“So you know but you won’t tell me?”
“It freaks me out to talk about it.” She shudders. “I know they said he didn’t do it but just being around him makes me nervous. I won’t even go near him at school.”
“Who? Are you talking about Jackson?”
She nods really fast. “Yeah.”
I grab her hand and drag her over to the couch to sit down.
“Tell me what you know.”
She inhales a deep breath and lets it out. “Braden and Jackson used to be friends.”
“Yeah, you told me.”
“I don’t mean casual friends. I mean they werebestfriends. Almost like brothers. But they were super competitive with each other. Jackson was better at football, which pissed off Braden. When they were both going to Twisted Pine, Jackson was turning the team around, making them win. There was this other guy, Jason, that was really good too. Both of them were getting really popular because they were so good at football. Braden was good too but nowhere near as good as Jackson and Jason.”
“Jason,” I repeat, remembering the name from earlier this week. “The guy who died?”
“Yeah. Last year. He collapsed on the field.”
I nod. “Someone at school told me.”
Knowing how competitive Braden is and how much he wants to be at the top, a part of me considered that maybe Braden played a role in Jason’s death. Why my mind even went there, I’m not sure. Braden can be a jerk, but he wouldn’t kill someone. Besides, Jason died of a heart problem. He wasn’t murdered.
“So Braden hates Jackson because he’s better at football?”
“He’sjealousof him because of that. Hehateshim for a different reason.”
“What is it?”
She hesitates. “Everyone knows this but still, don’t tell people you heard this from me. I’m only telling you because you’re messing around with Jackson.”
“Go ahead. What is it?”
“When Jackson’s parents took off and made him a legal adult, he left Twisted Pine and went to Legion.”
“Yeah, I know all that. What about it?”
“Jackson signed up for the football team the summer before school started. The Legion team was already good, but Jackson made them even better. Braden was so pissed at Jackson for leaving and helping the rival team that he stopped talking to him.”
“And that’s why they’re enemies?”
“That’s only part of it. Something else happened. It happened a few weeks after school started.”
She pauses, looking down at her hands in her lap.
“Yeah?” I say, wanting her to hurry up and tell me. “So what happened?”
Her eyes lift to mine. “Did Braden ever tell you about Andrea?”
“Who’s Andrea?”
“His ex. They had a strange relationship. They’d date and then break up and then date again and break up.”
“Wait — is this the girl that fell?”
“So hedidtell you.”
