Chapter 25
“Jackson?” I say with a laugh. “He wasn’t even there. He wouldn’t go to a Twisted Pine party. If he showed up, they’d kick him out.”
“He was there. He went to pick up Andrea.”
“Why would he be picking up Andrea?”
“Apparently, she called him and asked him to come get her. She was too drunk to drive, and she didn’t want to be around Braden after the fight they had.”
“How did Jackson know Andrea?”
“She went to Twisted Pine. She was there when Jackson was still going there.”
“So they were friends.”
She shrugs. “That’s what they said, but everyone thinks they were more than that. Braden swears they had something going on. Andrea even admitted she’d messed around with Jackson, but she claims it was when she and Braden were on one of their breaks.”
“By messed around, you mean sex?”
“She didn’t say that, but I’m guessing that’s what she meant.”
It reminds me of Jackson’s relationship with Kristen. It sounds like he had a similar friends-with-benefits relationship with Andrea. Is that what he does? Gets girls to have sex with him without committing to anything? Is that what he’s doing with me?
I’m suddenly not feeling good. Jackson doesn’t treat me like I’m some casual fling but what if it’s all an act? He’s a trained actor. He could be playing me right now. Making me think he cares about me just to get me to go along with his plan. And get sex as a side benefit.
“Rumor, are you okay?” Shayla asks, holding my arm.
I nod. “Yeah. So why do people think Jackson had something to do with what happened to Andrea? If he was waiting for her in the car, then—”
“He wasn’t. Someone saw him get out.”
“Where did he go?”
“They don’t know. Nobody saw him in the house and the people out back by the pool were too drunk to remember if they saw him.”
“Why do people think Jackson did something to her? If anyone should be a suspect, it should be Braden. He’s the one who was fighting with her. He probably found out she’d been doing stuff with Jackson and got so angry he pushed her over the railing.”
A chill courses through me just thinking of that. I hope that didn’t actually happen. If it did, I’m living with a killer.
“Jackson said the same thing,” Shayla says.
“He said if anyone killed her, it was Braden. Everyone knows how jealous Braden gets, especially when it comes to Jackson, and Braden has a really bad temper. I could totally see him losing it when he found out his ex had been with Jackson, his biggest enemy.”
“What’s Braden’s side of the story?”
“He claims he already knew Andrea was fooling around with Jackson.”
“You mean before the party that night,” I say.
“Yeah. People thought that’s why they were fighting but Braden said their fight was because Andrea wanted him back and he told her no. He said she got angry and started screaming at him.”
“Did people at the party hear her screaming?”
“Yeah. They heard Braden too. Apparently, he was yelling at her, calling her a slut and all kinds of other names. People just ignored it because those two were always fighting.”
“Then what happened?”
“It ended. She took off and everyone assumed she went home.”
“What happened with Jackson? Did he just wait around for her all night?”
“The story I heard is that he got out of the car and looked for her. He claims he asked some girl if she’d seen her and the girl told him Andrea went home with someone else.
When the cops questioned the girl about it later, she didn’t remember saying it, or even talking to Jackson, but she was really drunk that night, at least that’s what I heard. ”
“Did anyone get charged for what happened to Andrea?”
“No.” She huffs. “People with money don’t get charged.
They might get questioned, but then the cops let them go.
” She turns to me. “I know Jackson is really hot, and he probably says all the right things. All the things you want to hear. But you can’t trust him.
You can’t trust what he says. Just the fact he showed interest in you is suspicious. ”
“Why? Because I don’t come from money?”
“Because you’re Braden’s cousin. Jackson could have any girl he wants. The girls at Legion would kill to go out with him. But he picked you.”
“He didn’t know I was Braden’s cousin until later. Until after we’d met.”
“But then he found out and wanted to date you.”
“That’s not why. It’s not because of Braden.”
“How do you know?”
“I don’t, but I know Jackson, and I know he wouldn’t use me like that. I also know he wouldn’t kill someone.”
“Rumor.” She looks me in the eye. “Don’t do this. Don’t get involved in this. After everything you’ve been through with your mom and having to move and breaking up with your boyfriend, you don’t need more drama. End things with Jackson before this turns bad.”
“It’s not going to turn bad. Jackson is the only good thing I have here.”
She frowns.
“Oh! No, you’re good too!”
She smiles and stands up. “I have to go or I’m gonna be late for school.” She grabs the laundry basket. “I’m just here to pick up the dry cleaning.”
“You know I never have anything for the dry cleaners,” I say as I follow her out.
She shrugs. “Had to check. See ya later.” She hurries upstairs to the boys’ rooms.
Shayla knows I don’t have clothes to dry clean, so why was she going in my room? Was she looking for something? Or just wanting to snoop through my stuff? Either way, it makes me wonder if I can trust her or trust what she tells me.
What she said about Jackson was just a story — a theory.
It doesn’t mean it’s true. He wasn’t even charged with anything.
If the cops thought he did it, they’d charge him, even though he’s rich.
I’m sure Andrea’s parents are rich, too, if she went to Twisted Pine.
Rich parents of a dead girl wouldn’t let someone go free if they thought their daughter was murdered.
They’d want someone to pay. And that someone is not Jackson.
And I don’t think it’s Braden, although I can imagine him doing it more than Jackson.
The thing that worries me most is what Shayla said about Andrea’s relationship with Jackson. The sex with no strings agreement that he had with her, and also had with Kristen. That’s not what I want, so I hope he doesn’t think he’s getting that arrangement with me.
“Get your ass in the car,” Trystan yells as he comes in the house. “I have to get something from my room and then we’re leaving.”
I grab my stuff and go out to his car. Moments later, he races out with his backpack, tossing it in the back seat before getting in. He speeds out of the driveway and down the street. He always speeds but claims he’s never had a ticket.
“Going to the game tonight?” he asks.
“Yeah, but I need someone to take me.” I look at him. “That’s a hint.”
“Can’t do it. I’m going to dinner with the soccer team and we’re all going to the game together.”
“You can’t just swing by and pick me up?”
“Get Dante to take you.” Trystan smiles at me. “That guy really likes you.”
“I’m not interested.”
“Then who is it?”
“What do you mean?”
“Covering up your phone when you text. That smile girls get when they like a guy. You’re doing it with someone. I just don’t know who.”
“I’m not doing it with anyone. I just broke up with my boyfriend.”
“And you’re using someone new to get over him.”
“That’s not what I’m doing.”
“Hey. I’m not judging. Everyone does it.”
I sigh. “I’m not dating anyone. And stop watching every little thing I do. It’s annoying.”
His phone dings, and he checks it, then sets it down.
“What do you think of Kristen?” I ask.
“Rich bitch.”
“What else do you know about her?”
He smiles. “I know she hates her mom. Like really fucking hates her.”
“Why?”
“Because she’s a bitch like her daughter.
She had nannies raise Kristen while she traveled all over the world with her boyfriends.
She’s been married five times and after each divorce she has to give some of her money to her ex.
Kristen’s pissed her inheritance keeps getting lower with each of her mom’s marriages. ”
“Didn’t her mom get a prenup?”
“Yeah, but the guys were smart. They asked for money if the divorce was because she cheated.”
“And she cheated?”
“Every single time. You’d think she’d be smart enough to not keep getting caught.”
“Why is Kristen so popular if everyone hates her?”
“We’re forced to like to her, or pretend we do. You just have to go along with it.”
“Why? Just because she’s rich?”
His phone rings, and he answers. “Yeah, we’re almost there. Did you see the game last night?” He continues talking sports to his friend for the rest of the drive.
We get to school, and I head to the office to drop off the form for my student ID.
“I was supposed to turn this in last week, but I forgot,” I say to the secretary, handing her the form.
She looks it over, adjusting her glasses to read it. “Your father needs to sign it.”
“He did. I mean, my uncle did. My dad isn’t around. He can’t sign it.” I point to Brock’s signature, which just looks like a squiggly line. “See? Right there.”
She sighs. “I’ll need to get Principal Edwards’s approval to accept your uncle’s signatures in place of your father’s.” She looks at his office door, which is closed. “He has meetings today. I don’t know when I’ll be able to ask him about this.”
“Principal Edwards knows about my dad. He’ll be fine with it.”
“I’ll still need to check with him before I process this.”
“Yeah, whatever,” I mutter, yanking my backpack over my shoulder.
She adds the form to a stack of papers and goes to the back room. At this rate, I’ll graduate before getting my ID.
The door to the principal’s office opens halfway, then closes to just a crack.
“Go to class,” Principal Edward says. “We’ll discuss it later.”
“I want to discuss it now!” a girl says, raising her voice. It kind of sounds like Kristen, although it’s hard to tell because I’ve never heard her yell like that.
“If you don’t get your temper under control, I’ll be calling your mother.”
“Go ahead! I love pissing off my mom!”