coin flip for who got to drive today, and I had—thank goodness—won the toss. I loved driving my new Mini Cooper.

  Dakota was already waiting on the porch for me. Parking at the curb, I smiled as my best friend climbed in the passenger’s seat. But she didn’t smile back.

  She looked white as a ghost. Sickly, in fact. “You all right?” I asked, my mouth falling open. I’d never seen her look so…peaked.

  Dakota just shook her head, pulling her seatbelt across her lap. She looked robotic…almost flat.

  “Dakota, tell me what’s wrong. Right now.” We’d been best friends since childhood. Something was wrong with my friend. Very wrong.

  Realizing I wasn’t going to give in, she said, “Can you just drive, please? I’ll tell you on the way.”

  And she did.

  She told me she’d been caught making out with Ronnie last night.

  “Ronnie! What? Why? Why would you do that? And who caught you—Andy?”

  Dakota huffed and puffed, staring out her window in frustration.

  “I’m sorry. I just…I wasn’t ready for that. I’ll listen, and I won’t interrupt. Please tell me.”

  “That’s the thing, Syd. I’m just as surprised as you. In fact, I don’t even hardly remember it happening. One minute we were in the pool, and the next minute he was on top of me. I told him to stop and he did. But somehow Andy still found out…well, not somehow. I know how he found out—it was Winter, that bitch.”

  I sat there, stunned. I put on my turn signal and made a left into Harrow’s parking lot. It was packed, kids with cars already fighting for the best parking spots.

  Pulling into the first open spot I could find, I took off my seatbelt to look at Dakota. “Did Ronnie try to rape you? Do I need to go in there and kill him?”

  Dakota rolled her eyes, but I was serious. Not about actually killing him, but I was worried for my friend. I knew she would never make out with Ronnie. She hated his guts!

  “He stopped when I asked him to. But then I couldn’t remember telling him he could in the first place, you know?” Dakota chewed on her nails, nervous.

  “Why were you hanging out with Ronnie, anyway?” I asked, exasperated.

  “That’s the thing. I wasn’t. I went over to Winter’s house, to talk to her like I said I would…Jordan and Ronnie were there hanging out. I took a few sips from a wine cooler and then—”

  “Well, there’s your answer! Why the heck were you over there drinking, Dakota? How could you be so stupid?” I didn’t mean for it to come out so harshly, but it did.

  “It was only a couple sips! Not enough to make me act like a completely different person! Not enough to make me black out! They set me up. And someone sent a picture of it to Andy too.”

  I gasped. “Did you call and explain yourself? That you didn’t mean to…?”

  “I didn’t have to. He called me last night. He told me things were over between us, for good.”

  Chapter

  Twenty-Four

  My first three classes were a blur. I was worried about Dakota. But mostly…I was angry. Obviously, Winter had snapped the photo. She was trying to set up my friend and break up her and Andy!

  After all that talk about team spirit, and getting Dakota to talk to her…Winter went and did this? I just didn’t want to believe it. I knew she still had feelings for Andy…but this was going too far.

  I looked for her all morning, but we didn’t share any classes. I had AP classes—Physiology, Spanish 4, and Advanced Algebra—so I didn’t expect to see many of my friends outside of lunch and cheer practice hours.

  But on my way to lunch, I ran into Andy. He was standing at his locker. Immediately spotting me, he averted his eyes and focused on the contents of his locker.

  “It’s practically empty. First day, remember? You don’t have to avoid me just because of Dakota,” I said, leaning against the locker beside him.

  “I don’t want to talk about Dakota,” he seethed, slamming the locker shut.

  “Can I see the picture? How do you know it’s not fake?

  “Uh, because she admitted to kissing Ronnie.”

  “Oh.” I hadn’t realized she’d been so honest. “Please. Just let me see it. I have to see it to believe it, honestly. I just can’t believe she’d jeopardize her relationship with you over that idiot.”

  Groaning, he pulled his iPhone from his pocket, flipped through his messages, and held it up for me to see. Taking the phone from his hands, I squinted at the grainy picture.

  The picture was a close up, but it was poorly shot. Sort of like it’d been taken too fast before the camera focused in.

  But it was clear—the guy on the top was Ronnie. And unfortunately, the girl on the bottom was Dakota. Their eyes were closed, lips pressed together.

  Chapter

  Twenty-Five

  Making my way to the lunch room, I half hoped not to see Dakota, or the rest of the girls. I didn’t know if I could handle all the drama today…but then I spotted her sitting at the first lunch table. She still looked sullen, her eyes downcast, shoulders slumped. Lauren and Amanda were sitting with her. When they saw me, they shot me curious glares.

  I shrugged. Apparently, she hadn’t broken the news about Andy yet, at least not to the other girls on the team. I didn’t bother going through the lunch line. I’d packed something healthy—a half tuna sandwich on rye and small Ziploc bag filled with carrots.

  “That’s your lunch?” Lauren asked, turning up her nose as I laid my food out neatly in front of me, lining up my carrots evenly. I like routine. And yes, I like to eat healthy.

  Lauren, on the other hand, was eating a burger and fries. Toward the end of the year last year, they started bringing in McDonald’s and Subway for students. I shook my head, still not understanding why the school would do such a thing.

  I stopped perfecting my carrot row, glancing up at Dakota. She wasn’t eating. Instead, she was staring across the lunch room. Following her gaze, my eyes landed straight on Andy.

  He too, was eating a burger and fries, but his head was down, hair and clothes disheveled. He’d been up late, obviously upset over Dakota. “Just go talk to him,” I hissed. Da
kota looked up at me, surprised.

  “He won’t. He told me to never talk to him again. Can you believe it? I just can’t believe the never part…”

  “What’s going on?” Amanda asked, looking back and forth between us, but before we had a chance to fill her in, Winter slid her lunch tray across the table and tossed her backpack down, slipping next to me on the bench.

  Dakota’s jaw nearly hit the table. “What the hell?” she asked, standing up from the table. Winter’s eyes widened. She looked at Dakota then looked at me.

  “Did I miss something?” she asked, her words slow as her face was consumed by confusion.

  “Let me get this straight. You got the guts to nark me out to my boyfriend, and then you just prance over here and try to sit by me, like everything’s still okay? Are you freaking crazy?” Dakota demanded.

  She was so loud now that people were looking. A few girls behind us were snickering. “Oh, shut up!” Dakota snapped, whipping her thick brown hair back from her face and jerking her tray off the table.

  “Sit down, Dakota!” I whisper-hissed at her, feeling my own face reddening. Winter and the other girls looked surprised by Dakota’s outburst.

  “Stay the hell away from me,” she said, accentuating each syllable of every word. “Or I’ll beat you down like the piece of trash you truly are.”

  And then she did something I didn’t see coming. She leaned across the table, holding her tray in one hand. With the flip of a wrist, she dumped the entire contents of her tray onto Winter’s lap. Then she charged out of the lunchroom, tossing the now empty tray on a counter as she made her way down the hallway. I watched her until she disappeared, shocked by this new side—a side I’d never seen of my best friend.

  Chapter

  Twenty-Six

  Winter

  First Dakota cheats on Andy, and then she has the nerve to accuse me of being the one who told him about it? Who does she think she is?

  I stood in front of the girls’ bathroom sink, picking food particles out of my hair and wiping stains from the front of my new Justice t-shirt and jeans.

  I was so angry at Dakota I could have killed her.

  How could she do this to me?

  The important question—how will I get back at her?

  At least I don’t have to go to tryouts today. There’s no point now, since she was the one who talked me into coming back to begin with, I thought bitterly.

  My chest and the crotch area of my jeans were still stained, and now they were also soaking wet. I stood in front of the hand dryer, crouching at an awkward angle as I tried to get my stained clothes dry, at least.

  Screw it. This is pointless, and the bell’s about to ring…

  I gave my reflection one last glance in the mirror. My black eye makeup was smudged, my cheeks blistery red from embarrassment. I didn’t look like a cheerleader. I looked the way I felt—like a total loser. I felt like screaming in frustration.

  But then I made a decision…

  I’m going to tryouts. I need to prove myself more than ever now. I can’t let Dakota get the best of me.

  Chapter

  Twenty-Seven

  As I entered the gym, I was met with the sweet sounds of balls pounding the wooden floor, and the familiar squeaks of boys’ shoes running up and down the court. The basketball team was already hard at practice, playing a game of scrimmage against each other.

  I stood in the entrance of the gym, smiling as I watched my brother guarding Andy. My brother was taller and broader, but Andy was fast and unpredictable.

  He faked left, then passed to the right, giving the ball to Ronnie by the basket. Ronnie was more than six feet tall, and he reached up for a dunk with ease, letting out a powerful growl as his feet landed back on the ground.

  They were all friends, but you could almost smell the testosterone in the air. Most of them were juniors and seniors, and this year they had something to prove.

  I headed for the girls’ locker room to change into my cheerleading practice attire. But before I went inside, I could feel someone’s eyes on me, watching.

  I turned to see Andy looking. My lips curled up in a smile, despite myself. He quickly averted his eyes, focusing back on the game.

  Dakota never deserved him to begin with. If she did, she never would have cheated on him in the first place.

  I wasn’t the one who told Andy, but even if I had been, he deserved to know the truth. It made me angry that she would accuse me of telling him when she’s the one who should be apologizing for taking him away from me when she obviously didn’t even care about him all that much…

  Inside the locker room, Dakota and Sydney were already getting dressed. Neither looked my way. Moments later, Amanda and Lauren came in. They also ignored me completely.

  Go figure. All of the girls followed Dakota’s lead—if she didn’t like someone, they didn’t, either. But they’d tried to be friends with me when she wasn’t around. They’d even sent her to talk me into trying out for the team. So, why now? All because they thought I’d told Andy she was a cheater—which just so happened to be the truth?

  I pulled on a pair of tight, stretchy shorts and a crimson sports bra. I switched shoes, stuffing my sandals and the clothes I’d changed out of in my gym bag. I was seething. But still…I needed to make amends.

  Walking over to where they were changing, I placed my hands on my hips. Realizing I looked defensive, I dropped my arms to my sides.

  “Listen.”

  They all stared at me, silently. All except Dakota, who was tying her shoes and pretending I was dead to her. She probably wishes I really was dead…

  “Dakota,” I said, trying to get her attention. “Okay, fine. Don’t look at me. That’s real mature, by the way.”

  Dakota untied and started retying her Kaepas. Sighing, I went on, “I don’t know why you think it was me who told Andy. Yeah, I know you kissed Ronnie. My brother and I saw you through the sliding glass door. But…I didn’t tell Andy. My brother didn’t tell him, either. If I did, I’d fess up to it now.”

  “Why should I believe you?” Dakota asked, and it came out sounding like something a bratty five-year-old would say.

  “Well, believe me or not. Either way, what I’m saying is the truth. I used to care about Andy. I still sort of do. But I wouldn’t rat out one of my teammates. I wouldn’t do that to you.”

  Lauren and Amanda waited breathlessly, watching Dakota’s reaction.

  “Well, then we know who it was,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

  “We do?” Lauren squeaked, looking around the locker room.

  “The sociopath is back. In fact, she never left. Mariella, in a sense, was a victim. A puppet on a string, so to speak…”

  I swallowed a lump in my throat, processing her words carefully. “The bombing, somebody snapping pics and sending them to Andy…you think it’s the same person who killed Genevieve and did all of those other horrible things last year?”

  “I do,” Sydney said, speaking up with authority. “And it started before sophomore year, before Winter even came to this school,” she reminded Dakota.

  “From the very beginning, she’s had us all fooled. Pointing fingers at each other. Well, not anymore,” Dakota declared.

  I nodded at her, agreeing. This team has to stick together.

  Chapter

  Twenty-Eight

  Coach Davis was waiting for us next to the bench. She turned around in her wheelchair, and if looks could kill…well, you know how the saying goes. She looked angry.

  “Late on your first day of tryouts? I should cut you all from the team.” I could tell she didn’t mean it, but her face was serious. We’d spent too much time chatting in the locker room.

  We lined up on the bench in front of her, faces guilty. But Coach wasn’t looking at us anymore. She whipped her head from side to side, looking around the gym. She moved her wheelchair back and turned, looking toward the girls’ locker room.

  “Where’s all
the other girls?” she asked, face scrunched up in disbelief.

  The five of us looked at each other, just now realizing ourselves. We were it. No other girls had shown up to try out for the Harrow Dragons cheer squad.

  “Maybe they’re just late,” Dakota suggested, pressing her left hand on her right elbow as she stretched her back and arm muscles.

  “Yeah, maybe the freshman girls got lost on their way to the gym,” Amanda chimed in.

  Lauren looked at me, rolling her eyes at the other girls.

  “Or maybe this is all of us,” I said grimly, giving Coach a sorry smile.

  Nobody wants to try out for the team because they’ve heard the rumors about how many of us have been hurt. Or killed.

  Genevieve McDermott, Brittani Barlow, Blakely Clovers, and Mariella Martin were dead. Gabi was in a coma. And then looking around at the other girls with their scars from the recent bombing, I had to admit it—we were a train wreck. I’d barely shown up for tryouts myself.

  I stared at my shoes, not wanting to look at Coach Davis. She looked mortified.

  “In all my years of coaching, I’ve never had less than six and at least one alternate…now here we are, with only the six of us. Five, because I don’t count…” She seemed to be talking to herself.

  She sat there thinking for a moment, then finally she spoke. “Well, so be it. They don’t want to join our team? That’s their loss. We’ll cheer so hard and do so well, we’ll make them all regret their decision.”

  She stared at us, waiting for a response.

  “So, does this mean no tryouts?” Lauren asked, her voice tentative.

  “That’s right. No tryouts. First practice begins tomorrow. The five of you are dismissed.”