“I hadn’t heard that,” I say.
Everyone trickles out onto the patio, and Hannah answers more questions about taking a stand and saying what she did.
Jack is sitting across from me. He glances at Hannah and then at me. I give him a quick little quirk of my eyebrows, and he gives me an almost imperceptible head nod. All the girls and Ty and Cam decide to play a game of spoons, but that game can get deadly, and I’m not up for it.
I walk into the house to grab a drink, and Jack follows me. “I asked Mr. Higbee if anyone asked to see the bio cards. He thought I was being nosey, but he told me no. I told him that several girls had bullied Clark and gave him their names. I could see a light click when I mentioned several names. So maybe he knows who the culprit is, and he’ll do something about it.”
“Thanks for doing that.”
“Clark’s my sister. I’ve got her back. There’s something else.”
Jack doesn’t look happy. “What is it?”
“The website is down.”
“What, that’s great. Why don’t you seem happy about it?”
“I think it’s been down for a couple of days?”
I look at him, shocked. “Are you serious? Why didn’t Jim tell us?”
“Because…” Jack looks at Hannah and everyone else sitting around the patio table playing spoons. “They’ve set up some meeting tomorrow.”
“I didn’t think it would be this soon. My dad called right before I left my house he said he was coming over to the house tomorrow to talk. I assumed it was about Sutherland and Football, but I’m guessing Jim’s talked to my parent’s.”
“You think?”
“Yeah, my mom was almost sobbing when I left tonight. She said it was because she was happy for me, but I’ve never seen cry like that before,” I say.
“Damn. You’re right. My mom was super weepy the whole time she was helping Hannah. I thought it was a girl thing. What are you going to do?” Jack asks.
“We won’t be able to stop them. If we push back, they’ll just make things worse for Hannah.”
“This whole thing is bullshit.” Jack curses.
“It is, but Hannah knows I’m in a hundred percent.”I knew I needed to tell her how I felt and give her the ring. I’ve had a bad feeling for a while.
“Well, whatever happens, I’ve got your back, and Hannah’s.”
“I have a feeling we’re going to need you. With the website down, things should get easier, but they’re about to get more complicated.”
It’s almost two in the morning, and I’m lying on the sofa in Tyler’s theater room with Hannah asleep beside me. I haven’t been able to bring myself to wake her up. I love holding her while she sleeps, but we’re running out of time. Jack took Leah home, and he should be back any time. “Hanny.” I nuzzle my nose against her cheek, giving her a soft kiss. “It’s time to wake up.”
She reaches up, covering my mouth with her hand. “Shh, stop talking, and go back to sleep.”
“We’re at Tyler’s.”
“So? He sleeps over at my house all the time. It’s my turn to stay here.”
I laugh. “Do you hear the words coming out of your mouth?”
Hannah opens one eye. “Only a guy would head straight for the gutter.”
“A normal human being, male or female, would head for the gutter with that sentence.” I argue.
“Where’s Ty? Let’s ask him.” Hannah sits up, looking around.
“He took June home.”
