“I love you too.”
Walking back, my mind replays that phone call from my dad. I feel better after seeing Jackson, especially knowing he loves me, but I still have that anxious, uneasy feeling knowing my whole life has been a lie. Knowing the man I’m living with — the man I hate — is my father.
* * *
The next morning, Jackson calls me before school, saying Kristen stayed in the guest room last night but was gone when he woke up.
When I get to school, she’s not in lit class. I start to worry that maybe she really was telling the truth when I hear that Principal Edwards isn’t there either. What if something happened when Kristen went home this morning?
I’m still not sure I believe her. I can’t see Principal Edwards getting angry enough to hurt her. He always seems so calm and collected.
At lunch, Kristen shows up at the table, smiling and not looking the least bit upset. If she was really strangled last night, why would she be smiling like that? And where are the marks on her neck? Jackson said he saw them, but I don’t see anything, and it doesn’t look like she’s covered them in makeup.
“Boys,” she says, sitting next to Kade.
“Where were you this morning?” he asks.
“Doctor’s appointment.” She hands him a bottled coffee drink. “Open it, please.”
“You’re drinking something with sugar?” he asks, handing her back the bottle.
“I’m drinking it for the caffeine. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
Miles is across from her and smiles. “Who’s the guy?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” she says, smiling back.
Braden shows up, sitting down and shoving the table so hard that it almost spills everyone’s drink.
“What the hell, man?” Wyatt says, wiping off his white button-up shirt, which got splattered with a red sports drink.
“I just got questioned by the cops,” Braden says. “And you’re worried about your damn shirt?”
“The cops were here?” Miles asks. “At school?”
“I was at the police station.” Braden shakes his head. “I’m so fucking sick of this. She’s dead. Move on.”
“What’d they ask you?” Wyatt says.
“Same shit as before.”
“I thought they had new evidence,” Kade says.
“I never said that.” Braden glances at me, then back at Kade. “Where’d you hear about new evidence?”
“From me,” Wyatt mutters.
Braden gets up and leans over the table toward Wyatt. “And where’dyouhear it?”
“From my dad. He heard it from the chief of police. They’re friends.”
Braden huffs and sits back in his chair. “I’m gonna sue that fucking asshole. He can’t be giving out information about a case. That’s private.”
“He didn’t say what the evidence was or who was involved,” Wyatt says.
“Doesn’t fucking matter. Once that shit gets out, the whole damn town will be back to thinking I did it.”
“Or Novak,” Dante says before stuffing his face with a forkful of spaghetti. Lunch just started, and he’s already on his second plate.
