by Rina Kent
“We didn’t…there wasn’t any sex.”
She rolls her eyes at me.
“We just…spoke.”
With that, Addy spins to face me. “About?” Her eyes are wide with expectation.
I look away before I can look at her again. “Not that. Not yet.”
My skin starts crawling. As much as I thought this whole amateur sleuth thing would be a blast, I don’t think I’m cut out for it. I keep feeling eyes on me, and it doesn’t matter where I look, I can’t spot who’s watching me.
Paranoia. Just some standard high-school geek paranoia, Indi. It’ll pass, most likely when you’re twenty-five and high school is nothing more than a bunch of vague and slightly disturbing memories.
“I shared stuff with him,” I say.
“Like herpes?”
I close my eyes as a laugh bubbles out of my mouth. When Addy glares at me, I shrug. “I know you don’t like this, Addy, but it’s working. I think he’s opening up to me.”
She shakes her head, but more like she can’t believe how stubborn I am. Stand back, Addison Green — you ain’t seen nothing yet. “Next you’ll be telling me you’re pranking him back, just for fun.” Her words are heavy with sarcasm, but I let out a little squeal of joy and hug her arm.
“That’s a fantastic idea!”
“No, it wasn’t—” Addy cuts off with a sigh and another shake of her head. “You’re fucking nuts, you know that, right?”
“Guess that’s why we’re friends.” I stare at her until she gets what I’m saying and her imperious expression finally cracks into something resembling a smile.
“Fuck you, Indi.”
“Thanks, but I don’t swing that way.”
Addy jerks her arm out of mine with an exasperated sigh and then brushes off her clothes. She stabs a manicured nail in my direction, frowning. “I’m not gonna keep reminding you how dangerous he is. You promise me you’ll be careful.”
I nod, and grin.
Well, I try to grin.
Of course I know how dangerous he is. He’s a savage wolf, and I’m a baby lamb parading around him without any wool on, going on and on about how tender my flesh is.
I feel like a traitor thinking this, but out here in the glaring fluorescents of Lavish Prep’s hallways, all that sentimental shit that happened back there feels more like the memory of an acid trip than real life.
Addy’s right — I keep forgetting that Briar gets off on pain. But if I’m fast enough, nimble enough, I can get what I want out of him before his teeth can break skin.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Briar
I can’t concentrate on a single word Kruger is saying, but I don’t need to. I’ve read the whole textbook already, and memorized most of it. I only bother paying attention when Kruger goes into detail on something, and that happens rarely. I’m not a fan of Business Studies, but I prefer learning at my own pace. That is, a month or two, not twelve.
If this were psychology, of course, I’d be paying attention. As much as I loathe Veroza, he drops nuggets of his time as a practicing psychiatrist all the time. I think it’s technically unethical, but he can never remember his patients’s names, so I guess it’s cool.
I can’t wait until I get real world experience in that field. I’m keeping my options open, but I decided a long time ago that I want to work with people. I’ll probably intern as a social worker for a while to build up my experience, and then move onto something else. I’m easily bored, so I can’t imagine myself settling down long enough to open a practice or anything like that.
With my trust fund maturing on my twenty-first birthday, I don’t have to do anything. But that would be boring as fuck. What’s the point of traveling around the world and merely existing for the sake of being alive, when there’s no one to do it with you?
A yawn cracks my jaw. I stretch into it, rocking back on my chair until it creaks. The gesture makes the note in my pocket crumple.
I snort softly to myself.
Detention.
I don’t think I’ve ever had detention. Why the fuck Denard thought my abscondence was bad enough to punish me, I can’t begin to—
My chair legs thump back onto the carpet, jarring me.
Addison.
The bitch.
No one else would have bothered to report me. But she’s got a fucking stick up her ass of late. Probably thought I was out there raping her friend. Explains why Denard was being such a cunt to Parsons. Ms. Parsons is a wallflower, but I’ve seen her standing her ground before. She obviously knew she was in the wrong, because she gobbled up Denard’s bullshit with a spoon and asked for a goddamn second helping.
I thump my fist down on the desk before I can control myself.
Kruger stops talking, and stares at me for a long moment.
Don’t come over. Don’t come over. Don’t—
My mental plea works — Kruger gives the class a haughty once over before carrying on with his lecture.
I haven’t eaten yet. Should let Marcus know we’re stopping for food somewhere before heading home.
I pull out my phone, but before I can open my messenger app, a new notification comes through.
Told you to stay away.
I’m torn between anger and disbelief. She rats me out to the teachers, and then she still has the audacity to fuck with me?
I can’t even remember how many times I told Jess that Addy wasn’t good for her. The jealous cunt always had something catty to say to me behind Jessica’s back. I didn’t mention it at first, but when Addy started getting personal — asking if I’d fucked her friend yet, or if I was stringing her along for another month — I lost my cool. I had a long talk with Jessica and laid it all out.
Jess chose Addy’s side, of course. They’d been BFF fucking pinkie friends and shit since kindergarten.
I couldn’t get it into Jessica’s head that people change. Sometimes, for the worst. No one likes to think that. We’re all real fucking precious about everyone that’s been in our lives for longer than a year or two, but it’s the goddamn truth.
People lie.
People change.
But when it’s a friend, we’re blindsided.
Think I’m bluffing? Let me show you…
I’d been so caught up in my thoughts, I hadn’t even typed out a reply. I sit back, inhaling a heavy breath as I wait.
Yeah, show me what you got, Addy. This oughta be fucking good. Wish I’d got me some popcorn.
A download icon appears.
I glance up, making sure no one’s paying me any attention.
What the fuck is it? Lavish Prep’s wi-fi is fucking fast — if it weren’t, the students would have rioted years ago — so I can’t understand the delay.
But when the file finally loads, it all makes sense.
My screen goes black. I narrow my eyes. A video? My finger instinctively moves to the volume button, but I’m too slow. Before I can silence my phone, Marcus’s voice rings out loud and true.
“She’s so fucking trashed, bro.”
My skin goes ice-cold. My phone’s already back in my pocket before I lift my head, but that doesn’t help.
Kruger tilts his head at me and beckons.
I swallow hard.
He beckons again.
Fuck!
I stand, take my phone out of my pocket, and glance down to make sure it’s locked before I hand it over to him.
He takes it without a word, slips it into his top drawer, and points back to my seat.
I go reluctantly, my mind whirring like a spinning top.
She’s so fucking trashed, bro.
I remember Marcus saying that. I remember that exact moment. It’s a little vague — there’d been so much vodka, weed, and coke flowing through my blood, I’m shocked I managed to make it up Marcus’s stairs.
To his bedroom.
That’s where it happened.
Marcus’s bedroom.
Nausea floods me, and for a moment I think I
’m gonna puke right here in Kruger’s class. But I fight it back with iron determination. Again. Again.
It dissipates, but reluctantly.
Think I’m bluffing?
The frame was too dark — I have no idea where the camera was that took that shot. But it was close enough to catch Marcus’s voice.
Far from damning. Except…I never got to see the rest.
What if whoever took that footage followed the three of us — Marcus and Jess and me — up those stairs? What if they hung around on the landing and recorded whatever sounds could be heard through the door?
I remember sitting down on Marcus’s bed.
Jessica, looking hot as shit in her little blue dress. Marcus by the door, looking high as fuck, silhouetted by the landing light.
That’s it.
If it was a book, then all I’d read was the fucking prologue before skipping straight to the epilogue.
I woke up the next morning with the worst hangover I’ve ever had. I was on Marcus’s bed, spooning Jessica. She was naked. I was naked.
I bask for a few seconds, counting my blessings and all that sentimental crap before the feeling went away. Because try as I might, not a single memory came up when I searched. So I thought we hadn’t sealed the deal, maybe just fooled around a bit. We’d done that before. Some kinky shit.
But then I drew back the covers and I saw the dark streaks on my dick, and I knew I’d taken her virginity.
Unbelievably, I was more pissed off that I couldn’t remember anything than I was about the fact that we’d both obviously been too drunk to remember.
My first virgin.
My first virgin, and I couldn’t remember a thing.
And then Jessica woke up.
There was a moment, this brief, strange moment, where she smiled at me, and I could picture myself waking up beside her every morning for the rest of my fucking life. And then it suddenly didn’t matter anymore if she’d been my first, because right then and there I’d decided she would be my last.
But then her expression changed. She frowned. Her lips thinned. Her arms darted under the covers, fumbling around down there. Shock widened her eyes, and parted her lips, and turned her face a whiter shade of pale. Words tumbled out of her mouth while I lay speechless beside her.
You…
How could you?
I didn’t…
You raped me.
Kruger’s lecture goes on for an eternity. I know it’s just because I want to know what’s on the rest of that clip. I have to know.
Because as much as I’d argued with Jessica—
I don’t remember—
You never said no—
Prove it, Jess! Fucking prove it!
—I’d never know exactly what happened, because she had all the proof she needed. Her cunt was torn, and my dick was full of blood.
One and one make two.
I have to endure a lecture from Kruger about phones in class before I can snatch it from him and leave the classroom. I rush to the closest restroom and lock myself in the stall. Flipping closed the seat, I perch on the edge and plug my earphones into my phone.
The video plays.
A black screen.
Marcus: “She’s fucking trashed, bro.”
Me: “Tha’ was the point, wa’nt it?” I’m slurring so much, I don’t know how the fuck I was even able to stand.
The film’s so dark, I don’t even know if I am standing. Obviously, whoever took it used a very poor quality camera phone.
Marcus: “Almost there.”
Me: “Jess? Still with us?”
My stomach clenches in anticipation, but Jess remains silent.
A few pixels appear on the screen. The vague outline of a doorway appears. And then a silhouette. But it cuts off before I can make out anything useful like where the person taking the shot was standing, whose silhouette it was…anything.
That’s it?
I replay the video, cranking up the sound and zooming in on every pixel I can see.
Nothing.
I’m a second away from hurling my phone at the wall before I can control myself. As soon as I manage to curb my hand’s furious shaking, I type out a message.
That’s it?
I wait, feet tapping on the tiles.
There’s only one new message on my phone, and I read it before considering a reply to Addy.
Marcus: Thanks for the drinks.
So Marcus’s father has left again. Good for Marcus. Although I wouldn’t have minded having him at my house for a few days. At least the house doesn’t echo as much.
I hesitate, and then type out a reply to Addy.
That’s your proof? You haven’t got shit.
I wait, but there’s no response. She’s probably in class already, not daring to take out her cellphone. I wait another minute, my hand in my hair, but no response.
Fuck this. I’ve probably scared her off. If it was just a voice recording, I hardly see how it could be evidence. Whatever her plan was, it didn’t work.
I head for my next class, doing my best to keep Addy from my mind. Unfortunately, all that does is let Indi slip in.
Christ, her mother was murdered? There was no way I could have known, of course, but I still feel like shit for what I said to her. No wonder she went off the fucking rails.
I should apologize. But would she let me? She looked pretty pissed off when Denard handed her a detention slip.
Hmm. I get to have detention with my little virgin.
Indi
I have no idea if Marigold’s been notified about my detention yet, and I have no wish to find out either. Addy and I meet for a late lunch at a bistro down one of Lavish’s prettier roads. We smoke before going in, so I’m baked when we take our seat outside in the dappled shade of one of the many oak trees lining this street.
Addy orders a milkshake and some fries, but I need proper food. I missed lunch, after all, and tears are a poor source of sustenance. I upgrade my order to a burger, double thick strawberry milkshake and a massive plate of fries.
“Wanna know something weird?” I say, toying with my straw as I watch the play of light on the brick road. Sitting out here makes me think of what it must be like dining in Italy or something. “Briar seems so different when we’re alone.”
It’s the weed talking, of course. I would never have brought up the subject if I hadn’t been robbed of my inhibitions by a few solid hits of Kush.
“Serial killers are like that,” Addy says dryly. “Handsome, charming psychos.”
I laugh. “Serial killer? Damn, that escalated quickly.”
Addy rolls her eyes. “He’ll turn into one if he isn’t stopped.”
I shrug. “I just mean, if you hadn’t told me about what had happened to Jess, I would never have suspected he was…capable of doing something like that.”
I don’t mention Sunday, obviously. In my mind, it turned out to be an anomaly. I can’t explain Briar’s behavior that night — maybe he was high or something. I don’t do drugs — to me, weed doesn’t count — so I may have missed the clues.
“I need to get him alone again,” I murmur, nodding my head as I take another sip of my milkshake.
“You wound up getting detention last time,” Addy says, pursing her lips.
“You know, for someone who’s determined to find out who killed her best friend, you’re making this very difficult.” I narrow my eyes at her.
She shrugs a little. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I won’t.”
Our food arrives. I hurriedly sit back, swallowing drool as the server sets our plates down. I don’t even bother with dousing my fries in ketchup — I go straight for the money shot. Grabbing my cheeseburger in both hands, I tear out a chunk with my teeth.
Fucking delicious.
I chase it down with a slurp of milkshake and then dab a napkin to my lips as if that will somehow make up for being a pig.
“But you’re right,” I say, wagging a fi
nger at Addy without releasing my burger. “School’s not the place.”
“You planning on rocking up at his house and hoping he’ll let you in? Because he will.” Addy grabs a fry and stabs it in my direction. “But who knows if you’ll ever leave?”
I laugh, and she glares at me. “Stop being so dramatic.”
Her glare intensifies. “Stop being so stoned.”
“Would if I could, but your shit’s gooood.”
We grin at each other over our food, and tuck in for real. She gets a message on her phone a few minutes later and types out a reply without looking up. Then she flips her phone over and gives me another grin.
“What?”
“Don’t you have detention with him tomorrow?”
I pause with my third-last fry by my lips. “Fuck. I forgot about that.”
“That’s a whole hour with him.”
“Yeah, but we won’t be alone.”
Addy drops her eyes. “True. But you could pass messages or shit.”
“We’re not five, Addy. And plus, you know he wouldn’t dare put anything incriminating on a piece of paper. The last thing he wants is to give us proof.”
Our eyes lock. Addy stops chewing. She nods a little, and then looks away to take a last sip of her milkshake. Her phone vibrates again, but this time she ignores it.
“Then I don’t know,” she says after a bit. “It’s not like we move in the same circles anymore.”
“Well, maybe we can change that.”
Addy looks at me with narrowed eyes.
I push my plate aside and lean in. “Let’s wave the white flag. Tell them we’re done.”
“He’ll never—”
“After today, he just might.”
Addy’s eyes touch briefly on my mouth before darting away. “And all it took was a horse ride?”
I lick my lips, sigh, and sit back in my seat. Addy watches me from the corner of her eyes.
“We…kissed, okay? That’s it. Then I told him about my mom and we left.”
“Must have been a long kiss.”
The last thing I want to do is admit to Addy everything that went on. I’m not a gossip, and my private life has always been just that — private.