Chapter 6
MOST LIKELY TO STASH A BODY IN THE WOODS
I’ve never considered orange to be a particularly menacing color, but as Ella walks toward the football field wearing orange athletic shorts and a shirt with Citrus Prep screen-printed across the front in that same horrific shade, I’m convinced that it’s the color of pure evil.
“What’s she doing here?” Jonathan asks from beside me as she gets closer.
We’re standing in the shade of an oak tree near the football field as we wait for Coach Trish to start practice.
Running is one of my favorite things, but I don’t love that practice is in the middle of the afternoon.
The late summer humidity is suffocating.
At least when we’re running, I’ll have an excuse to sweat.
“She heard how desperate Coach Trish is for runners and decided to join the team,” Sarah, our top girl runner, says as she pulls her hair into a ponytail on the top of her head.
“And she let her join? Just like that?” My eyes are trained on Ella as she stops short of where everyone is congregating.
She looks around for someone to walk toward, but everyone is already talking to other people.
None of her friends are on cross country, and she looks out of place.
Good. She doesn’t belong here. “Doesn’t it bother you that she’s walking on after practices have already started? ”
“Not at all,” Sarah says.
I turn to Sarah, surprised by her words. “What if she can’t run?”
“Then I don’t have to worry about her taking my spot.” Sarah shrugs, and Jonathan laughs.
I continue to stare at Ella. Even with her hair pulled back, I can see the curls at the ends of her hair are back.
“Look,” Sarah says, pulling her ponytail tight. “I want to be able to run at the district meet. In order to do that, we need runners.” She drops her hands. “I don’t care if she walks the entire 5k as long as she crosses the finish line. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
“For everyone but Connor.” Jonathan chuckles.
I straighten my stance. “I’m only saying she doesn't deserve to be here because she’s never run before.”
Sarah raises her brows in disbelief.
“And I don’t want to see her anymore than I have to,” I admit.
“Look at it this way.” Jonathan puts his hand on my shoulder. “There’s no way she’ll be able to keep up with you, so I doubt you’ll have to spend that much time with her. Warm-ups and meets. You can do it.”
His words are mocking, but I know his teasing is all in good fun.
Jonathan, Sarah, and I have been running together since freshman year and have developed a deep friendship through our shared love of cross country.
They feel more like my siblings than my actual brothers and sister—with the exception of David, of course.
I push his hand off of me. “Gee, thanks.”
Coach waves us to come huddle near her. Everyone jogs over while Ella takes slow, timid steps.
She stands off to the side until Coach introduces her to the team.
Ella keeps her arms crossed over her chest as we listen to our route for the day.
It’s a quick three-mile run that won't take too long. It’s perfect because I have a ton of homework tonight.
“One more thing,” Coach says right before we start our warmup. “Is anyone willing to stay back to buddy run with Ella today since she’s new?”
Her question is met with silence. Everyone avoids eye contact with Coach.
I’m surprised that Sarah doesn’t volunteer, but I guess excitement to have enough girls on the team doesn’t mean Sarah wants to waste a day helping our newcomer learn the ropes.
A blush touches Ella’s cheeks, and I can tell she wants to disappear.
Let her feel uncomfortable. The only reason Ella is here is to be more well-rounded, not because she cares about cross country or our chances at state.
The only reason she’s here is to beat me.
“Anyone?” Coach asks, looking at everyone. I wonder if no one volunteers if Coach will stay behind with her. Thinking I may be in the clear, I make the mistake of looking directly at Coach.
Her face brightens. “Connor, will you stay back with Ella today?”
Several heads snap in my direction, waiting for my reaction. A bead of sweat drips down my back, though I’m not sure if it’s from the heat or everyone’s attention. Too bad I don’t actually have a choice. “I’d be happy to.”
Jonathan snorts beside me, and I elbow him in the ribs. He rubs the spot where I hit him. “Oh, come on,” he says, just loud enough for me and Sarah to hear him. “This is hilarious.”
“I’m glad you think so,” I growl.
Jonathan must find my pain amusing because he snorts again. “Ten bucks says he kills her before they finish the first mile.”
“Please don’t kill her,” Sarah says, a sly smile on her lips. “At least not until after the season is over.”
“I’m not going to kill her,” I snap, my voice louder than I intend.
Some of the girl runners look at me with wide eyes, and Coach Trish looks concerned. When I turn to Jonathan and Sarah, they both avoid making eye contact with me. Their lips press tightly together as they fight back smiles.
They’re the only ones who think it’s funny. There’s tension in the air. I force a laugh as I try to play it off. “I’m not actually going to kill her. Besides, I don’t have time to clean that up with all the homework Mr. Smith gave us tonight.”
Jonathan and Sarah fight laughter and turn their backs while I’m met with blank stares and looks of horror from the rest of the team. No one speaks, and time stops as everyone waits for something, anything, to happen.
“It’s fine.” Ella’s voice breaks through the silence. “If Connor kills me, I guess I’ll be off the hook for any pop quizzes.”
There is a collective sigh of relief—mine included—and even a few chuckles from some of the others. I’m not sure why Ella threw me a bone just now, but I appreciate it.
Coach Trish looks back and forth between us. “If you’re sure.”
Ella lifts one of her shoulders. “How bad can it be?”
Oh, I don’t know. Bad?
I’m about to buddy run with my nemesis, and I just joked about killing her. If anything happens to her, even by accident, I’m screwed. I try to swallow, but my throat is too dry.
After warm ups and some quick stretching, the rest of the team takes off. Coach Trish is in the rear to make sure she’s available if someone twists an ankle or has some other issue that requires her attention. That leaves Ella and I alone.
She pushes her shoulders back. “Should I be worried about going missing?”
“I don’t know. Are you tangled up with some drug lords that you owe a lot of money to? Do you believe aliens abduct people in their sleep?”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m talking about our run. Should I bring my pepper spray? Or can you refrain from killing me and hiding the body in the bushes?”
“The bushes?” I put a hand to my chest. “We both know I’m too smart to leave you there. I’d drop your body at the nature preserve so a gator could eat the evidence.”
Her blue eyes dance. “Maybe I’d get lucky, and it would eat you instead.”
“Or we both die together in some tragic accident. Like Romeo and Juliet.”
She puts her fist to her mouth and makes a gagging noise. Then she swallows. “Sorry. I just threw up in my mouth a little. Please don’t ever compare us to star-crossed lovers again.”
The idea of anything romantic with Ella makes me nauseous, too, but I can’t let her know I actually agree. Instead, I decide I want to see how much I can bother her. I waggle my brows. “Don’t act like you haven’t ever considered what it would be like to date me.”
“Only in my darkest of nightmares. But then I wake up and remember that it won’t happen, and everything is bright again. Despite the way the rest of the female student body behaves, you’re not as great as you think you are.” She pushes past me and walks in the direction of the rest of the team.
Ouch.
I don’t care that she’s not attracted to me. But what does she mean that I’m not as great as I think I am? What exactly is wrong with me?
My features fall into place just as she turns back at me. ”Are you ready to get this over with? Or do you want to prolong this as long as possible by hanging out at school?”
“Trust me, I don’t want to spend any more time with you than I have to.
” I walk toward her. “But you know you have to do this every day for the next few months. It’s not a one-and-done kind of deal.
You could back out now, and then we’d never have to spend time with each other outside the classroom again. ”
Sarah will be pissed if she finds out that I talked Ella out of cross country when she so desperately wants another girl on the team, but there are plenty of other girls at Citrus Prep that can fill this space.
If all she cares about is them crossing the finish line, I’ll find someone else—someone else who isn’t Ella Adams.
She keeps walking. “I’m not quitting, and you know why. So either help me with the route or leave me alone.”
I want to leave her alone, but I can’t do that without disappointing Coach. So, I simply say, “Let’s go.”
We’re only about a half of a mile into the run, barely enough distance to warm up our muscles, when she stops.
Her face is beet-red as she gulps at the air like a fish out of water.
I almost feel bad for her until I remind myself she’s only here because she thinks it’s a way to steal the scholarship from me.
If she were any other runner, any other person, I would be speaking encouraging words to her.
But seeing that the person standing before me is my biggest rival, I don’t tell her that she should walk around a bit while she catches her breath or that it’s hard for everyone when they first start running.
Or that I could barely run a lap around the track when I first joined, and that it gets easier.
Instead, I sigh impatiently. “Can we at least walk if you’re not even going to try to run?”