Jay jerked forward, moving his face in front of mine to catch my eye. “She said it was you?”
I nodded, closing my eyes and recalling the events from hours before. “Then I heard a couple of guys yelling that some of their stuff was missing too. I don’t know what. Then I think someone ran down the stairs and out the front door because I heard it open and slam shut. That guy with the thick southern accent told Aiden to move out the way and then that became an argument.”
Jay’s jaw clenched and I could see the hatred in his eyes, but he remained silent.
I continued, “Someone else yelled ‘They stole the fucking notebook! All of them are gone and they have the notebook!’ Another guy said if they put a few dicks in our mouths it would shut us up. Too many other voices agreed. And then someone, I’m pretty sure it was Trevor, sounded like a lion ready to attack. He told everyone to hide whatever drugs they had because he was calling the fire department and didn’t know if the cops were going to come as well. It sounded like a stampede—complete madness—and I was scared. I didn’t know what was going on, so I slipped into the laundry room and climbed out the basement window. That’s when I saw what Dakota did. I saw what they did. I wasn’t even all the way out the window when I saw it.”
Jay’s eyes were big as he waited for me to clarify. “Saw what?”
“Trevor’s boat floating in the middle of the lake—on fire.”
“Fuck…”
“There was more screaming, and I just took off running. I couldn’t stay there.”
“And they didn’t see you? No one chased you?”
I shook my head. “Aiden and I were the only ones in the basement and when he left, I was alone. The party was mostly on the first floor and I went out the window to avoid being seen. Once I got out, I ran through the woods.”
“Around the lake?”
I nodded. “I took the bridge as a shortcut.”
“That bridge is a deathtrap.” Jay whistled lowly as his eyes moved from my face to my feet. He stared at my feet for a long, quiet minute. “They lit that man’s boat on fire and set you up to take the fall.”
“I know. And I honestly had nothing to do with any of that. I was with Aiden the entire time. But just hearing Dakota throw me under the bus and then the drunk assholes talk about the ways they should shut us up, I didn’t feel safe staying there.”
Jay wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his chest. I resisted at first and then I allowed myself to relax in his embrace. It was as if the combination of his warmth and the pain medicine hit me simultaneously.
“You did the right thing. You didn’t feel safe, so you left,” he assured me.
My eyes slowly closed. “I didn’t feel safe,” I murmured as I drifted to sleep.
…
Chapter Three
“Are you sure you don’t want me to come in with you?” Jay asked as I stared out of the passenger side window of his car.
“I’m sure.” I turned to look at him. “Most of my stuff is in storage so it’s just clothes and books. And besides, I want to talk to them first.”
“Well I’ll give you fifteen minutes to say whatever you have to say and then I’m coming in. I don’t want you carrying anything. Your feet are still jacked up.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m okay. They don’t feel so bad right now.”
“You never listen.”
“And it’s a good thing I don’t! I left these sneakers at your place months ago after practice and if I would’ve listened to you and picked them up, I’d have nothing to wear today.”
He smirked. “You always have something extra to say.”
“Always.”
I opened the car door and stepped out gingerly. My feet felt so much better than they had twelve hours earlier when I’d arrived at Jay’s door. But still, I was in pain with each step I took.
I pushed the heavy wooden door open just as Sonya Li happened to exit the kitchen area.
“Hey…” Sonya greeted me, averting her eyes and tucking her jet-black hair behind her ears. She looked around nervously. “Um… what are you doing here?”
“Where’s Dakota?” I kept my voice as calm as possible.
“I-I don’t know,” she stammered as she backed away with her hands up. “She left earlier. And I had nothing to do with what happened last night.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “You left me there to take the fall.”
“I didn’t leave you there. I wasn’t driving and I didn’t know—I didn’t know Dakota was going to do it, but what did you expect? She found out about you.”
My face scrunched up in a mixture of confusion and annoyance. “What are you talking about?”
The phone started ringing. It was odd for the landline to ring, so it caught us both by surprise.
Sonya walked backward to the kitchen. “She found out about you and him.” She picked up the kitchen phone. “Hello? Hey! Yeah, my phone died. What’s up?”
