by Mae Doyle
“Move over then.” Kaleb kicked off his shoes, his light green eyes searching my face while he spoke. “We’re not going to leave you here by yourself, Rose. Move.”
As quickly as possible, I flipped down the covers and scooted over. Kaleb shed his pants and jacket and climbed into bed next to me. Jackie did the same and climbed in on the other side of me, turning over and pulling me to him to snuggle.
I backed into him, sighing as he draped his arm over my shoulder. Kaleb was turned on his side to look at me and he gently reached out and traced a finger along my cheek before taking off his glasses. When he turned back to me, he reached out and rested his hand on my hip, scooting close enough so that I was sandwiched between the two of them.
Any other time and I would have loved to be there with them, but right then I was so exhausted that I felt like I could cry.
“We’ve got you, Rosita.” Jackie’s voice was a comforting murmur from behind me. I looked at Kaleb for confirmation, and he nodded before leaning forward and kissing me. His lips were soft on my face and erased the tears that kept sliding down.
“Don’t worry, Rose. We’re all in this together, okay? We’re not going to leave you, so you don’t need to worry one bit about that, we promise.”
Chapter 21
Dr. Devy and Mrs. Dimitri had agreed that I could take a week off of classes to rest up and feel better, both mentally and physically, but there wasn’t any way that I was going to do that. I had to get back into the swing of things, and quickly.
But there was nothing that could have prepared me for how empty I would feel walking to classes. Even with the rogues at my sides and Harper and Maggie waiting to help in any way that they could, I felt like I was walking through a cloud.
It was the same feeling that I’d had when my dad died, only now it was worse. I felt Brett’s absence like an ache that wouldn’t go away.
Everything reminded me of him.
Even when I thought that I had managed to push him out of my head for a moment, he came back. He was always there, even though he wasn’t. I missed him when the rogues picked me up from class and I missed the way his dark eyes bored into me from across the classroom.
He’d been there for years – ever since I was young – and him not being there now? It wasn’t right.
Even though I was physically at school, I wasn’t mentally prepared for what it would be like to be around other students.
They used to call me whore and slut.
“Murderer.” The name was thrown at me on Wednesday. Most everyone had avoided me earlier in the week, but it quickly became obvious that they were only working on their bravery.
My head whipped up at the name. I knew that they were talking to me, but nobody was looking at me. Disconcerted, I looked back down at my math problem, but the numbers and letters swirled before my eyes. I couldn’t make out what it was saying or asking.
The name kept running through my head.
Murderer.
After class, I ignored Kaleb and stumbled out into the hall. Jackie would be waiting for me at Spanish, but I was in no rush to get there. I had to breathe, and I ran the other way, away from classes, ducking and darting through the mass of students. Kaleb was behind me, and I knew that.
He wouldn’t want me to run away from him.
That’s probably exactly why I did what I did.
Darting down the hall, I slammed into the double doors to the outside, throwing myself through them and into the fresh air. It filled my lungs and I took gasping breath after gasping breath, bending over and sucking in the cool air.
Slowly, my head cleared, but I didn’t stand up. I knew that if I moved too quickly that I would pass out. When I heard the door open and close behind me, I closed my eyes, happy to know that Kaleb had found me.
Even though I had run from him just now, I didn’t want to escape him. I needed him to come after me and make sure that I was safe.
I was still smiling when I stood up and turned around, but it wasn’t Kaleb standing behind me.
Amelia had a sick grin on her face. “If it isn’t Taylor Prep’s little murderer. Man, it’s good to see you, Rose. Kaleb and my cousin have made it almost impossible to get close to you recently, but we really just wanted to come out and see how you were doing. I mean, you’ve killed two people now, right? Or are there more that we just don’t know about?”
Sara and Kelly flanked her, each with matching grins. They looked thrilled to have caught me outside on my own and I knew, right then, that I was screwed.
“I didn’t kill Brett.”
Amelia laughed, throwing back her head and tossing her hair so that it fell down over her shoulder. “But you didn’t say anything about not killing your dear old dad, did you? We all know that you did that and can finally admit it, so it may just take you a while to admit that you killed Brett, too. Tell me, did you see the car coming before it hit you? Or were you not paying attention?”
Whenever I closed my eyes, I saw the car coming up behind us. I knew, as soon as I’d seen it on the road, that it wasn’t going to stop, but there was no way I was going to tell the harpies that.
“I didn’t see it.”
“But it hit you from the side, right? How did you not see it coming?”
I shook my head, swallowing hard. “It came from behind us.”
“Liar.” Kelly stepped forward, her eyes flashing. “You lying slut murderer. We all know that you saw it, but nobody knows why you got to be the one who walked away and Brett is the one dead and cold in the ground.”
A sob threatened to escape me, but I bit my lip, trying hard to maintain control. I couldn’t let them know that they were getting to me. Each time I got in bed by myself I imagined what it would be like for me to be in the ground, not Brett. Not my dad.
Not the men I loved.
“I guess we should just be lucky that it wasn’t your cousin, huh?” It was Sara’s turn to talk, but she didn’t look at me when speaking. Her eyes were locked on Amelia.
“If little Rosie here doesn’t leave then I’m worried it may be my cousin next time. She has a tendency to kill the men who get close to her. So, Rose, tell me. When are you going to leave? It’s the best option for you so that you can keep everyone safe.”
I shook my head. “I’m not going anywhere, Amelia.”
“Fuck! You sound like a goddamn broken record, you know that? All last year I’m not going to leave and now you murder someone and stand here like you deserve any kindness from anyone at Taylor Prep! Well, you know what, Rose? You want to know the one thing that you could do that you really deserve?”
Her eyes glittered as she leaned forward. Kelly and Sara were hanging on her every word, their mouths slightly parted as they watched her.
Even though I didn’t want to know what she thought I should do, I found that I was waiting. I needed to hear her plan for me, even though I knew that it would be twisted.
“You should kill yourself.” Amelia’s voice was quiet as she breathed the words, and at first, I wasn’t sure that I heard her correctly.
“What?” The word was out of my mouth before I could stop it, but Amelia heard me, and she grinned.
“Yeah, you heard me, Rose. You’re a killing machine. Everyone who gets close to you and loves you dies, so why not just kill yourself and stop it? I don’t want you to be the reason my dear cousin ends up dead, you know. I will stop you before you kill him, too.”
“I’m not a killing machine.” My voice sounded far away to me and I began to feel a bit lightheaded, but I focused hard on Amelia’s face. If I passed out now, then there was no telling what she would do to me.
“Sure, you are. You killed your dear old dad. Then you killed Brett. I just hope to God that it’s Kaleb next, and not Jackie. Maybe the cops will finally notice that you’re a damn black widow, Rose, and lock you up. Or you could leave.”
“What?” Even though I heard her and knew exactly what she wanted, I couldn’t help the word leaving my mouth.
“You want me to leave?”
“It’s all we’ve ever wanted, Rose.” Sara finally looked at me. I knew that she hated me after I ruined her chances of a dance scholarship. “All we’ve ever wanted was for you to leave before you made things worse.”
“Leave Taylor Prep. It’s the best chance that you have of not killing anyone else, Rose. Because I swear to you, no matter who you think is going to protect you, if you hurt my cousin, I will destroy you.”
Tears stung the corners of my eyes, but I fought them back. “That’s what it’s going to take to get you to care about someone else? Thinking that your cousin is in danger? Because let me tell you something, Amelia. I would never hurt any of my rogues. Never! And that includes your cousin. He may be related to you, but he’s mine, and I’ll do everything I can to take care of him.
Kelly scoffed. “Like you took care of Brett? Because you did a fucking great job of that, murderer. Just tell me, how are you choosing what order to kill people in? The size of their dicks? How good they are in bed?”
A low growl escaped my mouth and even Amelia looked surprised. She tilted her head to look at me and then chuckled.
“Listen, Rose, let me give you a piece of advice. You thought that last year was bad? That was when we thought that your daddy dying was an accident, but now you’ve killed one of our own. You should leave. You should kill yourself. Whatever. But if you stay here, mark my words, you whore, I will personally make your life a living hell.”
“Fuck. You.”
She laughed, a tinkling sound that was so high it hurt my ears. “You wish, you slut.” Before I could say anything else to any of them, they turned and walked back through the double doors. I heard the bell for classes ring, but I couldn’t imagine going to Spanish.
What was the point?
If the harpies were right, then I deserved to die after what I did to Brett.
Even if I thought that I deserved to live, there was no reason for me to stay here. Everything that I fought so hard for last year seemed to be slipping through my fingers.
I felt myself sinking down to the ground, and this time, I didn’t even fight it. What was the point? Everyone here thought that I’d killed Brett.
Everyone here thought that the accident had happened in a different way than it really had.
That didn’t make any sense, but I didn’t think that I had any way to try to chance people’s minds.
If only I could make them see that we were hit from behind, that I didn’t have anything to do with planning his death, hell – that I thought he was still alive – then maybe it would all stop.
And if it didn’t stop?
If the harpies didn’t back off?
If people didn’t stop calling me a murderer in the hall and in classes?
Then I’d have to consider another option.
But right then, anything looked better than what I was going through.
Anything looked better than continuing to live my life without Brett. Without kissing him, touching him, feeling his amazing hands sliding over my body.
The wet grass was soaking through my skirt, but I didn’t care.
I could stay out here for the entire class period and I didn’t think anyone would look for me.
Stretching out, I laid down in the grass, goose bumps popping up on my skin thanks to the dew. Just a short nap and maybe I’d feel up to going back to class.
Chapter 22
“Rose? Rose? You okay?” Maggie’s voice pulled me from my nap and I woke up with a start, sitting up quickly and wrenching my back.
When I moaned and reached back to rub it, she quickly moved around to my side, wrapping her arm around me and pulling me up to help me to my feet.
“What happened?” My words were slurred and thick from sleep and I felt like all of my clothes were soaked. Glancing around, I saw that students were walking around us on their way to class. Maggie was the only one who had stopped, but Harper came running up as we sat there.
“I think that you fell asleep out here and missed class, Rose. You’re soaking, so let’s get you to your room to change and then to lunch, okay? I bet that you’ll feel a lot better once you’ve had something in your stomach.” She slipped her arm through mine and Harper looped her arm around my waist. We were halfway to our dorm when Kaleb and Jackie came running up.
“You found her!” Jackie looked stressed and I noticed for the first time that he had dark circles under his eyes. “I wanted to come look for her during Spanish but my teacher said that if I left I would be in detention for the rest of the month.” He scowled and reached for me, but Maggie tightened her grip on my arm.
“We’ll take care of her right now, Jackie. Let us get her cleaned up and we’ll meet you guys in the dining hall, okay?”
Kaleb and Jackie eyed her cautiously, like they didn’t trust that she would do what she said, but finally they both nodded and walked off, but not before Kaleb kissed me on the forehead. The warmth of the kiss spread through me and I felt a bit stronger.
“I’m really sorry, you guys.” We climbed the stairs to my third floor dorm slowly. “I just…I ran into the harpies and then I sat down to rest. I guess I fell asleep.”
“Nobody’s mad, Rose.” Harper made it to the top of the stairs first and reached down to help me boost myself up. I was moving slower and slower and her slight tug helped me make it to the top landing. I still had to baby my left wrist, and I kept it close to my body to keep from hitting it on the wall. “We’re all just really worried about you. Maggie and I were actually wondering if you should go home for a bit and spend some time with your mom. I know that she’s going crazy worrying about you.”
She was right, but I didn’t want to hear that from my friends. “You guys don’t want me to leave, do you?” The hurt in my voice was obvious but I couldn’t shake it. “That’s all that the harpies want, and now you two?” Frowning, I turned away from them. I was acting like a baby and I knew it, but I didn’t care right then.
“Geez, Rose is that what you really think? That we want you gone? Hell no, we don’t want you gone. We just want you safe, that’s all.” Maggie’s voice sounded strained, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at her. Instead, I looked down the hall towards my room. I knew that I needed to change and continue on my day, but resting sounded so good right then.
There was something hanging in the door of my room. Trailing my right hand along the wall to help keep my balance, I walked towards it. I was unsteady on my feet, but I shrugged off Maggie’s hand when she reached for me.
“What is that?” My voice sounded far away. Just a few more steps and I’d be able to tell for sure what it was, but even from where I was standing, I thought that I knew.
The gasp behind me confirmed it.
“Is that a noose?” Of course, I knew what a noose looked like. What I couldn’t believe is that there was one hanging in my doorframe. Jerkily, I crossed the hall, grabbing the wall by my door for support.
The noose hung there, barely swinging.
God, it looked inviting.
That was probably the point.
My hands shaking, I reached for it to pull it down, but there was a bit of paper pinned to it. Instead of yanking the noose down, I carefully unpinned the paper. It crinkled when I unfolded it and I dropped the pin to the floor.
“What does it say?” Harper slipped up next to me and looked over my shoulder. When I didn’t respond, she read the note out loud. “You’d be doing us all a favor.”
“Rose, that’s bullshit.” Maggie ripped the note from me and tore it into confetti before letting it fall to the floor from between her fingers. “Don’t listen to that shit, okay? Someone’s fucking with you, and it’s probably Amelia.”
“Oh, I’m sure it’s her.” I slid my fingers along the noose. The rope was rough but it slipped easily through my grasp. For a moment, I thought about what it would be like to slide it over my head and tighten it around my neck. Swallowing hard, I grabbed the noose, yanking it do
wn and letting it fall to the floor.
No.
They thought that they could just drive me out like that, but I wasn’t going to go.
“I didn’t kill Brett.” Turning around, I searched my friend’s faces for a response. “You guys, I didn’t kill him, I promise. He was driving, and the car came up behind us. It hit us and we slid down the embankment, but he was alive. I swear to you, he was alive.” Even though I wanted to cry, I focused hard on keeping my voice calm.
I needed my friends to hear me, to hear each word I had to say, and they couldn’t if I was sobbing.
“We know. Kaleb and Jackie told us the truth, Rose. We know that he was alive.” Maggie linked her fingers through mine and squeezed, causing a rush of relief to pour through my body.
“And you believe me? Even though nobody else does?”
Harper nodded and pulled me into a hug, stepping over the noose to get as close to me as possible. Even though I was soaking, she still pulled me to her. “Of course, we do, Rose. You’ve never lied to us, and people have wanted you out of Taylor Prep from the beginning. Why would we think that you were lying to us now?”
***
I tried to keep my head held as high as possible when I walked into the dining hall with my girls. Even though I was fighting a limp, I wasn’t going to let it be obvious. I knew now that the harpies were looking for any sign of weakness that they could find so that they could exploit it, but I was done being their victim.
They thought that I’d killed Brett?
Somehow, I would have to prove to them that I wasn’t a murderer.
They thought that I didn’t deserve to be here?
I knew that that was wrong.
I was at Taylor Prep to stay. There were only a few more months to go, and there wasn’t any way that I was going to back out now.
The entire dining hall fell silent as the three of us walked through the doors. The harpies were sitting at the front table like they were waiting for me, but they didn’t know what was coming.