Chapter 30 #3
And the final one was a video. It was shaky, grainy, and from freshman year.
There were a few girls in the frame, but I instantly recognized two of them.
One being a dark-haired, glasses-wearing Maisie Matthews, wearing a loose T-shirt and shorts.
The other was a dirty-blonde, round-cheeked Madison Oliphant.
I could hear Coach Chelsea countdown in the clip, and then when everyone began dancing to the routine, Maisie obviously stood out. Her arms flailed to a separate song, and in the clip, my hand flew over my mouth. LAUGHING at someone’s MISTAKE? Of course she would—she was the one who sabotaged her!
It was a Tell-All article that was only half true, ripping me to shreds.
“So this is how she’s doing it,” I mumbled, more out of shock than anything else.
“Everyone’s gathered out there.” I looked up to find Rachel, Reed’s twin sister, having joined the fray.
She wore a long-sleeved red dress, one that flashed with sequins in the bathroom light.
She looked at me with a worried line between her brows.
“Your mom’s trying to clear everyone out, get them back to the gym, but we might be in here a while. ”
“Do you have my clutch?”
Maisie looked down at her empty hands. “I left it with Connor—”
Before she could finish, the bathroom door shoved inward, and another person stepped into the already cramped space. A person who made everyone fall silent.
Jade.
Another person I was destined to have bathroom conversations with.
Riley was right behind her, of course, smiling like a maniac, while Jade was expressionless.
She wore the same glittering gold gown from the homecoming game last night, though her makeup was more smudged than usual.
It looked like she’d rubbed her fingers into her eyeshadow.
“Oh,” Jade said sweetly. “It’s already a party in here. ”
Maisie took a step forward. “A party without you, so get lost.”
Ava’s eyes widened at her friend’s boldness. Heck, mine did, too.
Jade barely batted an eye at her. “Madison,” she said, expecting me to understand her meaning.
And I did. Of course I did. I could understand Jade like the back of my hand. “Give us a minute,” I murmured to Maisie, chest buzzing like a shaken soda bottle. “It’s okay.”
I expected Jade to direct Riley out, but she didn’t. It was two against one as they faced me, their superior expressions matching.
My stomach turned, but not because of the situation.
Staring at Riley tucked right behind Jade, I had a clear view of what I looked like for years.
Beyond Jade’s shoulder, mimicking her expression, looking absolutely soulless.
For years, I’d never thought twice of standing behind Jade, never dreaming of being shoulder-to-shoulder. Always underneath, never equal.
“Kyle did the design,” Jade started off nonchalantly, shifting on her heels. “So you understand why it’s ugly.”
I just stared at her.
“You finally got your big article, Mads,” Riley said from behind Jade, grinning like a court jester. “You’re the talk of the Brentwood halls now. How does it feel?”
I pictured taking my stupid sash off and wrapping it around her neck. I turned back to Jade. “Nine years of friendship,” I began quietly. “All down the drain. And for what?”
“Don’t give me that,” she said tiredly. “You made that decision first when you picked Logan Castle over me.”
“I never picked him over—”
“You knew it was wrong. You hid him from me. From everyone.” Jade’s heels clicked as she stepped forward. “You didn’t step down from the squad. You didn’t fall in line. Mads, I gave you a chance. I really did. You’re the one who didn’t take it.”
“A chance to live my life how you wanted me to live it.”
She tipped her head, as if to say well, yeah.
“And the second I do something you don’t like, you cut me out.
” I tightened my hands into fists. “So, what? You found out about Logan, and you’ve been collecting evidence against me ever since?
When did you even find out he was from Jefferson?
” She’d taken a photo of us before the school year started—before I even knew.
Jade’s eyes bounced between mine. The brown in hers was so dark they almost looked black. “You really want to know?”
No. In that moment, hearing her question, I was suddenly sure I did not.
But Jade just lifted her chin. “The open house.”
It shouldn’t have surprised me as much as it did. “So you did recognize him.”
Her lips spread into a condescending smile. “Why do you think he was there?”
Abort mission, my brain was screaming. “His friend dared him—”
“Is that what he said?” Jade gave a light, little laugh.
“She didn’t find out about Logan,” Riley told me in her snotty little voice. “She planted him.”
I suddenly did not know what those words meant. “Planted him?”
“She paid him,” Riley clarified. “Paid him to walk the halls, to run into a pretty cheerleader, to win her over.”
Jade gave her eyebrows a suggestive pump. “I will say, he was quite dedicated to his role. He’s a great actor, isn’t he?”
Her words were like little bombs that kept going off in my head. Dedicated to his role. Great actor. I thought back to that day in the hall, when Jade shoved me hard, and Riley’s foot tripped me, all that which sent me falling perfectly into Logan’s arms.
Almost like he’d been waiting for me to fall into them.
No. “As if, after everything, I would believe you.” Rage filled me then at her lame attempt. “Do you hear how crazy you sound?”
“Girl.” For a split second, Jade sounded like her old self. “You think I’m ever without proof?”
When I opened my eyes, I found her stretching her arm out, offering her phone to me. Just like with Maisie moments ago, I didn’t want to look at the screen at all. Whatever was on it, I didn’t want to know.
But I took her phone anyway.
She’d opened up a text thread. It was a conversation between her and a number she didn’t have saved.
Hey. :) It’s your secret keeper. Okay, it’s pretty simple. We’ll be at the Brentwood Open House tomorrow around 5. Come, hang out in the men’s restroom til I say
Unknown
Ok
I’ll text you when it’s time
Okay, come out into the hall now. She’s the blonde in the cheer uniform. When I trip her, catch her.
Unknown
Catch her?
Like how they do in romance movies
I could remember that day in the hallway with absolute perfect clarity. Jade’s rough shove, Riley’s foot shooting out, sending me sailing perfectly into Logan’s arms. Woah, he’d said. That was a rom-com moment if I ever saw one.
You did great today! Better than I could’ve hoped. Now just do low effort things. Text back flirty, call her at night, stay on the phone with her until she falls asleep.
Unknown
Seriously?
Just for a week, sheesh
Unknown
“Just” a week. Talk on the phone with her every day for a week until she falls asleep. That’s too far.
Just mute the phone after ten minutes and pretend like YOU fell asleep. Just make it seem like you’re interested. And then we’re done! :)
I scrolled down to the next conversation, and my hand began trembling.
Omg a date? i guess you’re into this more than I thought, huh? ;)
The person didn’t respond to that one. Their next message exchange didn’t come until a week later—the first day of school.
Unknown
I’m not going to answer her anymore. You said until the first day of school, and that’s today. I’m done helping you be a crap friend.
You did your part, but I will need you one more time. Friday, we’ll be at Expresso’s after school. Come in wearing Jefferson gear, and then I’ll delete everything
Unknown
Can’t you just tell her you heard I was the Bulldogs quarterback?
Nope. She’s a visual learner
And then, that Friday—the fateful day in Expresso’s.
We’re here. Where are you?
Seriously.
You were brutal today. I approve
UNKNOWN
Lose this number
I scrolled down, and the next conversation was from almost two week later.
I need your services again
Just come to Allen’s Alley at seven. We’ll be there. Flirt with her, okay? I need to see how she reacts.
We’re here. We’re lane 10
Then the next, the next day, before our away game. The screen was starting to grow fuzzy.
Go to Wallflower’s tonight after your game. Please and thanks!
Okay?
I’ll take that as a yes.
Each new text felt like a punch, my stomach cinching tighter with every word I read.
The letters blurred, my mind trying to reject them, to shove them away before they could sink in.
But they wormed in anyway, digging under my skin, settling like poison in my bloodstream.
I didn’t want to believe it—didn’t want to put the pieces together—but deep down, I already knew where this trail was leading.
All those times I caught Jade texting a number she didn’t have saved to her contacts—she’d been texting Logan.
And then it led to the final two messages, both from tonight.
I’ve got enough to work with.
Thanks again!
Jade’s phone began buzzing in my hand. The vibration rattled through my palm as the screen lit up with the same number she’d been texting. My chest hollowed.
“Woah,” Jade murmured after she caught a glimpse of the screen, smirking. “What a weird coincidence.”
She reached forward, tapping the answer button—and then the speakerphone.
“Can you just—” The voice was a rush in the air, tone tight with tension. “Can you just not be a horrible person for once in your life? I get it, you’re miserable, but you don’t have to take it out on everyone else. Just—just let me tell her. You can give me that much.”
It was strange to hear Logan’s voice, knowing I was holding Jade’s phone. Weird to think that Logan knew her well enough to call her, and I’d had no idea.
“I can’t imagine what you want to tell her would be so different than what I’d have to say,” Jade said sweetly, setting him up with a smile. “I’m sure we’d say the same things.”
“Right.” Logan’s voice dripped with sarcasm. I’d never heard him so venomous. “The exact same things.”