Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 122030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Unless they changed before joining the search?
The speculation gets my pulse doing double-time. I’m quickly running up on full-blown panic. Everything between Casey and me hangs on what Gabe has to say.
I book it back to the dorm, where RJ is at his desk when I barge in.
“You better not be fucking with me,” I blurt out.
He spins around in his chair. “Why would I do that?”
Because lately it seems like everyone’s getting their kicks at my expense.
“No reason. Forget it. Lucas coming too?” I ask, surprised Gabe’s brother hadn’t beat me here.
“I haven’t told him.” RJ’s voice is wary, which gives me pause.
“Why not? What’d Gabe say?”
He twists his lips, suddenly reluctant after making me sprint back here to get the words out of his mouth.
“Come on,” I growl. “You’re killing me. What was it?”
“He said, and I quote, ‘Tell Fenn I know the truth.’”
The words don’t make sense in my head. It’s like I woke up speaking a different language after a severe brain trauma. I try turning them over, backward and forward, but I still can’t make sense of Gabe’s message.
I was hoping for a clue. A hint about what happened at prom and whether he was the one in the car with Casey. And if so, why.
Instead, I get this. He knows the truth? About what? Prom, I assume. But what truth does Gabe think he knows?
My brain hurts. “That’s it?”
“Yup.”
“What the hell does that even mean?” I’m flabbergasted as I sink onto the leather sofa. I continue to run the message through my head, hoping to spark some insight. A frown mars my lips. “Did Lucas’s original message to Gabe say anything about me? Show me what it was.”
RJ hesitates.
I glare at him. “Seriously?”
“Sorry, it’s a habit. Only reason I do well in this business is because I value my clients’ privacy. Information dealing is lucrative, but only when you know how to keep your mouth shut.”
“You can take that lucrative nonsense and shove it up your ass. I’m your stepbrother. What did his message say?”
Looking unhappy, RJ unlocks his phone and scrolls for a moment. Then he reads out loud.
“‘Hey. I know you’re probably furious and I don’t blame you. Dad’s an asshole. I’ve been working on Mom trying to get her on our side, but so far no luck. Just know I’m doing everything I can on my end to get you out of that place. Also need you to know—whatever Dad told you, I wasn’t the one who got you sent away.’” RJ lifts his head from the screen. “Then he says I hope you’re well, talk soon, yada yada.”
I narrow my eyes. “The ‘I wasn’t the one’ part is kind of sus, no?”
“A little. But it’s not like he said ‘it wasn’t me, it was Fenn!’”
“True.”
“I need to ask you something.” RJ’s chair creaks when he leans back and crosses his arms.
His uneasy expression raises even more suspicions. I curse when it dawns on me where he’s going with this. “Are you asking if I’m the one who ratted him out to their dad about selling drugs?”
“You’re saying you didn’t?” RJ asks with a little too much surprise.
“Obviously,” I snap, more than a little offended. “Gabe’s my best friend. And his dad’s a dick. Why would I want to get him in trouble?”
“Maybe you were trying to protect him and thought this was the only way to get him to stop dealing.”
“Yeah, all right. So now I’m a shitty friend for not turning him in?”
RJ’s nonchalance in the face of my rapidly imploding world is starting to get on my nerves. To him, this is all gossip. Practically television. But this has been the single most important and disruptive part of my life for the better part of a year. And somehow it’s managed to get a lot worse in the last few minutes.
“I’m not passing judgment either way—”
“You sure?” I say coldly.
He frowns. “I’m trying to get to the truth.”
A sharp laugh bursts out of me. Everyone around here has been lying about one thing or another for so long, I’m not sure we’d know what the truth looks like anymore. No one at this school is innocent, least of all the people in this room.
“What was Gabe’s response to Lucas?” I ask.
“Honestly, nothing too exciting. He says he feels like he’s in prison. Talks about some fight he got into. Asks Lucas not to put himself in the warpath for Gabe, says it’s not worth it for Lucas to take the brunt of their dad’s wrath while Gabe’s away. Then he assures him he’s fine, it’s only another six months until he’s eighteen and he can get the hell out of there.”
My heart aches hearing that. Thing about Gabe is, he’s a stupidly good guy. Always looking out for his kid brother. The only reason he dealt drugs in the first place was because of his father, not due to some delinquency on Gabe’s part. I mean, the guy isn’t perfect, obviously. He likes to raise hell every now and then, just like the rest of us. But he’s not a naturally born criminal or some shit.