“Only because he got rid of them.”
I look at Trystan. “He got rid of Andrea?”
“Not like that.” He glances at me. “What the hell? You think he killed her?”
“No, it’s the just way you said it . . . never mind.”
“If you think he did it, you need to get the hell out. We don’t need a fucking traitor living at the house.”
“I never said he was guilty. Have you heard anything new about the case?”
“Yeah, but I’m not telling you. And I’m telling Braden not to tell you either. You’re probably just like those girls, wanting to take Braden down just to prove you could do it.” He shakes his head. “I could totally see you doing that.”
“Why? I didn’t do anything. Where is this coming from?”
We’re at school now, and he parks the car and shuts it off. He takes off his seatbelt and turns to me.
“Someone messed with the video,” he says.
“What video?”
“Don’t do that shit where you pretend not to know what I’m talking about. I know you did it, or found someone who would.”
“Trystan, I really don’t know what you’re talking about. You mean the video of the football field? The guys were talking about that at lunch yesterday, but that happened before I moved here.”
“The video at the house. The cameras along the back. The video was tampered with.” His eyes lock on mine. “Who would want to mess with the video?”
“I don’t know,” I say, staring back. “Who would sit for hours and watch them? Only someone who doesn’t have a life.”
“Or someone who doesn’t trust the girl who just showed up one day claiming to be a relative.”
“This again? I’m leaving.” I get out of the car, slamming the door shut and walking fast toward the school. When I look back, Trystan is standing by his car and talking on the phone. Is he talking to Braden? Did Braden hire him to spy on me?
I need to be more careful. I thought Trystan was starting to trust me, but if anything he trusts me less now than when I moved here.
The morning goes by slowly. I keep checking my phone for a text from Jackson, but he still hasn’t sent me anything. He’s mad at me, which isn’t fair. I’m his girlfriend, and he shouldn’t be keeping secrets from me. I’m the one who should be mad, and I am. But I also miss him. We usually talk before school and text throughout the morning. I miss that.
At lunch, Braden isn’t there and none of the guys ask why, which I find odd.
“Where’s Braden?” I ask.
“Physical therapy,” Kade says. “They brought someone in to work on us. I saw the guy this morning. He’s really fucking good. I can finally rotate my wrist.”
“They hired someone?” I ask. “For the team?”
“Just for the season,” Dante says. “Coach didn’t like us having to wait for an appointment, so he got Principal Edwards to hire a physical therapist for the team.”
“That must be expensive.”
“It is.” Dante smiles at Wyatt. “Tell your dad thanks.”
I turn to Wyatt. “Your dad’s paying for this?”
“Not directly. He just made a donation.”
Another advantage over the Legion team. Legion parents couldn’t afford to hire their own physical therapist. Jackson could, but the rest of the team couldn’t.
Jackson.I can’t stop thinking about him. I can’t even concentrate today. Everything reminds me of him.
