32. Harper
Chapter 32
Harper
My Tuesday starts out like any other. I pick at a bowl of granola and down a cup of coffee while Jude reads something on his phone. Rosie’s bus already came to take her to school. All that’s left is for us to go to ours. Jude cranks up energetic EDM music in the car. It’s intense. Overwhelming. If I wasn’t still a little buzzed from the pick me up I put in my coffee, then I’d have been fucking pissed off at him.
I realize five minutes from Cinderhart High that I don’t have my phone with me. I can’t even remember when I last had it with me. The last thing I remember using it for was calling Eliza on Sunday night. Maybe it fell on the floor and I accidentally kicked it under my bed.
It doesn’t matter. I know Jude won’t turn back to fetch it, so I try to forget about how boring science class is going to be without a sneaky game of Candy Crush. I still need to study for Friday’s test, but I still have the rest of the week. No way I’m getting anything done with this headache.
The music was a sign, but I only realize it when we pull into the parking lot at school. When I see the crowd of kids huddled near the entrance of the main building, everyone looking grim. Arms crossed, heads shaking, some kids with arms slung around other's shoulders.
As soon as Jude turns off the stereo, I hear the siren.
My heart’s in my throat as I fumble with the handle to get out of the car. Jude’s voice is emotionless when he says, “Need help with that?”
That’s when I realize he’s responsible. I don’t know how, but I know why.
I hurry toward the school, Jude a few steps behind me. I’m hypnotized by the surreal moment, by the muted chatter of kids and the way they stare with glazed eyes toward the school.
The main hallway is empty except for the group of teachers further up the hall by a row of lockers. The smell of burned paper and melted paint hangs thick in the air. The principal is there too, and he’s holding a fire extinguisher. One of the teachers is busy scraping burnt things out of a locker.
My locker.
My view of the commotion is blocked off when someone walks in front of me. I recognize them instantly, but by then it’s already too late. I glance over my shoulder, but Jude is nowhere in sight. Even though the principal is only a few yards away, I’m as terrified as if I’d been trapped in a blind alley.
Sean’s easy grin turns my guts to stone.
I’ve been avoiding them like the plague ever since the party, and they haven’t gone out of their way to be close to me either. I guess they realized that I wasn’t going to rat them out for what happened when two weeks passed without them being called to the police station or the principal’s office.
“Got your message,” Sean says, a dimple forming in his cheek as his smile becomes a little lopsided. His casual wave takes in the smoke and the bits of charred paper and the concerned expressions of the teachers clustered around my burned-out locker. “Hope you get mine, cunt .”
He pushes past me so hard that I stumble and bounce off the wall. My backpack thumps to the ground but I leave it there, too shocked to do anything but stare after Sean and his posse as they leave the way I came in.
My… message ?
“Shit, Harper.” I turn my head, watching as Jude ambles up to me wearing a faint grimace. “What will Dad say when he finds out you’ve destroyed school property?”
It’s the first time he’s called Wayne my father.
Honest to God, I hope it’s the last.
Jude shoves a hand into his blazer and pulls out my phone. “Here. It must have fallen out in the truck.”
It’s warm from being in his pocket. I’m tempted to throw it in the nearest trash bin because somehow I already know what I’m going to find when I unlock it.
Sure enough, when I check the last message I sent, my skin goes cold.
To: Sean
You won’t get away with this. I’m going to the principal.