"She didn't leave," I say. "She went up to your room. She was in there a few minutes before she was gone."
"Did you check your room?" Brock asks Braden.
"For what?"
"To see if she left anything in there. Or took something."
"She didn't take anything. It looked the same as when I left."
"Were you two getting back together?" Brock asks.
Braden pauses. "I don't know. Maybe."
Brock turns and walks to the windows, looking out at the ocean, his back to us. "When did this start? You and Kristen?"
"Thursday." Braden slouches down in the chair next to the couch, kicking his feet up on the table. "She called me and asked me to come get her."
"Did she say why?"
"She said she didn't want to be home. She was probably fighting with her mom."
"Then what?" Brock turns back to us, his eyes on Braden. "You went and picked her up?"
"Not at first. I told her to call Novak."
"And did she?" Brock asks.
"No. She said they were over. She said he made her give him his key back."
"She still had a key," I say.
Brock's eyes move over to me. "How do you know she had a key?"
"Because she kept going over there. She'd go there when Jackson wasn't home. She'd let herself in."
"And you know for a fact she was no longer seeing Novak?"
"Yes. They were just friends. He stopped seeing her once he was with me."
Braden laughs. "You're so fucking stupid."
I bolt up. "I'M stupid? You're the one who believed Kristen wanted you back!"
"Because she DID!" He jumps up, staring back at me. "She practically fucked me in the car!"
"She was using you. Distracting you with sex to get what she wanted. And look!" I throw up my hands. "It worked! You went and picked her up. Let her go in your room. If anyone's stupid, it's you."
"Okay, both of you, stop it right now!" Brock shouts.
Braden storms over to him. "Why the fuck are you questioning ME when Rumor's the one dating the guy who got arrested! Ask HER the fucking questions! She probably helped him! She hated Kristen!"
"Seriously?" I huff. "You thinkIkilled her? I think the person who's already been accused of murder should be the suspect here."
"Rumor, enough!" Brock yells. He inhales a breath through his nose and lets it out. "Braden, did you see Kristen at any time after you dropped her off here?"
"No. Like I said, I told her to wait for me but she left."
"Did either of you see her?" Brock asks Trystan and me.
