But then footsteps behind me startled me.
“Everything okay here?” Brian. Damn it.
It was harder to talk when he was there. He didn’t make me afraid, but he certainly embarrassed me.
“Hunter and Cooper to the principal’s office.” The voice from the speaker repeated the announcement.
“Finally,” Ari gloated under her breath as Amelia and Brian exchanged a knowing look.
Amelia raised an eyebrow and aimed at me again. “I’m the one who needs to give you a good reason? You can’t figure it out for yourself? Do you know why the principal was out for almost a month?”
“Blaze didn’t tell me much. I know that they attacked him,” I stammered, confused. “But what does that have to do with it?”
“Ask your boyfriend,” Amelia jabbed, as her thin mouth curved into a disdainful smile. “Or maybe I should say your boyfriends.”
“Amelia!” interjected Brian.
“I only told the truth,” she said shaking her raven head. “You should be more discreet when you do things behind your boyfriend William’s back.”
All of my good intentions to ignore her had just gone to hell.
“What the hell are you talking about? How could you think something like that? Will and I aren’t . . . what did you find out?” I asked, out of breath.
I was trying to stay calm, but it wasn’t easy.
“If someone at the party told me you went into a bedroom with James, what do you think I should think? That you were putting face masks on each other?”
My jaw dropped. “What are you getting at?”
“You’re exaggerating, Amelia. June isn’t that kinda girl.” Brian came to my rescue, but I didn’t feel grateful.
I couldn’t stand gossip, let alone unnecessary judgment, especially when it was expressed unfairly.
Then again, who did they think they were? Poppy and Ari were anything but saints, and Amelia had skeletons in her closet too. I’d made my mistakes, but I wasn’t going to put up with them chewing me out.
“So what if I did? What I do shouldn’t concern you. Do you want to know why I’m with them, Amelia? At least they don’t keep hiding things from me like you guys do! I gotta go to class now. Bye.”
I turned away from them, but Amelia stopped me from walking away.
“Do I hide things from you, June?” she said with a cutting voice.
I turned my head and looked Brian right in the eye. Suddenly William’s words came to mind.
I’m not like James.Then James’s words came to mind.Ask Amelia and Brian.
“Okay, so tell me one last thing.”
This time I faced her fearlessly; I didn’t care if her brother was right next to her.
“What happened to the swim coach?”
The question echoed around us. It almost seemed like the chatter around us stopped too. I had to take a step back because Amelia’s expression got darker, like I had just taken a step into a place that I should’ve never set foot in.
Poppy and Ari turned to Brian, but his normally bright eyes seemed as dark as stone then.
“Who told you that, June?” asked Poppy.
“Will or James?” demanded Amelia with such a faint voice that it seemed almost unrecognizable.
