Just hearing that girl’s name sends a chill down me. It didn’t before, when I thought it was an accident, but finding out she might’ve been murdered freaks me out. Would Braden really do that? Or would Trystan? I know Jackson wouldn’t. Even though I haven’t known him long, I can’t imagine him hurting someone.
“Rumor? Did you hear me?”
“Yeah. I can’t really confirm that. I’m not supposed to say anything.”
“My mom used to date a guy who worked at the police station. They’re still friends and he mentioned something about the case being reopened.”
“Your mom used to date him? I thought she was married.”
“My parents divorced a few years ago. My dad lives in an apartment in San Diego with his girlfriend. I don’t see him much now that I’m older.”
When she mentioned her dad, my mind immediately went to mine, and the comment she made about him when I first met her.
“Speaking of dads,” I say. “I called the rehab place where I thought my dad was, but they said he left a few weeks ago.”
“Did you talk to him?”
“No, but I think he might’ve tried to call. The reception was really bad, but he said my name, so it had to have been him. You said you saw him in town, right?”
“Um, I don’t know,” she says with a hesitation that makes me think she’s lying. “A lot of guys look like him. It could’ve been someone else.”
“Where did you see him?”
“On the beach. He seemed kind of drunk.”
“That doesn’t surprise me, but why would he be here and not in LA?”
“I don’t know. Like I said, it probably wasn’t even him. I didn’t get a close look at him. He was yelling something really loud and stumbling around. I grabbed my stuff and left.”
“What was he yelling?”
“I couldn’t understand him. It was the kind of yelling drunk people do where they slur their words and get quiet and then get really loud and then quiet again.”
“So he was drunk.”
“Maybe.”
“You can tell me. It’s not like I’m surprised. My dad’s a drunk. He’s known more for that than for his acting.”
“Then yeah, he was drunk.”
“How sure are you that it was him?”
“At first I would’ve said a hundred percent, but now, thinking back, I’d say maybe fifty. I’d just seen Brock at the gas station, so when I saw this guy on the beach, my mind went straight to Devon. It probably wasn’t even him.”
A text pops up from Jackson.
I’m leaving now. I’ll wait on the corner. Let me know if you’re coming.
“Shayla, I need to go. I’ll call you later, okay?”
“Yeah, maybe we could do something tomorrow.”
“Maybe. Bye.”
I don’t know how to tell her my uncle and cousins have banned me from being her friend. It’s such a stupid rule I can’t even make myself say it. And I don’t plan to follow it. If I can date Jackson behind their backs, I can hide my friendship with Shayla, too.
Chapter 13
