"Guess she finally realized I'm better than anyone else she could be with."
"What exactly did she say to you? Did she tell you she broke up with Novak?"
"She told everyone. I think it was last week. I can't remember."
"You need to remember these things. The police will ask you these types of questions. You need to be prepared with an answer."
"Who the fuck cares when they broke up? The point is, he did it. Novak killed her. I don't even know why we're talking about this."
"Because they're going to consider you a suspect!" Brock says, getting angry. "Goddammit, Braden, you're not that stupid, are you?"
"I'm not fucking stupid," he mutters.
"You are if you can't see what's going on here. That police officer didn't just show up at our door to let us know about Kristen. He showed up hoping to see you. To see if you were showing any signs of guilt. To see if you'd slip up and say something you shouldn't."
"For the last time, I didn't fucking do it," he says in a low, angry tone.
"It doesn't matter if you did it or not. What matters is what they believe. You fucked up with Andrea and look what happened. We're still dealing with that shit over a year later."
"That wasn't my fault. If you had just—"
"You ungrateful little brat!" Brock snaps. "If it weren't for me you'd be—" He blows out a breath. "Forget Andrea. I want to know why Kristen was here. She suddenly had a change of heart and decided to come back to you? I don't believe that."
"Why? I'm a hell of a lot better than Novak."
"You assaulted the girl," Brock says, lowering her voice. "It doesn't make sense for her to return to you."
"I didn'tassaulther," Braden says in a defensive tone. "The bitch said it's what she wanted, and then she turns on me. And she didn't start making threats until I told her I was going out with Alyssa. She was fucking jealous. That's why she did it. And now she's dead so it doesn't matter."
"It matters if she told someone. If she told anyone her claims that you assaulted her, the police will find out. It'll give them another reason to consider you a suspect."
"So let them arrest me. They're not gonna find anything. And then you can sue their asses for trying to ruin my reputation."
"If they arrest you it's over. My career will never recover."
"That's what you're worried about?" Braden says, raising his voice. "Your stupid career?"
"Go to your room. We'll discuss this later. I need to talk to Rumor."
"You're going to let her keep dating Novak? Seriously?"
"Stay out of it, Braden. I mean it. When I said it before I wasn't kidding. You get yourself involved in that and I WILL send you to live with your mother."
"Why the fuck would you let her date him? He's the—"
"What did I just say?"
I peek my head around the corner and see Brock grabbing Braden's shirt, his other hand clenched in a fist.
"Not one more word," Brock says. "Understood?"
Braden doesn't respond, or if he does, I can't hear him.
Brock lets him go. "Up to your room. Now!"
I turn and race down the hall into Brock's office. I hear Braden stomping up the stairs, then his door slam.
"Sorry about the wait," Brock says, coming in his office and shutting the door. "As you can imagine, the boys are a little shook up from the news." He sits down across from me at his desk. "The death of a classmate is always difficult."
