Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
MADELINE
The sight of the dead body sobered me up, or I thought it had. Now sitting across a table from Grant, I’m doubting everything. We’d rushed back up to the house and told Grant what we’d seen.
Grant suggested that maybe it was Halloween decorations. That we’d had a few drinks and it was dark. We gathered Georgia and the four of us went back down to the boathouse. Nobody was there. We couldn’t see traces of blood left either, which seems impossible. It has me questioning myself.
“Are you messing with me?” I ask Luke. He was the one to take me down there. “This is some prank, isn’t it?”
“I didn’t do it.” He runs a hand down his face. Luke has been oddly quiet but as pushy as ever.
After we checked the boathouse, we’d all gone back to his brother’s house and not the dorms. Seniors don’t have to stay in the dorms on the weekends, but there is a time you have to be checked back in before the door locks for the night. It’s how they try to push a curfew on us.
We didn’t know what the hell to do. Call the police to the party, and there isn’t even a body. They’d call us crazy. I’m calling us crazy.
“I don’t believe you.” I stand, pulling out my phone. That’s what this is. All a giant prank, and I took the bait.
“Who are you calling?”
“My sister so she can come and get us.” Luke plucks the phone out of my hand.
“I didn’t trick you. How would I have gotten rid of the body?”
“I don’t know. One of your friends.”
“Friends.” Georgia snorts a laugh. “Sorry.”
“No, you’re not,” I say for her.
“That body was real,” Luke pushes back. “In fact, when I think back, I recognized her.” Is he really going to drag this out? But if this is a prank, it’s not that great of one. Not to draw out this long.
“Look at me,” I order Luke, and he actually follows my request. “All messing around aside.”
“She was there.” Luke’s shoulders drop, and I find I’m believing him at this point. The body did appear so real. He walks over to the fridge, grabbing a drink. “It might have been Caleb’s sister.” It wasn’t easy to tell with all that blood covering the face paired with the darkness.
“Lisa?” Georgia asks. “Didn’t you date her too?”
“And you’re just now recognizing her?” He should have known instantly. Right? Holy crap, how many girls has he been with? I kissed him. No, he kissed me. I’ll die on that hill.
“I don’t date.” Luke shakes his head like that’s a ridiculous notion.
“I do.” Grant gives Georgia a charming smile. Her face scrunches up, and she shakes her head no. I don’t believe she’s aware of how much she’s giving away with her expression. After a few drinks, Georgia is out here telling people how she feels. “You wound me.” He puts his hand over his chest.
“We don’t date hockey players,” I fill in for Grant.
“What about Nick?” I shoot my best friend a look. “Sorry, my mouth won’t stay closed.”
“Who’s Nick?” Luke is quick to ask.
“Nick isn’t your business,” I tell him. Nick is a boy I went out on a few dates with. There was no chemistry, but we had fun together. We became friends. “Thanks.” I grab the beer out of his hand and take a long pull on it. I doubly need it at this point.
“Can we call a truce?” Luke offers.
“No.” What kind of stupid question is that? First off, he’s a dick, and second, he’s blackmailing me. He hasn’t gotten anything from the blackmailing, but it’s still there hanging over my head.
“The kiss didn’t change anything for you?” Luke the snitch says.
“You kissed him?” Georgia gasps. Shit. I haven’t had time to tell her yet! The dead body got in the way. Besides, it never should have happened. Luke was one of the people that messed with her.
“It was an accident.” An accident that I can’t stop thinking about, which is messed up because there is a missing dead body I should be focused on.
“We can make out if you want,” Grant tells her while flashing a smile that has dimples. He’s got that whole golden boy vibe. Georgia’s cheeks flush.
“Don’t mess with her.” I shoot him a death glare.
“I’m not messing with her.” Grant holds up his hands. “And why don’t you date hockey players?”
“We have a dead girl we need to worry about.” I try to steer the conversation away from my dating history. Not that there’s really one to discuss.
“I mean, if she’s dead already, not much of a rush.” Georgia’s eyes widen at her own words. A laugh leaves me.
“She’s got a point.” Luke steals the beer back from me. Georgia nods in agreement with Luke. I’m going to murder her later.
“But you think it was Caleb’s sister?” We’d both been drinking, which isn’t helping any of the situation.
“It was more of a guess with the hair and it being her parents’ house.”
“But you’re not sure?”
“No.”
“Can’t you check her social media? See when and what she was posting,” Grant suggests.
“I’m new, so not a clue who anyone is,” I tell them.
“Same,” Grant says, glancing between Georgia and Luke.
“I don’t do social media.”
“That’s so shocking,” I deadpan. He is not very social from what I’ve observed, but it is still shocking. Who doesn’t have social media these days?
“I can try to see.” Georgia pulls out her phone. “She’s not even in the States.” She shows us her phone. Caleb’s sister posted a story on Instagram twenty minutes ago.
“Then who the hell is it?” I mutter.
“What if it was someone messing with both of you?” Georgia suggests.
“They just went down to the boathouse hoping to catch two people going at it to prank?” Luke says dryly. I shoot him a fierce glare, silently telling him to watch his tone. No one talks to my best friend that way.
“Wait, I thought it was only a kiss.” Now it’s Georgia glaring at me.
“Maybe we should focus on the dead girl issue and not crappy kisses.”
“Crappy?” Luke’s expression morphs into an appalled one. He is strongly offended, and I have to bite back a laugh. “You know I was there for the kiss, right?”
“Don’t remind me.” He doesn’t need to because I can’t stop thinking about it, even with a possible dead girl on our hands.
“This is amazing to watch.” Grant leans back in his chair, enjoying his front-row seat. I ignore everyone and keep going.
“I suppose we wait until a person is reported missing.”
“Unless it’s a sex worker from the city, and she will be forgotten. Serial killers are always targeting them. If I were a serial killer, I would target men in finance.” Georgia trails off when she notices that we are all staring at her. “What?”
“We should call it a night.” I hold my hand out, and Luke gives me my phone back. Everyone needs to sober up, and then we can revisit this at some point.
“I can take you back to the dorms,” Grant offers.
“It’s not too late?” I ask.
“Aren’t we supposed to stick together? People going off on their own are the first to die,” Georgia asks.
“You can stick close to me.” Grant gives her those dimples again.
“I can get us back into the dorms,” Luke tells us.
“Without catching a felony?”
“Gotta catch you to give you one.” Luke smirks.
“I don’t do felonies,” Georgia informs us.
“Murder is considered a felony,” Grant points out to Georgia.
“I never said I was really going to be a serial killer.” Georgia stands, getting flustered that we’re on to her killing spree ideas. I stand too so we can head out.
The walk back to the dorm is quiet. Luke does get Georgia and me back into our dorm for the night without us getting caught for violating curfew. By the time we shower and change before falling into bed, we’re too exhausted to gossip about all that happened tonight.
It was for the best since I had to get up early today to head into work. I have a new part-time job. I toss on a pair of jeans and a shirt, pairing it with sneakers. I put on light makeup and pull my hair up so that it’s out of the way.
I head out early enough so that I can swing by the bakery to grab a drink and breakfast sandwich.
The mechanic shop is only a couple of blocks down from the coffee place, so I make my way toward it.
I’m almost there when the door to the shop’s lobby bursts open so hard the bell almost comes flying off.
That may be an exaggeration, but it sounded like it was going to.
Lana’s face twists in that familiar sneer when she sees me, her phone clutched in her hand like a weapon. She stops short, narrowing her eyes on me.
“Here for a job, are you?” This bitch really does know everything.
It’s kind of impressive. If only she’d put those skills to use somewhere better.
I stare her dead in the eyes, my face blank.
Her lips momentarily purse, pissed I’m not playing, so she tries again.
“Poor little scholarship girl, working her fingers to the bone just to afford the privilege of breathing our air.”
“1999 called, they want their fashion back.” I hit her where I know it will hurt, especially coming from me.
Lana’s mouth opens and then closes. “Don’t hurt yourself,” I say as I step around her as she tries to come up with something else rude to say to me.
She’s not used to girls snapping back. “If ignorance is bliss, you might actually be a happy human being.” I push through the door with that.
I’m too tired after last night to have a go-around with her. Next time. I push through the shop door.
“You showed up,” Joey calls out to me as I enter the office area. Shit. Is he going to be pissed I was snippy with Lana? She appears to be a customer or was.
“You thought I wouldn’t?” I ask.
He’s leaning against the counter, arms crossed, watching the door where Lana just left. He’s shaking his head, an irritated expression on his face. “You can’t please the kids from Kingmakers no matter how good of a job you do for them.”
“Don’t take it personally,” I tell him, unpacking my bag. “Lana’s a bitch to everyone. Money or not.”
“Yeah, I know,” he sighs. “My luck has been shit for the past few weeks. I’m behind.”
“Well, luck is on your side now,” I tell him, taking the invoices from his hand. “You go get dirty while I clean all this up.” I motion to the messy-ass desk. “Up,” I tell him.
“I’d really appreciate that, Lucky.”
“Ah, man, first day and already got a nickname.”
“Let’s find out how true the name is,” he says, giving his desk another practical look.
“Go.” I shoo him out. If I know how to do one thing, it’s run a garage.
What I can’t do is stop thinking about Luke and that kiss when I should be thinking about the dead girl.
He’s pissing me off, and he doesn’t even have to be here to do it.