There is nothing I would care less about. “Nah, I’m over all that shit. But you do you.”
I take a step to signal that this conversation is definitely over, but Gen can’t or won’t take a hint.
“It sounded like you were talking to the police.” She says, stepping in my way. “And it sounded serious.”
If I don’t throw her a bone, we’ll be here all night. “It is serious. One of my former teammates was murdered right before I left Hemlock Beach to come here.”
Gen covers her mouth with both hands, blue eyes wide with shock. It looks fake. “Oh my God. Do they think you did it?”
“Of course not!” My patience is running out very quickly. “If they did, I wouldn’t be here more than two thousand miles away. I’d be in a jail cell in South Carolina.”
“Then why did the police call you?” She asks, crossing her arms over her chest.
I tighten my grip on the handles of my duffel bag. “They’re calling everyone because they’re clueless about who did it, ok? They found the guy dead in his bed, and all they know is that he hooked up with someone before he died. I don’t know anything else, like I told the cops.”
“Well, at least he died happy.” Gen snorts.
I can’t help but laugh. “Yeah, no. I doubt it. Getting his head hacked off his neck must have been the opposite of fun.”
“Oh,that’sthe murder you’re talking about?” Gen gasps.
If I rolled my eyes any harder, they would fall off. “Unless you’ve heard of any other murders at Hemlock Beach College this summer…”
“Shut up.” Gen swats at my arm with another giggle. “I remember seeing something about it on the news, but I was getting ready for tryouts and I was distracted. So, did you know the guy who died?”
The morbid curiosity of her tone is off-putting, but it’s heaps better than being hounded about taking her on a date. “Yeah, he was a brother and a teammate. But we weren’t close. He was a bit of a douche, to be honest. But he hid it well for the most part. We just weren’t friends.”
“I get it,” Gen shrugs. “I wouldn’t even speak to half the girls at camp if the directors didn’t care so much about team spirit.Being on a team with someone doesn’t mean you have to be friends.”
It doesn’t, but it helps if you can be at least civil to your teammates. If anyone should know, it’s me.
“So what else do you know? Do you have any idea who the killer is?”
“No, Gen. I have no clue, like I told the cops. And you probably already knew that because you’ve eavesdropped on the entire conversation.”
She links her arm with mine. “I know that, but maybe you were protecting a friend or something. You can trust me; I’m not gonna tell anyone. Was it one of your teammates? If yes… hot.”
She says it like “hawt.”
“I don’t have the faintest idea who did it. And how can you think that someone who committed a gruesome murder is hot? If anything, they’re dangerous.”
Gen rolls her eyes. “I take it you don’t read any dark romance. As long as he’s a hottie, the killer type is hot. Especially when he’s so obsessed with you that he would kill anyone just for looking at his woman.”
That’s it. She’s fucking crazy. “Let’s agree to disagree. Killing people is the opposite of hot.”
“So you’re telling me that you really don’t know? Boring. I’ll have to ask Taryn and Jodie what they think.”
“Why the fuck would you ask them?” I bite out.
She shakes her head. “You know, Nash, for someone hot, you’re a little slow. Didn’t Taryn and Jodie go to your same school? If the dead guy was a hockey player, he must have been popular. Maybe they have a theory.”
As if summoned by Gen’s words, I spot Taryn’s blonde head as she comes out from the main building. She’s headed to the dining hall with Talia in tow.
“Sorry, Gen,” I shrug off her hold on my arm. “I really need to eat right now. See you around.”
I jog in Taryn’s direction. I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing. I still think I shouldn’t date anyone, especially not someone who’s already seeing two of my teammates. But I can’t help it. I’m drawn to Taryn like a moth to a flame.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
