Then one day, he’d kissed me.
Avery Chase kissed me.
I’d been so shocked, so confused… that I’d sat there dumbfounded.
I’d never returned his calls after that. Because the truth was, I’d fallen for him. I’d fallen for my mark. And it was so cliché, so ridiculous, that I tried to pretend it had never happened.
Until the final newspaper hit the halls at school.
God, I still remembered seeing Avery right after it went live. The anger in his eyes. The bitter disappointment. It was the talk of the school.
I was the talk of the school.
And Avery had looked at me with complete disgust.
“Look, something tells me Coach isn’t going to let either of us wiggle our way out of this, so let’s just call a truce. I’ll keep the guys in line, if you promise no more theatrics.”
“I can do that.”
I needed to get out of his car. The air was too thick, and I felt nauseous again.
“Are you okay, you look a little green again?”
“I’m fine,” I rushed out, grabbing the door handle. “And thank you for tonight. It won’t happen again. From now on, I’ll be nothing but professional.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“Well, I guess I’ll see you around then.”
“Yeah.” An awkward silence followed and I couldn’t take it for a second longer, so I shouldered the door and stumbled out…
Dragging my withering heart with me.
I kept my distance after that.
Monday at school after my edible-induced show was interesting. I’d entered the building to a loud applause and hollers of ‘strip for me, snitch.’
But once the laughter subsided, Avery, true to his word, kept the team off my back. I observed their practices and interviewed a couple of the new players about their experiences so far. Coach gave me a ton of game footage to watch and made his staff available for interviews. Avery avoided me like the plague, and I did the same with him.
After his confession, my heart felt more bruised than ever.
“How’s the article coming?” Mr. Jones asked me as he entered the Rixon Riot HQ on Thursday afternoon. I was finishing up my day’s notes.
“It’s… coming. Give it a couple more weeks and I’ll have plenty to work with.” I shoved everything in my bag.
“That’s what I want to hear. If we want to run a Homecoming edition, I’m going to need your final draft in two weeks.”
“You got it, sir.”
Ugh. Homecoming. The social event of the year that celebrated both football and school spirit.
At least the article would be finished by then, so I wouldn’t have to go in the name of reporting.
“Now go on, get out of here. You must have more exciting things to do on a Thursday afternoon than hang out here.” He smiled.
“Yeah, exciting things.”
He obviously hadn’t heard the rumors about all my excitement at the party. But that was the thing with kids, they were good at hiding things. Rumors, fights, parties… there was some unspoken word that what happened between teenagers stayed between teenagers.
I shouldered the door and slipped into the hall. School was already half empty. I’d almost reached the main doors when I heard a shriek from the girl’s bathroom.
Without thinking, I ran inside.
“Lily?” I said, eyes wide with horror as I watched the gang of girls slowly back away from her.
“What did you do to her?” I snapped.
“N-nothing,” one of them said. “We were just… talking, and she started pulling her hair and screaming at us.”
“Did they hurt you?” It came out softer as I met Lily’s frantic gaze. She shook her head, but I didn’t like the fear in her eyes.
“You,” I jabbed my finger at the ringleader. “What’s your name?”
“Why do I need to tell you?”
I grabbed the collar of her blouse. “I said, name.”
“L-Lindsey Filmer.”
“If she’s hurt, I will make sure Principal Kiln knows about this.”
“We were just messing around. It wasn’t—”
Lily started sobbing again and I moved closer, putting myself between her and the girls.
“Get out of here, all of you.”
They scurried out, leaving the bathroom in thick silence. Lily’s face was lowered as she pulled furiously at her hair.
I crouched down and laid my hands gently on hers. “Lily,” I said softly. “Look at me.”
Slowly, she lifted her eyes to mine.
“They’re gone, see. It’s just you and me.”
“T-they’re gone?”
“Yes. Now do you want to tell me what happened?”
“I…” She hesitated and I gave her a reassuring smile.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me anything. Is there someone I can call? Ashleigh?”
I’d seen her hanging out with Avery’s sister.
“She got picked up early for a dental appointment.”
“Your mom?”
Lily dragged her bottom lip between her teeth, giving me a little shake of her head.
“Avery is at practice. I could sit with you until they get done?”
“Okay.”
I stood up and offered her my hand. Lily accepted it, letting me pull her up. She seemed better now, calmer. But she’d been so afraid when I first got here, cowering against the wall, trying to disappear. I knew girls could be cruel, but something told me there was more to the story than she was willing to offer.
Chapter Seven
Avery
We were listening to Coach tear us a new one about our sloppy performance when I noticed Miley and Lily over by the bleachers. Something wasn’t right. For two girls who, to my best knowledge didn’t know one another, they were standing a little too closely. Lily glanced toward us and shook her head, before darting out of eyesight.
Strange.
“Okay, hit the showers,” Coach said. But I didn’t head for the locker room, jogging over to Miley instead.
“What happened?” I said.
“There was an incident.”
“Incident, what kind of incident?” I craned my neck around Miley to try to see Lily, but she was hiding in the shadows.
“What the fuck happened?” It came out harsher than I intended, guilt stabbing at my chest. But after almost a week of
